To paint or Maco the ugly truck?

[whitesswj]

Ok, I'm tired of all the folks out there making fun of my truck (Namely my wife and pastor).
Yes, It's ugly but don't make me park it around back because of it.
I love that ol' truck, just about as much as my own 2 kids. LOL

So, my questions is, when tax time comes around should I take it to Maco and have them scuff and paint or should I just Rattle Can it?
I just realized that I don't have any good pictures of my truck so these will have to do until then. And, yes, It seems as if I only take pictures of it when I'm working on it...
If you want to see a video of it go

Here

[matthew20061]

The Macco job might turn out a lot better than the rattle can job imo. Only problem is they don't tape things off very well at Maco from what I've seen so before you take it there remove everything you can you don't want painted (lights, handles, emblems, ect).

[cdowns]

if you do a good job preping and taping as well as removing bumpers grill and things like that a MACO job can end up real nice and hold up well for quite awhile. its a good option for a daily driver and can increase the value of a truck too

[LilD]

Woring at used car lots gave me some experience with Macco. Ive seen some really nice work come out of the shops around my area. Only problem would be Macco being a production shop, they may not take the time to remove all of or treat that surface rust. You may want to consider trying to treat the rust yourself before hand. Also consider talking to them before you do anything as they will want to charge to strip off any product that you use that they may not deem compatible with their paints.

[hugger6933]

They will most likely just topcoat what is there. It might last for a while but you got to have the foundation laid for a proper or even decent job. That is one reason shops are so high. It takes me about an hour or so to actually paint a truck. It may take weeks [months] to get it ready for paint. What I have found in my years as a body shop owner is that when most people think it is ready to paint you have about another 3-5 days of work to go.Jim

[674x4ton]

Back in 1977 i had a car painted Earl Scheib blue 99.95 dollars.I did the preping the car had a couple of runs .It wasn't bad for the price,for a young kid with no money.

[PanelDeland]

I've seen some good jobs come out of those type shops.Just remember what was said above.Do as much prep and masking work as possible.Maybe even edge mask so all they have to do is mask the main portions.Be prepared to do some color sanding or even things up from orange peel and such.
The best paint I have seen come out of one when the "paintee" got to know the "painter" he took a 12 pack by the week before the car and some other swag I wont go into.He got a pretty darned nice paint job from a quickie paint shop for a "TIP".

[CG]

Like others have said, do the prep work yourself and have them spray it. Ive heard of people talking to the painter before hand and offering him up a little side tip as an incentive to help things come out a little smoother.

When I was a kid I had a 63 Nova two door hardtop. Me and my buddies did all the prep work. We took it into Miracle Auto Paint. Actually turned out great, and was quite a bit under 100 bucks.

I remember the first time we went out to cruise Colby after that. Checking out the reflection of my shiny red Nova in the store windows as we were cruising by. Had my Pioneer Super Tuner with 8 track cranked up going through my Jenson Tri Axel speakers powered by a 50 watt amp. LOL ... the good ol days.

[50bomb]

Man your truck isnt ugly that thing is beast. I say don't let the wife and pastor and whoever get you thinkin negative about your Pickup. Its an old truck geez in workin progress. Prayers sent to your wife and pastor that the Lord Almighty will open their eyes to such Rust In Glory

[Clyde65]

Geeez! Dont they all know you are sacrificing your paint money so the kids can have the things they need in life?

Here is what I did, I told the wife(ex wife now) I will be happy to the truck painted and fixed up so you wont be embarrassed any longer. So I went out to some reputable body shops, shops to rebuild/replace the motor and mechanical stuff and brought back the estimates along with a copy of a comparable new truck window sticker.......she decided it wasn't that ugly and never said anything else about my truck.

Good luck!

[bosco200]

What...how is that ugly...its beautiful...just beautiful.

[BADPURPLE70CHEVY]

Better do the prep work like others said. They are not good at body work.

[57larry]

wet sand it and get a cheap paint job on it. that way it will be 1 color and the old lady should be happy

[richards72chevy]

Hotrod magazine painted a car with rustoleum and paint rollers a few years ago looked good.

[68jewel]

Y'all got Maaco all wrong. Well...mixed up. See, their bread and butter is the "$199.99 special" where they don't tape off good and may get overspray on your windshield and lights. Spend some more money with Maaco and they will do you a hell of a decent job. They paint cars for dealerships all day long, which are major insurance jobs. About 7 years ago a buddy of mine took his square body, 87 I believe, to Maaco and spent $3000 and had a hell of a nice paint job. No orange peel, wet sanded and buffed to a mirror finish. Unless he told you, you would have sworn some other shop had done it. I only believed him because I knew him and knew the truck was done at Maaco. Maaco offers several other top tier paint jobs. You just have to ask for it. Trust, they haven't kept the lights on in the building all of these years off of $200 paint jobs.

[whitesswj]

Oh yea, it's the fact that it's mostly the color rust that my wifey hates. I just want it one color - white. I don't even care if it's perfect just one color

About Maco, I'm sure they do great work when they are paid for it. I just know them for their, specials. TEEHEE
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[ChevLoRay]

For the most part, paint is paint. I know there are special paints. I'm not stupid. My point is that it is all about the prep. Prepping is the difference between what looks good and what looks bad. My truck is tied up in paint shop hell. If I had it to do over again....it's prep and take it to Maaco. Our local Maaco shop is actually run by a car guy and he enjoys an older vehicle for work. Yeah, the production stuff pays the bills, but these guys are car guys, too.

[whitesswj]

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

Our local Maaco shop is actually run by a car guy and he enjoys an older vehicle for work. Yeah, the production stuff pays the bills, but these guys are car guys, too.

That's what I'm screaming. I've walked into some body shops and they laugh and say they won't touch my truck, claiming it's too old or that most folks wanting an old car or truck repainted is too picky. All I want is one color.

Thanks, y'all
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[pritch]

What the heck did you use to pull that motor out with? A hundred ton crane?


I agree with the various levels of quality at Maaco. Many years ago I had a truck painted there and while I didn't get the most expensive, I didn't get the cheapest either. It was a fairly decent paint job, at the time, for the money. I was satisfied with the quality, but I always wished I'd spent a little more time on the prep I did. Oh yeah-and the color I picked.

[whitesswj]

Originally Posted by pritch

What the heck did you use to pull that motor out with? A hundred ton crane?

Nope. It was a 10,000lb crane attached to a PeterBuilt. Oh yes. I punched that one on my man card. TEEHEE
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[Zeke]

I think your truck looks great, these truck have "character" when they look this way and once they are fixed up they have "style".

Might have to miss a few Sundays to get it fixed up. JK

[RCbowtie69]

nice project, Keep on Truckin''

[piecesparts]

IF you do the body prep to the level that you want it, then take it to MAACO, or Earl Scheib to get it painted. Those guys spray paint all day long 5 days a week and are really good at painting. That way the problems are fixed and the apint is applied, with proper care it will last a long time.

[QKENUF4U]

just do it yourself.. prep it and use rustoleum with a decent gun (HARBOR FRIEGHT gravity feed guns work very well for china junk) .. lots of choices at walmart for quarts of paint... ive sprayed my bed and hood on my 91 GLOSS WHITE and they both look great for 11$ paint... they scratch easy but hold up well to everyday driving..... oh and since they use MINERAL SPIRITS as a thinner they are pretty much impervious to gas/solvents...

[ETsC10]

Neat Project!

As others have said, do your own prep and masking. And be sure to mask behind things, like your grill, unless you want a white radiator.
There are plenty of body shops that use Maaco’s services successfully for their spray work.

For heavens sake, research more than one Maaco! Check each store with the BBB, "ripoffreport.com", the online phone books (i.e.: city search, etc) for consumer reviews. There’s even a site called “maaco.pissedconsumer.com”. These are franchises and all are not created equal. If they offer extras, ask how much and get everything in writing. The size of your truck, doing door jambs, etc can bump the cost tremendously.
After you pick one and, if you walk in with your eyes wide open, a great deal can be had.

If you do have a problem, you will generally not get any relief from their corporate office. Crappy work is one thing but the bill not matching the quote (bait & switch) can be pretty traumatic to the wallet. Personally, I would pay with a credit card, so as to have some backing from the credit card company.

It all boils down to elbow grease and research.
Google is your friend! I got 12,700 hits for “Maaco door jamb” alone, including a lot of car forums.

Good luck!