Hey all,
I am in the San Diego, CA area and am restoring my 1986 trans am. The engine restoration is already planned, but I am a little lost when it comes to the paint. The car was originally a marroon color, repainted once by Maaco in 1996-97...needs new paint again. I dont know whether to go with the commercial guys i.e. Maaco, Earl Sheib, etc. Or if someone knows of a really good body shop that they have had expierince with and trust. Earl Shieb and Maaco ask about $600.00...this seems okay but a little cheap for a "good" paintjob. Basically I expect uniform color, no orange peeling, proper masking and of course the paint to stick to the car. : ) Please give me some direction as there are about 250 shops in the yellow pages in san diego to get body work done.

p.s. The car is clean, only 4-5 small dents I would want fixed...no severe damage...only door dings and a golf ball accident.

 

both those companies u talked about are the worst to go to,u get what u pay for...and it aint good obviously. u WONT get a good paint job for 600. try to get a good bodyshop to do it,go around to a few and get a estimate done and go accordingly is my suggestion.

 

any shop is only as good as your painter.....search for threads involving paint to get an idea on everyones take as this has been talked about since this site was first up.

600 is a bit low considering proper supplies will run you that however crazier things have happened. the best advice i can give you is to find someone who has had their car repainted to your liking and go from there.

you can't go off of shop names or even chemicals now days. however when you do find a paintjob you like...don't be surprised when you hear the cost. i'd honestly say be ready to hear 1500-2,000 for a decent job. you can save yourself alot of money by researching your shop and talking with your painter. half of the costs revolve around prep work and if you can help in any way by disassemble or otherwise it's worth it.

good luck with it.

 

thanks for your help. I was expecting it to cost over $1,000 anyways...when I saw $600 it had to be too good to be true. Considering that the Maaco paintjob only lasted about 2 years and had to have it redone twice due to imperfections (hairs in the paint and orange peeling) I do not want to go through that again. I went to dinner last night with some people and I got a recommendation for a place in Oceanside, Just in case anyone in So-Cal is looking for a place to start.

OCEAN PAINT & BODY SHOP
1112 S TREMONT ST, OCEANSIDE, CA 92054
Phone: (760) 722-5479

They came highly recommended by a buddy of mine who is into custom cars...he sells car audio and has had his shop do several vendor cars and the paint is always through that shop...I will talk to them today and post my feedback since this seems to be a very common problem/question here.
thanks again for saving my car from a nasty paint job.

chris

 

yes I agree with kandied on this,plus ask for references,and more than just one. Then take the time to check them out.

 

When you say "no orange peel", I am guessing you mean, not too much. For a mirror finish job, it is going to have to be colorsanded, and that is time. Most people around here don't want to do anything better than a factory finish job because it takes time. I am sure in California you can find someone, but it will be at least $2000 for a job with "no orange peel". Here is a truck I did with no orange peel, but it took a while, and it cost the customer, but that's what he wanted.
This a pic down the side of the truck.
67 SWB Chevy.

 

very nice...

 

exactly, factory finish would be perfect. That paint is awesome on the truck!! I do not require that, for now. Trying to keep paint between $1500 and $1800. Maaco job had orange peel on roof and hood, had to be redone...guess what paint flaked first?? you got it, hood and roof. Go figure. Thanks again, will post pics when finished. Engine work should be done by mid april and paint shortly there after. I knew I worked hard last year for a reason, this is it.

chris

 

The ONLY way to get a decent paintjob with MAACO is preping the whole car yourself, having them paint it, then wetsanding the entire call all over.