Posted: 5/7/2005 11:47:38 AM EDT
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I have an antique car that will be ready for a paint job soon. I've been told that a "budget paint shack" will do a decent job if you have the car 100% prepped before you take it too them. Anyone have any experience with this or should I spend a little more money to have someone else do it? |
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Find a quality body shop and take it to them. They will appreciate your car, and do it proud. Find someone that fixes a lot of cars... for example, talk to the GM or Damage Dept at a rental car company. (We see a lot of wrecked cars, and are responsible fr fixing them good enough to pass inpection when we turn them in) FWIW, the local shops we use have lots of pictures of specialty jobs they have done, showing off their work. Look for those types of pictures in the shop. Shows they are experienced and proud of their work. |
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Depends on the staff at the particular shop. It's definitely a crap shoot. If you can live with possible imperfections and just want a coat of paint on the car, then you will be fine. You did say that the car was an antique, so spending the additional cash for a quality paint job might be the way to go. If you are looking for a quality paint job, you might ask friends and family where they have gone in the past. |
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A buddy of mine in college had his ford ranger repainted before selling it. The Maaco boys put more runs and bubbles in his paint than I think any discounted price is worth. The prep work didn't seem to be the problem, it was just crappy workmanship. Their slogan of "uh oh, better get Maaco" should be "uh oh, it's getting painted at Maaco" EPOCH |
 I did the prep it yourself job on my BMW, got the nice paint(not the $200 enamel crap, get the polyurethane) it looks great. but the manager at the one in town runs a tight ship and actually turns out a decent product. |
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I used to buy and sell cars on the wholesale level. I can pick a crappy paint job out from 100 yards. I don't know what your friends plan is for the car, but when I am buying cars I would rather see a factory paint job, no matter how bad, than a half assed paint job that is hiding bad body work. Leave it as it is, if he cares about the car that much save for a good paint job. |
Its my car actually. I've been needing to repaint it for some time but would rather see it with the old faded paint than crappy new paint. |
Which location did you use? Dunlap, Van Buren or ??? My 1992 525i is due for a new coat. |
palo verde not everyone in Arizona lives in the Phoenix valley my BMW is a 92 525I as well, small world. |
Sorry to (figuratively) dump you into the valley - no offense meant.  I remember you mentioning your 525i previously. I love mine - time to treat her to a new paint job. |
the reason I got mine repainted is due to it being a salvage auction car, and I was the guy who rebuilt her. sports car recycling up in the valley is your friend if you ever need body pieces. |
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Damn BMW paint just sucks. Its doesnt last as near as long as other factory finishes. The newer BMWs especially have a water based paint due to pressures from the Treehuggers. Its doesn flow or last as near as well as the other paints. I picked up my BMW and was horrified at the level of the paint on some of the other cars. Mine wasnt as bad but I could pick up an imperfection here and there. But I didnt want the monkeys messing with it so I let it go. I did document it with the service manager so that if it ever chips or rusts I can tell them I reported when I first saw it. BMW paint fades really badly especially in a hot sunny environment like AZ. I would repaint because it will look crappy otherwise. Also are your headlight covers faded or cloudy? You can buy a kit from Barvarian that you can use to polish them and make them look decent. |
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I took a couple cars to maaco then i realized that i was doing the hard part (prep) and they were doing the fun part and charging me way too much for that cheap paint they were using. IMHO the car will look pretty good originally but the quality drops off very fast. I soon realized that its not that hard to paint the car myself, just use good primer and good paint and u will have a much better paint job. They spray on a very very thin coat. 
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the 1992 E34 5 series had glass 4 headlight setups, so we just have to worry about sand pitting. kind of nice in an old school sort of way. though the E36 3 series out here has a hell of a time with headlight covers. |
Thanks for the tip on Sports Car Recycling!! |
Damn German cars...... Always stepping in front of good quality British Roadsters! |
Dude, if you're just wanting to piss your money away, just send it to me. Then in a few months take the car to a real autobody shop and have it done right. We'll all be happier in the end. Really. |
I'm gonna go with the general coconscious here and just save up my $$$ for a good paint job. I would cry like a little girl if they messed up my baby. |
 Isn't that the road with all the hookersand crack dealers????? Maybe you can get an impression of hooker-ass crack!!!! 
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Hmmm... hooker-ass crack. I wonder how much extra they'd charge for that? It might start a new fad. 
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Gee... I don't think I've ever seen those four words in the same sentence before: good + quality + British + Roadsters. 
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I would not take a good car to Maaco but for the $2000 and $3000 cars I drive Maaco is okay. Macco seems to be a franchise deal and my local shop does decent work (no paint bubbles etc.). They also seem to use the same paint as any good shop. Huge difference in price, $950 to pain the whole car versus the local body shop which wanted close to $3k and would not guarantee that the trim, etc. would not be damaged or lost. |
