4XLR8N

You get what you pay for...or less.

dmarkshark

The problem with cheap paint jobs is that they ultimately look like cheap paint jobs, and you will have to look at it everyday, and say Cheep Cheep Cheep! I would keep the original with flaws any day, and wait for the right opportunity to get a decent one.

Rabbitman

Before I'd even spend $10,000 on a damn paint job today I'd just get another car and have a hell of a lot of spare parts. A person can do a lot with a $60 Harbor Freight buffer and some good Meguiers or whoevers polishing compound to straighten up something too, it's really not that difficult.
But before I'll give somebody $10,000 just to paint a damn car unless it's like a $150,000 or more car I'd paint it with a brush or even a mop myself, wet sand it and get the buffer out These paint prices are insane today and really a Corvette isn't that big either.
I don't think even $10,000 is anywhere near justified on a C5 yet because there are so many nice almost perfect ones out there for $16-20,000 range right now. Replies will be Accepted

Rexde1

Choreo

A bit off topic, but...

I have never understood why a panel where the paint and clear coat is in good condition cannot be sanded down to dull the clear coat and a new layer of clear coat sprayed on it, but everyone says it can't be done locally?

All the paint shops I talked to say it has to be taken completely down and new base and clear shot?

Yet, under warranty I had some clear coat blister after a few months on the left front fender and that is exactly what the Dealership did - they pealed off the blistering clear coat, sanded that area down and shot new clear. That was 15 years ago and still looks perfect?

Corvette#2

I had a friend that worked for Maaco. He wanted to repaint his Mustang.
He did all the prep work himself. And someone at the shop sprayed it.
It looked like ****. I wouldn't let a place like that paint a Corvette. I'd rather have worn out original paint than a new ES/Maaco paint job.

ls777z

I would think that for $1000 you can get the areas you want touched up and the whole car polished/buffed. Like others have said you get what you pay for and I think the consensus is you won't be happy with having the whole car painted at or near that price.
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1Willy1

learning how to "cut and polish" or "color sand" would give you a better chance of making it work

Evil-Twin

Just an FYI, the clear coat is found an every level of the paint job. the amount of color added to the clear is what gives the color. It's present in the tint coat, and also in the base coat. No one wants to do that because they perpetuate the myth that it cant be done. , prepping the clear is exactly what they do at a good shop to remove the orange peel between the final coats of paint. a paint job is like a histogram with peeks and valleys sanding the peaks to remove the valleys ( the valleys give the orange peel look. ) removing those peaks will leave several thousands of very flat paint ( no orange peel ). A show car finish is one where they sand each coat of paint to remove the peaks,, in order to build up the paint thickness..

I good paint shop will limit the amount of sanding between coats to match the factory orange peel. but to do a whole car and do it right and sand between coats is costly, but the results are very dramatic.

So the theory about sanding the clear and applying more clear is what they do anyway.. but they just want to sell a whole job.. that's why they say its impossible.. there is no delamination since each coat is emulsified into the previous layer.. the whole finish becomes one body.

If you have a fender refinished, they ruff up the existing fender, do the body work. seal and prime, all those steps, when they feather to surrounding panels, all they do is scuff up the clear coat and shoot it, no sealer no primer. They will blend the color coat to surrounding panels and clear.. there is no reason why they just cant ruff up an existing panel and shoot it with clear as if they were blending. They do it every day.

IMXCITD

I think you will be very disappointed if you get an Earl Sheib/Maco paint job. I would keep researching and talking to people in your area. There are people that have private bodyshops that do great work or guys in the industry that do side work and do a great job. You should plan to spend 3-5k and get done right the first time. Another option: get your vette detailed and put it up for sale....move into something a little newer and cleaner with the money you would have spent on the paint job.

grampi50

It's hard to blame them when I walk into a body shop and see the entire waiting area covered in antique gas pumps, signs, old this and that, which is all collectable stuff that is probably worth a lot of money...that comes from charging people $10K for paint jobs, it has nothing to do with the regulatory commission...

duramaxsky

Around here some Macco shops are good and some are not. We had a minor repair to our Malibu done at one with a good reputation about 6 years ago. The color is MSG and it still looks great. Perfect match and paint held up fine.

Rob 02

^Or perhaps they were just showing off their restoration abilities. It is a restoration business.

Rob 02

Or perhaps the shop was showcasing their restoration work.

SuperTom

its all about the prep work with maaco. I did my 3000gt a few years ago went from red to 350z blue. Basically sanded it all down to near factory primer level. Removed headlights, loosen fenders up so they could spray in between. This was there more "deluxe paint" which happens to be half price in the winter so was a around $400+. Satisfied for what I paid never chipped off or anything crazy. But you can see the orange peel effect on the fender shot so don't expect a show car finish.

Forcedvert

What do you do (or did if you retired) for a living? People are allowed to charge what their trade will bare. I'm in a trade and hear all the time that we charge too much!

There is a reason people can charge what they do. You get what you pay for!!! and reputable people warranty their work. The prices are always cheapest when someone is going out of business or will walk away from unhappy customers as they know another sucker will fall for the cheapest price and rip someone else off.

sorry I'm a little sensitive to this subject

JR-01

It is the free market system. Inflation has the most to do with higher prices. Forty years ago you could get a great paint job for a thousand bucks, of course the average wage was 4 bucks an hour. It's all relative.

Aerovette

My dad had his truck painted at Maaco. It is a red truck. When he left it had over-sprayed red wheels, tires, wheel wells, rubber weather seal and glass. Be sure you like the color you choose because it will be EVERYWHERE.

Forcedvert

I agree 100%

RMVette

Back in the day (late '60's) I had a friend down the road have his Chevy truck painted by Earl Scheib and when he got it back they had painted the bumpers, trim, wheels, DIRT... essentially everything on the outside of the car without prepping it. Glad the windows were rolled up! Frankly I didn't think they were still in business.

For the other company, Maaco...I had an old Volvo that I was selling and the paint had started to blister. I took the bright work of it and waited till one of their specials came out and took advantage of it. I think I paid $199 for something they originally advertised for $399. This was back in the late '80's or early '90's.

As mentioned... you get what you pay for. All the work is in the prep.