Has any used the MAACO shop in Garwood, NJ or Union, NJ? Are they good to deal with? The Garwood location has a new owner.

I have a 1986 Ford F-150 that I primed and prepped (all emblems and mouldings are off) and I just want someone to shoot it.

 

i havent used any maaco paint shops in nj but ive used where one where i live in wi and for what i payed i was very pleased and the time they did it in was very convenient

 

find some body shops and see if thier painters shot on the side . you will get a better job then maco

 

is one of the best in nj. tell em john wilusz(like willis) sent you hes the owners brother in law.Im good friends with john and my friend had his blazer(sorry) shot there great job they did.

 

Maaco is hit or miss. Some of them have good painters, some of them have... well... I'm not going to say it

I had my old crewcab painted at a Maaco, and it came out awful. Runs, drips, sags, I could have done a better job with a paint brush.

Though, a friend of mine had an old Nova II painted at a Maaco in upstate NY, and it was a darn good paint job... even color, no obvious imperfections (just one spot inside the drip rail which is always hard even for a veteran), etc.

 

Thats what I'm worried about, that it's a hit or miss situation. Once a painter gets some experience at Maaco, he'll probably leave for a higher paying position somewhere else. I don't want the "new guy" at Maaco working on my truck.

I've got quotes ranging from $600 (Maaco) to $5,000 (full service body shop). Since I spent over 50 hours hand sanding the old paint off I want to finish it with a decent paint job.

 

This is why I paint vehicles myself. It's cheaper, and I know how bad it's going to look









If you've already hand sanded your truck, you could paint it yourself if you wanted to. It's not that difficult. Line your garage with 1 mil thick $1.99 home depot plastic tarps, or build a "booth" out of the same tarps and a bunch of 2x4's.

If you want to have a body shop do it... the way I would evaluate such a place is to wander the outside of their shop. Look at every car in the lot, and see the work they've done, THEN go inside.

 

As a general rule, Maaco has pretty good painters but only decent paint preparation. If you sand everything yourself and get the truck as straight as you want it, then maaco might not be a bad idea. That being said, many school shops will paint cars for the cost of materials, its a really good value and you tend to get good results.

But I agree with Frederic, painting a car is not terribly difficult if you take your time and are patient. I do work at a bodyshop, so access to a booth is not a problem. If you want to paint it yourself, but don't want to spend a ton, I would recommend U-Tech paint, made by Akzo Nobel (they make Sikkens and Lesonal). It is a single stage, one coat paint designed for industrial applications. It is really easy to spray, doesn't run readily, and you can spray it in less than ideal situations with good results. I just sprayed my F250 with only about 3/4 of a gallon of paint, and I painted the entire truck (bed off, windows out, moldings, trim, lights, grille, etc removed). The paint was only $150 for a gallon of Oxford White with hardeners. Granted that is the shop price, but retail price is not much more than that.

 

I just spent $2k at maaco for some major body work and paint on my 82' bronco and dont regret any minute of it. I got estimates from other places jsut to paint it like $3k and such. This was at the Maaco in Tinton falls. The guy gave me very resonible price for the work they did. 3 coats of clear and took off the top and sprayed it separate. So I'd definitly say, if you primed it all yourself, you should definity go with maaco for the paint. Unless you looking into like camlion(you know, the insect)paint. Good luck

 

Is this for real? haha I'm buying a 1987 Camaro Z28 as a small restoration project and the car is already in a primer black. Ive been reading ALL over the internet that Macco is crap, their customer service is horrible, their paint flakes within a few months, etc etc. I would like to get a paint job that'll last however I dont want to break my wallet.

 

Wow old thread revived, Frederic your pictures links are dead...LOL

 

I had my E150 painted there. It cost me just under $600 and I thought it came out really good. I may take my F250 to Tinton Falls to get done. Would definitely use them again.

 

The Maaco in Matawan ( I believe thats Matawan, or maybe Keyport) did a great job on my brothers car. I couldn't believe how nice it came out. I was very skeptical of a 500 dollar paint job. Now that was only the exterior. He did not have the door jambs done. That was another 100 per door. I have friends who work at body shops and own body shops and they all said that Maaco does really nice work for what they are.