Just having gone through this one myself...
The key is good prep work and really good paint and clear. I used DuPont
Chromabase Urethane paint with DuPont clear. Retail it's about $450 for
everything depending on color (reds are more expensive). I found an
excellent body shop who did the prep work and painted it for $1100. I showed
up every other day to check out the prep work before they painted it. I'm
sure they thought I was a pain in the ass, but it paid off, because I found a
couple of minor things they were going to pass over. But the paint came out
AMAZING. They painted the engine compartment, trunk, underhood, door jambs
and door panels as well as the car itself. They wetsanded and polished the
clear too.
Go check out a shop and take a look at some of the other cars that are
sitting around to inspect their work. I got lucky and found a place that was
hungry for work, they are always more willing to deal. He initially quoted
me $1800 including paint. I got the paint etc. through my work, and talked
him down to $1100.
The problem with Maaco is they use cheap paint. Guaranteed it won't last 5
years. Most quality paint manufacturers actually guarantee their paint
nowadays for 5 years at least. I'd shop around a bit more.
Stan Wada
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