Before taking car to macco

[AceA5]

Im dropping my car off at macco to get painted( i know what to expect), what

should i do before i drop it off?

My buddy tells me that the probelm with macco

is there prep work. Should try to sand it myself a bit? I will post pictures soon.

Im also decieding if i want to keep my wing on or not. THANKS!!!

[vocationalzero]

Take out anything you don't want stolen

[S14toRPS13]

Take out anything you don't want stolen

That's true for any shop.

1.Do the prep yourself if possible.2.Don't drive over there with your good wheels as they'll get sprayed in the process along with your wheel wells and suspension.3.Cover up your headlights, taillights, and windows youself, or be extremely thorough to the painters about overspraying on those parts. 4.Once it's done, check for uneven areas and tell them to buff out those areas.

[Jadesr20det]

Did they make you aware that if you do your own prep work that they do not gaurantee the paint???might be something you might to look into since there paint jobs are junk anyway....if you are going to go to the trouble to prep it why dont you just paint it yourself?

[cmfireman]

Along with taping up everything yourself, find out who will be painting your car beforehand and slip him a $50. Tell him to take a little extra time.

[amolao]

You can also take as much off as possible if you want a clean paint job. Take window seals, antenna, side markers, taillights,etc... If you have skirts, kit pieces that you would like to have painted separately just take them off and they will paint them for you.....

[heartofaskyline]

Did they make you aware that if you do your own prep work that they do not gaurantee the paint???might be something you might to look into since there paint jobs are junk anyway....if you are going to go to the trouble to prep it why dont you just paint it yourself?

, the guys there spray a ton of cars, so odds are they know what there doing when it comes to laying paint. if you do the prep work and get some decent paint for them to lay down, im sure the job would look the same as a expensive a** body shop

[AceA5]

For 500 they are sanding, taping, and doing some small body work. I plan on removeing everything I can to make it easier for them.

Im at a stand still however though. Im thinking about removeing my stock spoiler, but idk what to plug the holes up with or what to do with the wires that are left from the middle tail light. Suggestions? I REALLY REALLY appreaciate everyones imput. Thanks-Ace

[S13Joe]

Take off the stock spoiler and plug up the holes with masking tape from the inside, unless you want that painted too.

[heartofaskyline]

For 500 they are sanding, taping, and doing some small body work. I plan on removeing everything I can to make it easier for them.

so its 500 for the paint prep? how much for the painting part

[AceA5]

Oh im sorry, its 500 for everything.

That includs: prep work(sanding,taping), body repair(front left fender has about an hour of fixing), and black glossy paint

If I took the spoiler off I would leave it off for good. I'm trying to decied if I like my coupe with or without the spoiler.

This thread is useless without pics i know, im at work now but ill post some up as soon as i get home.

[heartofaskyline]

its gonna look like crap. srry, but 500 bucks doesnt get you good prep and paint

[AceA5]

yea im not expecting an amazing paint job. Thats why im wondering what i should sand my car with before i take it to macco. Ill probally just hit the whole thing with 320.

[heartofaskyline]

do you know what your doing? id fill in all the dings, and then block it with some 180 and move up from there

[amolao]

Im thinking about removeing my stock spoiler, but idk what to plug the holes up with or what to do with the wires that are left from the middle tail light. Suggestions? I REALLY REALLY appreaciate everyones imput. Thanks-Ace

http://www.autobodystore.com/FillerMatls.shtmlcheck this tutorial to plug the holes properly and without welding.....

[shimizu_17]

Along with taping up everything yourself, find out who will be painting your car beforehand and slip him a $50. Tell him to take a little extra time.

Best advice prob so far in this thread, a lot of body shop people dont make that good of money. Slipping people extra money to take a lil extra time is well worth the money IMO.

[OutToWinPAHC]

If you don't know body work dont try and exspct great results. It take a ton of time and skill to do right.

But Macco can be a good single stage paint if you remove and do you own masking. Remove lips, bezels, antenna, mirrors, tail lights, stickers / embelems. Do you own body repairs, and sanding prep. Start with 180 on chips and rough spots then move up to 600 dry. Then 800 grit wet sand it.

Use a sanding block and DA sander. Prime any bare metal spots you find after you 180 grit it.

For better results, wet sand their single stage starting at 1000 wet up to 1500 wet then clear it and wet sand again.

[AceA5]

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http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn...7.jpg [IMG][/IMG]

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn...2.jpg [IMG][/IMG]

What should i do about my 240sx emblem on the back. Does that thing come off?

[Jadesr20det]

its gonna look like crap. srry, but 500 bucks doesnt get you good prep and paint

thus proving my point

[fender_dude]

Too bad you don't live here in Orlando. There is a shop here called Marshalls and they do prep, bodywork and paint with clear for a little over $600 and they do some awesome work. Search around and see if you can find a small shop or something along those lines. Sometimes you might be able to find something just a little more expensive but well worth the extra cash.

[heartofaskyline]

thus proving my point

all i was saying is the guys that work there can lay paint. if you do the prep, then it will come out nicely. if you do as the op is doing and just let them do it all. odds are its gonna be crappy. they spray a ton of cars, so i imagine they can at least lay paint evenly

[drifter2180]

I had a car painted at macco like 8 years ago and I had the car for 4 years and the paint was just as good the day I sold the car. The thing about macco is you have to tell them exactly what you want. I agree with doing the prep work first but tell them you would like them to finish the prep so they warranty the work. Also all of the low dollar paint jobs they do are only single stage paint. So I would tell them that you want a clear coat put on the car also. I paid about $600 for mine and got a silver met. paint job and yeah it was not as sharp as a$1,500 paint job but for $600 it turned out good. So good luck.

[AceA5]

all i was saying is the guys that work there can lay paint. if you do the prep, then it will come out nicely. if you do as the op is doing and just let them do it all. odds are its gonna be crappy. they spray a ton of cars, so i imagine they can at least lay paint evenly

Heart I totally agree with you, after a lot of years in the business I'm sure macco knows how to spray a car. Hell I never did it but pointing and spraying cant be that hard,(im sure it is though).

We all know that what makes a paint job is the prep work, and macco is not know for doing good prep work so i guess ill have to sand it.

What grit should I start sanding with, and so on and so on.(sorrry if this was already answered)

THANKYOU TO EVERYONE THAT IS RESPONDING IT IS REALLY HELPING ME OUT

-Ace

[Jadesr20det]

all i was saying is the guys that work there can lay paint. if you do the prep, then it will come out nicely. if you do as the op is doing and just let them do it all. odds are its gonna be crappy. they spray a ton of cars, so i imagine they can at least lay paint evenly

ok gotcha basically we're saying the same thing .......my opinion is if your not going to tackle the entire job at least do the prep work yourself......GL

[driftneil]

Or you could come up to allentown, and get it done at my good friends shop. The guy does mostly muscle cars, and insurance work. He's pretty cheap, and can blow macco away in the prep department. Also I you do go to macco, it matters alot on the color, how much the bodywork shows up. Good luck either way, if you need anything email is [email protected]

[White Comet]

Along with taping up everything yourself, find out who will be painting your car beforehand and slip him a $50. Tell him to take a little extra time.

exactly what i was going to say. do your own prep work and removal of lights, etc and slip the painter that extra $50. that could make all the difference