Anyone recommend a cheap place in seattle to get a decent paint job? The rattle can paint job isn't looking too pretty on mine. For those who have, where and what did they quote you for an exterior paint job?


Thanks!!

Unicorn.

Cheap? Perhaps try Maaco ??

- MR

I don't know if he is still there but the Maaco at south lake union on Westlake had a young man who would do "custom" painting on the side. Not as cheap as the franchise stuff but much less than a real shop.

We hired a guy from Maaco to do our painting. Excellent painter. He did my motorcycle tanks and side panels. He got a ton of experience painting 6 cars a day at maaco. Now that he can paint at his pace over good bodywork with quality paint, his paint jobs look great.

Okay great. I'll go ask those guys for a quote.

Buy the materials yourself then find a good painter as mentioned above. You may get a great price but all that means is they are going to use cheap paint.

Automotive paint supply stores can hook you up with a list of good painters. But remember it’s all about the prep work before the car is painted that makes for a decent job.

I think I read this in this forum... Some one once said every Maaco has at least one guy that has his own kit and is really good. If you can find that guy and grease his palm, he does your job on the side. You get a better than normal paint job, and he pockets the cash with no middle man.

Agreed.
I've been looking for a LONG time for reliable individual or shop that will work with you or at least provide a paint quote that isn't south of 8 large.

I wish rental spray booths were not legislated out of business.

If the poster in question doesn't know what a unicorn is, please find one. In our world we are still looking for it. It will have magical base fillers, followed by layers of paint, followed by layers of clear, and only 1000 man hours will be needed to make it right.... AND it will only cost! ... ... Insert your budget here.

And he screws up, you are out of luck.
Any good job takes many hours of prep, spray and then polish. No getting around the man hours. It’s going to cost.

It seems North of $20k is the new starting point around here from the stories I've heard. The cost curve is pretty steep. You'll have to do the bulk of the disassembly.

We’ve just completed a new paint job on our 75 and it was around $20K +10K for minor rust repair (one jack point, rear passanger floor seam). We dissasembled the interior and removed the wheel well undercoating.

Eurotech Bodywerks in Kirkland. Not the fastest shop but the work is reasonable.

btw. our museum quality 73 was a lot more work (bare metal) and cost !

until i found the guy finishing my car right now, i was strongly considering just doing a body wrap. and its at the point where for under $2000 you can do a whole car in a day - rather than $10,000 for paint. something to consider.... we have a guy here that is excellent, he comes to the cars and coffee and changes his car about every year or so, advertising hs business. Several cars that have been done come to the c and c and they really look great.

Wow. $30k for paint and a little bodywork on a '75 is a big hit. Hope you're happy.

Eurotech did a collision repair and repaint for me in 2010. They did a nice paint job but didn't stand behind their work when there was a problem.

OK, well let me elaborate. Couldn't find the original post, must have been another forum. None of it is about getting a cheap paint job, it's about finding the best way to split your time and money.

Most of what you read on Maaco here says they are great at spraying because they do it all day. Their prep work is lousy, their paint is substandard. Everyone's follow-up question is "what if I prep it myself?" ...and then "what if I supply the products?" Good ideas, but if all you are using Maaco for is spraying, might as well just get their best guy on the side.

And what if he screws up? There's a much better chance of me screwing up trying to do it myself, which many people on this forum also recommend. Either course leaves you in the same boat.

I haven't decided which way to go on all this myself, just trying to make sense of all the various recommendations.

I actually used our Maaco guy on the side while he was still at Maaco so I could have been screwed but I knew him at that point and had seen his own work. I asked him to buy the best quality paint he could but we are only talking about a pint of black and red for the tanks, side panels and frame. I think it was $450 in materials. The whole job was $1,450 and I was very happy. I had paid our pdr guy $125 to remove the dents in the side of the tanks. They just needed very light bodywork. There’s so much more prep on a car. You just want to make sure you are on the same page with the guy you hire.

I think his screen name is jmmotorsports. He does great work and is in the PNW. Worth looking up.

No. Jerry is retired. Pm sent

The paint looks good and the metal work was well done...

When I was in high school my first car I restored and drove was an 84 CJ7 did the body work with my dad and had MACCO do the paint job for $500 in black none the less came out pretty good. Oh and they warrantied it , if I remember correctly for 5 years. Of course I had over spray on the carpets and radiator. But for the $800 I paid for the jeep I didn't mind. THey also did the door jams for that price. I'm considering using them to spray my 914 here in a few weeks before I drop my Subaru in. I wish I had a bigger paint booth to do it myself.

Macco painted a black 914 that I had in 1979. I did all the prep work on the body and I gave the painter a $20. Bill and asked him if he would do a nice job on spraying it and I had more complements on that super slick paint job than on any other car I had before that. I paid something like $350. Back then. The car was a black car and they did not pant the jams.

The paint job is mostly in the prep work and you can always go back and color sand and buff.

Bob B