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DIY prep work for a paintjob help ideas

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Old Nov 29, 2009 | 08:00 PM
  #1  
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Default DIY prep work for a paintjob help ideas

Well I have two options right now my friend and his dad who do awesome work or macco. I have seen the work done by my local macco and it does look pretty good.

But my friend and his dad works look much better at once his car was totaled they did all the body work and repainted it themselves and looks incredible. But im waiting on a price from him tomorrow. But im not trying to break the pocket. And as a 17yr old I can only afford so much.

Now macco I would be getting one of the better packages but I heard I could improve my paintjob a lot by doing some prep work myself before I gave them my car.

What are some things I should do my self if I let macco paint my car. Iv heard taking out my headlights and taillights now I have yet to look into how to do this. Is that a hard process and good ideas? Any others?
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Old Nov 29, 2009 | 08:14 PM
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I would say if it's not too expensive, go with your friend's dad. Unless you're really gonna do a lot of prep work (ie. sand off your current paint, and then primer it yourself) the macco job will most likely come out subpar.
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Old Nov 29, 2009 | 09:03 PM
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Tape everything off, such as windows, trim, etc. That should help.

I heard some guy didn't clean his truck bed and Maaco didn't even wash the car, or even prep, and spray painted trash to the truck bed. lol, it's somewhere online..

But yea good prep work would involve sanding down your old paint and primer
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Old Nov 29, 2009 | 10:56 PM
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Yeah, go to your friend and his dad. This is ofcourse assuming that they wont screw you over. Sometimes if not most, its hard to deal with friends and/or even relatives when things go bad and its best to take it to the professionals because you can complain to the company itself. If you do take it to Maaco, I'd talk to them and ask what their process are, take lots of notes, maybe have it in writing which should be on the invoice that you will sign before leaving the car and hold them accountable for it.

Good luck.
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Old Nov 29, 2009 | 10:58 PM
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I am also interested in this.... also considering maaco lol........... should he remove headlights and tail lights like he mentioned? maaco doesnt even do that?
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Old Nov 29, 2009 | 11:16 PM
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There is a whole lot to body work more than just removing headlights and such. It all really depends on your skill level, knowledge, and expectations. Removing those items and sanding down the old paint are just icing on the cake.

If you want it perfect with no ripples, you going to have to block sand the the car, fill in the low areas with body filler, sand again, over and over until you have a perfectly flat surface. Even then, most of the shops that charge you about 2-3,000 don't even do a perfect job at that.

Take a look at this link

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/t...101/index.html

Auto Paint Work 101

http://www.carcraft.com/howto/ccrp_0...acr/index.html

Last edited by xknowonex; Nov 29, 2009 at 11:49 PM.
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