• From: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Registered: 2014-07-24
  • Posts: 28

Topic: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

I have an NA miata that is my daily driver / autox toy. This summer, it blew a brake line and I kissed a suburban. A few hundred dollars later, and I had it back on the road, thanks to Tsoggy's spare car stash, and my neighbor's well-hydrated painting abilities. Now the new paint is all chipping due to lack of prep and cheap paint. It's nasty. At least its covered in road salt, right? Uh . . .  It needs a little bit of rust repair on the rockers, and one quarter panel. I got a quote from a highly respected local body shop for $3800-4000 for rust repair and paint. That's not happening. I'd rather buy a less cosmetically challenged car for that price.

I was thinking of patching the rockers and quarter myself, taking it down to primer, and then taking it to Maaco. Does anybody have good or bad experiences with them in the modern era of ,"Yes we do use tape now!"? I'm pretty confident that I can do a half-decent job prepping the car. I've done a rolled-on rustoleum job on a truck that was 40% rust, 30% body filler, 30% steel and 100% hooptie before, and it turned out disturbingly ok until the body started falling apart underneath again.

It seems like most of the complaints regarding Maaco come from people who weren't willing to pay for prep work, or wanted a full repaint in a day, or whose cars were having significant body work done. If I do the bulk of the body work myself, and just leave it for them to wipe down, tape, and paint, what are the chances it will be a terrible waste of $4-700 compared to the chances of it being decent? Also, does anybody know what I can expect to pay for their single stage urethane? The car is black, so I'm not totally set on having clear coat. I do want to do this cheaply, but I want to make sure its not going to a waste vs just doing a crusty rusty rolly job, and I like that they offer a warranty. You get what you pay for, but my only labor only costs me my time. I don't mind spending some money, but I don't want to spend 1.5x the value of the car.

  • From: Life's great in 21158
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 3,361

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

I've rolled a car with rustoleum, and towards the end I got bored with the process and started simply spraying the R-oleum, thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits, and sanding after each coat. The results were very OK for a single stage job, and I'd do it again no reservations. Like you said, its all in the prep work- and I sanded and primered for weeks on the car beforehand.

Nice thing about R-oleum and single stage, if you get a few bugs or dirt in it while painting, just sand it out and spray some more. And if you need to, you can buy rattle cans for touch up.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

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3 Reply by Drdanteiii (edited by Drdanteiii 2015-01-13 05:48 AM)

  • From: Milford, NJ
  • Registered: 2012-07-03
  • Posts: 699

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

mechimike wrote:

I've rolled a car with rustoleum, and towards the end I got bored with the process and started simply spraying the R-oleum, thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits, and sanding after each coat. The results were very OK for a single stage job, and I'd do it again no reservations. Like you said, its all in the prep work- and I sanded and primered for weeks on the car beforehand.

Nice thing about R-oleum and single stage, if you get a few bugs or dirt in it while painting, just sand it out and spray some more. And if you need to, you can buy rattle cans for touch up.


This is exactly the paint i used for the Lemons merkur....
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/297247_10151175084664865_923686003_n.jpg?oh=73fc3d35bedb9c0b7d1aaafbd037094c&oe=553AE8D7&__gda__=1429327697_e91118224e5cfeb4cbd3c9f448dc17f5
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/68467_10151175086174865_2082352964_n.jpg?oh=60f6bc864e0ed59025867370417b05f9&oe=556F6135&__gda__=1432745500_9b1227aaa0104987600f8e71eb3575db


I spent less than an hour including prep and sprayed with a harbor freight HPLV gun.   It came out nice, except I should have thinned more (i was probably closer to 70/30) and I should have done 2 light coats rather than 1 thick one.  It was a great 10ft paint job for under $50.

The Roto-Racer '89 Merkur:  If it ain't rusting, It ain't racing.

'14 Real Hoopties of NJ: Judges Choice
  • From: Houston,TX
  • Registered: 2013-02-12
  • Posts: 159

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

Rustoleum and a paint brush does wonders!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/WolfgangZ/E303_zpsd7f36c6f.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/WolfgangZ/E309_zps44f4436e.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/WolfgangZ/E308_zps03861dca.jpg

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  • From: South of Chicago
  • Registered: 2011-11-26
  • Posts: 750

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

If you want something different try spraying Rustoleum Hammer finish paint. That stuff is great! You only get the hammer finish if you put on the paint heavy with a brush. When spraying you can't do that without runs but the paint dries fast, hard, and shiny with a metallic finish.

  • Baron
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  • Registered: 2009-05-01
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Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

I sprayed rustolium. Came out really nice, and it was cheap.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r119/Baron733/STP81151.jpg

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  • From: Life's great in 21158
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 3,361

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

Tractor Supply also sells an implement paint that's pretty tough.  And available in black.  I once painted a truck with (don't laugh) an electric Wagner power painter and that black paint.  Painted right over rust, etc.  Came out great, and the rust never came through.

Baron:  I think I used that exact same color to paint my car (Volvo 122).  I wet-sanded down to about 1200 grit or so and used rubbing compound after that.  Water beads on it.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

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  • From: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Registered: 2014-07-24
  • Posts: 28

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

I guess nobody has went the Maaco route? Another thing to consider is that I'd probably like to sell the car within a year or two. I know rustoleum can have good results. I've done it before too. But being able to hand the new buyer the remaining few years on a paint warranty might be better than handing them a spare can of gloss black. I guess what I'm just dying to know is that if I prep it, is Maaco better?

This was my rustoleum paint job after a year of wear https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/395579_4796284027234_1502194315_n.jpg?oh=ace8fcdaf06202492743983151100eb1&oe=552BC3E1

  • From: Far west Burbs of Chi-Town
  • Registered: 2009-10-05
  • Posts: 196

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

jpenta13 wrote:

This was my rustoleum paint job after a year of wear https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/395579_4796284027234_1502194315_n.jpg?oh=ace8fcdaf06202492743983151100eb1&oe=552BC3E1

Just out of curiosity, is this the "Royal Blue" that Rustoleum sells?  We're getting far enough along in our new Lemons build that we need to start to think about paint color..... something medium blue with a flavor of 60's Renault and Gordini mixed in.  The color of your truck might be what we're looking for. 

We really wanted metallic but way too much of a PITA to spray-paint without metal slides and zebra stripes.... and painting by a pro was not in the budget! Rustoleum I can do...  FYI - use acetone to thin (2 parts paint to 1 part acetone), it sprays on beautifully and hardens in days (instead of weeks) and gives a killer shine.

Darren

Bad Mojo Racing
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  • Baron
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  • Registered: 2009-05-01
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Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

Alferrari Fistillini wrote:
jpenta13 wrote:

This was my rustoleum paint job after a year of wear https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/395579_4796284027234_1502194315_n.jpg?oh=ace8fcdaf06202492743983151100eb1&oe=552BC3E1

Just out of curiosity, is this the "Royal Blue" that Rustoleum sells?  We're getting far enough along in our new Lemons build that we need to start to think about paint color..... something medium blue with a flavor of 60's Renault and Gordini mixed in.  The color of your truck might be what we're looking for. 

We really wanted metallic but way too much of a PITA to spray-paint without metal slides and zebra stripes.... and painting by a pro was not in the budget! Rustoleum I can do...  FYI - use acetone to thin (2 parts paint to 1 part acetone), it sprays on beautifully and hardens in days (instead of weeks) and gives a killer shine.

Darren

Substitute acetone with Japan dry. wink

Team Lost in the Dark
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  • From: Buxton NC or Truckee CA
  • Registered: 2013-03-25
  • Posts: 836

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

A friend of mine got a Maaco paint job earlier this year when a Suburban kissed his Cavalier. For 600$ it looks damn good. I honestly can't tell it's been repainted other than the fact that the factory paint looked so bad.

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  • Registered: 2011-10-14
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Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

I have seen a lot of mid-90's Domestics done at Maaco when I lived in OK.  These where the "paint-peeling-off-in-sheets" years when the big three switched to the water-based products.  Other than door, radiator, windshield, etc overspray, the only way you could tell is that the paint is layed on thick which can be noticed at panel gaps. 

Since almost none of the cars in question would have had rust repair due tot he location and relative youth of the cars, there is no way to know how well it hides those transitions from body filler to metal.  I do know it stuck quite well to Pontiac Bonneville plastic cladding.

  • From: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Registered: 2014-07-24
  • Posts: 28

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

Alferarri, the color is gloss sail blue. It was a pleasant, moderately light shade.

  • RichVS
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Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

Rustoleum Royal Blue, applied with a mop:
https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10462689_701002306603865_8096885566771307438_n.jpg?oh=61b6d08202d01c23171e62b481836ceb&oe=55341A2A

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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15 Reply by chdonley2 (edited by chdonley2 2015-01-14 06:20 PM)

  • From: Auburn, NorCal
  • Registered: 2013-04-13
  • Posts: 246

Re: Maaco vs. Earl Scheib vs. Drunk Neighbor vs. Rustoleum

http://i62.tinypic.com/jgpe6w.jpg 
Maaco painted my summer fun car 2 years ago. I got dinged at an intersection. I did a little body work and stripped off all the trim I didn't want them to mask. Not a bad job, after I complained about all the goobers they painted over. They color sanded the 20 or so spots I I.D. w/blue painters tape. If I ever have one done there again I will go over and under the car w/ air gun to blow all the loose stuff away before they spray the color coat.

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