paint survey

[PhxExplorer]

Thanks for the info Jeff, That's exactly what I was looking for. I really want to have a really good custom job done for the same reason you mentioned "get it done right the first time". I've seen some of the paint jobs that places like Maaco have done and I think I could do better with spray paint than some of them!!
BTW, check it out my 100th post and 1 more explorer on my signature!! Whoo hooooooooo!!!!!!

 

[RFR2212]

I may just add that I was in a a high school course last year(my senior year) and it was linked with out community college and my teacher owns a nationally owned 47 Ford coupe that took him 7yr to build....What he said is that "a truely ****ty paint job will cost less that $1000" He also added that a low quality paint job should be about $1500....Now I know people may harp on me, but remember, my teacher was a perfectionest, thusly he looked for the best....But if i were to go out and get a paint job done,. I'd expect to pay 1500 for a good job...just my 2 cents! Pete

 

[Goober]

I agree, I do however, know the guy who owns the shop and have had two previous vehicles painted there along sending him some business from friends who had accidents. I don't know the actual cost of the repainting, but I know how much the paint and materials cost and the extent of the labor to sand the whole truck must have been a lot. All I know is, it ain't perfect( show quality ), but if it were I'd get mad at ever little chip/scratch on it. Perfection is one thing, daily driver is another. Some can do both, I cannot. I have other things to do. I took two guys 5 full days to get it done. I know it didn't cost the shop owner anything to do it, but I don't think they made a whole lot off it either. I got it done for $1200, and it isn't a poor quality job by any means. I'm satisfied and that's what really counts.

 

[MarkB]

The paint on my 91 is horrendous. It started on the roof, but now the hood and fenders have the oxidation/peeling problem, too. So does the flat black paint on the side rear view mirrors and the black on the back by the fifth door. The color is grey and I live in Arizona so I'm sure that has something to do with it. One time I saw an Explorer in San Diego and the entire roof was rusted. I'm not too worried about rust in the desert, but I'm definitely getting the entire thing painted ... soon. Anyone have opinions on Maaco/Earl Schlieb/ or independent shops?

PS: Goober - I love Jenny!!!!!

 

[Goober]

MarkB, ultimately the choice is yours. I have friends who did the Earl AND maaco thing. Bad paint job from Maaco, you could have done better in the back yard. Earl's job,..well,..washed off after a car wash. You get what you pay for. Those guys scuff the paint and splash color on. Not very good paint and it hasn't gotten much of a chance to bond well either. Like I said, the decision is yours, but unless you want to pay to get it redone a year or two down the road and pay again, save up and get a decent one to begin with. It will save you in the long run. Happy hunting.

 

[RFR2212]

I can tell ya that doing a DuPont job on an explorer cost me 560.00 bucks...this includes no labor...all paint ect...I had hardly any body work at the time...I got everything at body shop cost...not that 1200 is cheap, but to what I learned, tends to be....which goes back to the perfectionism....Pete

 

[JonB]

My paint is great. I will say that the quality of the paint to begin with is not too good though. it is very "drippy" looking, too much texture. The rocker panels are even worse. I wax and polish mine about every 3 mos. though.

 

[flyguy]

My 94 looks great.. real shiny.. except for the roof.. its all rough and kinda fading a little... prolly because Im too lazy to get up there and wax. Oh well. I want to paint it blue.

nick

 

[Tony91Sport]

May i suggest that no one goes to Maaco. Complete Crap. My parents had it repainted there. 800 bucks. Complete Crap. Red paint inside my tailgate on the step. Complete Crap. Red paint on my mirrors. Complete Crap. Did not paint the wiper arms or the black trim as instructed. Complete Crap. Even got red paint on the lock cylinder covers! COMPLETE CRAP. Screw Maaco.

 

[RFR2212]

Yeah, they do nearly no prep work that they should...Masking...They don't even know what that is...Preping the old paint...They think it consists of wiping the body down with a paper towl....I've heard of decient paint jobs from there on a rare occaion...That is if you do all the work right up to the second it gets painted....Which suckes seeing how with spending quite a few hundred dollars, you should get a bit better product/service.....Pete

 

[RU MAN]

I have a two toned explorer. Black on the bottom with gray on top. The hood looks like a dryed up dirt, but u can't tell it if your not close, ane at the top of all the doors the clear coat is gone. But hey is a beast supposed look good. Mine is far from being a beast, but it still looks good to me. It's like being married for 50 years, both u and wife or husband are fat, wrinkled up, but ya'll still love each other as much as when ya'll first met.

 

[Skugga]

The paint on my 91 doesn't look great but its not peeling off either. The roof channels faded and the hood is starting to fade. The bottoms of the doors and the rocker panels look bad with a lot of chips and the rocker panels started to rust so I fixed that with fiberglass last summer. I just used a can of touch up paint on it but without all the chips it looks better than the surrounding areas.

:redexp: Carl

 

[Robb]

Maaco is a franchise company. Where I live, there are about 3 Maacos within 20 minutes. They are all known for crap. But I know of another Maaco, about 45 minutes away, which is highly respected for their work. It really all depends on the owner's attitude towards quality. Good body/paint shops are easy to find, just do some asking. Check with the local "any kind of car" clubs.
As far as the quality of 91-94 paint jobs, I have had two 91s and a 94 with no paint trouble at all. On my 95, the paint on the hood was shot before I bought it in 97. I had the dealer repaint it before I bought it, and now (5 years later), I have some small spots coming through again.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

All of the big three had problems with paint around this time. My wife had a 93 Dodge Sadow that suffered this same problem. What happened was they had to reformulate the paint as to be more ozone frindly.

 

[Robb]

You can go beyond the big 3. I have a friend with a '93 Mazda MX6 that looks like someone had their way with a orbital sander for 45 minutes. While I'm comparing, I worked for a company once that had about a dozen GM trucks (owner hated FoMoCo), and about 8 of them had paint that looked like wind had caught it and simply peeled it off.
$.02
Robb

 

[BigOne]

My '94 is the Burgundy known as "Electric Cranberry" Somebody was sure on drugs when they came up with that name.

Paint is in good shape. No peeling to date. Hood has some very minor "spiderwebbing" in a couple of small areas no bigger than a dime. Clearcoat polish covered them up.

 

[flyguy]

My 94 is in great shape, cept for the roof. Its been negected I guess. If I go up there and wax it real good... it shines up... but thats alot of work. And it has to be clean first.

nick