Automotive paint sacrilege

[Sarastro]

There's one of these "one day" paint places in my neighborhood. They often have finished cars parked out front, and, frankly, they look pretty good, at least at a long glance as I walk by. Occasionally I even see classic cars parked in their "finished" lot.

I don't know what they charge but it's gotta be a lot less than the high-end painters--a few hundred $$? So, what do they do that keeps the cost so low yet results in a presentable job? Obviously, they must not remove trim and such, but I have never seen any indication of sloppy masking. Somehow they must also get a decent finish with minimal sanding and prep work. But how?

Anyone know specifically what is different about these places, and, more to the point, would you consider using one?

 

[Bruce Bowker]

Only guessing but I doubt they do much more prep work than a light sanding. May even skip a good primer. I am also sure they not fine sand the finished work and buff it out. They probably don't put many coats on either.

I think a lot of these places do business with people wanting to sell a car as soon as it is painted and don't care much how it will look in a few months.

 

[DrEntropy]

"There are NO shortcuts!"and "Caveat Emptor" are both applicable.

Or: "Whadda ya get if ya polish a turd?"

A: "A SHINY turd!"

 

[Sarastro]

My guess is that they're heavily automated, much like the manufacturers, and have a system where they can do a fast light sanding and cleaning, then spray on a single coat. I've noticed from bicycle painting, which I do a lot, that paints can be formulated to work well under varying conditions. For example, good ol' spray-can Rustoleum seems to be specifically designed for the Harry Homeowner type who does minimal to zero prep, sprays the stuff everywhere, and expects it to look good. So, it's designed to be drip resistant and tolerant of surface contamination. Heaven only knows what trade-offs they have to make to get that. But the result is, even with just basic, decent prep, you can get remarkably nice results, fairly easily. On the other hand, an acrylic enamel probably can give a better job, and a harder surface, but controlling drips is a nightmare.

I suspect that the one-day places have something similar. Just wondering if anyone knew, or if I was totally off.

 

[PAUL161]

How far back is your memory? Remember Earl Schibe in Philly ?(spelling)? He gave the cheapest paint job around. I could be wrong, but I think his first promo paint jobs were $29.95. They didn't do anything much more than pour on the paint. It was cheap paint to boot! If you didn't prep the car, tough, rust and all got painted.
I think his first ads were like:
"<span style="font-weight: bold">Man Alive, Get Your Car Painted By Earl Schibe, 29.95.</span>"

 

[GreenOne]

Hi I'm Earl Scheib and I will sand, mask and paint your car for just 29.95,

10 dollars worth of body work done free.

I remember those adds on the TV and Radio

They are still around.

https://www.earlscheib.com/index.php

 

[Sarastro]

Yes, I do remember those ads--I grew up in Philadelphia, but didn't realize that's where it all started. Earl went national sometime after that.

There are a bunch of these places--One-Day, Maaco, Scheib,...--and I just have to wonder what, exactly, they're doing.

 

[SteveTR]

Earl Scheib started painting cars in Los Angeles in the late 30's. He was a "Valley" guy who loved the ponies. I grew up in Long Beach and my dad was a friend introduced by "Bombastic" Bushkin, butt of Johnny Carson jokes in his monologues.

Scheib was a natural for franchising his inexpensive approach. He made millions and sold to "professional" gamblers. The word was that they made him an offer he could not refuse...

If a paint place doesn't remove lens covers or trim, you should run away.

 

[PAUL161]

Earl Scheib started painting cars in Los Angeles in the late 30's. .

I didn't know that Steve. I remember back in the 50s, he was our hero. Where could us kids get our hi class junk yard cars painted for under 30 bucks? Took me a couple of months to save up that much money working on the farm after school.

 

[JPSmit]

Earl Scheib started painting cars in Los Angeles in the late 30's. .

I didn't know that Steve. I remember back in the 50s, he was our hero. Where could us kids get our hi class junk yard cars painted for under 30 bucks? Took me a couple of months to save up that much money working on the farm after school.

which, to come back to the original question is really the point. Dollar stores have a place as do high end stores. Elsewhere on the boards there is discussion of the $50 paint job. Different jobs require different solutions.

I remember years ago reading that one way to keep a used car longer is, when you get tired of it 5 or 6 years out, get it repainted, then you'll like it again. Maaco is perfect for this. Even in a collector application, especially if you remove the trim, I can imagine Maaco could work, especially if you have either a budget restoration, or, a car that won't be worth much when restored. I'm thinking of something like the Austin America I saw for sale this weekend. Cute little car but unlikely to be worth more than $1000 - $1500 restored. I'm not sure I'd want a high end paint job even if I was keeping the car (I didn't buy it BTW)

 

[70herald]

If you are willing to do all the prep work yourself, these "cheapies" are actually a very good way to get a decent paint job. Most likely better than you could do at home. The key is in the prep job and of course who is doing the spraying.
Of course if you let them do the prep you most likely are not going to get a very good job.

 

[boeingpilot]

If you are willing to do all the prep work yourself, these "cheapies" are actually a very good way to get a decent paint job. Most likely better than you could do at home. The key is in the prep job and of course who is doing the spraying.
Of course if you let them do the prep you most likely are not going to get a very good job.

I agree completely. I've had a Spitfire and a GT6 sprayed by Maaco. On the Spit I removed the bumpers, lights etc. and handed it over them. They do a light sanding and then have at it. It turned out fine for a Spit 1500 daily driver. The key is in the prep. When they got my GT6 I had stripped everything including the glass and had prepped the car myself. It tuned out great and cost about a third of what "legit" paint shops had quoted me. It won people choice awards three years in a row before being totaled by some stupid college chick who was texting while driving. :frown:

 

[gblawson]

Oh for the old days....my first car, an Austin Healey Bug Eye was painted by a guy who did it in his well equipped garage...$30.00 including the paint...had it painted 'Nocturn Blue Metalic' (this was in '65 or so)...

 

[Britishautobody]

Finding a cheap paint job is much like asking for a nice home built cheaply.You can't have your cake and ea it too ;>) What steps do you want to short cut? Poor prep/nice paint, bad body work /beautiful paint. If you like the car and plan on keeping it, I suggest saving your money do things the right way and do it in steps if you can't afford to do all of the job at one time. In the end you will end up with a investment that will appreciate instead of a crappy job that falls apart before your eyes and it will take that much more work later to remove the previous jobs. British cars are on the rise so invest in your baby and maybe inspire someone else.


Vern

 

[tony barnhill]

ya gets what ya pays for! Unless you know the owner real well.

 

[JPSmit]

There are a bunch of these places--One-Day, Maaco, Scheib,...--and I just have to wonder what, exactly, they're doing.

resurrecting this briefly. Heard a Maaco ad today for a special on redoing bumpers, which y wife's car needs, but, one their website saw this - partial explanation for "cheaper." Different grades/ types of paints.

https://www.maaco.ca/Paint.htm

 

[vagt6]

One popular way some shops do it "cheaper" is to ignore critically important safety and environmental regulations.

Such a shop can save many thousands of dollars by skirting safety regulations. And in the process, they endanger themselves, their employees and anyone who happens to living or working anywhere near their spraying operation. Kids, dogs, cats, birds: <span style="text-decoration: underline">everyone</span> near it may be exposed to toxic chemicals.

I've seen plenty of these kind of shoddy operators, it's not that hard to find them. Most fly under the radar and don't advertise. It's profoundly irresponsible, dangerous.

Don't do business with them: if we do, we become part of the problem!

 

[JPSmit]

agreed, though I'm not sure Maaco would fell in that category