The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop The Ambasador

The MAACO paint shop in the area will do a paint job -'the ambasador'- for around $229.00. What is the difference between this and the more expensive jobs? Will it last for any period of time? This is cheaper than buying a gun and paint. I will never use my truck for 'show' but only plan to use it for erands and a basic driver.

Well, they don't do any prep work, and they might mask off the windows, and they use the cheapest paint they can get. The good shops prep, mask, and use better paint.

I had a Maco job done on a 1959 the 229.00 was for tapeing off car primer and paint only (low cost paint). It came out ok but would have been a good job if I had spent a week or two sanding and doing bodywork or they would have done it for a fee $$$.

Instead of using a quality sealer they use an adhesion promoter and call it a sealer.

You get what you pay for, each and every time..

First of all, thanks for all the input.

So, what I understand is that if I do all my own sanding and body work the problem with a $229 paint job is they use cheap paint and adhesion promoter instead of sealer.

what is the difference between cheap paint and the good stuff?

and

What is the difference between adhesion promoter and sealer?

I am not trying to be a cheap skate. Just frugal with the little cash I have.

Thanks again.

( think about this ) will you ever do another project car or truck. in my case after the 59 I bought a spray gun and have done my last 3 my self and they are geting better each time and all are as good as the maco job also the better paint lays on better and looks better. as anything your lucky if you get what you pay for.
your choice this hobby is an addiction for me.

Good point. Scarey. The better half of my brain (my wife) says 'this is it.' I have rebuilt the english and italian cars, but this is it. I have what I wanted. I guess I could settle on MAACO. Except for the 37 chevy truck. Now I could look into getting a gun.

Is there a good gauge or rule to look for in a spray gun? And a range of price? What would the paint run? Is there a lot of mixing? I thought paint had to be baked on?

But then there is dust. Oklahoma is always blowing in. Nasty little red dust.

Hey! Maybe some of my 'brothers' (fellow stovebolters) in Dallas have a gun I could borrow! Maybe I could initiate my painting business (experience) on theirs.

Say, this something to think about!

Then get some nasty little red paint and call the resultant job, non-skid. :>}) Seriously folks, these body and paint how to ??? can be and will be answered at either of 2 web sites devoted to the craft with us DIYers being welcomed with open arms. www.autobodystore.com and www.paintucation.com have great message boards and input that is second to none. Pop in and ask away.
They both have videos for sale as well.

You might also try your local automotive paint jobber for info. Some are very helpful to the DIYers and some won't waste their time. You may get lucky. You might also check local pawn shops to see what they might have in used DA sanders and paint guns...
Just tossing out ideas...

After you get the $300 gun you will also need a $800 compressor, unless you will rent it. You need a clean place to do it, in the driveway will probably not be better than Maaco. Then there is the poisonous fumes. Then there is your inexperience and you are bound to end up with a pretty crappy job.

Find a local shop to just do the spraying maybe. Do all your own prep work.

Thanks again to all.

Tony M - I do have the compressor but not the gun or any experience. When I get the engine back in (hopefully before Christmas) I think the Ambasador and I will ride around in style.

Now I need to figure out how to do all the prep work.

luego.

Great links Bruce. We newbies need more stuff like this.

Old Blue. I bought my truck last Christmas and until recently was planning to do the Miracle paint job similar to the Ambasador. But, it does not include any prep work either so you still have to do all that work.

It starts with almost sanding the truck to bare metal and then many steps to get it just right. For us that don't have much experience we are talking many weekends of work. Then we get the paint job and it looks great...for a while. Then the paint start failing all over the place and after a year or two the truck looks worse than it did before.

Now to fix it right you have to sand all that crappy paint back off.

I found a small shop that will shoot my truck for $250 plus whatever paint I want to use. So, it should cost at least twice the Maaco job. But, it will be a decent job with quality materials that will last many years and can be repaired, buffed, resprayed whatever. JMO

Tony M, you could be the Eeyore of the paint and body shop! It all depends on your level of comprehension of what is required to do a good job. I can honestly say my first paint job turned out pretty darn good, and each one gets a little bit better. At this point, I plan on doing all repaints myself and will only take partials / panel repairs to someone else to figure out how to blend.

If you can get good advice and you have a good gun, good instructions and good paint and take the time to prep your truck right, there is nothing more satsifying than to have a nice paint job and be able to say you did it yourself. I know it isn't for everybody to tackle a job like this, but there are a significant number of folks that take to this stuff like a duck to water and do just fine.

[img]http://www.stovebolt.com/gallery/images/brown_ken_1949_01.jpg[/img]

Like the post above said, go to your local paint dealer and ask questions. They do this everyday. Ask about better shops you can go to and look around. You might want to price the good, better, and best paint while you are at the store. You also need primers, sealer, sand paper, mixing cups, filters, water traps, saftey mask and/or suit, lights, body filler, rust repair....
This is a big job, once you start you will know why great paint jobs cost $$$$$$ and cheap jobs cost $$$. I did my own painting and prep work. I still spent over $1000 in supplies.

I am not trying to scare you away from do it your self, just understand, its a lot of work, a lot of money, and a whole lot of time. It was a lot of fun for me, but took quite a while to finish. I had to have the right weather and wind direction to keep neigbors happy, plus control the dust and insects. Now the garage floor is green and black with a nice clear top coat. Joe

Oh . . . and the boat took a good scrubbing to get the purple overspray off - even with a decent visqueen paint booth!

I went to the auto paint store to get some local expert advice. I told them what I was looking at and asked my usual dumb questions. Like all, prep is the important thing. I was at O'Reillys and noticed there is a primer and a primer sealer. And my brother-in-law has a cheap gun he doesn't use. So.... I wanted to know what the sealer is? What about sand blasting and stripping? Priming and prime sealing? How long can it sit in this condition? Getting ready for paint? And finally, paint.

It sounds like the stripping is a good idea. The entire truck has 'fish eye.' Looks weird.
Priming - I will use the cheap gun and get the primer from either O'Reilly (duplicolor) or local paint store. It says to mix with Acetone (?).

Sealer? Sounds like a good idea. Painting may not happen for some years. I understand that a good scuffing will prepare it for another coat of primer or possibly paint.

Any good advice?

TIA

It sounds like you are on your way! When starting out as you are, keep very good records on what you use in the way of primer thinner and what not. If something goes wrong, you can go back and look to see what you used a few months or years back. Try and stick with one brand of paint products. Also, this months copy of Super Rod Magazine has a great story on paint prep and getting started. You may want to look that up. Joe

I go to that autobodystore.com link on a regular basis to read the posts. I have adjusted my plan on how to attack this job and will do most everything myself except for the final spraying. Unless I change my mind on that too. Just keep researching.

The first thing you want to do is sand/strip the old paint and prime it with an epoxy primer. This will give you a long window to get the rest done while protecting the metal. You can do this with a cheaper gun and even piece by piece if necessary. Watch out that epoxy primer is not healthy to breathe.

THANK YOU. It may not be as bad as I thought. Just take a loooonnnnnggggg time. Time I have - money --- not. And I knock on wood for the time.

Do I need to worry about the primer sealer? Or just make sure to use epoxy primer?

The epoxy primer can be used has a sealer.

I will:

1. Sand down to no rust and good paint or clean metal.

2. Knock out dents.

3. Prime with epoxy primer.

4. Over time do body repairs.

5. Spray with high fill and block/sand as necessary.

6. Spray with epoxy primer in the color I want my truck.

I will probably leave it like that a while depending on funds.

Most primers aren't waterproof, so don't leave a primered truck out in the weather. I painted my old '55 CJ-5 myself, turned out ok, and I learned alot. I am going to paint my truck, and this time it will turn out good. Prep work is the key, and if think what you have is "good enough", it isn't, you need to do it until it is too good and you can't find one little spot that you need to work on. Then you paint it, and find a few spots where it wasn't.

A few monthes later.....
Did you do the ambassador?
or do it yourself?
What was the result or at least what stage are you at now?

Ken when you say bang out the dents, epoxy and then later do the body work what do you mean?
Do you just roughout the body work then epoxy and save the finishing for later?

Thanks

Does anyone mind if a newbe throws a question into this conversation? I know it will be tough to answer, but maybe someone can give me the benefit of their own personal experiences. I have a 76 3/4 ton Chevy Fleetside, Arizona truck. I have no rust at all, 3 small dents, badly faded, oxidized paint. I have removed the trim and emblems down the sides and have spot welded all of the little rivit holes and primed the welds. I have removed all trim, side and rear windows, windshield is cracked and will be replaced. I have completely stripped the interior, including dash pad, gauge bezel and gages, radio heat controls and vents, seat. Floor pans are good and I have POR15'd them inside and underneath. I have removed the bed and por15 chassis painted the frame and underneath the bed and inside wheel wells. I have re-attached the bed temporarily. Now for the $64K question. What is a ball park price to have the average pro prep for paint inside and out, and give it back to me with 2 coats of poly urethane primer and ready to shoot the color. Told you it would be tough, and I'm really just looking for a few stories on pricing so I have some framework to determine if price quotes I get are outrageous or not. Any info will be much appreciated.......thanks.....trikepapa