I'll be getting a paint job in the near future (deciding between a black or an electric blue type colour...as some of you know, it's currently black/gold) and i'm wondering how it all works...

I was gonna order an evo 8/9 bumper and get the paint done at a local maaco...not the cheapest job they have, but nothing too excessive. I have a number of questions like...

Do i get the bumper shipped to maaco? I hear it's much more expensive to get a bumper shipped to a residential address than a business....but i could prob put it on myself instead of having the shop do it. would they put it on then paint? what can i do to get anything ready myself?

 

I would go with the blue for the fact that black is hard to maintain. But its your choice what you like. As for the shipping I wouldn't know if its more expensive.

 

black shows everything!! and it's hard to spray as well...most painters i know hate black...

 

yeah i have a black hood and it shows marks so much more, but i'm still undecided. I was looking at RRM's evo 9 front bumper....i'm not sure what other reputable companies people buy from.

my main thing is that i was hoping to put the bumper on myself, then go take it for paint, but i'm wondering about the shipping and how easy it would be to put on myself. I'm expecting to pay 1000-1500 for the paint, but i haven't got a quote from them yet.

 

black is a terrible color for a car haha. it fades easier, scratches easier, it is the most unforgiveable paint color. The only time it really looks good is if the paint is like first week fresh or buffed frequently throughout the year and one can only do that so many times before the clearcoat is through.

If you know someone who works at a dealership get them to order it there, most dealerships will pay for shipping on parts. My friend built his 180 doing that, even I got some stuff ordered in there and only paid for the goods themselves (mind you I'm an employee).

Where ever you choose to take it, a good paint/bodyshop will remove the bumper to paint it. So I wouldn't worry about putting it on right when you get it. I'd leave the prep work for them to do just because a new plastic bumper cover needs an antistatic liquid wiped across it a few times, there's a rough grit paste and scotch guarding used to rough it up, it's just better to do all in the same place in one spot, right from prep to paint booth. It wouldn't be much for them to do unless you are getting a used one that's already painted and then they'd have to strip it. If you bring maaco just a bumper to do why pay them to put it on after it's painted if you can do it yourself

edit: whoops, you're getting the whole car done, I would leave the new bumper with the shop and let them put it on then ha.

 

well, since i'd be getting the bumper and the whole car done, I figured i'd get them to do it all at the same time

there's a private shop up the road from me that has a good reputation that paints, but i figured maaco will prob be cheaper. I'll have to call them up though and see.

nerdbot....you know any good places in canada to order from? shipping from the states is generally a killer

 

There's not a whole lot for finding evo style bumpers in Canada when I tried looking, I got lucky finding an evo style bumper in a neighbouring city, that or ebay canada.. I would try looking through aerotrends.com they seem to have decent pricing. Ordering right from accolade or someplace may end up being your only option

 

Get two tone paint. Guy at work has a 2 tone charcoal and silver divided with a red pinstripe on a impreza, looks badass, that was even before he had the charcoal section done with blue ghost flaming skulls. Sounds terrible but trust me, it was badass. wish i had a pic to post for you.

 

I ordered the EVO 9 bumper from RRM. didnt get my whole car repainted but i had it shipped to my house and it was like $140 or something rediculous for shipping. the thing is weightless but its so big. if youre planning on getting that have the shop put it on for you, it needs to be drilled for fitment and everything.

 

Yeah I had an 18 wheeler outside, the box was big enough for a love seat to fit into, my son loved it, lol.

 

Go blue and never look back.

 

I understand you want to save a few bucks. And thats all good, i'm all for it. But a paint job is NOT where you want to skimp out on. I'd never take my car to maaco. As a matter of fact, I'm getting my car done as well. motor bay is already sprayed, and doing the rest after income tax. Before i got my motor bay painted, I researched. Went to 5 shops, and called 10. The one i picked had a custom chopper, a ZR1 and a nissan GT-R in their 3 booths.. Gotta go where the quality is.

 

^ Completely agree with ROL

I would never, ever take my car to Maaco, I rather drive a car that is covered in rust than take it to Maaco. They are cheap for a specific reason, and that reason is that their jobs are good for your beater car and not for a car you want to show off.

 

Yeah don't go dark but then again if you keep it clean then go for it. Yes Maaco has reputations like that but hey sometimes it comes out good.

 

I'm still thinking of black...I've been looking at more and more cars and decided to go black or red...not blue. I've found about 7 places that i'm going to go to for quotes before deciding where i go. The only thing is that i woke up and it's -7 C this morning. Is there a curing time for the paint and is it ok to get it done when it's this cold out? I park on the street so it's not in a heated garage or anything...