I Need New Paint Job On The Topkick

[masterarbor]

i just bought A 1992 topkick in good condition, but it still has asplundh orange.
i got a quote from maaco to paint it for $1,550.00. i want whaite so they suggested fleet white. does anyone have experience with maaco? is this price fair? how good do they prep? you guys have been a lifesaver, so thanks in advance!

 

[treemandan]

i just bought A 1992 topkick in good condition, but it still has asplundh orange.
i got a quote from maaco to paint it for $1,550.00. i want whaite so they suggested fleet white. does anyone have experience with maaco? is this price fair? how good do they prep? you guys have been a lifesaver, so thanks in advance!

Sounds cheap and most likely the job will not be the best either. The saying is" if it ain't right paint it white" meaning it will hide defects. I don't think its true. I have seen maaco screw up some stuff but in the end your truck will be white. I would do the prep myself. Scrape off old lettering and wipe the thing down with prep-sol. When you get it back you can scrape the paint off the windsheild.
I also guess that the price includes the low end single stage paint, no clear coat. Go for it, what the hell. It not like you are going to get a better price as Earl Sheib is dead. It will look good for a tree truck. Do you know about the orange peel effect?

 

[masterarbor]

no,i haven't heard of the orange peel effect. i've heard about some possible flaking. i just got the truck and i want to keep all the truck associated expenses under $10,000.00, 'cause i don't want to put way more into it than i can get out down the road. the motor has 95k on it so it's no spring chicken. if it looks good for a couple of years and then requires some touch up here and there i guess that's good.

 

[masterarbor]

oh yeah, it single step paint- does that mean that they don't primer?

 

[lxt]

$1550.00 is cheap!! but hey im sure your not having them fix blems, pull dents, etc..

find out if they are painting over the existing color? I would have the truck blasted & primed beforehand it will last alot longer!!

Good luck

LXT...........

 

[lxt]

oh yeah, it single step paint- does that mean that they don't primer?

I think it means non-clearcoat!

LXT........

 

[mckeetree]

A really good paint job with no body work will run you at least $2,500. I have had several trucks painted in the last few years. I would not spend that on an old 1992 truck though.

 

[masterarbor]

it comes with their value prep w/ supreme paint which is a single stage polyurathane with a sealer.

 

[TDunk]

Maaco deffinetly isn't the best Co. out there, but for a commercial truck they'd prolly be OK. White does hide alot more defects than say black, blue etc. If they don't primer it, it'll last a couple years then start peeling off in sheets. Plus the first time a branch hits it the paint will peel. Base coat/clearcoat looks better, holds up better etc. but the price is WAY more too. Single stage is good for commercial apps. for people who want it to look good but not great. $1500 bucks is cheap but you get what you pay for. If they were usng accual commercial single stage paint, then you probably wound't have to primer it (with accual commercial paint you can paint over grease, oil....just about anything) but normal single stage you'll want to make sure that they prime it first. And not just the door jams and high wear areas but the whole truck.

 

[mckeetree]

But look at it this way, if you bought a 2002 Asplundh chipper truck that had been repainted white by a dealer it would have a worse paint job than the Maaco $1,550 paint job. Most all tree equip. dealers that buy and resell Asplundh, Trees Inc.,misc. elec. co. trucks etc. don't sand don't prime don't anything they just shoot the white paint to it.

 

[treemandan]

no,i haven't heard of the orange peel effect. i've heard about some possible flaking. i just got the truck and i want to keep all the truck associated expenses under $10,000.00, 'cause i don't want to put way more into it than i can get out down the road. the motor has 95k on it so it's no spring chicken. if it looks good for a couple of years and then requires some touch up here and there i guess that's good.

orange peel is when the texture of the paint resembles the texture of an orange. For 1500.00 you will get orange peel.

I agree that a half decent looking truck is good to have.A 100% running truck is better. If you really want a nice job of course it is more expensive. Maaco is a crap shoot and I would not put my money down to play that game. It might turn out a disaster.

What have some of you other guys paid to have a truck or chipper painted real nice?

 

[treemandan]

Maaco deffinetly isn't the best Co. out there, but for a commercial truck they'd prolly be OK. White does hide alot more defects than say black, blue etc. If they don't primer it, it'll last a couple years then start peeling off in sheets. Plus the first time a branch hits it the paint will peel. Base coat/clearcoat looks better, holds up better etc. but the price is WAY more too. Single stage is good for commercial apps. for people who want it to look good but not great. $1500 bucks is cheap but you get what you pay for. If they were usng accual commercial single stage paint, then you probably wound't have to primer it (with accual commercial paint you can paint over grease, oil....just about anything) but normal single stage you'll want to make sure that they prime it first. And not just the door jams and high wear areas but the whole truck.

Yes, a buddy of mine painted a red boat white and used marine grade epoxy paint. Do the prep yourself and have the painter use really good paint unless you want to spend the money.

Most likely for 1500.00 the door jambs stay orange.
I know a guy who has a bunch of old chipper trucks he keeps on the road. He keeps the painted and lettered, they are white, he uses Maaco, he is a "business man" and he is the kind of guy you hesitate to give bad news to.

It is also important not to drive around in an old orange Aspy truck as some people might get the wrong idea but it is not as bad as not having other things right.
I was using an Aspy colored bucket to remove a dead oak by the street and wires when some neighbors came by and vehemetly told me that I had screwed up enough trees around there. They just see the orange truck and assume.

 

[treemandan]

oh yeah, it single step paint- does that mean that they don't primer?

PRIMER!? Who said anything about primer? I doubt you get primer.

 

[masterarbor]

i called the guy at maaco and asked about the accual/normal paint thing and he said a standard paint with a polyurethane will stick just fine over existing paint. he reminded me that the "supreme" paint carries a 4 year warranty, excluding scrapes and scratches done by me. i said, "so if my hood starts for peel from sunlight and ran etc., you'll fix it." and he said "absolutely." also he's charging me $100.00 to fix three cracks in the fiberglass hood. should i go for it or just do it myself? i've never done it before, but i did 10 things i've never done before today already!

the bottom line is i don't want to put more than $1500.00 for paint anyway, so i've pretty much answered my own question. is there anyone in columbus who wants to do it for $800.00? the job is yours!:hmm3grin2orange:

thanks, kevin

BTW: what does lettering run? name, phone, website and logo? any ideas?

 

[sawinredneck]

The more prep work you do yourself the better job you will get.
Go in, talk to the painter, tell them you are willing to wet-sand down the whole truck, and you will pull as much moulding etc. off as you can if they will take a little more time with the painting.
I helped a neighbor do this once with his Suburban, it came out looking pretty slick I must say!!
Maco is notorious for using Aluminum foil under bondo on rust spots and things like that!

 

[treemandan]

i called the guy at maaco and asked about the accual/normal paint thing and he said a standard paint with a polyurethane will stick just fine over existing paint. he reminded me that the "supreme" paint carries a 4 year warranty, excluding scrapes and scratches done by me. i said, "so if my hood starts for peel from sunlight and ran etc., you'll fix it." and he said "absolutely." also he's charging me $100.00 to fix three cracks in the fiberglass hood. should i go for it or just do it myself? i've never done it before, but i did 10 things i've never done before today already!

the bottom line is i don't want to put more than $1500.00 for paint anyway, so i've pretty much answered my own question. is there anyone in columbus who wants to do it for $800.00? the job is yours!:hmm3grin2orange:

thanks, kevin

BTW: what does lettering run? name, phone, website and logo? any ideas?

You can expect to see slight trailing beneath the lettering after time, especially over white, but nothing that won't wash off which you are going to have to do because white does show dirt and whatever else grows on it.
The thing about a warranty is if the company won't go under or change hands. Nothing worse than a shady franchise but if you can see what goes on in the shop and they seem rooted go for it. I would let him fix the cracks and worry about something else same with the prep if its for 15.

 

[TDunk]

If you feel like driving 5 hrs. i'd be more than willing to do it for ya. Fiberglass is kind of tricky to work with. You have to put a patch of "glass-n-resin" on the under side of the crack (for strength) then dig out the crack,D.A. it with some 40 or 80 grit, use "glass-n-resin" over where the crack is then smooth it all over with micro-lite body filler, then finnally glazing pudddy. The less puddy you use the better. If you have a long deep crack, use fiber hair puddy to fill in the deep parts then smooth over with light weight puddy. I'm no paint expert, but i've done my fair share of painting and have had some awesome looking paint jobs. The more time you put into prep work, the better the paint job will turn out. As for lettering goes, you can usually pick up some magnetic door signs (12" high by 24" long) for about $40-50 for a pair. As for vinal lettering it depends on how big you want, anywhere from $30 to $80 each.

 

[masterarbor]

30-80 each what/ per letter?

I want huge lettering across mall of the 11 ft. box.

 

[TDunk]

30-80 each what/ per letter?

I want huge lettering across mall of the 11 ft. box.

I have Dunkle's Tree Service on each side on my boom. 8" high and about 62" long (roughly) and they cost me i think $50 a side but don't hold me to that. If your talking like 2ft letters, then i'm gonna take a stab and say $150-$200 a side. But that all depends on color, how many letters, if you want them outlined etc.

 

[BC WetCoast]

A couple of suggestions:

-prep and paint it yourself. It's a '92 with associated dents and dings. It's not going to a car show, so a car show quality paint job isn't really needed. Nobody is going to notice if it has some orange peel or the odd run. But I would suggest you go to an automotive paint supplier and discuss the various grades of paint available and prep requirements.

- find a small independent guy who can do the paint for you. I ran into one guy like this and he got all his business through the low end used car lots. Go and talk to them and see who does their painting.

As far as your sign. What I've seen done and works well is to have a sign painted on a sheet of prepainted (white in your case) plywood. Because the sign can now be painted in a shop, it will be cheaper and if you sell the truck, you can take the sign with you. In the case where I saw it, the plywood was bolted to the side of the chip box. It was a 4x8 sheet, painting was professionally done and it looked great.