viperdan

Before the flaming starts, I did search around and only found a couple threads here specifically talking about this company. Also google didn't really seem to provide many reviews or experiences...

I'm gonna get my 89 pickup painted and I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with Earl Scheib. I've read many times "you get what you pay for" so spare your fingers in typing that. I really don't see a point in dropping over 1G into a vehical that
a. has over 150K on it
b. will see alot of offroading
c. the bluebook isn't much more than a pro paint job
d. I'm a poor bastard

So here's what I want and what I've found:
I've got the crappy pinstripe graphics on the side of my truck, the paint it fading and the clearcoat is peeling like crazy. I will keep the original color so mistakes don't show up as easily and I'd like to have a seperate base and clear coat for protection. Earl Scheib offers a "pearl package" with this option . I know the lower packages like the "pro 3" have an integrated clearcoat, which apparently doesn't show as much gloss, and also doesn't provide as much scratch protection. I think the "pro 3" is synthetic paint which i hear isn't very good. Why? Also, I'm not sure if the pearl (which they say uses Euro paint) is eurothane or not. The dude at scheib said he paint my truck and camper with the pearl package that includes the UV protectant and the clear coat for around 6 bills. Also they are having a deal on the Pro 3 right now, $299 ($100 off) and it would be an extra $100 for the separate clear coat + UV. Which is a better deal? The site says they use an infrared drying system. Is this what people call "baking" the paint?

As for Maaco as an alternative, I've heard some pretty horrific things about maaco such as the preppers time is limited to about 1 hour, etc, and I've heard Scheib is slightly better. I've also read to check out the shop and some of the jobs they've done which I will. I will try and do as much prep work as I can. Taking off grill guard, trim, etc. I might wet sand it, i've never done that before though.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

mattyfatty1822

Prep it yourself. They don't want to sand your truck down all day, so they don't do a very good job. If you do a decent job prepping, I've seen their work come out pretty nice.

NorCalVP

I had my 89 Tercel painted at Earl Scheib. I was in a similar situation, except my car was 6 different colors including the Bondo. Had almost 200K on the clock, and I just wanted it to be one color. I considered spray painting it, but figured it'd cost me about 100 or so to do that.

So I took a weekend, removed all the lights, bumpers, door handles, and anything else i could get off, sanded it down and drove it down to their shop. Now keep in mind that you will need to do this also. Most of the time their prep sanding is just scuffing the surface, and will not take care of your peeling clearcoat. It'll show through the new paint.

Also keep in mind that i got the cheapest paint job (their 299 paint job @100 off) and only paid ~200. They did a pretty good job with spraying it, but the paint itself was pretty crappy. (it was worth what i paid though) I was filling the car up with gas a few weeks later and some spilled on the side of the car and the paint melted off. Only a little ended up doing that, but i was still annoyed.

Overall i was just happy that the car was one color, and i thought that it was worth the price i paid.

Steve

viperdan

Good advice, thanks. How has the paint held up so far? Any tips on the prepping?

NorCalVP

I got it painted almost 2 years ago, and sold it to my brother in law last fall. He blew up the engine shortly there after (thought that a tercel with almost 200K on the clock was a race car). They ended up selling it to a salvage yard.

The paint wasn't as shiny as most other cars, but held up OK...

4mydogs

When I was in college I "restored" my '68 MGB one summer. Did virtually all the prep work, filling and sanding, removed grill, bumpers and all trim, and even masked the window rubber myself just before I drove it to Earl's. I got what they then called a "premium" paint job, and it turned out very nice for the $. It still looked good when I sold it 3 years later.

Beartracker

A few years back I had a dodge power wagon that I really liked and did some minor body work myself then I went to a body shop supply place and talked to one of the guys there and he talked me into painting it myself and told just how to do it and gave me the paint and thinner. He gave me some primer and Acrylic enamel and told me to thinn it with 1/3 thinner and adjust my spray gun by shooting a piece of sheet metal first. I gave it two coats of primer and wet sanded it gently.
After I had that down real well and no orange peel showing I started on the truck. I gave it two coats and let it sit for a week. I never had to rub out anything and it came out so well guy's were asking me how much it cost to such a great paint job.
It held up great for years and the scratches were easy to rub out. A coat or two of a good clear coat would have really helped but I was young and far from rich and maybe just a little scared that I would mess up a great paint job, Lol.

Flamedx4

I've had Scheib and Maaco paint jobs. Do the prep work yourself - 95% of the quality of a paint job is prep - paint does not hide anything! For an offroader that's gonna get beat and scratched - go with the cheapest. But, if you spend a bit more and get their premium job - you get a sealer coat and better paint. It's worth it, it will look better right up front and it will last longer.