Mustang Club of Maryland

It's hard to believe but I'm finally getting my 2002 Mustang closer to my goal of a complete makeover!

When I first purchased the car in 2008 I knew it was a long way from where I wanted it to be. The car had 75,000 miles on it and it had been sideswiped.

The body damage had been repaired but poorly done and the car also had other minor body work issues that reflected the mileage and less than TLC from it's previous owners.

Over the past two years I have had a lot of preventive maintenance done to the car, added new headlights, new five spoke Cobra R wheels, a Dyna Max Cat Back exhaust system and a Cold Air Intake system.

Now I'm finally addressing the body work and paint issues. My car is now at Maaco in Catonsville, MD where it getting all of the body work taken care of and a high quality OEM paint job.

I've enjoyed taking the car to car shows the last two years but always felt a little uneasy due to it's less than perfect condition. The car looked great from 20' but the imperfections were quite noticeable when viewed close up.

I still got a lot of accolades for the cars appearance and the outstanding shine due to hours of detailing but I wanted it to be like new.

Hopefully, Maaco will not disappoint me with the work they are doing on my car as I am looking forward to a lot of car shows this year.




Midnight Blue

I can't wait to see results. When do you think the car will be out of Maaco?

The Manager told me the car would be ready by this Thursday, May 6th.

I prefer that they do not rush the job anyway as there is only minor body work to be done before painting the car.

They will be taking off my side stripes so I'll be replacing them myself. I ordered silver stripes from American Muscle so I'll be changing the look of the car anyway.

I plan to do a write up for the club on my experience at Maaco. If they do a good job I'll be happy to refer business to them.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

I was hoping to have my car back from Maaco on Thursday PM or Friday at the latest but it looks like were talking about Monday Morning.

I saw the car today and I was blown away! It looks brand new!

The owner and the manager both asked me to allow them a little more time on Monday morning to buff out a few tiny spots where dust had gotten in the paint. They had to show me where the spots were they were so small.

They really wanted to finish the car today but the paint was not ready yet for wet sanding and buffing so I'll get it on Monday.

I'd rather it be done right anyway. The color is so dark blue now that I was questioning if they painted it the right color. They assured me that they pulled the code off of my Vin # and the difference is that the paint had faded over the years. The car is a 2002 Mustang.

Now I have to install the new stripes and I'll be ready for the upcoming car show season.

They did an absolute fantastic job of repairing the deep scratches and the shoddy body work that was done by a previous owner. I can't wait till the Ford Nationals!

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

I am glad you are happy. I bet you are still smiling after seeing how it looks. I can't wait to see the finished product.

I'll tell you Dave I am smiling right now.

The first thing my brother Alan said when he saw it outside of the paint shop was "Your car looks brand new!"

It still has the metal flake in the paint but you need the bright sun to see it.

I was concerned that they would cut corners or not be too critical of the quality of the repair and paint work but I am more than satisfied.

My brother also commented that he just paid close to $5,000 for a custom paint job on his 97" Mitsubishi Eclipse and he thought my car looked as good as his.

He also got an estimate to repaint his 93' Plymouth Voyager. He will not get the same quality paint job I got but they will do his for $1,200. All he wants is to cleanup the fading and worn out paint, just give the van a freshening up.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

I picked up the car today and Maaco did a terrific job of taking care of all of the body work issues and repainting my Mustang to like new appearance.

They accidentally put two small scratches in the hood, which the manager pointed out to me, and I'll need to bring it back for a day for them to repaint and clear coat the hood again.

I'm delighted with the outcome of this project as the car has no runs and no orange peel showing. The color is a very deep Midnight Blue or True Blue as Ford calls it.

I'll need to replace my side stripes which will now be silver and the MUSTANG lettering on the back bumper.

Dan, the manager gave me a couple of $50 discount coupons for MCOM members who are looking to repaint their cars.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

I was hoping to post some pictures of the car today but I can't seem to get my camera and the computer to talk to each other.

I'm not making a connection to the computer. I have played with the USB Cable but somewhere there is a breakdown. The camera usually makes a chime type sound when it connects with the computer but when I turn it on now it says "Connecting to PC" but no chime and no connection.

I'll keep trying as I was able to get some good shots of the car that captures the deep blue paint.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

Some photos of my new paint job from Maaco!

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

Some more photos.

Midnight Blue

Your car looks beautiful!! I have been wanting to have my car painted for a while now, but scared of it not turning out as good as yours has (my car is a 96) I've also considered changing the color from white to red but have been hesitant because I'm afraid it won't turn out the way I picture it. Well once again, your car looks amazing! Have a great day!

Jenn

Gorgeous!!! I'm so pumped about getting my tired '97s paint job done now. Starting a new savings account for the paint work!

_________________
2005 Mustang GT: Stock shortblock and heads, comp cams, intake/exhaust, 11.89 at 115mph

Now that I've added the Silver Stripes and the Mustang Letters to my back bumper I'm ready for Carlisle!

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian