Paintjob went wrong - Need advice - Pic Heavy

"I took it to a body shop..." is like "Once upon a time..." in this buisness. Those 7 words begin spooky tales from one end of this industry to the other. I don't why it's so hard to grasp the personal aspect of these things. Why would you want something personal and special to you treated like an insurance account number? I have a realtionship with every customer I'm currently serving, and dozens from those I've always served. Not one of them is a number to me. They're all Packards and Woods' and Fords and Chevys, and a bunch in between. Even when they need insurance work, it's still Dave's car or Bob's car. That's just the begining.

Taking everyone out of it, the OP and the shop and every reply, $4K wouldn't get you the quality you were looking for and shoulda been the smoke alarm. Just the paint related materials around here for middle of the road stuff would eat up $16-1800 really fast. To prep, tape, seal, color, 2nd color, clear, cut and buff can eat up 100hrs in the blink of an eye. Forget body work and panel alignment (which shoulda fuckin been done 1st). Hear that smoke alarm? Now add glass and misc seals/felts/windwing rubbers, easy to eat up another 15-20hrs getting all that shit aligned and nice. Then another 24hrs in details I'm surely missing...all this for a "quicky". Now we got smoke along with the alarm. It's not possible to get WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR for the money. I don't care what any paint hero says, it takes time to do this shit right. If the shop owner thinks he can whack out something like this then that tells you what he thinks of your personal property. That's the fire that made the smoke that shoulda made the alarm go off. Now unless the guys shop rate is below $20/hr, anybody shoulda picked up on that.

Your contract is where the guy trapped himself. And an indicator of the shop's integrity is the top color and the short-sighted approach. If I had 3-4 extra gallons of straight white and wanted to save money, I'd spend a few bucks on tint and make your vanilla color with what I had, and leave you enough for a touch up later. Oh shit, there's that fuckin relationship thing again. Make sense? Anybody?

 

When I had my old Jag painted, about half way into it he hit me up for some extra money too.......I paid him, and felt like I got a decent deal when it was done. Not great, but about what I paid for......

Point being I don't think it's too unusual for a painter to underbid a job if it's already painted or in primer and he doesn't know 100% what he's getting into, unless your price includes a complete strip and evaluation first.

That said, if you pay them all what he asks, you should get what's been promised. That clearly didn't happen here. They lost interest and then did a quicky slipshod job when you started pressuring them, which you had to do or your car would still be there!

I think you have a solid case for small claims court, at least you'll recover some of your money. It won't cost much to take him there, no lawyers are allowed and filing costs are minimal.

 

Wow, I just read this thread and it is complete deja vu. We just got my wifes car back after $3200 and found numerous things that were promised and not done. There are drips and blemishes in her car just like yours. We wanted 2004 Thunderbird vintage mint green, and I don't think we got it, just like your paint mismatch. We haven't done anything either, but I'm not sure having a disgruntled painter re-do a car that he did a poor job in the first place is going to fix anything. If anything he's going to car even less how it comes out unless possibly he's scared of going to court.

 

Thanks for sharing what you paid, it is relevant. In this case I think you overpaid for what you got. If you said you paid a grand I would leave it alone.

Whoever did the work just flew through the whole deal.

I paid north of $15K to take my car down to bare metal, fix all the issues of which there were many, and I had to replace the hood and trunk lid.

I think the work you wanted done would cost more than $4K. I think you got a $2000 package there.

 

I was just curious to know what the contract price was to see if
that was as BIG of a red flag that his time to completion estimate was.
^^^ theHIGHLANDER said it all.

All i'm saying is I think you have spent enough time here and probably read a thread or two about body and paintwork to not be surprised this whole deal went sideways.
All evidence we see is that the quality is the shits,no matter what the cost attached to it.

I think legal action is probably like barking up a dead horse's ass.

 

Where ever you take it next, don't wear that same Cornhole Me t-shirt..

 

Man I first read this thread at lunch time and since then it has grown to double. Guess that just shows how many people think you got screwed. Sounds to me like you did alot of things to prevent getting the shaft a second time but you still got it. I agree with most of the folks here that you should have some legal recourse but like others have said I would be leary about taking it back. Looks to me like the shop owner bit off more than he could handle and it shows in his work. But I have learned when I was building several VW'S a year I always striped the car of all its trim first. If it needed body work I tried to get that done by a shop without painting it that way I could see the metal work. I always took the glass out before paint and then installed new seals and glass if needed after paint. When I was happy with body work then I took it to someone else for paint. A cheap paint shop can paint it in most cases if the body work is already done. I found by taking it to different shops for each job vs taking it to one shop for everything I got a better job in the end and the price was usaully cheaper. Just my 2 cents worth...

 

I read this post from start to finish also. You got screwed no doubt. Follow through with what most have written.
What really boggles my tiny mind is why do so many of you guys pay others to do all of the work on your cars?
It's a hobby, do it yourself. If someone else can remove the trim, do the bodywork, remove the glass, etc, etc so can you! Hell, I'm not a painter or body man, but I've done everything including interiors on many cars.
Never win a trophy at a bigtime show and don't care to. Still, the garage is full of trophys I bought by paying to enter small car shows.
Playing with our own junk is more fun than driving them or letting others stare at a car show.
Ya don't even need a fancy shop. I built many cars, swapped engines, etc. right out in the driveway. Buy a few tools now and then, buy a cheap welder and air compressor, and play with them. How the F*#@ can ya be proud of someone else's work anyway. When you screw up you have only you to blame. Anyone can paint his own car and make it look nice for way under $1000. That's including materials and lots of beer for you and your friends.

 

You must have been fortunate enough to not have some one back out on you mid job because they " didn't think it would cost that much."

 

Weird how you're always supposed to take something back to the place that screwed it up for them to be allowed the chance to fix it. If they couldn't do it right the first time, what 'magic' will make them able to do right the second time? Did they suddenly become competent?

No help here, sorry, just me thinking.

 

Advertise......take it to car shows, park it across the street from his shop with a sign
stating he did the work, "check out his work". Talk to other people and let them see the car....spread the word about his work. 2X, DO NOT let him touch your car again.
If you take him to court only the lawyers will win.

weld on.....

 

I wasn't going to chime in but I will. When you play with cars these things happen. I've gotten hosed even by guys I knew well and knew they could do the work.

If it were my car I would:

1. Sell it and put it behind me.

2. Start over and try it again from the top.

3. Change direction. Maybe sand it down and shoot it in primer, stripe it up and run it in low buck form for awhile.

4. Find someone who can save it and make it work. Sand it down and spot and clear it on a few panels and call it done.

I have had to do all of these things at some time or another.

Sorry your getting run through the blender bro...

 

Thanks for the thoughts all, well worth reading. I have seen some post about sell it and move one so I just wanted to mention this car has been in my family since my parents were dating. My dad went off to vietnam and parked it at my grandmothers house and said if I have a son one day, we will restore it. Short story, some 20 years later we did, and I drove it in high school. That was in the 90's and I havent driven it since and I started rebuilding it again (my first build of any kind). Point is, car will never be sold, so its a keeper no matter what I decide to do with this shit job. I did everything to the car so far but paint. I wasnt scared, but I wanted it to look nicer that I could have done for a first timer. Shame one me I guess, I coulda done this good, or better.

 

sometimes S*** happens.. i painted my 69 f100 about 10 years ago now..but after doing HOURS AND HOURS of work it came time to paint. the base went on perfect, then layed on the clear...it fisheyed everywhere.. i have never had paint fisheye like this. called the paint store and they told me i should of put fisheye remover in the clear! this is something i had never had to do before, what the hell is wrong with your clear!

after draining my bank account to buy another gallon of clear and trying to smooth over the fisheyes i thought i was going to be ok. but for as glassy as i wanted this paint job to be, i cut through to the paint in a couple of spots and called it quits.. i was broke. i had one other incident with this shop where the pigment seperated from the color and it looked like ground up chocolate chips in the bottom of the strainer, but i didnt notice this until i saw these black specs all over a red paint job..after my truck incident i never went back. All i know is paint looks great when its done correctly, but getting there really sucks.

 

It hurts my soul to see this kind of thing.. No one takes pride in anything anymore, it's all about 40 hours to make that paycheck.. From bodywork to cashiers, it's nearly impossible to find a passionate person about anything anymore.. I have a 64 c10 I'm gonna spray paint but am getting ready to do an a+ resto on my 71 chevelle..(sorry fellow hambers) I have already made myself SICK thinking over and over about the paint, who's gonna paint it, and the nightmares that any other hands are going to be on my baby when I'm not hawking the hell out of them.. My father is an attorney who hates seeing SCAMS like this and iv heard him time and time and time again recommend them sending a certified letter with a threat from the better business burough.. This is Alabama so if it's different there I apologize.. I wish you all the best of luck and even though there are blemishes it is a BEAUTIFUL machine!!

 

You got hosed. From the sounds of it you have no recourse but to let a lawyer take it from here and that could get very messy and EXPENSIVE depending on how far you want to take it and he could drag this out forever and even if you win in court you'd probably still lose in the end after your lawyer is paid off.
I'd at least let a lawyer send him a letter and see where that goes, it might just tune him up enough to get him thinking he might have more to lose also and want to settle.
In the meantime......I know all that shit grates on you but most people won't notice the faults, put it together and drive it and enjoy it until this crap is settled one way or another.

 

29Nash is that you?

bingo. or let the car sit there after the work is complete.

 

Take this comment, & read # 5 of first post. Not hard to see what happend to you. Got 2/3 the money for 1/8 of the work and let you sit.

Did the doors rub when you took it there ?
Did they rub when you saw it in primer ?

Let's just say the ratchet straps and lost strikers and drying glue were a easy way to hide the fact that the doors rubbed when you went to pick it up. He damn sure knew they did.

 

I feel for you. I do all my own work for just this reason. While my paint isn't show quality, it's as good or better than most of the daily drivers out there. After you decide which way to go, let us all know who this "painter" is--it might save someone all the trouble you've been through. Good luck.

 

I was a pro for many years before retiring. you have a good chase. this person is a painter bodyman only in the dealership sense. As to stripping the car to bare metal,yes,BUT YOU MUST TREAT BARE METAL WITH A METAL PREP. ALMOST RIGHT AWAY. As soon as metal is exposed it will begin RUSTING. It begins on a microscopic scale unseen by naked eye. Metal prep stops this and leaves a faint white oxide coating that also helps primer and paint to adhere. I would in the future check other jobs and references. A salesman is often corrupted by what HE thinks of HIMSELF and ABILITIES. THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING. The BEST you can hope for is return of your money.Some advise,If you choose small claims,look into one f the tv court shows. I am told that these shows pay the plantiff upfront if they win. If you go regular small claims ,you may win,BUT GETTING PAID IN A WHOLE OTHER THING. The defendant can pay payments over time (good luck with that). And there are various other ways to avoid a judgement. Good LUCK

 

If you want it done right.....you gotta do it yourself.

 

No, the doors did not rub at all when I took it there, and they shut perfectly. The pass. door did sag a tad, but nothing rubbed. They took the doors off the car like they were supposed to, but then didnt take the time to repair the insides, jam it correctly, align it back correctly, all that. Worse part is the first time I went an saw the car after being painted, he said "dont shut the door it rubs". I was like OK. I already rubbed the paint off then. He said he adjusted the door and fixed the paint. Well you know the rest after that, lost door strikers, ratchet straps, etc.. now paint rubbed off again.

 

No you don't. You need to know the basics so you can make an informed decision. If we all did it ourselves I wouldn't have a job

 

I didn’t read every page of this so excuse me if I repeat what somebody else already said. Go talk to this guy and ask him to fix it. You probably already did that. If that doesn’t work write him a letter asking him to correct the problems, and let him know you will pursue the matter in court if he declines to fix the job. Use the certified delivery that the post office offers. He’ll have to sign for the letter and you’ll get the stub that he signs. You take that stub and a copy of the letter with you if you have to go to court. That shows the judge you tried to work with the guy. Looks like he has a lot of rework to do, in CA small claims is limited to $5,000. Also, buy a book. Small Claims Court for Idiots is the one I bought and it helped me.
It’s a pain in the ass but you’ll win.

 

After finally getting in the mood to start working on it some, I also noticed last night that most of my jambs have no clear..awesome. pretty well can tell that by the pic

They removed the stainless trim, apparently lost the screws, then put the wrong ones in..made the holes bigger, and screwed up paint in the process.

Although the rockers will be covered up, they didnt attempt to make them look any better. This might have been beyond the scope of work, but surprised they didn't skim coat it or something.











Also jacked the car up last night and started fixing the half ass gas tank install, man it was just slapped in all wrong. There is no paint under the car edge, such as the bottom of the doors and the the whole bottom edge of the body has 0 paint, just primer.

 

You got what you paid for, a $2000 paint job. If you want it perfect it would cost a whole lot more. Unless you have the money to have the whole car stripped and blasted, you're just wasting time and money having it painted.

 

Seriously talk to earl schieb

He'll give you good advice and is very knowledgeable.

I'd say strip the thing to bare metal yourself. see what lies underneath and go from there.

It sucks, but you can beat this thing. If you have a friend who is a lawyer you may be able to get the guy to give you something back without a lot of hassle.

 

I'm not a painter, but I have an engineering company. This is an interesting case study and one that is familiar. We've picked up and completed tasks dropped by others and the pattern is not uncommon.

We do similar estimates and quotes pretty routinely. I'm not sure how anyone could have done the volume of work he quoted for a firm, fixed price just $4k unless he works really, really fast.

Even if you figure that there was only $1000 in materials, that only leaves $3000 to cover labor. If the shop rates are even as little as $50/hr, that only gives you 60 hours for that job. That's just over a weeks work for one guy.

Bust 60 man-hours, and you start to lose money. Put two guys on for a week - busted. Piddle for several months - busted. Realizing that, the car starts to languish because the shop is essentially losing money on every minute they put into it. The downward death spiral begins as lack of profit drives lack of effort which drives out any quality.

End result is, either the job remains unfinished or the outcome is very poor. Sometimes both.

You got hosed, but I think the painter set himself up for an impossible task by overestimating his capability to do that much work on time, on budget.

 

Not understanding that one. I paid $4000, not 2. I didnt get what I paid for, and I didnt ask for perfection. But since its not even decent, I look for every flaw I can now to build my case.

zman, I have chatted with earl a bit on PM. Unfortunately he is about 4 hours from me and my baby wont leave me again if i can help it. But he is offering good advice as I sort through this.

I do have a distant friend who is a lawyer here. Also my uncle has been a lawyer in my county where this would shake down for about 30 years, very well known. Just havent talked to him yet. Sounds dumb i know, but not sure if he will want to mess with it or not

 

I'd photo the shit out of it and then strip it to bare metal and shoot in in a clean coat of epoxy primer. A fresh start would make me feel a LOT better - regardless of where this whole bad deal leads (court, fist fight in a bar, etc...).

Next time I wanted it painted I'd either do it myself or call Earl Scheib.

$4000 obviously won't buy a show-quality paint job but what you got looks like a $500 "scuff & puff".

JH