(deep breath) I started painting cars when I was 14. I had an account at the local paint supply at 16. I made summer college money doing repairs for all my drunk-*** friends. I paid for my engagement ring by redoing a '71 Nova. I've shot lacquer, enamel, and two part urethane (don't inhale the last - it's nasty) Soo...I walk into the local paint shop looking for a can of brushable seam sealer to seal up the body on the Track Roadster B4 it gets shipped off to paint. I'm not painting this one - my skills are rusty, and the garage isn't set up for paint. Goober with bad teeth behind the counter looks me up and down; I start asking for the sealer; his head starts shakin' no B4 I finish the sentence. 'They havent made that for years - don't exist no more.' Riight. Then I ask for vintage chip charts. The head never stopped shakin... 'Nope - no such thing in the computer.' Riight. Cars were painted B4 computers, you lazy ****. I drove outta my wat to go to a decent paint shop, only to be boned by a punk too damned lazy to pull out a book and LOOK UP a part #! Went back towards work, saw a REAL auto parts store advertising paint supplies, walked in... There, on the rack right by the door, was a can of genuine 3M Brushable Seam Sealer. Same name, same manufacturer, same damned color on the can as I remember from 20 years back! I just can't get over that - I'd been told it didn't exist 20 minutes earlier by the 'spe******t' shop. Here's hopin' the 'spe******t' shop goes outta business.
Always deal with the manager or owner. They just hire junkies and winos off the street what else can I say?
I feel your pain. I went into a store here and asked for some 3M seam sealer caulk in the tube. Guy goes wtf? I explain to him what its for, oh he comes out with freaken black windshield caulk! Next he brought trim glue! I order all my stuff now. I have one friend whos in the businees and knows a lot of the new products and he helps explain the new stuff but these counter people are freaken lost.
Buy the brushable stuff that you want and then take it back to the shop with the mooba-gooba with the green teeth and explain to the owner/manager what happened with ole green-tooth there then whip out the the newly pruchased 3M product from the other place and tell them to their face that you hope they go out of business and don't be shy OR quiet about it. Put those *******s in their place. Vance
Sad but true that today in most aspects of the auto industry a lot of the self-owned, self-runned stores have gone by the wayside. What we have to deal with is computer jockeys that have no ideal the difference between a V8 and a straight 6....... If we find a good counter person we should be thankful and be sure to drop him a paid lunch every now and then............
should of walked back in with the can and said....don't make it anymore??? hmmm...dumb****. and walked back out.
here's the thing that I'm struggling with... I've always used the top-shelf stuff when I painted...Ditzler, Dupont, etc. The shop that had the seam sealer is an R-M house; I know nothing about R-M but am soo pissed about the dumb*** at the top shelf store that I don't wanna go back. Are R-M formulations worth a ****? Don't want a paint job that chalks in 2-3 years...
I think you should send the can through Goober's front window. He would realy be stumped by something that doesn't exsist crashing the window and busting him in the head.
I used r-m years ago and like you im rusty now but if i dont sell my roadster ill be doing the paint work my self. I liked the r-m **** and i used a lot of it back in the day. Ive got kirker **** for the roadster and like i said if i get to paint ill do it myself and im gonna do a 2 part kirker . Dave
Uh....not always. There was one parts store I worked the counter in where we all used to have a good laugh when someone demanded that he be waited on by the owner---he may have owned the store, but my mother could have done a better job looking up parts.
almost spit coffee on the monitor after reading this; if it was thirty-frickin-two gold-plated dollars a quart I'd be on that offramp already... funny as hell, man!
I know how you feel! I've gone to a parts store thats been around for years. When I first went there the guys working there were a bunch of old guys, and knew there stuff. They had all the old books and would dig through them to find the weird stuff I was always looking for. I had gotten to know them well over the years, but unfortunately most of them have retired. I only deal with one or two of the guys there now. Some of the new guys working there are not worth a damn. I tried having one of the new guys help me and he pulled the "ain't in the computer" story. I knew they had what I needed, so I complained to the manager. The manager ripped the guy a new one, and told him to look it up in the book. Now that guy avoids me, but that's fine with me. The guys who do wait on me, know that I know what I'm talking about and are "car" guys. I haven't seen the lazy guy lately, hopefully he got fired. That "not in the computer"**** is the reason I drive by AutoZone to get to this place. This place used to sell R-M paint but doesn't anymore. I used it and found it OK, it's been on my coupe for 5 years now, but I'm new to painting and don't have a lot to go on. Red
I have been pretty lucky with my Paint Suppy store, its a family owned business thats been around 30+ years and all the staff know there stuff, the owner makes them go to product cl***'s to learn about and how to use the products they are selling. Now the parts stores around here are worthless, if they can't find it on the computer your out of luck, they have no clue what a parts book is or how to use it.
Which is why you should avoid dealing with the owner or manager too. Smart people should try to hire people SMARTER than them, not dumber. You want the know-nothing in the back sweeping floors and stocking shelves, not the first person the experienced customer "deals with"...The customer isn't interested in how low the pay is the nitwit will work for.
I just opened my first account with the local parts store that is also a PPG dealer. I spoke with the guy over the phone the first time I ever talked to him to order all my **** for the current job I'm doin. I was rattling off part numbers faster than he could type them into his computer. He went out of his way to get all the **** I wanted and on top of that gave me close to 40% off list (really only like 10-15% actual sale to a normal customer) When I walked in to pick up the stuff he kinda looked at me funny, guess he didnt think a 20 year old could actaully know anything when it came to paint. As long as the customer service keeps up they have my business which will be a whole lot if they keep dealing PPG. Sometimes you win sometimes you get green toothed goobers that are always smarter than you.
What do you expect?.....these days finding someone that can count to ten without using their fingers is the impossible dream. Even if they can count, they don't understand the English language.... The dumbing of America is in full speed ahead mode.....better start learning how to speak chinese.
Just for us other goobers that don't know much about paint......... What is brushable seam sealer, and what do you use it for?
I hear you.I wont patronize the "chain stores" pep boys,autozone ,advance,etc.I deal with ONE GUYat NAPAs.If i call i ask for him& him only.I spent about 1500.00in the last 6 months and never had a problem.Oh by the way hes worked at napas for 26 years so he nows his stuff.For paint i use Finishmaster.Mike
R-M paint rules. I have used it for a while and I love it. Remember BASF doesn't make the R-M paint, they make the R-M paint better.
Dude, you HAVE to go back and then come back on here and tell us ALL about it. At this point, you owe us that. You owe the mooba-gooba with the green teeth that more. That SOB needs to learn from that mistake. Really. Vance
I work auto parts here in Des Moines. Worked at NAPA for a number of years. Learned from "the old guy who new every part number by heart". Taught me to NEVER be afraid of the books, and I'm not. Got a new job with Advance about 6 months ago (big difference! Story for another day). A couple weeks after I started a guy came in and started asking a bunch of technical questions and the "kids" behind the counter didn't have a clue. I came outh of the back because I recognized the guy as a real gearhead and helped him out in about a minute flat. That's the reason I make twice what they do. They're too lazy to learn, and don't give a damn about HELPING a customer. Enough of my rant, sorry for the book.
I'm sorely tempted to do just that. The paint spe******t store was a Finishmaster - and they're the only gig in town for the paint I'd like to put on the car...but they seem to have developed an 'at***ude' about selling **** to private parties. I recall the last time I was in there (a LOONG time ago) they gave me **** then - until I rattled off all the P/N's I needed to complete the job from memory. There's a backdoor to this, as I can go to Scott (the painter of the Track Roadster who has an an account with F-master) and work thru his guy to clear the air on this one. I think my mistake was walking in not looking like I'd ever shot a car B4; I'd left from work wearin' a sportcoat on account of I was cold. As for AutoZone: **** 'em. Last time I was in there, I was asking for an OBD - I/OBD - II adapter so's I could pull the codes on the MotherShip - an OBD - II equipped car with a OBD - I port. All the arrogant twit at the counter could say was 'you don't know what your're doing'. Grrr...I kept my head and explained the history of OBD-I & II, noting that '95 was the switchover year. The ***wipe did an eye roll - I started to get hot, then one of the other counter guys got wide eyed, and said - 'He's right! I had a '95 with the same problem.' Took a deep cleansing breath and walked out. Not going back - and I can see the damned store from my desk - it's less than 100 yards away.
If the paint that you want to put on any car is that good, you'll buy it where ever you can get it. **** those guys in town. It's hard to believe there's only one place in a town as big as Detroit that sells it, but I don't live there, you do. So I'll have to take your word for it. If it's that good of paint, it would either be worth waiting for a shipment from anywhere or a drive to Toledo, Flint, Lansing or where ever. Hell, go to GR and take it as and excuse to go see Denice!!! Like she'd say no! Just mail order the ****, get the car painted and then post the pix. Now I wanna see it dammit... And then go pour some of that brushable sealer on that other shop's front counter! And post that pic too! Vance
I used to to some business with a local autbody supply place. I'd paint a fender here and there, and maybe 1 or 2 cars a year as a sideline. The old gal behind the counter was named Sue and she was always happy to help me, even though I bought a very minimal amount. Last time I went in there the new manager told me he really only wanted to work with 'proffesional' body shops' and pretty much told me they didn't need my business. They closed up about 6 months after that. I'm sure it wasn't the few hundred dollars a year I spent there, but I'd almost bet that at***ude had something to do with it.
Gator, you can pretty much bet your life that at***ude caused that place to close, if not then further down the road. It would have happened sooner or later. There is a local paint shop that is like that here where I buy my stuff, only still run by the friendlies. They stopped taking personal checks about a year ago. I stopped in last week to pick up a quart of the BR green I'm shooting my coupe and whipped out my checkbook and one of the noobies behind the counter politely said they don't take checks anymore. Tony, the one I always deal with who runs the joint calmly says 'take his today, and from here on out.' He wasn't loud or obnouxious about it, just said it. Places like that will be in business forever and make money hand-over-fist with many happy customers. And they'll know what brushable sealer is, where to get it, how to apply it and how much it costs! Vance
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