So bummed about paintjob :(

[boatillo]

Ok...end of September 2005 I drop my '67 off at a local paint/body shop that was highly recommended by a friend. The shop didn't have the best facilities, and the guy didn't give me the best quote but he said if I dropped it off that week it would be first in line and hopefully finished in about 1 month.

Flashforward to today, he has finally gotten around to painting the car == note that I stripped 95% of the car myself to metal, and did a large majority of the bodywork before dropping it off in Sept 05 == and, in my opinion (I don't know a whole lot about paint, this is my first) he did a ****ty rush job.

Car is acapulco blue metallic with 2 le mans stripes surrounded by a second set of lines. No pics yet, but here's what I saw within a couple minutes:

1) Stripes are not buried in clear, you can feel them which I didn't want. I can live with this however.

2) Large (3-4" long) drip of clear on inner curve of headlamp bucket

3) Stripes have all these little bubble looking areas on them, are those fish eyes people talk of? Looks bad up close. Small spot of blue showing through on one of the top stripes.

4) Fenders, roof and trunk lid have small specs of black paint on the blue where I guess he decided not to mask? Its under clear now.

5) Front piece below grill, and side "vents" in front of rear wheels are already peeling because he didn't strip them properly! Painted over peeling paint!

6) Trunk (somehow) has 5+ shallow dents all over it, in black and blue areas.

7) Tape was poorly done on one of the trunk stripes, leaving black edge jagged for 2" or so.

8) You can see paint layers in left rear tailpiece because he didn't strip it correctly.

9) Couple minor dents and poor bodywork in less noticeable areas.

------------------------------------------------------------

When I first saw it after paint (he was letting it dry in sun...and said he wanted to buff it once more) I asked him how he thought it turned out. He only mentioned the dents in the trunk, and that he was unhappy about those but nothing else was said. What should I do? I wasn't expecting a 10/10 job, but with all these easily seen imperfections it is fast approaching a Mayco job He quoted me $4000 in Sept 05, what is a ****ty job like this worth? Should I sue him for breach of contract and take it somewhere to be redone? Over 9 months down the drain, and I was hoping to use this car in my wedding next month.

 

[Az Pete]

Think long and hard about sueing. Might be a long, uphill battle. What would the breech of contract be? He painted the car, but what was the written agreement on quality? Talk with him as to the poor quality and see what he offers, Sounds like it can be fixed with some time. It is rough when they do not turn out like we would like. The biggest problem most come across is getting a shop to put things on paper. Good luck and keep your cool in any dealings with the shop. Stay away from threats. It is hard, but take a deep breath and talk first.

 

[jes72mustang]

I agree with Pete, Cool heads usually prevail in these situations. Talk to the guy and calmly let him know the issues you have with the quality without sounding like you are attacking his work. IT will be difficult but if you don't come off like a total a-hole he may be more willing to work with you on a compromise.

 

[boatillo]

Yea, I am going in today until he is there (he's always at lunch, or paying bills, or or or) and will try to appeal to his pride in workmanship -- does he really want me to take this car to a show and tell people who left dents in the trunk?

If it gets ugly and I have to resort to legal action, it won't be any biggie. He's a very small shop and my family includes a DA, Magistrate Judge, and several more lawyers.

Ahhhhh! Im just so pissed off, 9-10 months and he ends up painting it in a weekend! Fiance's dad bought the car new in 67, used it in her parents wedding, and we wanted it in ours But that's in less than a month and I still need to redo the entire interior and now fix all these flaws.

 

[garystocker]

This is definately the saddest thing I ever read! Especially since I just dropped my car off at...(Dum Dum Dum) Maaco!

All I could afford. Still over $4000. for a complete tear down, bodywork and paint with one step urethane.

Anyone have experience with the urethane one step paint which uses no clear?

Thanks

 

[Platonic Solid]

This is definately the saddest thing I ever read! Especially since I just dropped my car off at...(Dum Dum Dum) Maaco!

All I could afford. Still over $4000. for a complete tear down, bodywork and paint with one step urethane.

Anyone have experience with the urethane one step paint which uses no clear?

Thanks

I thought Maaco was king of the $200 paint job! (OK, I guess those adds were quite a few years ago, so maybe $500 in todays dollars) I didn't think it was possible to get a $4,000 paint job at Maaco.

 

[garystocker]

Paint was a choice between $200 for the cheap stuff/ $700 for Urethane one step and $1200 for a paint job with clear coat in 2 step.

Stripes painted on: extra
rocker stripe decal mounting: extra
Quarter scoop fiberglass working for fit: extra
fitting body panels, etc etc etc: extra

It still cost a billion dollars an hour for bodywork and every panel needs attention.

If it looks good. It will be 3-5 thousand less thaan every other price quote.. I was told by more than one shop that Maaco has the volume to develop experience to do a good job. I am crossing my fingers!

 

[68keyblr]

Man, I am sorry to hear about your negative experience. Nothing is more disappointing than that.

On the plus side, most of those problems are fixable. Sounds like the trunk and side vents need to be completely redone though.

Good luck!

 

[BIG-MAC]

Anyone have experience with the urethane one step paint which uses no clear?

No experience but I hear that some of the better painters are going to single stage paint for dark non-metallic colors. The problem with clear over black for example is that every scratch in the clear coat shows up as white. But a scratch in single stage black paint is still black.

 

[boatillo]

Just got back from paintshop talk, car looked a lot better today than it did before - don't know what he did, but he started prepping it for delivery and the overall job was much better looking.

Still a couple dings in trunk, I'll forget it for now and maybe put on a GT/CS fiberglass trunk + end caps in the future! Wanted to do that anyways but didn't have the funds right now. Seems he buffed out most, if not all of the fish eyes in the black stripes; I pointed out the clear drip and he will try to buff that down; side vents and front piece can be worked on in the future, just little stuff now.

I'm just hoping he feels bad about putting me on the backburner so long and leaving a couple dings in the trunk so I only get charged $2000-3000

 

[4MuscleMachines]

I'm just hoping he feels bad about putting me on the backburner so long and leaving a couple dings in the trunk so I only get charged $2000-3000

Communicating with him is the key. You have one set of thoughts in your mind which are most likely different than those in his mind. If you bring up your issues on the last minute, he will feel as though you are trying to take advantage of him. You need to be upfront with him in a professional and polite manner so that will give him time to mull it over and soften up a bit. Just my opinion, good luck!

 

[iskwezm]

Ive been through that. i met this guy(dont laugh) at a burger place next to a shop I used to sell to as a rep. The shop had a flamed truck and he said "oh i paint flames blah blah blah. So he blows magic smoke up my ass and shows me all thes magazines he was in in the 70's for custom vans he did. I agree to get my car painted because the was a 48 chevy he did that was getting buffed and it was beautiful. I agreed on $2500 and it would be done in 6 weeks for the big Knotts show of 04', well fast forward to 8 months later, my car was supposed to go to SEMA and had a few sponsors, he still hadnt painted it and used all my money to finish other jobs. He said if i gave him another 900 bucks it would be done that month.Of course it wasnt and fast forward again to now a year. I go over there with a trailer and get it(really pissed him off),it was painted but not buffed and all my interior is in boxes and missing stuff, not to mention it didnt run, becaue all the wiring for the MSD was cut and left hanging. I got it runnin and I had my buddies dad buff it and it looked great............................until a few months after and the paint started to blister like bad acne all over,every panel. I called him and told him off, he said "let me fix it". i said "dont ask because I dont have the money, but id rather pay somebody then let you do it for free"

 

[ForceFed70]

Lessons learned the hard way I guess.

The clear drip (or "run") is no big deal. He should be able to shave most of the drip off with a razor blade, then buff the rest out... actually happens alot as it's difficult to tell how thick the clear is when your spraying it.

Here is what I was told a long time ago by a pro:
Never pay for your paint job upfront. No reputable shop/painter makes you pay the full amount upfront. Paying them upfront means they have no motivation to do a good job, and no motivation to get it done quickly.

When I got my car painted I payed 1/3 of the price upfront for materials. I payed the 2nd 1/3 of the price when all of the bodywork was done and it was time for paint. I payed the remainder of the cost when I showed up to take the car away. The painter was more than happy with this arangement and it gave me a chance to inspect the work(and take pics) as it was happening.

 

[BDT 1967]

Totaly right, never pay for a job upfront. I had to leave my car at the shop for 6 months, and pay out the butt when it was done, but mark my word that is the best paint job i have ever seen in my life. Not a single regret on that decision. As a matter of fact after my car was done i took it to a show and a guy with a cobra asked me where i got it painted at, a couple of weeks later i got 50 bucks in the mail from the paint shop owner for recomending his shop, and that cobra got painted a beautifull black. A picture of my car sits right beside a picture of that cobra, at the shop to this day, and above that is a picture of my dads 71 challenger. Its a great thing when shops take pride in there work.

 

[mudbilly]

can anyone recommend a body/paint shop in the DC-Baltimore area??? I'm hoping to have it done over the winter..........

 

[boatillo]

Got the stang back yesterday and I am MUCH happier with how things turned out! Not a 10 on the scale, but the majority of the car LOOKS like a 10 Wittled away at things until all that was left was a few small dings that body workers missed, and little 2" mistaping of stripe.

Or maybe it was the $3000 total that made me feel better? Putting in the interior over the weekend, detailing the engine (covered in dust!) interior and exterior, then mounting my new wheels and I will post some pics here!

 

[RedGTvert]

Got the stang back yesterday and I am MUCH happier with how things turned out! Not a 10 on the scale, but the majority of the car LOOKS like a 10 Wittled away at things until all that was left was a few small dings that body workers missed, and little 2" mistaping of stripe.

Or maybe it was the $3000 total that made me feel better? Putting in the interior over the weekend, detailing the engine (covered in dust!) interior and exterior, then mounting my new wheels and I will post some pics here!

Looking forward to seeing them.

 

[BDT 1967]

Totaly cant wait for the final product, looks like your going to make the wedding after-all

 

[68keyblr]

Glad things turned out well for you! Would like to see some pics when you get around to it