Paintjob went wrong - Need advice - Pic Heavy

From his side of the desk, a side I'm quite familiar with, it seems as though things are now going your way. It also assures that things will bode well for him in the future. It sounds like he cares. My advice would be to go for it. Significant friendships sometimes develop from such actions. Remember, it is just a car, but what it is to you is personal. It's a paint job gone bad to him and something that could leave a scar left unchecked, but he's willing to make it right. Rare today in our finger point happy society. Go for it. If you can do it w/out lawyers, all the better.

 

My concern is that if he couldn't it do it correctly the first time, how can you trust him this time? You're in an awkward position. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by letting them fix it, though. Just document everything (including your conversations), and REALLY attempt to communicate your dissatisfaction with him. Good luck!

 

the Highlander has it right. At this point what do you have to lose? Maybe he is a stand up guy after all and wants to make it right. I'd jump on his offer big time. Any other way the only ones making money is the attorneys and any court activities will be a long drawn out affair. Keep us posted.

 

This is VERY important. I would give him ONE chance to make it right, and not let the car be sent out. Ultimately, it was his responsibility to see the car was right before you got it. Anyone who knows better would have been embarassed.

 

I agree. I have said all along they are good people, family people, which is why I was so hesitant to just say F it and take him to court. Its been long enough now that I can think clearer about what to do, although I am still unhappy with the job, I have calmed down a lot from when I got it home.

I agree with this to. The thinking here is that I know what went down with the car, which in a nutshell is, he hired a new guy that was supposedly a great body/paint guy, let him paint a few, then turned my car solely over to him to finish. The owner didnt do any of the work on my car. I have seen plenty that he has done and I know he (or someone there) has the skill to do it right. I have talked to many ol timers at his shop in person with their street rods there that told me they only let him do their cars. So I am hoping since he will (supposedly) be the only one touching it this time, he will do it right (best it can be without a complete re-do). Who knows how it will turn out, I am hoping for the best. I will be satisifed if the roof gets completely stripped and re-done correctly, and all the blemishes are fixed and new paint matches.

 

Ct, that bests a poke in the eye with a sharp stick by quite a bit.
Waiting 6 weeks doesn't sit well with me, it should be done now.
If you can get the time, I'd stay and baby sit or at least check on it every single day. ( the commute will suck )

He's responsible for the job, but its not his personal work that you are unhappy with. If he promises to be the one doing it you may be happy next time.

 

WOW, what an ordeal. I went through a similar situation while recovering from throat cancer. I had to get my truck out of a shop in Denton, Md. (NOT THE HOT ROD GARAGE) the metal was not prepped properly when the primer was applied and it started to crack after sitting for a while in my garage. Eventually the entire truck had to be completely stripped back to bare metal and OMG we couldn't believe the amount of bondo applied. Anywhere from 1/16 to 1/4" found when being stripped. Metal that should have been replaced was just bondo'd up. I should have taken him to court but I was sick and he obviously took advantage of the situation. All in all the Bad Donkee shop in Littlestown has done a great job bringing my truck back to where it should have been 3 years ago.
As for the shop in Denton (NOT THE HOT ROD GARAGE) he is closing up and moving back to Pa. (Pa. guys beware)
I've heard he's messed up many guys hot rods during his stay in Maryland.
Good luck with your Ford.

 

Sound like time to take it back to him. Get it in writing as to time deadline and work to be done.

 

I think I would ask him to let you know when to take it to him. Tell him you want the car back in a timely fashion. If he is ready for it and schedules for it then it won't take that long.
He has promised to do the work himself and it sounds like he is a good paint man, let him do it.

~Alden

 

Sounds more like he read this thread. What's his HAMB name?

 

Glad to hear you're getting some action. My pal got an engine rebuilt and had to let them try and fix it before he sued and actually collected around half the rebuild cost. I was impressed he got a dime.

 

4-5 days to fix all those problems? is that including repainting the whole car? that doesn't seem like enough time for one person to do all that work, correctly. am i the only one that thinks this? i'd be weary of bringing it back and expecting it to be done correctly in that short of time.

 

Shop owners usually set the standards. All of us have been bitten in the ass by workers who start out great then fuck up at epic levels with no warning. 4-5 days could mean over 50hrs. Will he be the only one? Fuck no he won't, but he'll use the best he's got to help him get it done. Perspective...

 

I've seen them do a complete customrestoratin in 30 minutes on TV.

 

4-5 days may sound a bit unrealistic, but not unbelievable. him and one or two trusted employees burning the midnight oil... why not.

i got my car back from the body shop in rough block. primered and blocked the car twice, laid out base and flames (base, pearl and flake), cleared twice, cut and buffed, assembled and striped in 3 weeks of nights and weekends.

so given a week to make repairs? doable. heck, if it took two weeks that would be grand.

 

4-5 days? sounds like a good time to burn som vacation time if ya have any and go "baby sit" make sure it happens as per contract if your on hand theres more pressure to do it right and get it done , faster and better they get it finished ........... the sooner your out of thier hair lol

 

At this point what do you have to lose? Roll the dice take it back and hope for the best.

 

that is even m of a guarantee to get it " refucked " up. Pressure may not be the option. But showing up a few times unexpectedly. That might do it.

 

Four or five days seem unrealistic to repair the first F--- up. I wouldn't hold him to that. I'd check the progress and if its acceptable, I wouldn't care how long it took as long as its within reason.

 

establish and quantify what "with in reason" is please.
5 days is too short and 6 weeks was also too short in most folks opinions from the beginning of this thread.

A five minute job can take a lifetime if you don't work on it.

 

I guess within reason would be different for each of us. If it were me, the quality of the work would be more important then the time. If it was going along great, I'd wait another six weeks if necessary. Thats me. Someone else's time frame may be considerably less.

 

Well I thought I would post an update. My be long winded. I have talked to the owner several times in the last couple of weeks. He wants to make it right.

Since I first met the guy 9 months ago, he has told me he had considered re-locating his shop closer to home. He lives about 45 minutes from it now. When I talked to him a couple weeks ago he said he had opened his new shop up in his hometown, 10 minutes from his house. A place he leased ages ago that came available again a month ago and he took it. After discussing the car I said I had to come see the new place first and be sure of where it would stay and all that. I did that 2 days ago. Place was nice, about like his old one. One nice thing on this one is does have an alarm system as well as cameras in the shop.

I worked up a list not long ago of all the problems I wanted addressed. It is a page and a half long, mainly listing what I already did in this thread. I took that to him and said take it home and read it over and lets make sure we agree, and then I will put this in a formal agreement we will sign when I bring the car back. He has looked it over, didnt argue any of it and said I just want to get in here and fix it and make you happy about the car. Cool.

He has agreed to strip and re-do the roof completely. Also said since the color turned out more white than I wanted, I can change the color if I want to, which I will. He has the receipt where he bought the paint originally, and it shows he bought cool vanilla, so maybe it was the right paint, but it sure doesnt match the color book. Oh well.

He hasnt seen the car since I brought it home but from talking to him about things like some of jambs not cleared, partial areas of car bottom not cleared, pinholes here, etc..he said will more than likely fix and blend all the problem areas, block the car down with 600 and re-clear the entire car, and buff the entire car. I am sure this will bring many opinions, but from my research, I guess this could work ok if he does it right.

He said he will take the front and back windshields out and have his glass guy re-do them, clean all the BS off he didnt before, use sealant like he should have, etc.. he already talked to him about it. So no argument there. Of course I question the glass guys ability to get it right, but....he did say if its not right and/or leaks, I will get your money back and we will do something different.

He has also agreed that no one will touch the car but him, and has encouraged me to come up there and see it being done, and said he wants me to be there with him when he paints and clears everything, so I know exactly what I am getting. He said it will take him at least 2 weeks, and I said that is fine as long as its not sitting. I plan to put a timeline in the agreement as well.

Whats a guy to do, other than give him the chance. I am planning to take it to him Tuesday. Maybe it will turn out good, maybe it will be worse re-clearing the car and trying to blend the metallic paint, I dont know. He is very confident I wont ever notice any repainting was done, but I know its hard to blend that high metallic color.

The interesting part is its almost like he is starting over. When we talked a couple of weeks ago he said he was managing both shops. When I was there the other day he told me that his son has taken over the old shop, and basically he only works at his new shop now. There were 2 particular guys he had working for him for years, and they seemed like good guys and he always bragged about them. I asked about them, one he fired for calling his wife and stirring up some kind of trouble he didnt elaborate on, and one is in jail. WTF? I said man this is like a construction business, every month he has new people. Those 2 guys had been with him for years, so his wife has told me before. Odd.

So his son is doing his own thing in the old shop with his own crew, and "my" guy has his new shop with 2 new guys he hired that basically said he is training, which I repeatedly said I don't working on mine. I dont know if this is a red flag or not, but I dont know what else I can do, other than leave it as is and eat it, or give him a chance. His new shop does have projects, 57 chevy, fairlane, 69 chevy truck, so its not a new empty place.

Anyway, thats where it is. I will update as things happen.

 

As for him blending the repairs and reclearing everything . . . that is an acceptable repair. Something I do a lot. As long as there are no adhesion problems under areas he is not addressing, these repairs can be considered permanent and you should have no problems.

 

That sounds like a good decision from a legitimate business man.
Give him a chance to make it what you were expecting in the first place.

 

Man I totally feel for you. You sound just like me. You trust in people and nine times out of ten you are the one taking it in the bo-bo. Then you go way out of your way to make it easier on the guy who screwed you. At least thats how it works out for me. I have gotten a lot meaner in the last few years. I just hate being that way but if it makes my life easier....

Anyway, sounds like its finally going to work out. Good luck...

 

I would say there are glimmers of hope there. I think you are doing the right thing in giving him a chance to fix it. There should be at least some improvement!

 

I think it is right to give him a chance to make it right and make you happy. You can still go the small claims court if not acceptable anyway. With that said, I have been down that road, won the case and was stuck with $100 a month payments.

 

I came across your thread and it stirred up my anger enough that I started shaking. I am almost six years and $30,000 into my Nomad and I am finally about ready for paint....again! The "restoration specialist" that turned the project into a total cluster f..k was supposed to be "one of the best" according to him and his posse of local car guys. He had pictures of his "poster 32" and other cars he had done all over his office and sure knew the "talk". Stupid me listened to his constant bullshit of "it's going to be sweet and don't worry, it will buff right out when it's done" It got to the point that he said it was complete and all he needed to do was "final buff" it out...this is after the aholes put the trim and windows in. Of course he decides it's time to get out of the business, closes shop and moves out of state. I have letters etc from a few other professional body guys that said his work was "lower than a first time amateur job" but you can't get money if there isn't any....my lawyer would be the only one making money. The new shop doing it had to basically start from scratch removing both quarters and going back to bare metal on the entire car. Needless to say I will never do a project like this again. If I can't do it myself I will buy something someone else has gone through the misery with. Sorry about the rant and I feel your pain!

 

Hope this shit works out for you in the end. If it's any consolation, know that plenty of guys are using this as a learning experience.

As an electrical contractor, I've underbid a job or two before. Know what that meant? It meant that I did the same quality job without a profit. My line of work requires that I follow national codes, regardless if I make a profit. Still, there are plenty of jack-leg contractors out there that give all of us a bad name. Hopefully this man can redeem himself and stop with the excuses.

On a side note, body/paint work (on a large scale) is something I've not done myself. I'm a former machinist, so I stick to what I know and am good at. For some, tackling a full on body/paint restoration project is more involved than practical. Although it is tempting...

Good luck!

 

You want to know what happen to your car...The guy turned the job over to some "cheap labor", he under bid the job and gave it to some $8.00 an hour "kid" or somebody new to his place that sold him a line of BS about his "skills". Once the damage was done it became a even bigger loser for his shop and he tired to " wait you out" by giving you dates and times he would show to look at what was wrong and never did thinking you'd just get pissed and go away.
YOU got ripped! NOW this time make sure you are there EVERY single day, even if its just a quick stop. Make a appearance at different times during the week and talk to who every is doing the work, ask a lot of questions!
If the guy is willing to make it right you WIN! If it comes out right you WIN!
if he wants you gone and its RIGHT you WIN! HANG in there SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE!!!! mel