Good grief. You have had your answer yet you continue to share your pain. Take it as a lesson. I'll tell you step by step as you seem to need it. 1) Go to get your car. You own it and should drive it home. Explain to him that he has not provided quality work and that you are terminating the agreement. 2) Pay for the materials not the substandard labor. 3) Find another painter based on referrals from previous customers.
Of course I've had my answer but it sounds like I'm venting. To fix this issue, I'm making him rent a paint booth, we are going to paint supply company and what the recommend is what he will purchase. He will then meet me at my place to sand and prep the car. Then, we will tow it to rented paint booth and he can spray it. Thank you all who helped me understand that his equipment and material is his flaw. So this is his chance. He can spend the money to do it right or he can give the mustang back. Thank you for letting my vent
No. This train wreck should end w/the guy who did this now. Start over w/someone that can back up the work.
This is why a quality paint job can cost thousands of dollars. Because we start it right and finish it right. I would not let this guy touch my car again. And if you don't sand all that crap back off to bare metal it's just gonna do it every time you sneeze on it. It is not adhering to the metal/ fiberglass end of story. I hate to say it but I see so many really nice built cars that have a shit paint job because most normal car guys can put a car together really nice but have no clue when it comes to paint and they find the guy that says oh hell yea I can paint because he's cheap. Well this is what you end up with and all that chrome i see in the picture it looks like you are building a nice car. Paint is what preserves the car and lots of people go the cheap route here. Besides brakes and steering, paint is the most important part of building anything... I would also include an ass woopin if he didn't give my car back, but that's just me... Sorry man you've been had. If your gonna go through and have this guy touch it again save your self the hassle and just touch up what chips off. Save some bucks and find a shop that gives a warranty....
And go buy the paint yourself so you know he's not taking your money for expensive good stuff and then buying low budget so he can pocket the rest. I see that happen all the time too. Probly what happened here.
Seen a lot of good people get taken for a ride by hacks. It's a shame when that happens. But I've also seen a lot of customers who don't want to fork out the loot to do a job correctly and end up with an inferior finished product because of it.then everyone in town thinks he put the fu##in to him when he got what he requested and paid for. The pendulum swings both ways. Either way it's misfortunate. Looks like the door has about three paint jobs on it. Lot of mils there. Good luck. I'm sure you will get it resolved. RS59.
I gave him about a grand cash to help with material and a $7,000 car on the low side that he really wanted. I understand errors. I believe he works hard and tries but I think his compressor setup isn't right. Lousy area to be painting at and he's just in a hurry. All I want is for my paint to stay on my car. thanks everyone.
You keep making excuses for someone else. ...and you have had good advice about this. Don't end up with people saying "I told you so." Still, I look forward to the outcome...which I hope is good.
Hate to sound like an ass, but if you keep on fooling with this clown after the mess he's made so far, then the mess you'll end up with is your own fault. And you can bet it will be a mess. The real problem with this guy is that he doesn't even know the basics of painting a car. For example...... You never use etching primer or any sort of acid wash back onto old paint. It will cause problems. Maybe in a week.... a month...... or 6 months, but its just a matter of time. As others have mentioned, you prime aluminum with either zinc iron phosphate or with epoxy. Other primers won't bond to aluminum sufficiently to make for a good job. Period. The chipped door edge you show is proof that he doesn't know better than to pile up the paint on edges. What he's glommed on in that pic is guaranteed to chip at the first minor contact that wouldn't even phase paint of the proper thickness. The panel in your first set of pics proves he doesn't know how to adjust a gun. Its easy enough for a rank amateur to lay down 10X better work with a $10 Harbor Freight gun and hardware store enamel than the mess he's blown onto that panel. All it takes is about half an hour of reading about how to adjust a gun and practicing on cardboard or masking paper until the adjustments are right. Obviously he's never learned that basic skill. "Works hard and tries" is fine when some hack is cobbling up his own shit out in the barn, but its worth nothing when you're paying good money for results. Most people who are "in a hurry" are in fact just too lazy or too incompetent to ever be capable of producing decent work because they'll never put forth the effort to learn. You have to have a certain level of knowledge in any trade before you realize what you don't know. By all appearances he's still in the know nothing stage and a long way from having any idea about what he needs to learn to be able to do halfway competent work. Your planned attempt to supervise him into doing a good job is nothing but a further waste of time and money. He doesn't know the basics, and you can't supervise him into doing a good paint job any more than you can supervise the next guy you pass on the street into doing successful heart surgery.
I am a rank amateur and I absolutely agree with that first statement. The second part is absolute gold. I wish more people knew what they didn't know. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk www.lostboysatomicgarage.com
Metlmunchr I think you just schooled me every direction but south. My fault in life is trusting people. I'm glad you put it out like you did. I gotta quit being a sucker. Was looking for the reason why my paint is chipping off and It's clear to me after these posts. Time to take my mustang back and find a good painter in Washington.
In fairness, I'm like that too. I'm a real pushover. It's not that I don't have a spine, it's that if I let myself, I'll probably beat a man to death. It bothers me because I work in the automotive industry and people constantly get my services for free because that's what this world has come to. (Btw I'm not perfect, but my work often is.) People take issue with things that are a non-issue. So now when I get sub par work that really is sub par it drives me insane. Slowly but surely my fuse shortens. Ask me about a simple weld that I did, then guy comes to get car and remote starts it. Manual transmission. Car hits a building. Imagine that. It's good to know I'm not the only one who "settles" instead of goes nuts, but it's not good to bottle it up either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk www.lostboysatomicgarage.com
I don't want to pile onto your grief, and I've made it fairly clear who I am and what I do on this board. In your replies I've seen "...hurry..." "...tries hard..." and the most lame of excuses, the material's fault. Sadly most in the car game respect the paint the least. Even though it's the very 1st thing ANYONE will see it's also the most singular place nobody wants to spend money on. TV doesn't help, they grab a bunch of "drywall workers" and spread mud over a whole car and call it "the way". Yeah, the way to some of the deepest and hard to repair chips in the bargain paint finish. Now anyone who picks up a Harbor Fright gravity gun thinks he's Darryl Hollenbeck (sp?) or Charlie Hutton? Some decrepid old shooter tells them a wives tale from the 60s and thinks it works on this new generation of catalyzed plastic. I'm sorry you're having trouble, and based on the issues you have how well will the flat parts of the finish hold if it gets taped long enough for a proper repair (and probably cheap tape in this case), which then collects solvents, which then either burn the new finish if it indeed doesn't come right off with the tape? And for the finish not sticking to the edge of a 'glass door? That's as in a hurry and in fact as lazy or incompetent as it gets. All 'glass needs is a simple mechanical bond so it wasn't fuckin sanded. Someone who gives a shit does all the edges 1st because you get ditracted, something quits working, your helper has a bad hair day, your ol lady is bustin your balls, all the while you're still RESPONSIBLE FOR SOMEONE'S PRIVATE PROPERTY. I'd bet a cup of coffee that the simple human qualities of discipline and consideration for said property doesn't exist. I hope you get some decent resolution and a fair settlement for yourself and this guy, and he'd probably make a lot of money grinding out paint work for used car "B lots" as we call em in MI. Good luck with it. The solutions needed to be done 1st, not now. No time to do it right? Where's the time to do it over gonna come from? This isn't as much a personal attack as it might seem. I really feel some empathy here.
I just got done painting my daughters O/T Mustang. I have been painting for 20 years, maybe a full car a year. My daughter helped on the body work, and I kept telling her that it seems like everyone forgets the edges. Like highlander said we did the edges first, they got done, then we moved onto the rest of the car. This isn't rocket science, follow some basic procedures, and everything should go ok. If he screwed up once, it happens, but twice then 3 times and you still let him touch the car, shame on you. Are we sure that the painter and, the owner are not the same person? By the third time of fixing something, it usually looks like it unless you start from the beginning. Highlander, Thanks for the paint help you offered me on ghost paint, daughter loves it and it turned out great. I hope your mustang turns out like mine did. Tony
And thanks for that as well. Every goddamned time powerblock TV is on I see a whole quarter slathered with different colors of bondo. Learned about TV promo bullshit on a monster transmission. Not fun. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk www.lostboysatomicgarage.com
I agree with the HIGHLANDER. I have gone from Enamel & Lacquer to Waterborne and Clearcoats and everything in between. Edges first and surface prep is #1 in a paint job. #2 Quality materials. #3 Proper environment (I.E.) clean and dust free with proper ventilation. #4 proper knowledge how to use equipment. I would repo my car and sell it and use the $ to pay a quality shop to redue it. And take it as a lesson learned. That's m2c worth. Frank
And please don't try to educate yourself to how it's properly done by watching the tv as was stated earlier. The monkeys, vampires , desert dipshits and junkyard jerkoffs are about as knowledgable as a parade of pecker gnats. The shit I see in some of these shows , especially if you watch what's happening in the background , is absurd. They must hand these shows out at Walmart. Anyone worth a shit is too busy working to play a hot rod painter on television. Entertaining to some people I suppose but informative to no one. And usually only a set to hang banners and signs for the sponsors. You really need to find someone who is honest and up front with you. Who can show you previous work. Who can give you references. And ultimately who you can trust. No worries no concerns. Btw, I'm a 32 year veteran in this field. And that's my 2cents worth. RS59
I understand but I've never said anything about watching tv to learn, let alone I never said anything about knowing anything about painting in itself. Hence, why I'm here posting to get all of your guys wisdom and experience on this matter. I'm her to watch and gain a little more knowledge from all you experts. Plus, I love these cars.
Put a piece of 2" tape on the hood side and let it sit a few minutes then rip it off with no mercy. Got paint? Complete strip and refinish. Do it in a lot of other places you're having trouble with. I shudder to think what you may find, and in fact you may not. Still, with it chipping as easy as it does (too much film build) what about the occasional highway stone? Have you tried using the area where things attach to the finish (door handles, trunk latch, etc)?
Still used in the Aerospace industry too ( Zinc Primer) an it has to pass a water break test on the metal before applying it.
Ouch. I just finished shooting my truck, in my garage. Im no pro by any means, but I have better adhesion and less texture than that, and I only have a 30 gallon tank on my compressor. Get your car back, run to a qualified painter, strip off all this jokers work and start fresh, again.
I haven't read the entire thread so I may be parroting someone here if so count it as confirmation. If you want paint to stick you aluminum you use Zinc Chromate primer. it is normally yellowish to greenish in color if that helps. Rustoleum actually sells it and calls it Aluminum primer.
Aircraft Spruce has quite a few products specifically for priming ( and painting) aluminum - including zinc chromate primer, which has fallen from favor because of the increased awareness of the hazards of these chemicals. Doesn't mean it's not effective, just that the proper precautions have to be followed to correctly use it. There's still plenty of this stuff in good condition on old warbirds, must work pretty well.
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