Paint Job Advice

[dromano]

Hi All,

Recently had my truck painted (past month) and picked it up today. The truck by no means was in perfect shape and the painter I used was very fair and honest in his price. I am not naive in the sense of "you get what you pay for" but there a few minor imperfections in the paint job that I feel should not be there after what I paid for the paint job.

Specifically, the hood fits poorly and the cowl panel looks like it was forced into place and there is a tiny paint chip where you can see the new paint being lifted off of the cowl panel. I am talking the size of a nail tip. Given the painter and I discussed that this was not going to be a show quality paint job and not "perfect" am I in the wrong asking my painter to address and fix the chip/hood alignment?

I hate to be the rude, needy, anal customer but given I paid around 6k for a new paint job I also feel some what entitled to bring this up the painter.

Any advice on how to address would be greatly appreciated.

[jeffahart]

He must fix chips, runs and noticeable imperfections in the paint. That said, body work and fitment maybe something you negotiated. But I will say this, some people will try to make you take sub standard work and make you feel like you are being unreasonable. But a chip in the paint.... NOGO!

[Overdriven]

I agree with Jeffahart. Chips, scratches and debris in the paint are definitely the painters responsibility and he should fix those with no cost to you. Panel fitment, panel gaps, wavy panels and such all depends on what you negotiated for. $6k sounds like you were paying for some bodywork and not just spraying paint. Unfortunately unless you have a list in writing on the bill/estimate of areas that were being worked on it's going to be hard to prove. Unless the shop is willing to work with you and fix the issues. But like Jeffahart also said, lots of places will try to make you just take their sub standard work and hope you don't come back making a fuss. Make a bit of a fuss.

That being said, it does sound like they rushed it out the door a little. Unless the hood is out of shape or the fenders are misaligned getting the hood fairly straight isn't that hard. Same with the cowl panel which wouldn't be chipped unless they were careless and/or forced it. If the shop took the hood, fenders, cowl panel off or were installing them then this is definitely their problem. Because it would've been their responsibility to get all the sheetmetal aligned properly and not chip it in the process. Sounds like they didn't do a thorough fitting before paint and just slapped it together.

[dfwright]

If your painter is a reasonable person, you should be asking this question of him. I have found that if you don't go adversarial, but ask questions basically just as you've posted here, often a suitable arrangement can be reached.

[hugger6933]

I own a body shop, I see this stuff from both sides. Your P&B guy should fix this with out having to be told you really should not even know about the problem cause he should have already have it fixed for you, unless by some fluke he didn't know about it. This may be the case and would not want his name attached to that type of job. I think not knowing any more than I do he should fix it and apologize.

[davepl]

It's just a basic paint job but he should fix the basics, like panels operating next to each other.

If you came in with your NCRS gap tool and complained about the consistency of the gaps, you'd be out to lunch. But the hood and doors need to operate without interference and chipping each other.

If you said "there's too much orange peel" or "there's some dust on this rocker" or stuff like that, you might be overreaching, but I do no think you are.

Ask him nicely the first time, though! Usually works for me and everyone's happier.

[cypressbog]

Need a bit more info.

Is the owner of the shop also the P&B guy, or is he just the office guy with a staff of skilled labor? Makes a difference, if his guy said "Truck xyz is done" and he doesn't inspect before pushing it out the door. Also makes a difference if he did the work himself and knows about the sub-standard work.

[71meangreenc10]

Given the price you paid I do not see any harm in you going back and asking for assistance. 6K is nothing to laugh at and you should be expected to get something better back than your average $299 MAACO paint job.

Aligning panels and painting is what that guy is supposed to get paid for, unless he comes out and tells you that he "only paints" and that was clearly identified in your arrangement.

Get your monies worth, but ensure you are being honest about your own expectations.

Smitty

[MiSledder]

Ive owned a body shop for 25 yrs, i have restored and repainted hundreds of vintage vehicles, at 6k you paid for a paint job, panels should align decent and no runs or chips, jmo!

[Grumpy old man]

6K is a lot of $ to anyone and it should be done right , I'm not part of the participation trophy crowd and no one has ever accused me of being politically correct but I would be smacking him in the back of the head while I drug him by his ear to the parking lot if he thought chips and lifting paint and a misaligned hood was good enough to send out the door to me ...

[my56chevytruck]

Regardless of your ride being a Chip Foose creation or not, your painter should fix all noticeable flaws. if this is in fact a paint/body shop, all alignments, chips or flaws should be fixed by your choice of painter. period!!

[66clow]

I'm an insurance adjuster and deal with people that spend a lot less money than that for just a bumper job and complain. You are not complaining for 6k they should want you to be a happy customer. You are not asking to much. You are nit asking for him to do stuff you didn't pay for. If you don't go in there like a jerk like he did a horrible job you should be fine.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by dromano

Hi All,

Recently had my truck painted (past month) and picked it up today. The truck by no means was in perfect shape and the painter I used was very fair and honest in his price. I am not naive in the sense of "you get what you pay for" but there a few minor imperfections in the paint job that I feel should not be there after what I paid for the paint job.

Specifically, the hood fits poorly and the cowl panel looks like it was forced into place and there is a tiny paint chip where you can see the new paint being lifted off of the cowl panel. I am talking the size of a nail tip. Given the painter and I discussed that this was not going to be a show quality paint job and not "perfect" am I in the wrong asking my painter to address and fix the chip/hood alignment?

I hate to be the rude, needy, anal customer but given I paid around 6k for a new paint job I also feel some what entitled to bring this up the painter.

Any advice on how to address would be greatly appreciated.

Was that 6K for just paint or what body work was included in this work... For 6K all I am doing is sanding , priming, a little skim coating painting, and cleaning up a few dirt spots...