There's no way a car should be assembled when it's painted. Just look at the bad masking job and the edge around the mirror in the pic. It's also impossible to properly scuff down in the cracks around things like hood vents and door locks. If they aren't removed it's a sure thing the paint won't stick. And if bumpers are left on then the same thing happens. The crack doesn't get prepped and it starts to peel and the paint can also bridge the gap and then you get a crack ... moisture gets in and the peeling starts. You're in the middle of a bad situation. I feel for ya!

 

Make you want to sit across the street from the shop with a big sign that says "So and So painted my car ... come look how bad it turned out"

 

Well it also said you scuffed it. If you scuffed the paint and the edges are peeling well then your in a tough situation.

You may also want to contact the paint manufacture have them send out a field rep to take a look at it. They may comp your materials. Also if you dont mix the clear right or the primer or the base right you have adhesion problems. If they just sloppily mixed it thats where alot of problems come from too.

If they just put cheap primer, paint, and clear on. Then theres not much you can do.

 

That would be awesome. Too bad the weather is starting to chill down up in this region, we could almost make it a forum event. A little support for this guy and his F-body. I can't stand poor workmanship. It's a shame few people take pride in what they do anymore.

 

No I had my car torn apart, the right way. That is if I'm understanding your post correctly. The owner said that the reason he didn't object to my car being torn apart at the start was because he thought that I just wanted it done my way, despite him saying that's the "wrong" way of doing it after.

And hopefully I won't have to do the sign thing lol. But I will try to meet up with a paint rep.

 

Being an apprentice body guy I would say that, that is probably about the stupidest thing you could say as a body shop owner. I'm not sure how it works in the US, but here in Canada we get paid to R&I pretty much everything that can be taken off the surface to be painted. The reason for that is so that you cant see ugly paint edges and masking lines. Either this guy is totally retarded or hes filling you full of **** because he figures your an ignorant young kid and he can get away with it. Tell that painter to rub those edges like he rubs it when he gets home.
Make them fix it or refund you.

 

I dnt know why everyone keeps talkin about the right way is to take the car appart and paint it and put it back together, YES that is the right way but 'US' the ones in the trade know verry well that a paint job that is done that way is NOT gonna cost $1500... yet it has to be explained to the costumer what would he be gettin for the money he's paying... also i must add that even if is not taken appart there's no excuse for nasty tape lines and paint pealing on tight spaces, there,re tecniques for that and come with experience thats why there's two kind of painters : painters and professional painters.

 

Yeah, I second that one! I'd Also take some white shoe polish and write "Don't use (body shop name here)! They painted this car XX months ago! Or something like that on the rear glass...

 

Yeah, unfortunately you can be the OWNER of something and not know jack about how to actually DO the WORK yourself. There are many super-rich men that own professional sports teams, but most wouldn't know the first thing about getting out on the field/court and actually playing the game even if thier life depended on it...

 

88PontiacT/A: You hit that nail on the head. I used to work for a guy like that. Bought out the business from an old owner and had no clue about anything.

To the OP, you should call the shop back and ask to talk to the owner. Then asl him if its a better idea to paint the car assembled or disassembled, then see what he says.

 

Brilliant.

 

Hopefully you get a good resolution. I just paid $1800 for new paint on a GTA ( picked up a couple days ago ) it looks good now, but i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it lasts a while. Some of the car was primered , but not all.
I know for what i paid, i didn't get a collector car paint job, but i do expect it to last a while. I would stay on them, talk with the BBB ( and let the shop know it )
You paid $1500 , i paid $1800, that deserves a decent paint job, or they should let you know up front that; Hey we can paint it for x amount, but for xx amount more we can paint it with better materials and in a way that will make you happier..
The guy that painted my car said he Guarantees 100% satisfaction, time will tell.

I hope you are able to reslove the issue to your liking.

 

Hi. I know how you feel and i wish i could help you out. Here is what i did. I have an 87 Iroc Z that didn't need alot of work but had dings and dents etc. The interior is in amazing shape. I went to a few local auto body guys where i live in South Jersey. They really didn't seem interested in painting the car cause it wasn't insurance work. I got really pissed and posted on Craigslist looking for a good auto body person that is into his work and just don't paint cars cause he has to. After 2 weeks i received a response from an amazing auto person. I took my car for him to evaluate. He said he would positively paint the car. So we set up a time and i left the car with him. He had my car for 15 months. I got my car back 3 weeks ago and it looks like it just came out of the factory. So my whole point is preparation and finding someone who is really into his craft determines how your car will hold up and look after time goes by. If i new how to post pics up i would show my car. Now i think you have to be persistent and make sure that the shop corrects your problem. Just a note: The total cost of my paint job was $3,200.00. The auto body tech on his own time checked over my whole car and fixed things he found wrong without me telling him to do so. If you send me your email address i will be glad to send you some pics. My address is: LandLiner@aol.com

 

Just one more thing to add. Someone else brought up a really great point about not taking the car apart before painting. The shop that painted my car took everything off. Front nose, mirrors, bumpers, front and rear lights etc. Everything.

I just did put 3 pics up in the photo gallery. The subject line reads my 87 Iroc Z. The car has new jersey plates and i listed the owner of the shop that did the body work and paint for anyone that is interested.

 

I'll add my two cents worth as well. It seems to me, and the gas lid pic convinced me, that the paint appears to have not been dry when you assembled your car. If you wiped that area and received that mark as a result, it's almost as if they didn't mix any hardner with the paint. Dry paint typically doesn't wrinkle, it just flakes, but "wet" paint, or uncured paint certainly will. Find an inconspicuous area and push your fingernail in the paint. Does it leave a mark? If so, all the prep in the world won't help paint cure with no hardener. One thing is for sure, for $1500 they should've removed your tail lights and your door handles/locks.

 

The explanation about the lack of hardener makes sense too. The paint does feel soft, and I'll try that thing you mentioned to see if it falls apart easily. Regardless if it's bad prep work or lack or hardener, it's still their fault nonetheless.

 

That paint should be rock hard by now. If you leave any imprint at all, somethings up.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by musclecar70sfan

Guys, I have a very blunt question. Is it really possible for the paint to wrinkle like this (assuming the paint has been done right) if I did a poor job of installing the stuff? I just bolted everything together like you might expect from the factory.

I think if you installed things wrong there might be scratches on the paint, maybe deep ones or scuffs, but not what your pics show. As a cheat… we always blue taped the edges that would hit as we installed. Before the bolts went tight, but parts were in place the tape would come off, slow and gentle. We never had any paint lift. As many have said before I agree that there was a problem and it lies with the shops process. Looks to me in areas where the paint flaked at edges... lack of prep either sanding or cleaning. Sanding with too light of a grit. The wrinkling and paint wiping off says... thick paint and or not enough hardner.

Our daily driver had a collision repair and they hated me by the end. I had the manager walking away in shame and asking me where I learned painting, just time and seeing so many mistakes. I have had more bad paint jobs then good! You just let them know u know the truth, it's obvious. It's to the point now that they are using you as a scape goat. That is not OK! You are being dodged. This is not you coming back a year later and saying oh look at cracks and chips and scratches. This is immediate! On our car… they over painted (thick) and wrinkled (wet) our bumper... (I overheard them talking before they knew I was the owner) I called them out. They promised to fix it if it ever chipped and it chipped off while driving. Guess I'll be seeing soon if they stand behind their word.

The guy who painted our stang… I had a talk with him and he said the biggest difference in rattle can paint and gun paint is the hardner and activator. The rattle can has to stay liquid. So that is why u can pour gas on a rattle can job and it becomes soft and a gun paint job stays solid. Now he painted the stang in pieces. He painted in the winter and never baked the car. He was painting and installing in less then 24 hours. If it's mixed and prepped right no problems! Heck you can buff a car straight out of a booth!

Here is another scary thought. If they did not pull off the bumpers... did they use a flex agent in the paint??? I think if flex had been used all over you would not have seen the cracking in the paint by the spoiler mount. So I really wonder if you have flex on those bumpers and side GFX... one good bump and the paint on the urethane is toast. In order to fix it, it has to go back down to the primer!

The first paint job/ repair when I got my car at a shop went awesome. As I took it back for repairs over the years I noticed the work slipping. Finally the last job was so bad I had to have the whole car repainted to fix it. This is where I stopped and learned about painting. I went up to the shop and fought. In the end, I got my money back, but that was not enough to "fix" the issues! Be wary if they try to send you away with a full refund. Have some repair estimates from other shops in hand! What would they do to repair the whole car seeing what is happening? Be ready with that. I walked away with my money and got black listed by the local shops! I was told that old car is not worth the money to repaint!

The last paint job on my f-body was done the night before a car show by a paint instructor. He did it on the side on his time. The company gave him the paint for free to paint his own and so he could keep up his skills. Long story short… awesome paint job and we loaded the car & all the pieces and assembled it at a show the next day (gfx, dew wipes, mirrors, headlights, taillights, etc...) There were no issues with wet paint!

There is definitely something wrong here.

Oh and who quoted the paint job to you? What did they say about your satisfaction? It may come down to pulling them out there and asking if this is what full satisfaction means?

 

Like i said earlier call up the paint rep they have testers which can measure the thickness and the hardness of the paint. If they just used the cheapest paint, clear and primer your probably out of luck. If not then you probably can get materials comped.


How long did you wait before reassembling it?


Matt

 

The owner of the shop quoted the job (the one that refused to talk to me on the phone a few days ago). He and everybody who worked for him told me I'd be happy with the work. But I didn't get a written guarantee (my mistake)


I'll give the paint rep a call soon. And I waited about a day after I picked the car up to reassemble it.

 

Any updates man?

 

Eh not much man. I'm afraid it's a lost cause, especially after I accidentally dented my door while backing out of my garage.
Trust me, I'm not thrilled about it one bit. If anything interesting happens I'll let you guys know.

 

I agree with the adhesion problem but where the paint came off there is no primer under it. The entire car was primed then painted. Unless they sanded it all off on the edges. Around that mirror looks awful. Someone taped the gasket up then ran clear or paint or both over the tape. Piled up on door. 1500 should have gotten you a better job but 4000 would be closer to getting it done right. The base color on my car is 3100 a gallon for PPG. That is just the color, no clear. It would peel off too if the primer under it lets go.

Hope you get some satisfaction some how out of this. Places like this give body shops a bad name. Maybe some posts on c-list to keep others from having same problem.

 

I had a similar experience after a bad paint job on a front bumper repair. First they put a used front bumper on that looked like crap, runs in paint, etc. The owner met with my wife and I and agreed the work was unacceptable and ordered a new bumper. After a month or so after the new bumper was on every time I washed the car in the paint would come off in strips. In and out of the shop several times (in and out 5 times total). Finally I got them to settle for the cheapest of three other body shops' estimates if the body shop would state the problem (which was improper prep). Bear in mind this took a lot of arguing.

Don't give up. As someone mentioned report them to the BBB and go in the shop and raise hell and tell them you are reporting them. Be a loud *******, they don't want potential customers around the shop hearing your complaints.

 

$3,100 per gallon? I'd love to know what system/color this is.

 

It might be too late, but if you paid by credit card, file a dispute. I got screwed thousands on a paint job that is now resulting in hard "bubbles" all over the car and fish eyes when I began to buff it. The Dodge dealership it was being painted at closed with only a few days notice to their employees. They apparently threw my car together in a hurry and the employees could care less since they were being fired. I didn't realize how bad it was until it was too late to file a credit card dispute. Now, I make any major purchases, or ebay purchases, by credit card just in case. I wish I could repaint it myself but I don't have the time or knowledge or garage room to do this.

 

No, I partially disassembled the car before the paint so it would've been done the "right" way. So the mirrors were already off. I reassembled the car myself and therein lies my problem... the body shop is blaming me for improperly reassembling the car. I definitely will post up reviews all over the internet about this because I'm not pleased to say the least.

And it was all paid in cash.... little/no paper trail.

 

I agree i've never heard of such a thing not even camaleon house of color is that much

 

lost cause my ***, the owner would eat my fricken fist and id leave in a police car if my ride ever looked like that, i would sit there every day 9-5 with a sign and blow their spot, no way id deal with that for 500 bux let alone 1500.

 

$1,500 is a pretty common price down here...for a factory color. i think $2,000 is the most i've been quoted, unless i want a show car with a mirror shine, then it's more. but for a basic factory looking job, it's not that much. maybe it's all the cheap labor around here.

i'm supposed to wire up an engine in an impala for a bodyshop (friend of mine), in exchange for a paint job at cost only... which is less than a grand, full color change. engine bay, door jams, pillars, trunk, etc.

 

That's what my friend/paint store manager told me. He gave me the paint but I had to buy the clear. Common practice around here for people in business. If it is your own car, not something you're making profit on. He was whinning like a female dog when I told him what color I wanted. Said he thought it was most expensive he had. May have been pulling my leg a little but he did tell me that PPG chamelion was higher. That's what we put on his Jeep at my shop. His color is what I have on the bottom of my car.

Paint name on my car is white gold or white lightning used on 2007 GM Pontiac and Buicks. I used PPG Global. Check the price if you want, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. You can get a lower grade of PPG cheaper, it's just less refined as one rep said. I wouldn't have used Global if I was paying not because it isn't good, just the price. But the clear would still have been top grade.

Back on topic, as others have said. I'd tell EVERYONE about the quality work that shop did. I'm in the business and hate to see others taken by shoddy back yard work. At least Maaco gives you what you pay for, well almost. I believe they could have done a better job for the money.

 

Hard to tell for sure in pics but it really looks like that mirror was painted on car. Anyway if it wasn't, that paint shouldn't do that, no way, not for that money. Even the lower grade clears, used properly wouldn't do that. And I've used some pretty cheap stuff over the years. Almost scared to ask but have you tried to polish it a little? Just wondering if maybe it's a single stage paint. If it is, your rag will have color on it when you rub it with polish. It's much cheaper than base/clear, not as much shine and more like what a Maaco job would be. And well there are generic hardners that work with some paints and don't with others. Without knowing what was done every step of the way, it's hard to tell.

Still curious, when paint flakes off, what color is the bottom side of the flake? That will be what let go.

Sorry about double post but didn't see your reply first time.

 

Nah it looks like a base coat clear coat job judging by some of the scratches in the paint and how they buff out after rubbing them (no green color on the rag either).

 

Hey guys, sorry for bringing up a dead thread BUT I'm starting to think that somebody up there has taken this matter into their own hands. Back on MLK day (1.17.11), I got in a little accident with my DD. A flat bed tow truck was backing up into my path while I was making a right turn into a used car dealership and hit me. Fortunately, the accident wasn't my fault. But when the policeman was getting our information, my jaw hit the ground when I found out who the flatbed belonged to.

You're not gonna believe it, but the flatbed that hit me belonged to the shop that botched my Trans Am's paint job! Apparently they were at the used car lot I was trying to visit because they're affiliated or something.

I guess I got my money back (or at least most of it) after all.

I'm gonna go to the JY sometime next week to get a door and call it a day.





God has a funny sense of humor. Can't tell you guys how ecstatic I am!

 

Well how about that

Similar thing happened to my '77 Blazer, only it was parked in a parking lot. A rollback turned out of the spot next to it, but started turning WAY too soon. The back corner of the deck clobbered my front fender.

 

man i would have fallen out of the truck and flopped around on the ground like a fish my back my neck (payday)

 

go shoot the SOB. its glaringly apparent proper procedures were NOT FOLLOWED!!!! the prob youre having is called de lamination it happens when the primer sealer isnt sanded correctly/enough OR the shop used two diffrent brands/types of paint

 

Yeah I know but karma took care of this.

 

if you didn't already, make sure you file a complaint with the BBB about them

that really sucks man, hilarious that they reemed your jimmy though. i completely believe in karma

 

i just paid the shop to do body work i made my garage a sprayboothe and went to town (car disassembles) but im an experienced painter (auto/home/etc you get the point) lol im a third generation (irony?lol) union painter so i know what i was doing...anyways the paint wont last forever on your car try to get a refund if not bite the bullet save up like 5 g's and take it to a pro

 

That's just awesome. If I were you I would leave your door outside of their shop after you replace it and leave a sign saying "Karma's a B***h, eh? Then leave huge burnout marks outside the front doors.