Inspecting a paint job

Does new paint have small ripples or texture while the thinners and such are gassing off?

 

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What you are describing sounds like orange peel. Common problem on paint that was sprayed too dry or in too high temp booth. I did body and paint work back in the 1970's... I know a lot has changed since then, but orange peel remains a problem.

EDIT: Just saw your pics. Man, that really looks good in the pictures!

 

Last minute, I decided to cancel my line x appointment fearing the bed would look like my interior instead of brand new. I dropped my truck off at the paint shop and explained that I was NOT happy with the experience so far.

This was how it was presented to me. I nearly cried. It looked like they used the same bucket to wash the inside and the outside. I guess no one taught the detailer to wash from the top down.

So disappointed in this shop so far...

 

Good thinking on cancelling your line x. Did you get to talk to the shop owner when you brought it back?

 

Yeah, I spoke with the owner. Showed him what I didn't like. He told me he was really busy this week and wanted me to keep the truck. I've played that game before and i didn't let him finish. I told him no, I don't want to see the truck till it's ready for final inspection. I told him since he's had it for 3 months it needs to get finished. He started to say it's not a show truck, i told him after 3 months it better be. I told him i want to do a final inspection before receiving and that he needs to be present when it happens. I told him I have a rental for one week, get it done! We shook hands and i left. I hope I didn't scare him, I get animated when I'm upset and start swinging my arms and huffing and puffin. Lol.

 

That could be a good thing (getting animated). I think he has strung you along long enough. Time for it to be done (and right).

 

I called today to see where they were with my truck. The owner said it could be ready by 5:30 sat evening but to call Friday at 3pm. Its gonna be dark and rainy by that time Saturday. I'm going to request that it be dry and well lit.

After seeing the truck last time, I'm very concerned that, short of taking it all apart and repainting it, it's gonna look like a really nice paint job from 20 feet but sloppy as hell when you stand near it.

I've been waiting 7 years to have this done as per the agreement with my employer, 3 months to get it back from the paint shop. I have lots of friends, relatives, neighbors, co workers, and acquaintances from my trade all anxiously waiting to see my truck, especially because of how long it's been at the paint shop. Everyone's gonna want to see it and look it over real good. Thank goodness no one saw it but you guys last week.

I've been defending the shop from people expressing that it's been an awful long time, by repeating what the owner says to me " I WILL wow you. It's gonna be NICE!!! Feel this car, that's how smooth your truck will be after Its finished, youre gonna want to park it because it's gonna be so nice!!

So if I'm disappointed again, what should I do? Take it somewhere else? Ask him to do it better?

The shop across the street just painted a co workers 2015 dodge ram pickup bed with a really sparkly brown with no defects and he didnt need to raise any issues with the shop. No, come back later and we'll fix that. Or, sorry you truck was so dirty.

I was told that the products the detail shop used to detail my interior prior to getting it painted were responsible for some of the defects. The owner said he had to wash his hands every time he touched the interior. Why wouldn't they protect my seats, dash and floors from all the dust with plastic an masking tape? Wouldn't that have solved the issue? Aren't professionals supposed to recognise a hazard like that and take the neccessary steps to prevent that from causing problems? Aren't they supposed to wash the truck several times? Once before base coat, after wet sand, degrease before clear coat and after the final sand n polish, and before delivery for sure!! Right?

Oh, after a typical paint job don't they usually wet sand or polish the paint? This is the 3rd paint shop to try and deliver a vehicle to me before they finish. Is this typical as well?

Lastly, am I expecting too much for a $8,500 paint job for a truck with only minor scratches and chips.

I like to keep my vehicles clean and shiny, so it's gonna bug the hell out of me if every time I wash the truck I see the defects.

 

Updating my paint job journal. Lol.

When I called the paint shop after 3 on Friday they moved the ready time to noon Saturday. Saturday I called from noon till 2pm and no one answered. So I took a drive down to see why no one was answering. The shop was closed and my truck was inside and the emblems were still missing so I assumed it wasn't ready. Would have been nice to get a phone call saying so.

I called Monday afternoon and spoke with the owner, he didn't say anything about Saturday. He listed off a bunch of things he's doing resolve the problems they say I caused by having my interior detailed before getting it painted. Supposedly it will be ready by Tuesday evening. At this point I'm only hoping I'll be happy with the results. A co worker had his truck bed painted at the shop next door and it looks perfect. I'm hoping mine will look as good, but it should look better. I had planned on giving the paint shop a great review after it was done but at this point i think ill just keep quiet.

I thought this was going to be a great experience, but instead it feels more like going to the dentist. You think you've done a great job taking care of your teeth only to find out you need to come back and get a root canal and a bunch of fillings. Ugh...

 

I don't think I would keep quiet. I would write a review that tells it like it is. NO shop deserves to stay in business with BS like that.

 

I drove my truck home tonight!!! Oh my god, im so happy to be done with this.

Its not show qaulity, its adequate. They fixed a few of the things and polished the paint better. The interior was cleaned better and the overall appearance is much better.

I plan on getting the porcelain or c9 protection once it cures. They do a surface correction as part of the process and I think that will smooth out any of the rougher orange peel.

It was getting dark when I picked it up but I think they fixed the fish eyes and smoothed out the paint some. It has a much better look than before. It no longer has that weird reflection, like an oil sheen on water. Now it looks like a shiny paint job that was just polished. I can live with it. Next stop line x!!

It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow, ill take some new pics then and see if it looks any different for you guys.

Thanks for participating in my thread mhoward!!

 

This is my third experience with a paint shop. My first complete paint job. This is typical to me. Everyone wants to promise the moon but do as little as possible to collect a check. If you come back with a list of 10 defects they will usually do a few and hope those help you over look the rest. If that doesn't do it then they wear you out by either inconveniencing you or making it financially difficult by having you drop it off over and over or using a rental etc... If that doesn't do it your only recourse is to sue and that's a pain in the ass too.

By the time all said and done everyone will say, you could have bought a new car with that much money. But they don't make rangers anymore. At least not yet.

This was the closest I could get to getting a new one and I think it's gonna be alright. If it was too nice I'd be scared to drive it, right? Lol. I think I'm too picky a lot of the time. I'm pretty sure most of you would love this paint job and be quite happy. I just expect perfection because that's what I try to deliver in my trade. I'm always trying to make it better than the last time.

I still have to get a few misc pieces to pick up from the paint shop. Maybe I'll just post the link to my paint journal here in a yelp review after I've finished up all my dealings and am certain I won't need to see them again.

 

Posting a link to this thread is actually a really good idea! That way, people can see how you approached it and how the paint shop treated you, not to mention pictures!

 

The truck looks good in the pics. Any time you have a car painted it's a crap shoot. I've had the same shop do 2 different
paint jobs and you'd swear they farmed one out. 3 months is way too long to wait for a paint job only to get second rate
work. Tell the owner you are going to put a sign on the truck telling the world he painted it. Maybe he'll offer to clean it
up or do something to ease the pain. Again the truck looks great in the pictures. The color is great.

 

Today was the first day I really had a chance to look at the paint. I started out by going to the parts house and buying a shammy and oil, filter, and I already had a new air filter in my garage. After i had the oil changed I when through a brushless car wash because I'm scared I'm gonna be blamed for the things they still need to fix and the paint is really new. It was the only way I could really inspect the paint. I shammied the truck dry and went to an empty lot to take a few photos while the sun was still out. The finish is much better this time around. Not sure you will be able to see in the pictures. Any photo tips are appreciated. Lol. I have the note 8 which has a great camera.

I walked around the truck and used my clean hands to feel the panels. I found 6 or 7 bumps that felt the size of a large grain of sand. I also found an area by the driver door lock the has a chips or flakes. Very small ones but the defect covers an area the size of a dime. There is another spot on the passenger side rear door about the size of a tic tac that looks like the clear didn't adhere. It's painted but it catches the light different. I'll try and get a close up picture of it tomorrow when its not to sunny.

There is an area by the passenger side taillight that almost looks like the paint might bubble. It's a bump with some give.


I tried to describe everything in the best detail I could because I'm trying to see if that many and kind of defects even though they are small are acceptable for my level of paint job.

I thought painters could lay down good paint. I thought the only thing that was different for a show quality job was how smooth they worked out the clear. I think if you have the doors and hood off you could make sure there were no little bumps to snag a wash rag. They are able to do it when they blend repairs, why can't they do it when they have the whole panel?

If these last defects can be fixed in a satisactory way I could move on and be happy with the job. So I feel like I'm in limbo till I get this taken care of.

Am I being too nit picky?

The other shop that I liked said it was too big of a job for them but gave me an competitive estimate anyway. He said it would take him a month and tie up his staff too long. But it is a good shop with a good reputation. I'm going to see what he thinks of the job and the defects before I return to get the last few items missing from the truck. (My paint shop ordered another driver side mirror back and a license plate light housing. Mine was broke on the passenger side.)

This over all has been a manic nightmare of stress and a rollercoaster of unpleasantness that seems like it will drag on into next year possible.

I really didn't want to have a relationship with my paint shop. My intent was to drop it off, then pick it up and see a remarkable transformation, pay my bill and never look back. Lol. Instead I get to play this game again where I drop it back off and pick 10 things to fix, they fix 3 and i repeat till I get tired of it or they fix it all.

Hopefully I have the constitution to stick it out. I have so many other projects and things I'd rather be doing to the truck and around the house instead.

On the bright side. I love driving my truck. It has such a good suspension and power. It's such joy to drive. Which is why i got in this mess in the first place, Im in love with my truck. lol. Isn't It obvious. Lol.

 

Looks really good in the new pics! Small things in the paint are pretty hard to avoid. Bear in mind that an excessive amount isn't acceptable, but a few little things like a speck of dirt in the paint is gonna happen. I wish mine looked that good!

 

Ok, so I am overly picky? I like my trucks to stay looking like new and dont want to scuff it washing it all the time. I plan on doing a porclain, ceramic, or c9 protection.

In the videos and descriptions I've read they do a surface correction. Is that similar to smoothing out the clear? And would that fix these defects or make them permanent?

These need to be fixed, correct?


It got too sunny to get pictures of the small raised dirt dimples. As you can see, my paint is too shiny to capture these. You'll only see a reflection of my phone. Lol. I'll try again in the evening.

 

I'm not sure where you live but $8,500.00 for a paint job on a truck already in good shape seems
really high. The real story will show up in a year or so. If the prep was done correctly the paint
will still look good. If they faked it you'll know soon enough. I think the truck looks pretty good.
I was thinking about paint on mine. Now I wonder if I can deal with the aggravation. 3 months
and still not what you expected. I'd say animated was just what was needed. Good luck and
please keep us posted.

 

Okay, your close-up pics show me what you are talking about. THAT, is not acceptable... not for a $3000 paint job and certainly not for $8500! I would be dragging that paint shop owner in to court.

 

The owner says he will fix everything. But as most who have delt with expensive repairs either on a car or a house it takes perseverance.

Friday I drop the truck off for what is supposed to be a final time. There are about 7-10 nibs or dust and sand grains and the 2 defects in the picture. I really wish they would smooth out the clear better but I understand, since he's already been paid he's going to do as little as possible.

 

Black is even harder to make it look smooth. In your profile pic the paint looks pretty good. Maybe just touch up any rock chips and polish. A good polish can make most oxidized paint look new again.