Spray Painter in ACT - yet another rant.

[Jimmy]

I'm not even going to try and explain why but can anyone recommend a QUALITY HONEST spray painter in the ACT? One that takes pride in their work and has respect for their customers? One that will do what they say they will do to a very high standard and won't go behind your back taking short cuts and do a half-arsed atrocious job your dead grandmother could do?

Jimmy.

[Veloce]

No Jimmy! Has the respray gone wrong? Deepest sympathy to you.

[Jimmy]

Yup.

[Jeo]

Never had to use one myself, but I was with a mate when he was looking to get a Mugen front bumper he bought 2nd hand repaired, sprayed and fitted to his Prelude + removing a dent and respraying the bonnet. Sicne it was an after market item, J Racing and New Gel were the only shops we found that would touch it. They were quite similar in the prices, J Racing as marginally cheaper, but we both left J Racing feeling better than when we left New Gel.

They had the bumper for about a week while it was repaired, then took the car overnight for fitting + painting. The end result was great. The bonnet was as flat as factory, the bumper fit perfectly, you couldn't tell that it had been repaired and everything has blended nicely into the parts that werent respreayed. All in all, Jerry did a great job at a great price.

[Mr Morlock]

Finding a good painter should not really be difficult- there are many approved panel shops with the right equipment and knowledge to do a good job. Suggest you check your insurance co for panel shops they use in your area.

[Jimmy]

I've found another place that will do the job properly.

Now that i have calmed down a bit, here's what happened.

This is what was wrong with the paint job:

1. Wrong colour
2. Sanding marks on paint visible across the entire door
3. Pits, dents and "dirt" all through the clear coat
4. Exposed clear coat masking lines on the exposed side of the door
5. Clear coat was poorly masked resulting is unsightly masking lines around the rubber window seal, door lock, side mirror, edges of door
6. Failure to clean the door before painting. They literally painted straight over dirt, especially under the rubber window seal
7. Rubber seal is completely rooted
8. Very bad orange peel
9. Clear coat overspray onto neighbouring panels
10. They took zero pride in their work, the were dishonest about the work they were going to do on the car and the manager was highly abusive and intently harrassed me.

I could not believe how bad the quality of work was. I have had better results from a spray can. Seriously.

After picking the car up, I took the car to several other automotive paint places and asked them what their professional opinion was (i didn't say any details at all, i just pointed to the door and said tell me what you think). Every single one literally laughed at the result. I think i was the only one not laughing.

When i took the car back to paint shop and had a gripe about the work, the manager went ape sh!t at me. He was swearing his head off while getting right up close to my face saying stuff like "how f*#king dare you bring this back to me you f#*k, you know nothing about painting a car, you're a f@^king idiot etc etc etc". After biting my tounge for a very long time I told him that by the looks of it i knew a hell of a lot more about it than he did. Of course he shat serveral bricks consecutively after that comment. None the less, i remained calm and composed even though i wanted to deck him right then and there. I copped a fair bit of flak before i decided i wouldn't take anymore of his verbal diarrhea. I told him i was taking the car to a place that would do a quality job and knew what they were doing. And with that i drove off with him hurling abuse at me saying "get f@#ked you a*^ehole ect ect etc (you don't need to hear it)

Wankers.

[mr_rotary]

It's a pity not many people these day's take pride and joy in their work and speaking from experience within the building industry. There is a lot of people out there who are too quick to take your hard earned cash and try to make a quick buck.

Name and shame so others don't get cought.

[Jimmy]

BDL Car Stereo, Fyshwick, ACT (6 evil faces out of 10)
New Gel Automotive, Fyshwick, ACT (10 evil faces out of 10)

[Mr Morlock]

this is a monumental distaster. You might want to consider a small claims tribunal ( assume these are in place in ACT) as preparing and repainting is not a $50 job. At the very least I would write to the alarm company and see if they will refund you some money. Pity you did not have a witness at the painters and if you do speak to them again face to face take someone with you. If you do take any action it might be wise not to repaint it until you have checked your rights. A quote from the "new guy" might be in order as well.

[Jimmy]

I am seriously considering going to the small claims court. I am so incredibly fed up with this whole situation. I have made countless trips to Fyshwick, each a 60km round trip. Aaaarh, Keith if you are reading this, i'll shoot you a PM tonight.

I have been keeping a diary of the events as they unfold. Every little detail has been recorded, every trip i've made, every phone call, what was said, how they reacted, everything. I've taken lots of photos and have witnesses who specialise in the automotive spray painting are who have all seen the crappy work New Gel did.

The new paint place has given me a quote of $550 plus the cost of a new window seal rubber. I have had a good look at their other work and am satisfied that they will do it right and to the standard that i want. The bloke at the new place said that the bloke at New Gel doesn't even have a trade qualification in Automotive painting

[Jeo]

That's just not cricket mate. Best of luck getting it resolved and I hope it all works out

[Keith]

First, get a quote from a decent spray painter for rectification work. This will now by far exceed the cost of the original spray job. That's just a fact of life.

There should have been no masking at all- that reeks of a substandard job to start with.Everything else screams "shonk" as well.

If you are insured, take it to your insurance Co and ask one of their Assessors to look at it & ask for a report ( warning: they may not be interested in helping, but if you explain everything especially to one of the Assessing managers you will find them, by and large, sympathetic.).Otherwise,( and preferably) get an independent Loss Assessor with spray painting qualifications to look at it before you do any deal with a new painter. They are in the phone book. Ring and ask about their training, experience & qualifications.Get a report. You will need this in evidence later. Tell the Assessor he may need to give evidence if the matter goes to Court. No point at all in getting a report from someone who wont be prepared to go the Court. Assessors charge around $165 incl GST in NSW.Retain the Assessor to oversee the repair this time.

If you contracted with the spray painter direct, send it to him and tell them they have to pay for rectification work. Tell them you will sue their arse off , report them to the Motor Traders Association, the A.C.T. equivalent of the Fair Trading Dept, and whoever else you can think of. Dont take crap like that from a rip off merchant who shouldnt be in business anyway.Also put it all oi writing, and send it registered post.Keep the receipt and a photocopy of the letter. PM me & I'll help you draft it in suitably unpleasant terms


If the workshop that damaged your car arranged for this spray painter and paid for the spray job,( which I would presume to be the case) take your car and the loss assessor's report ( on the sub standard spray job) back to the workshop which damaged the car initially [ ie the alarm installer] , show it to them, and - depending on their reaction- (a) amicably get them to agree to have it fixed properly this time, or , (if (a) fails) (b) do a major dummy spit at them, and tell them you require the car to be repaired properly. Complain long and hard about the crap job their nominated painter did. They are still responsible for fixing your car ( unless you organized this painter, in which case it is between you and the painter) and they are effectively out of the loop.

Your options will largely depend on the circumstances under which this shonky repairer was engaged, and by whom.

If you found this guy, the alarm installer probably cant be held liable and is, as I said above, probably now out of it. In that case, your dispute is between you and the repairer.But if the installer contracted with him, at your behest or requirement, ( i.e. if you insisted on the use of this repairer) your whole legal position gets a lot more complicated. I dont particularly want to work out your options under that scenario unless I have to. Suffice it to say your rights against the repairer direct would require further consideration if that was the scenario.

PM me with some of the details of how he was engaged & I'll give it some thought. Also PM me with the name of your insurer: I have some contacts amongst NSW Insurance & independent motor vehicle Loss Assessors.One of these may be able to recommend someone in the ACT.

[sliq]

i always believe in acting nice to people when you get your way..

but if that stops, time to switch on ballistic mode.

[Keith]

I totally agree sliq, but in this case, given the way this repairer abused Jimmy when he politely tried to point out the defects, I thought it unlikely that this repairer would be too rsponsive to the polite approach. He is obviously a bully. But I agree that your point is totally correct.

Maybe an approach via a Loss Assessor to the repairer for rectification work would succeed, as he is bound to rectify the bad job. It is a matter for Jimmy if he is prepared to entrust his car to this painter again, I suppose, but I got the impression the repairer was being particularly abusive, rude and generally unhelpful!

Jimmy, the last thing you need out of all this is litigation, but Mr Morlock is right and to protect your own position you need to be at least considering this in your dealings from now on. Even if you only hold out the thrteat of litigation as a bargaining chip.

Hopefully, the matter can still be amicably resolved, because if it gets to litigation you will be badly out of pocket, for sure. Litigation is not really viable for a $500 claim.

[sliq]

i learnt off the best.. Mr. J. W. Conomos