AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGH!
Discussion
This took a lot of time and effort to get right. StuW did an amazing job with his PC. Wouldn't you agree?
THEN...
Cue old man reversing into nearside rear clam - causing nothing more than a slight crack, no more than an inch long, that ran across the 'lip' under the wheel arch (at about 3 o'clock viewed side on). No big deal. Took it to xxxx, they said £115, I said great, old man paid.
However - xxxx outsourced the work to a 3rd party who will (regrettably) have to remain nameless.
I picked the car up and the (tiny) repair looked great, nicely done, however the whole nearside on the rear clam was covered in the most shocking swirl marks I have ever seen in my life. Not only this but it was also covered in peculiar bubbly looking paintwork, especially noticeable on the 'hip' - evidence, it transpires, of an old repair which was done so perfectly that it was completely imperceptible even to my exceedingly particular detailers eyes. I was pissed off.
Took the car back to xxxx this morning to have the paintwork guy explain it all - he said the bubbly looking marring was uncovered when he polished the paintwork back, and said if he'd tried polishing any more it would only get worse...
WHICH HE PROCEEDED TO DEMONSTRATE!
Now, I apologise to non detailers reading this, you may wish to fall asleep..
He used the dirtiest looking rotary polisher imaginable DIRECTLY on my very dirty paintwork (I'd not cleaned it so that the marks couldn't be blamed on me). There was absolutely no prepping at all. No rinsing. No washing with a lovely lambswool mitt and shampoo. No drying with a scratch free microfibre towell. No clay bar to get the bonded contaminents out. No nothing whatsoever. Just,
"here's a filthy old rotary with a filthy old pad, a bit of some unknown polish, let's stick it straight onto your paintwork and rub away some more layers!"
Then, just to kick me while I was down (I was quietly seething) he wiped the polish off with an old rag.
I'm too angry to continue this post.
Edited by TonyHetherington on Wednesday 2nd May 13:01
jaykaybi said:
"here's a filthy old rotary with a filthy old pad, a bit of some unknown polish, let's stick it straight onto your paintwork and rub away some more layers!"
Dude that is SHOCKING. I can't believe that!!! It was a paint place that did that? (Was it the one a few minutes down the road?) That is just completely unacceptable!
So (when calm!)...what's going to be done about it?
TonyHetherington said:
jaykaybi said:
"here's a filthy old rotary with a filthy old pad, a bit of some unknown polish, let's stick it straight onto your paintwork and rub away some more layers!"
Dude that is SHOCKING. I can't believe that!!! It was a paint place that did that? (Was it the one a few minutes down the road?) That is just completely unacceptable!
So (when calm!)...what's going to be done about it?
No, it was a stupid looking bloke with a van. I'm a f*cking amateur and I stood there and watched the incompetant w*nker inflicting damage without realising what a p*llock he is. I just stood there, quietly getting very angry, only the presumtion that he's been such a d*ldo that I'm going to get a complete rear end respray out of xxxx holding me back...
I spoke with Mark xxxx (xxxx's manager) and tried to make it as clear as possible about how p*ssed I was and that, despite it being a 3rd party contracted job, I took the car to xxxx and I wanted no further direct contact with the tw*t who thrashed my paintwork up. I tried to explain to him the meticulous work that went into making the car look as fresh as it did, the processes involved, the time it took, the care that had to be taken. He's spoken to the 3rd party who has agreed to repaint the area, but I don't trust him at all, he was like a baby with that rotary, absolutely clueless about the damage he was doing. Who's to say that he won't do the same thing over an even bigger area this time?!
Surely it's not too much to expect that a paintwork professional knows more about paintwork than I do?
Surely it's not too much to expect that a paintwork professional can apply new paint and leave it looking like new paint?
The area he's damaged covers the entire side of the rear clam, including above the hip, some way round the rear end, part way onto the spoiler (or whatever it's called, you know what I mean) and also several inches of the driver's door in places.
He's going to have a tough job.
I'll give him his chance, but if it comes back in any way imperfect, what can I do?
Edited by jaykaybi on Wednesday 2nd May 10:48
Edited by TonyHetherington on Wednesday 2nd May 13:01
S Works said:
I would ask for quotes for 2 other places to get it fixed and have nothing more to do with said amateur.
tell the garage you have no confidence in this guy and that you want it done properly - by people who know WTF they're doing. if enough people do this the garage should no longer outsource work to this particular muppet.
SpydieNut said:
S Works said:
I would ask for quotes for 2 other places to get it fixed and have nothing more to do with said amateur.
tell the garage you have no confidence in this guy and that you want it done properly - by people who know WTF they're doing. if enough people do this the garage should no longer outsource work to this particular muppet.
Speak to the dealer principal. Make sure he knows you will never darken their door again, and you'll take everyone on here with you.
Right this is how dirty the car is. The cat is a different rant altogether...
Here's the offside section for comparison - notice how few swirls there are beneath all the dust...
And here are some lovely shots of the newly improved nearside rear paintwork, coutesy of numpties'r'us, specialists brought in by xxxx to repair a 1 inch crack under the wheel arch...
This is my personal favourite - it's like a marring party!
This one shows the previously nicely covered repair, note the spotty pattern to the right of the glare...
Enjoy!
Here's the offside section for comparison - notice how few swirls there are beneath all the dust...
And here are some lovely shots of the newly improved nearside rear paintwork, coutesy of numpties'r'us, specialists brought in by xxxx to repair a 1 inch crack under the wheel arch...
This is my personal favourite - it's like a marring party!
This one shows the previously nicely covered repair, note the spotty pattern to the right of the glare...
Enjoy!
Edited by jaykaybi on Wednesday 2nd May 11:40
Edited by TonyHetherington on Wednesday 2nd May 13:02
I'm not a complete pansy but I'm not the most confrontational person going either, can I get a consensus -
Do I have a case for a rear end respray at Lipscomb's cost, or should I get in touch with Miracle Detail and find out how much they'd charge to put it all right (if it can be - rotary polishers dig deep and I'm not sure how those swirls are going to come out!)
Cheers all, I just want to check my anal obsession (don't anybody dare quote that) with detailing and paintwork care isn't making me overreact!
Do I have a case for a rear end respray at Lipscomb's cost, or should I get in touch with Miracle Detail and find out how much they'd charge to put it all right (if it can be - rotary polishers dig deep and I'm not sure how those swirls are going to come out!)
Cheers all, I just want to check my anal obsession (don't anybody dare quote that) with detailing and paintwork care isn't making me overreact!
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