Bad Respray Experience
Discussion
Recently had a mobile person come and work on 2 of my cars.
Car 1
Had a dent on the passenger side front wing and a crack in the bumper.
The guy has filled the dent and then re sprayed the panel, unfortunately however it’s not a very good job.
First of all the filler is very visible as it has not been sanded down smoothly, you can see lines where the filler has been applied. The respray is a great colour match however at some stage during the respray an awful lot of dust / dirt etc has got onto the wing. The result being a very rough feeling finish with visible particles of dirt, when these are lifted of it takes the paint off too.
Also lots of overspray on the sidelights, black rubber etc.
Its not a very good picture.
Car 2
It had a small dent on the front passenger wing; the quarter panel had some lacquer peeling as did the rear spoiler.
The guy again has filled the dent on the wing but not sanded it down smoothly, the finish on this is far worse then car 1. The filler looks like its been applied once then sprayed over rather then sanding it down.
Again the wing has a rough finish as dust / other particles are between the paint and lacquer.
The colour match is wrong.
Rear quarter panel again has a rough touch to it, also visible drip marks where the lacquer has been running down the panel as it dried.
The rear spoiler is really bad, its been sanded down but then not cleaned, almost like the old lacquer has been sanded off then paint applied. Big shavings of what is probably the old lacquer painted over.
I have spoken to the chap who did the work and asked him to come back and sort it, but not having much luck, emergencies at home keep popping up and now he won’t answer my calls or emails.
So the question is, what can I do to get the paintwork sorted, part of me wishes I had left them with the dents as they looked better then now. Will it help if I get some rubbing compound and try to get a smooth finish on car 1?
Car 1
Had a dent on the passenger side front wing and a crack in the bumper.
The guy has filled the dent and then re sprayed the panel, unfortunately however it’s not a very good job.
First of all the filler is very visible as it has not been sanded down smoothly, you can see lines where the filler has been applied. The respray is a great colour match however at some stage during the respray an awful lot of dust / dirt etc has got onto the wing. The result being a very rough feeling finish with visible particles of dirt, when these are lifted of it takes the paint off too.
Also lots of overspray on the sidelights, black rubber etc.
Its not a very good picture.
Car 2
It had a small dent on the front passenger wing; the quarter panel had some lacquer peeling as did the rear spoiler.
The guy again has filled the dent on the wing but not sanded it down smoothly, the finish on this is far worse then car 1. The filler looks like its been applied once then sprayed over rather then sanding it down.
Again the wing has a rough finish as dust / other particles are between the paint and lacquer.
The colour match is wrong.
Rear quarter panel again has a rough touch to it, also visible drip marks where the lacquer has been running down the panel as it dried.
The rear spoiler is really bad, its been sanded down but then not cleaned, almost like the old lacquer has been sanded off then paint applied. Big shavings of what is probably the old lacquer painted over.
I have spoken to the chap who did the work and asked him to come back and sort it, but not having much luck, emergencies at home keep popping up and now he won’t answer my calls or emails.
So the question is, what can I do to get the paintwork sorted, part of me wishes I had left them with the dents as they looked better then now. Will it help if I get some rubbing compound and try to get a smooth finish on car 1?
Edited by R360 on Monday 6th December 14:37
ing abysmal.Thanks for the replies, it was an independent person and it was not a cheap job at all. I had actually had a few cheaper quotes from some of the franchised guys, but opted for this chap:
1 - He was local
2 - Passionate about cars
3 - Seemed very professional
4 - Came recommended from a mate, granted that did not include paint work
I am about 10 miles from Aylesbury, M25 Junction 20
Be grateful for any advice on how to try to improve it.
1 - He was local
2 - Passionate about cars
3 - Seemed very professional
4 - Came recommended from a mate, granted that did not include paint work
I am about 10 miles from Aylesbury, M25 Junction 20
Be grateful for any advice on how to try to improve it.
Edited by R360 on Tuesday 7th December 09:33
If the repairer you chose is a member of a professional organisation, like the VBRA, get them involved to mediate.
If not, I'd suggest a letter setting out your concerns and inviting them to contact you to arrange resolution and making clear that you reject the work. Set a time limit on getting a response and advise that if they don't contact you you will have no alternative but to engage a third party to put the work right and recover the costs from them. Always offer them the opportunity to inspect the work in its current condition before anything is done to it - you have a much harder time proving your case if you've destroyed the evidence that the job wasn't satisfactory.
I understand the advice you're getting that the same chap shouldn't be allowed back near the car - but generally in contract there's an obligation to give a service provider an opportunity to put things right if proper performance of their side of the deal isn't managed first time. You have a legal obligation to keep the costs in getting things put right to a minimum (the duty to mitigate your losses), so there's a strong presumption that if the repairer can put it right at no further cost to you, that's the best outcome.
It sounds from your description as though quite a lot of paintwork was done, particularly on the second car, for a mobile job. HSE would consider the repairer in breach of the COSSH regs if they were respraying full panels or multiple panels, or an equivalent area, outside of a spraybooth. This may be a negotiating point should it come to it.
ETA - if the fillerwork is visible, either the prep scratches, or the shape of the filler skim, the repair will need to be redone. Unfortunately this isn't something that can be fixed without further paintwork.
If not, I'd suggest a letter setting out your concerns and inviting them to contact you to arrange resolution and making clear that you reject the work. Set a time limit on getting a response and advise that if they don't contact you you will have no alternative but to engage a third party to put the work right and recover the costs from them. Always offer them the opportunity to inspect the work in its current condition before anything is done to it - you have a much harder time proving your case if you've destroyed the evidence that the job wasn't satisfactory.
I understand the advice you're getting that the same chap shouldn't be allowed back near the car - but generally in contract there's an obligation to give a service provider an opportunity to put things right if proper performance of their side of the deal isn't managed first time. You have a legal obligation to keep the costs in getting things put right to a minimum (the duty to mitigate your losses), so there's a strong presumption that if the repairer can put it right at no further cost to you, that's the best outcome.
It sounds from your description as though quite a lot of paintwork was done, particularly on the second car, for a mobile job. HSE would consider the repairer in breach of the COSSH regs if they were respraying full panels or multiple panels, or an equivalent area, outside of a spraybooth. This may be a negotiating point should it come to it.
ETA - if the fillerwork is visible, either the prep scratches, or the shape of the filler skim, the repair will need to be redone. Unfortunately this isn't something that can be fixed without further paintwork.
Edited by Anatol on Tuesday 7th December 11:21
Eddie 4 2 said:
Was it snowing when the chap repaired and painted your cars? Lol.it does look a very very bad job,with a finish like that he must of had a prob or he's not a car painter.how much did he charge you? . Ed
It had snowed a few days prior to him doing the work but both cars were in the garage so were dry. He did the work in the garage too. The pictures are taken about a week after the work was done, hence the snow on the floor.£125 a panel.
Got your money back on the first job (at least) op?Nightmare said:
out of interest do you have any before pics? sounds to me like maybe it was a bodyshop job all along
This one
Edited to add the bonnet is the same colour as the rest of the car, not sure why it looks blue in that pic, rubbish iphone camera...
Edited by R360 on Tuesday 7th December 16:05
trading standards will ask you to send letters and try to contact the chap, they may even follow it up themselves to an extent as they did in my case.
eventually after hearing if this it will be in the guys best interests to sort it out properly.
why did you pay after seeing the poor job he had done anyway?
eventually after hearing if this it will be in the guys best interests to sort it out properly.
why did you pay after seeing the poor job he had done anyway?
R360 said:
Thanks for all the info but i need to know how to get the cars sorted, as opposed to legal help.
I don't think you will find any good mobile paintman to get involved with sum ones fk up mate.might be a good idea to go to a small good body shop to get it sorted.good luck edGassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff