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Am I crazy thinking it should be fixed? Bit of a rant...

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  perrykw 
#1 ·
So here is the story...I had my TopShop bags and fender painted at a painter very close to me who said he had worked with candy orange and could match it...well he couldnt (close and i could have lived with the color) but he also was an A**. I picked the stuff up (and not knowing anything about paint) had the boxes and bubble wrap still at his shop and decided to throw them in that and put them in the back of the truck (no argument from him). Well lets say paint was still to soft and left circles in it not to mention 3 months later the paint was still soft enough that my fingernail could make an indent...so i said screw him and found another painter who was highly recommended.

Here is where my issue starts...We decided on a custom candy orange similar to stock but a little more pop. He talked me into some designs and i decided i wanted a skull on the tank. Picked the stuff up and it all looked great. I wanted it to be a bit ghosted so you could see details as you got closer and everything but the skull was perfect...it was a little to light but no big deal. Drop the parts off to the builder he uses get the bike together and noticed...the placement of the skull is where he would put it on a normal cruiser or batwing...its to far forward and partially covered by the fairing. So i bring it up to him and he is very defensive (somewhat understandable) after showing him pictures and explaining i understand to a point why he put it there he still couldnt even admit it wasnt right. Now at this point i had some issues with TopShops side covers not fitting the viper bags (my fault should have double checked) i was thinking of having them repainted along with some other little extras and asked if he would redo the tank if i paid for the other stuff. His response was that he cut me a great deal and he cant afford to purchase the paint and still make a profit on my work. I was even willing to BUY the paint and have him just cover his own labor!

Now i will admit he worked magic with this paint and the PAINT looks stunning...but to me (a business owner) i would have WANTED to fix it out of pride and especially being a painter i would have thought it would look bad something so central to the bike being almost invisible. I dont want to name any names with it as i do have respect for his work and hope he will come to his senses when he sees it (which he hasnt been able to do yet).Sorry for the long rant but wanted to try and get the story out fairly and accurately haha. What do you guys (painters and clients) think? Am i asking to much? Should i just shut up and be happy?
 
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#2 ·
I think you have every right to ask him to go it over, in fact I would think he would want to make it right. I have powder coat shop & we specialize in bike parts and the majority of the work we get is custom. Our big thing is if we wouldn't put on our bike, why should we expect you to put it on yours. That's us, I can't speak for your guy. Good luck though
 
#3 ·
That's why I send lots of pics throughout the process, especially when it comes to artwork placement, I send mock up pics of where the art will be before paint gets sprayed, when I get a "go ahead" then it gets shot.

In your painters case he probably didn't realize the RG fairing would block the art view, But "I" would re do it just to keep a happy customer.
 
#5 ·
You have a right to be upset. I just had my bike painted also.... the painter knew my lowers weren't going to be dry enough but promised me to be ready for Daytona, so he's going to repaint them for free. I know how that soft paint is......

Sent from my SPH-L710
 
#6 ·
That wasn't the issue. The OP had an issue with the first painter. But, IMO, the second one tried to do a fine job (and, as the OP stated, "works magic and the paint is stunning"). I personally think this is a rant, and the OP is hard to please. I get that it may not always be exactly what you want after the fact, but why would he want to do more business with you after you already admitted you "had some issues with TopShops side covers not fitting the viper bags (my fault should have double checked) i was thinking of having them repainted along with some other little extras and asked if he would redo the tank if i paid for the other stuff" and you seem to be a difficult customer. Small business owners do need to make a profit. I don't see anything in the original post that indicates that the second painter wasn't trying to do a good job (and, in fact, is apparently pretty good). Just didn't put the skull in the right place. But sounds like the painter does have pride. If his "PAINT looks stunning", he obviously has pride. OP sounds like a difficult customer and I'm not surprised that the painter didn't want more business from him.
 
#8 ·
I want to add my rant to this thread. Maybe I'm a hard to please customer.

After having a very bad experience at B&D Customs in Edgewater, Fl I have to respond.

I took in lower bag extensions to be painted on 02/06. I picked them up on 02/11 and proceeded to install them. I noticed that the extensions were a few shades lighter than the bags and didn’t match, even from a distance. It appeared to me that the base coat (tri coat paint) was wrong. I took them back on 02/12 with the saddlebags to show the difference and they agreed they were not a match and agreed to fix the problem. I picked up the bags and extensions on 02/14 believing the problem had not been fixed. Now the extensions match the bags but they had painted my bags to match the extension. I took the bags apart from the extensions and noted they had painted my bags with the extensions assembled. This left a line of a different color on my bags making a bad situation worse. I took the disassembled parts back to B&D to get some sort of resolution on 02/24. I took a side cover (they had satisfactorily painted the outer/inner fairing, front fender, fairing lowers and side covers during a previous project) as a guide to the correct shade to match the fender. I was told that I may not get them back before Bike Week starts since they have other work before mine. I finally received everything back on 03/05. What I got back was the same exact mis-match with the bags/extensions and rear fender and I believe they sprayed paint on my side cover. I don’t believe in doing the same thing over and over to get a different result. I repeatedly told them they were using the wrong base.

During the process I had talked to Joey about the base coat being wrong. He assured me he knew what he was doing and that I was wrong. Every time I brought the items to get painted the situation was ignored and any blame that could be applied was my fault. He is an arrogant, narcissistic jerk that questions why anyone would not accept his product.

I finally bought a touch up kit from Color rite and proceeded to create a color swatch with the products I received. The color rite swatch was a 99% match to fender. I showed this to Joey and he said his matched too. I pointed out that the base he was using didn’t have gold in it to subdue the light reflection but he stated his base had gold in it so I was wrong. I even had a color swatch made from a little kit he had given me to dso some touch-up. He will not admit that he is using the wrong formula to make his base. He stated he uses the same formula as PPG. Why is there no gold, only silver, showing in the base?

So, now I sit with saddlebag extensions, saddlebags and a side cover the wrong shade because the wrong base was used. I have the option of painting them myself (this is what will happen) or have them painted by another painter and sue for the costs. There is zero chance I could collect even if I prevailed. So, the only way I can get satisfaction is to repeat this story as often as possible and hope I cause enough business to go elsewhere for their paint to make up for the insults I received and the money I had already paid them.
 
#10 ·
Just my .02 concerning the original post . . .

All depends on the level of communication. If the painter showed the OP pics of the graphic placement or showed it to him in person before he sprayed it, then it's on the OP. If the painter just assumed where to put it, then it's on the painter. (unless the OP told him to just "do his thing" without any guidance.

As for the other post about color not matching, definitely on the shop. I deal with body shops every day. The good ones take a great deal of pride in delivering an outstanding product. The ones that don't give a crap shoot some color and send it out the door.
 
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