Is there such a thing as TOO anal? (long)

[atma]

When I lived in Baltimore, a guy who couldn't be bothered to walk half a b;ock tried to squeeze into a spot he couldn't quite make and he took some paint right off the front point of the car. a tiny spot, but because it was where 4 facets met, a touch-up would've never looked perfect so an entire front bumper respray was required. I stressed over this for a year and a half after moving to a new area and unable to find a reliable recommendation. I finally did a google search, picked all the shops with the best reviews and went to each one for an estimate. There were only two that were clean & modern enough and gave me a printed estimate that made me feel comfortable enough to consider. Ultimately, the shop I chose was the most expensive, but the gentleman I talked to engaged me in a lengthy conversation about how the car, even stock, didn't really match because of the different materials from body panel to bumper. I was already painfully aware of this, being a Summit White owner. he also warned me that white was one of the hardest colors to match. He called me a 5%er, as in only 5% of customers were not only aware of these things, but actually cared.

When I picked the car up, it looked too good to be true. Now that I've had a chance to A/B it to a factory p[aint job, I am so pleasantly surprised to be able to say their color match is actuallly better than OEM (although there is still some small difference). Moral of the story? It IS possible to match the factory paint. Difficult, sure. By all accounts. Impossible? no way.

Yes, I think you're right to be this anal. it seems the reason you chose this shop is because they had the reputation as a place that would get it done RIGHT. it may be time to bite the bullet, go someplace else and pay to have it done right. don't continue to throw bad money at good money (and your time without the car is money) and the extra $ you'll pay will be worth your peace of mind and enjoyment of the car. Just think of it as a mod you weren't planning on but will really make the car look fantastic.

[Bad@ssCamaro]

Originally Posted by AKA chaoss

How about these

Can definitely see it in the second pic. Did you have to pay for each successive try?

I just recently had something fixed on my car and I had it done by someone I have known for years. He gave me a great price and said it would be PERFECT. HA! I got it back and when I got back to work with it and the sun hitting the car just right, It had a whole mess of flaws. On top of that the whole car was jacked from him washing the car...micro-scratches over every inch of the car. I've been anal about washing the car properly to avoid getting those micro-scratches (The Junkman method) and it took one bonehead one afternoon to destroy the factory paint. I confronted him about it and he denied everything and blamed it on me driving the car during the winter (I hadn't driven it since November of last year) Needless to say, part of it was my fault because I ignored the warning signs - No high end cars getting work in the shop, the shop was a complete mess, dust everywhere. Needless to say he didn't want to make it right....he won't be getting any referral's from me, he can stick with his low-end clientele. If anybody from MA is reading this, stay away from East Coast Customs in Springfield.

[AKA chaoss]

Originally Posted by atma

When I lived in Baltimore, a guy who couldn't be bothered to walk half a b;ock tried to squeeze into a spot he couldn't quite make and he took some paint right off the front point of the car. a tiny spot, but because it was where 4 facets met, a touch-up would've never looked perfect so an entire front bumper respray was required. I stressed over this for a year and a half after moving to a new area and unable to find a reliable recommendation. I finally did a google search, picked all the shops with the best reviews and went to each one for an estimate. There were only two that were clean & modern enough and gave me a printed estimate that made me feel comfortable enough to consider. Ultimately, the shop I chose was the most expensive, but the gentleman I talked to engaged me in a lengthy conversation about how the car, even stock, didn't really match because of the different materials from body panel to bumper. I was already painfully aware of this, being a Summit White owner. he also warned me that white was one of the hardest colors to match. He called me a 5%er, as in only 5% of customers were not only aware of these things, but actually cared.

When I picked the car up, it looked too good to be true. Now that I've had a chance to A/B it to a factory p[aint job, I am so pleasantly surprised to be able to say their color match is actuallly better than OEM (although there is still some small difference). Moral of the story? It IS possible to match the factory paint. Difficult, sure. By all accounts. Impossible? no way.

Yes, I think you're right to be this anal. it seems the reason you chose this shop is because they had the reputation as a place that would get it done RIGHT. it may be time to bite the bullet, go someplace else and pay to have it done right. don't continue to throw bad money at good money (and your time without the car is money) and the extra $ you'll pay will be worth your peace of mind and enjoyment of the car. Just think of it as a mod you weren't planning on but will really make the car look fantastic.

we think alike...

[AKA chaoss]

Originally Posted by Bad@ssCamaro

Can definitely see it in the second pic. Did you have to pay for each successive try?

I just recently had something fixed on my car and I had it done by someone I have known for years. He gave me a great price and said it would be PERFECT. HA! I got it back and when I got back to work with it and the sun hitting the car just right, It had a whole mess of flaws. On top of that the whole car was jacked from him washing the car...micro-scratches over every inch of the car. I've been anal about washing the car properly to avoid getting those micro-scratches (The Junkman method) and it took one bonehead one afternoon to destroy the factory paint. I confronted him about it and he denied everything and blamed it on me driving the car during the winter (I hadn't driven it since November of last year) Needless to say, part of it was my fault because I ignored the warning signs - No high end cars getting work in the shop, the shop was a complete mess, dust everywhere. Needless to say he didn't want to make it right....he won't be getting any referral's from me, he can stick with his low-end clientele. If anybody from MA is reading this, stay away from East Coast Customs in Springfield.

No I've only had to pay for it once, I can tell they really want to make me happy but just seem to be incapable of actually doing so. I almost feel bad for continuasly bringing it back.... Almost

[High Magnitude]

i honestly dont mind the nicks. i think it gives the car character. looks like its been through a lot ya know? of course when it comes time to sell my baby, i might reconsider

[PalmerGA]

If you can still see the imperfection, you are not being too anal. Maybe you need to find a better body shop.

[Mityguy]

I took my car back to my body shop 3 or 4 times to get them fix the orange peal they left me... also in side the fuel door there was a huge paint run they fixed that for me too. I told the guy I wanted it to look like it had never been painted.

[el ess A]

While I completely understand the OCD dilemma you have, I'm still wondering how on earth do you enjoy your car? I can likely spot more wrinkles/dinks/paint nicks in your car that aren't perfect. And I'm sure you won't take it to the body shop for that...(or maybe you would, who knows?)

And once you drive it another 6 months, I'm betting your current problem wouldn't be much of a problem any longer.

That said, if you're paying top dollar for paint work, the least they could do is get a door ding out.

The paint will NEVER match unless the entire car gets painted. No matter what you do. That's why most of these so-called body shops recommend blending the surrounding panels to help hide this sort of thing.

Plus, although it seems it has got a little better, the nose/tail panel paint usually doesn't match exactly from the factory. On some colors it's worse than others. Ask an early Summit White owner, or IOM or Red Jewel or CRT owner. Black isn't as noticeable.

On a somewhat unrelated note, it just MIGHT surprise some that things sometimes happen at the assembly plant, and panels and dings, etc., are repaired before they even leave the building. There's an area for "repairs" that take care of on the line quality check inspections complaints. Sometimes this means paint.

[Skhan]

I am very picky about me car too. Anything and everything about it. In this case I would look at it as Am I getting the service which I paid for. You paid for the services to fix something up which you love.

Simple and sweet- you are not being anal if you don't get the service which was promised to you.

[Warpaint69]

I don't know exactly what lights my Uncle has in his body shop, but my car looks horrid under those lights, shows every tiny flaw. I drive it outside and it looks great. Lighting does have a great effect on when things are and aren't seen.

[Wiseman654]

My 0.02, go be anal as much as you want. This isn't a $20 item we are talking about, this is worth THOUSANDS of dollars! I see no problem with wanting to keep your expensive toys in great shape. Haters gonna hate.

[1badtie]

the problem is you have a black car. any imperfection will be seeable.

[Backspin9]

Originally Posted by Warpaint69

I don't know exactly what lights my Uncle has in his body shop, but my car looks horrid under those lights, shows every tiny flaw.

Those are called the God Lights. My detail shop has a bay with 12,000 watts of halogen lights in it. They use it for making paint corrections before putting on a wax or sealant, and those things show EVERYTHING.

Since I do my own washing and detailing by hand now (between twice yearly shop details) I re-worked the lights in my garage to have 2,000 watts of light. While they don't approach the status of the Almighty, they are at least up there with St. Peter. LOL.

[NYJets77]

too much of anything, no matter how good, is never a good thing.



even anal.