[N0Chill 335i]

Sweet. PM me his info bro. I have an mtech front that needs to be painted asap!

[kihun]

thank me bastards =D

[N0Chill 335i]

Thank you Kihun... you're gawd damn awesome!

[kisho]

Pics of Richard from Saint AutoPaint at work.

Linky

[kihun]

did you end up putting bumpers by yourself? its pita

[bigdaddycane]

Originally Posted by kihun

did you end up putting bumpers by yourself? its pita

I've had mine off and on several times....piece of cake

[kisho]

Originally Posted by bigdaddycane

I've had mine off and on several times....piece of cake

+1 Like bigdaddycane said, piece of cake. Thought I do have my work cut out for me. I've got a LCI Hood and M-Sport front, Performance Rockers, and a M-Tech Rear to put on.

[kihun]

i didn't have enough tools... no jack and my car is lowered.. i couldn't get those two screws on each side of bumper... my wheels were still on while I was working on it too.. took me at least 30 minutes get those darn screws!

[bigdaddycane]

Originally Posted by kihun

i didn't have enough tools...

Simple solution....buy some tools. I got a killer low rise jack at Costco for $99, or you can go to Harbor Freight (store in Sterling) for a jack and jack stands. Not expensive at all.

[N0Chill 335i]

Gonna see Richard on Monday about getting my lip painted. I won't attach it for a couple weeks more than likely. Give the paint some time to cure before driving around with it on. Soon I put it on I will post pics though.

[bigdaddycane]

I have an appointment with Richard next Friday for a repair on my front bumper.....hope it comes out good.

[kisho]

Good luck fellas. Hope it's not windy and he shows up. Dude stood me up on the second meeting when I wanted four pieces done. He texted me 3.5hrs later saying he wasn't going to show. It was also slightly breezy the first time and the paint job didn't come out perfect and he told me it was another $50 to buff out the imperfections per piece.

If it wasn't for those two things, I'd really recommend him. His paint matching is 100% and he seems to be a real chill guy.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by kisho

Good luck fellas. Hope it's not windy and he shows up. Dude stood me up on the second meeting when I wanted four pieces done. He texted me 3.5hrs later saying he wasn't going to show. It was also slightly breezy the first time and the paint job didn't come out perfect and he told me it was another $50 to buff out the imperfections per piece.

If it wasn't for those two things, I'd really recommend him. His paint matching is 100% and he seems to be a real chill guy.

That's been my experience with over 90% of the "little guy" tradesmen with whom I've tried to do business, from car detailers to gardeners, housekeepers, and cooks. I finally just had enough of it and now only deal with solidly professional outfits that have a proven track record.

I just don't have time to make time for tradesmen and then have them not show up or be ill prepared or ill equipped to deal with the exigencies of the work they are to perform for me.

As for Richard, the story you shared just tell me that the guy is hardly a professional. Knowing that weather, even just wind, can adversely affect the results of a car paint job, I cannot imagine that he even showed up at your home/office with no plan to handle the contingency that he wind might blow. That he wanted an additional $50 to correct his work as a result of the wind is unforgivable, IMO.

Even the folks who cater large events (200+ people) at my home have the sense to come prepared to erect large tents for my guests because the caterer knows damn well that as large as my house is, 200+ people won't fit nicely inside its public areas. Being a pro is about knowing what can go wrong and being prepared to prevent that from happening.

Were I the OP, I would, upon reading your story, cancel my appointment with Richard and just go to a good body shop and have the work done right and without any fuss.

[kisho]

Originally Posted by tony20009

That's been my experience with over 90% of the "little guy" tradesmen with whom I've tried to do business, from car detailers to gardeners, housekeepers, and cooks. I finally just had enough of it and now only deal with solidly professional outfits that have a proven track record.

I just don't have time to make time for tradesmen and then have them not show up or be ill prepared or ill equipped to deal with the exigencies of the work they are to perform for me.

As for Richard, the story you shared just tell me that the guy is hardly a professional. Knowing that weather, even just wind, can adversely affect the results of a car paint job, I cannot imagine that he even showed up at your home/office with no plan to handle the contingency that he wind might blow. That he wanted an additional $50 to correct his work as a result of the wind is unforgivable, IMO.

Even the folks who cater large events (200+ people) at my home have the sense to come prepared to erect large tents for my guests because the caterer knows damn well that as large as my house is, 200+ people won't fit nicely inside its public areas. Being a pro is about knowing what can go wrong and being prepared to prevent that from happening.

Were I the OP, I would, upon reading your story, cancel my appointment with Richard and just go to a good body shop and have the work done right and without any fuss.

Yea, I learned my lesson. I'm heading over to Euro Pro to get everything painted. I got quoted the same price Richard gave me and their paint booth really sent me over the edge. I'm driving over on Tues. wish me luck!

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by kisho

Yea, I learned my lesson. I'm heading over to Euro Pro to get everything painted. I got quoted the same price Richard gave me and their paint booth really sent me over the edge. I'm driving over on Tues. wish me luck!

Good luck. I'm sure it'll go just fine.

It's really saddening when you think you are doing something to help out someone trying to make their way in business and they neither live up to expectations nor bother to manage yours/mine so I know what the playing field looks like. In Richard's case, I'm pretty sure a statement from him to the effect of

"I need to tell you that if there's more than an X-mph wind, it could cause such and such. I'm not equipped to deal with windy days, but I have an idea that might work if a different day won't work with your schedule. I have plenty of plastic wrap and sheets that I could drape over your stuff in the garage to keep paint spray off things. Some paint may still end up on the floor, but if that won't bother you, we can just go ahead with the agreed upon date. What do you think?"

It's really not that hard to show that one wants to do excellent work. A little bit of integrity and commitment to a customer's best interest and to anticipate their potential concerns goes a long way. I know that's really all I expect, especially when dealing with single-person and other mom & pop types of operations. Indeed, one advantage of dealing with small outfits is that they can offer the flexibility that large corporations cannot. It doesn't cost a single cent to just be frank and open with one's customer/client, but when they show me they can't do that much, well, I'm done with them.