Mini Cooper Coupe saved from the body shop hackage

RaskyR1

RaskyR1

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This car belongs to a co-worker/friend of mine and I coated it just over 2yrs ago right after she bought it. It's not her primary car and is definitely her baby, which she takes very good care of. She doesn't have the luxury of a garage so she had purchased a large, fully enclosed tent that she parks it in. Unfortunately a big storm came through this summer which blew the tent onto the car, scraping up about 65-70% of the panels.

Now I have to go on a bit of a RANT on this job because I referred her to a local body shop that I've been sending cars to for years. It's very close to our work and is considered to be one of the best in the metro. She had a bad experience at another body shop before so she was VERY clear with her expectations when she dropped the car off. These pics are how the car was left after the body shops SECOND attempt to fix the damage they caused and to finish the poor workmanship. Now I've come to expect cars from a body shop to be full of holograms and maybe some tiny areas with sanding marks, but the burning of trim and compound all over this one is inexcusable IMO. The compound on the trim was also very difficult to remove and I was unable to fully restore the air ducts up front, though they improved quite a bit.

After seeing this car I will NEVER send another job to this shop again!

End Rant!



Before Pics

Top right corner is actually melted from the rotary buffer


Compound in the textured plastic














Owner said this scuff was from the tent and was supposed to have been fixed. It it pretty small but she noticed it and it should have been repainted.


Hood was painted an new stripes were applied...compound in the edge of this one.


Left over compound around lots of the upper trim pieces








Light burn on the trim around the mirror




This drives me nuts as the hood should have been sanded and buffed while these were still removed.


Large amount of compound under the hood


Sanding marks left behind...keep in mind these are all after the second attempt to polish them out.








Typical holograms....these I can deal with and is what I expect, but she pointed them out when the car was brought back and they should have been addressed.








This REALLY irritates me! This hood was repainted, it should be flawless! Look at how deep these scratches are from the new stripes being applied! (I need to go back and get an after pic for these but they did come out)


These tiny white specs are actually pin holes in the paint that are filled with compound. I had to look under magnification to verify what I was seeing.
 
This is how a car with this much trim should be prepped for polishing. A $3 roll of tape could have saved all that damage.


50/50


Wrapping things up




Noticed this light over spray when doing the glass














couldn't get these 100%






































Thanks for looking,
Rasky
 
Nice work, what did you use to remove the dried compound on the plastics?
 
TRDTACO said:
Nice work, what did you use to remove the dried compound on the plastics?
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I had to try multiple things actually. I started with Optimum Power Clean and a brush, this removed some of it but not the stubborn stuff. Then I tried steam with a brush and finally I used a wax & grease remover solvent on the really stubborn areas. I coated the trim with Opti-Lens when I was done which helped hide/clear up what wouldn't come out in a couple areas.
 
RaskyR1 said:
Thanks.

I had to try multiple things actually. I started with Optimum Power Clean and a brush, this removed some of it but not the stubborn stuff. Then I tried steam with a brush and finally I used a wax & grease remover solvent on the really stubborn areas. I coated the trim with Opti-Lens when I was done which helped hide/clear up what wouldn't come out in a couple areas.
Click to expand...

You answered my questions before I asked.

Car came out great, im sure she was happy. That black and red goes excellent together.
Thanks for sharing.
 
Great work.

Its a shame a body shop would put out a car like that.
 
Nice save Chad. :dblthumb2:


Two comments...

1. Although it's never good to receive shoddy work from any company it's shoddy work like this that provides work for talented detailers to fix.

2. Body shops are really more about painting cars then buffing them out. By this I mean they either include a sand and buff job or they charge for it as an add-on service but either way it's a quickie job, not the type of work that we here in the forum world think of when we talk about sanding and buffing out or detailing a car.

It's usually the person that's called the painter's helper that does all the sanding and buffing, not the painter themselves, and they give the guy garbage to work with and half a day to do the work.

The results are just like what Chad shared,

  1. Compound and polish residue on trim.
  2. Sanding marks left in the paint.
  3. Holograms everywhere.
That is the norm for this industry. And most customers don't complain or don't know any better that what they received was hack work.


I'm working through pictures I took that don't show compound residue on plastic trim because this car doesn't have any plastic trim but it does have holograms everywhere from the body shop buff job. Have a 1969 Corvette with the same problem.

And what's sad is it takes just as long to do hack work as it does to do the job right.


:)
 
Nice work Chad, I'd like to know which body shop that came from as I don't want my car going there. PM me if you'd prefer.
 
Fantastic job! I had my roof resprayed due to some clear coat failure and they left marks like those on my shark fin antenna. Still have yet to attempt to remove them. So, your post helps point me in the right direction.
 
Great save Chad. She's lucky that she knows someone like you with the talent and patience to get her ride looking the way it should.
 
Thanks guys!


Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Nice save Chad. :dblthumb2:


Two comments...

1. Although it's never good to receive shoddy work from any company it's shoddy work like this that provides work for talented detailers to fix.

2. Body shops are really more about painting cars then buffing them out. By this I mean they either include a sand and buff job or they charge for it as an add-on service but either way it's a quickie job, not the type of work that we here in the forum world think of when we talk about sanding and buffing out or detailing a car.

It's usually the person that's called the painter's helper that does all the sanding and buffing, not the painter themselves, and they give the guy garbage to work with and half a day to do the work.

The results are just like what Chad shared,

  1. Compound and polish residue on trim.
  2. Sanding marks left in the paint.
  3. Holograms everywhere.
That is the norm for this industry. And most customers don't complain or don't know any better that what they received was hack work.


I'm working through pictures I took that don't show compound residue on plastic trim because this car doesn't have any plastic trim but it does have holograms everywhere from the body shop buff job. Have a 1969 Corvette with the same problem.

And what's sad is it takes just as long to do hack work as it does to do the job right.


:)
Click to expand...


Thanks Mike!

The issue here is that she was VERY clear with her expectations. It's probably a good thing I didn't see the car in person after she got it back the first time. This was how she brought it back to them. The Post-it notes are for dust nips, sanding marks, holograms, or compound residue.








 
i was called today by a friend to come fix his car that had plastic and trim stained by another detailer. i tried magic sponge with several cleaners, then resorted to laquer thinner, and it restored to brand new looking. maybe try that?
 
RaskyR1 said:
Thanks Mike!

The issue here is that she was VERY clear with her expectations.
Click to expand...

Good for her to be educated enough to know what to ask for and even for knowing what to expect. I'd guess most people taking their car to a body shop don't have a clue as to what to expect for finish quality or what the norm is.



RaskyR1 said:
This was how she brought it back to them.

The Post-it notes are for dust nips, sanding marks, holograms, or compound residue.
Click to expand...


Now that's hardcore consumerism.

Tell her I said she'd fit right in here on AGO!


:dblthumb2:
 
Very nice Mr. Raskovich! :dblthumb2:

That was one truly educated customer!
 
Great job Chad! I would have been really pissed off too. They don't deserve any further referrals, that's for sure. Hard to find good work these days...
 
Excellent work, Rasky!

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Good for her to be educated enough to know what to ask for and even for knowing what to expect. I'd guess most people taking their car to a body shop don't have a clue as to what to expect for finish quality or what the norm is.
Click to expand...
Ain't that THE truth!
 
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