paint film install gone wrong

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jermoff

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I have been waiting to get suntek installed on the front bumper of my '15 corvette so that I can do paint correction and coat the whole car. I had the bumper repainted to get rid of rockchips and decided to have it wrapped to get it chip free. I got the car back from getting the film put on and the installer used a pre cut kit that had 4 pieces. He installed the 3 center lower pieces on upside down. I couldn't believe he gave it back looking like that. I took it back and he re-did the center using bulk film. First thing I noticed was that he must have put it on then cut it to fit. I saw multiple cuts in the paint and the lower edge was peeling up badly. I told him I would take the front lip off and bring it back so he could re-wrap it all the way under. I just got it back for the third time and couldn't believe it. he did the same thing except the top edge that is visible is jagged and wavy with cuts all over the place. At this point I do not see any other option than having the bumper repainted. Extremely upset with the situation. He came highly recommended from someone who had their entire corvette done. Any recommendations on what I should do? I feel like the only option is to have him pay for the bumper to be repainted and refund the cost of the original install..
 
I would contact a lawyer. You paid for the laser cut fitted ones and through his mistake, he ended up damaging your car. Go in with a lawyer and explain to the installer what you you want from him.
 
•I'd find out:
-Is this installer "Suntec certified"
-Just exactly what your Suntec PPF
warranty encompasses
-How far this installer will willingly go
to make amends ($$$) for damages.


•(Just a thought):
-Pre-cut kits should not
need any further cutting...



Bob
 
Unfortunately this seems to happen all to often. Good installers are very hard to find IME. At the very least get your money back and have the film removed. You can try and get them to pay for the repaint but it may be a lost cause and not worth the court battle. I'm guessing you paid around $800 to have it painted the first time?
 
I really wish I would have done more research. I am hoping I do not have to go the lawyer route but that may end up happening if he does not cooperate. He is already trying to make up excuses. Yea the repaint was 800 and was perfect. I should have just left it. I will post pictures later so you can see how bad it actually is.
 
On my 10 year warranty card, it specifically states:

"This 10 year warranty applies only to SunTek Paint Protection Film Ultra. Suntek Paint Protection Film Ultra is intended for use only on fully cured OEM vehicle painted surfaces. Vehicle surface repainting is not covered under this warranty irrespective of the reason for removal."

At this point I'd be leery of removing the PPF because since you had the bumper cover repainted, there is a chance removing the PPF will remove uncured paint. So the bumper cover may need a repaint. If you're seeing damage from the installer, you probably have a good case.

As Bob mentioned above, the installer should have been SunTek certified installer, you should contact SunTek and see what they can do. Hopefully they'll escalate the case and you'll get some traction.

I just got my new 2016 Mustang EB back yesterday. They did a full-frontal of SunTek PPF Ultra and it came out amazing. If you got the Ultra, you should not polish it and coat it. It already comes with a self-healing coating. Polishing it will remove the factory coating and will remove the self-healing properties. When you contact SunTek provide them with the PPF installed on your vehicle and ask them for care tips and techniques.

Hopefully you'll get this resolved. Please reply back to the thread when you can give us and update.
 
Just an update we have been going back and forth and he is refusing to compensate me at all. And is saying no one will ever notice except me. Which baffles me as to how that makes it ok. Here are some photos:







 
jermoff said:
Just an update we have been going back and forth and he is refusing to compensate me at all. And is saying no one will ever notice except me. Which baffles me as to how that makes it ok. Here are some photos:
Click to expand...

Him saying that is admitting there is a problem, and simply saying "only you will notice" doesn't justify a thing. I, as others have said, would contact legal help. Get your money back, repair your damaged car, and maybe even then some. Also, another route you could go is contact Suntec and let them know one of their "certified" installers is dishing out garbage.
 
PouncingPanzer said:
Him saying that is admitting there is a problem, and simply saying "only you will notice" doesn't justify a thing. I, as others have said, would contact legal help. Get your money back, repair your damaged car, and maybe even then some. Also, another route you could go is contact Suntec and let them know one of their "certified" installers is dishing out garbage.
Click to expand...

Agreed. You paid for a quality, precut film install. Not a hack job that "only you will notice". Sorry this is such a nightmare!
 
I've lost all patience for stuff like this. What I have learned from having a few experiences like this is...

1) Do not let these guys touch your car again. They will just waste your time and make the problem worse. They will also be more reluctant to compensate you as they will have sunk more labor cost.

2) Demand both a refund and that they pay for a repaint. Bring a quote from a reputable shop. Propose that they can also pay directly to another shop of your choosing to redo the work if they don't want to pay you out. They are clearly not capable of providing the service you paid for.

It's very likely that you'll just be screwed by these guys, but I think doing this gives you the best odds of preventing it from getting worse and getting anything to fix it.
 
Most shops don't do enough ppf work to actually get good at it, but they are happy to use your car as a test bed. It's a bit of an art with a lot of little tricks to get it just right.
 
Which brand PPF you use is not as important as the installer. There are alot of hacks out there and you need to be careful. I did about 6 months research on it before my M2 was delivered, not only on the PPF itself but who to use. I used a place here in Michigan because there known to be one of the best in the country. If they were not close, I would have shipped the car to them, that is how important the installer is.

I paid alot more to them than any of the other quotes I got, but it was well worth it. The extra $$ went to tucking all corners and man did they do a nice job. They did entire front, a pillars, 1/3 roof and full rockers all the way back. The only lines you see is rear quarter and roof, thats because it just stops. Its hard to wrap the bumper on all edges cause its thin plastic with 90° edges, but the corners they couldn't they have it EVENLY spaced just off by maybe .5mm

You should also know you need to wait 30-45 days for the new paint to gas out. If not you will have issues. I was OK with my new car because the paint is cured at plant with high heat, and it had a 3 week journey crossing the pond. Plus my PPF guy was so busy it sat there another 3 weeks. The car was transported in an enclosed trailer directly from the dealer to his shop.
 
Ernie Mccracken said:
I really need to add PPF installation to my skill set. Seems like that segment is profitable and growing.
Click to expand...

They are crazy busy. Problem is they cannot find good help. Their normal hrs are 9-6pm, but from April to Sept they work til about 11pm every nite. They get to play with cool cars though. That's my M2 under a 2008 911 GT2 with a Viper next to it. Then when I picked it up it was next to a Ferrari.
 
Well this is still going on. He stopped replying so I told him I would be filling with the small claim court. He instantly replied telling me to come to his shop and he will decide if it's worth repairing or not. I told him it wasn't up to him to decide if it's "worth repairing". I told him I'd meet him somewhere halfway if he really wants to look at it. But no way I'm wasting another 1.5 2 hours again driving to his shop.
 
There you go. That's a shop you know not to go to anymore. With his quality of work so far, do you really think he could fix it properly? I would suggest another reputable shop and sending the first installer the bill.
 
Damn. That is one awful lesson to learn.

Sorry you have to go through all of this aggravation. Such a beautiful car too. :/
 
Sorry man. This is just one of an endless list of examples (along with personal experiences) that have gotten me to the point where when I want something done that is important to me I learn to do it myself if I don't already know how. If it's something I can't do then I live without it. It's that simple. This applies in all aspects of my life, not just cars.
 
Well it's been a couple months of going back and forth with this guy and he got to the point where he absolutely refused to pay. So I left a review on his Facebook, google, and bbb. He texted me within 12 hours saying to take everything down and he would pay for it, if I take it o the body shop of his choosing. Which is some collision shop I've never heard of. I told him no way I want to take it to where I had it done before. They had done it perfectly and stood behind their work.

He's now back to saying I'm being ridiculous and he's going say screw it again. He also said no other shop would even consider paying to have that fixed.

so frustrating. Now it's to the point where I'm about to just make a claim in small claims court and let them handle this..
 
jermoff said:
He's now back to saying I'm being ridiculous and he's going say screw it again. He also said no other shop would even consider paying to have that fixed.

so frustrating. Now it's to the point where I'm about to just make a claim in small claims court and let them handle this..
Click to expand...

Geez man, sorry this is such a nightmare.

And he's full of it - I do auto repair, and any shop I've worked at would always cover any kind of technician induced damage (coworker scratched a door with the clip of his flashlight getting into a car, windshield broken from another guy changing wiper blades and left the naked wiper arm pulled up - snapped down and cracked the glass, etc). That's not even damage caused by poor workmanship like in your case.

Isn't this why businesses have insurance?

Good luck man, hope you can get taken care of somehow.
 
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