Why you should never compromise
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Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Rogue River, Oregon
Why you should never compromise
Ever try to help someone and have it bite you? Well, I sure did last night, hopefully you guys can take a lesson from it. A few months ago my wife's uncle asked me to paint his truck. It's a nice '86 F150 that has had the paint peeling for years and even though it only has 46K miles, it looks like it has been through the wringer. They never wash it, it sits outside and looks it. Anyway, because I've been working a ton of hours lately, I was unable to do it so my father-in-law did it, or should I started on it. He's getting up there in years and even though he scuffed it and spot-primed it, he was afraid to paint it so I offered. When I got there last night it was a mess, his garage is tight and poorly lit, the truck's prep was rough to say the least and he had gotten a cheap, single stage metallic blue rather than the base/clear I prefer. I scuffed the whole truck with a grey 3M pad, wiped it with some cleaner I brought, and said a prayer to the painting Gods. It didn't work. His compressor couldn't keep up, he had no water trap and since he never washed the truck to start with, crap was blown out of the crevises. Although he was happy with the truck, I was not and am very, very, very sorry I ever got involved with it. I am very picky about my work, and even though I shot it for free, my name is still on it. So now I have a set of new, iron-clad rules, never paint over someone else's work, never paint in someone else's (unfamiliar) shop, never use any product you do not approve of and above all else, never risk your reputation just to be a nice guy. As a painter, your name is all you have, and having some tiger-striped mess running around is far worse than saying no in the first place. Rant over.
Cranky Old Guy
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,562
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From: Raphine, Virginia
Good rant. Good rules to go by. Being an amatuer, I refuse to do work for anyone. Just the opposite of your situation, while my work might be good enough for me, I'm not touching someone elses for body and paint.
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Joined: Sep 2010
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Ever try to help someone and have it bite you? Well, I sure did last night, hopefully you guys can take a lesson from it. A few months ago my wife's uncle asked me to paint his truck. It's a nice '86 F150 that has had the paint peeling for years and even though it only has 46K miles, it looks like it has been through the wringer. They never wash it, it sits outside and looks it. Anyway, because I've been working a ton of hours lately, I was unable to do it so my father-in-law did it, or should I started on it. He's getting up there in years and even though he scuffed it and spot-primed it, he was afraid to paint it so I offered. When I got there last night it was a mess, his garage is tight and poorly lit, the truck's prep was rough to say the least and he had gotten a cheap, single stage metallic blue rather than the base/clear I prefer. I scuffed the whole truck with a grey 3M pad, wiped it with some cleaner I brought, and said a prayer to the painting Gods. It didn't work. His compressor couldn't keep up, he had no water trap and since he never washed the truck to start with, crap was blown out of the crevises. Although he was happy with the truck, I was not and am very, very, very sorry I ever got involved with it. I am very picky about my work, and even though I shot it for free, my name is still on it. So now I have a set of new, iron-clad rules, never paint over someone else's work, never paint in someone else's (unfamiliar) shop, never use any product you do not approve of and above all else, never risk your reputation just to be a nice guy. As a painter, your name is all you have, and having some tiger-striped mess running around is far worse than saying no in the first place. Rant over.
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 34
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Ever try to help someone and have it bite you? Well, I sure did last night, hopefully you guys can take a lesson from it. A few months ago my wife's uncle asked me to paint his truck. It's a nice '86 F150 that has had the paint peeling for years and even though it only has 46K miles, it looks like it has been through the wringer. They never wash it, it sits outside and looks it. Anyway, because I've been working a ton of hours lately, I was unable to do it so my father-in-law did it, or should I started on it. He's getting up there in years and even though he scuffed it and spot-primed it, he was afraid to paint it so I offered. When I got there last night it was a mess, his garage is tight and poorly lit, the truck's prep was rough to say the least and he had gotten a cheap, single stage metallic blue rather than the base/clear I prefer. I scuffed the whole truck with a grey 3M pad, wiped it with some cleaner I brought, and said a prayer to the painting Gods. It didn't work. His compressor couldn't keep up, he had no water trap and since he never washed the truck to start with, crap was blown out of the crevises. Although he was happy with the truck, I was not and am very, very, very sorry I ever got involved with it. I am very picky about my work, and even though I shot it for free, my name is still on it. So now I have a set of new, iron-clad rules, never paint over someone else's work, never paint in someone else's (unfamiliar) shop, never use any product you do not approve of and above all else, never risk your reputation just to be a nice guy. As a painter, your name is all you have, and having some tiger-striped mess running around is far worse than saying no in the first place. Rant over.
Jeff
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