No cure for stupidity.....

[crazyjoe]

So, a friend of mine tried to get berry stains out of his hood (he parked it beneath a berry tree) by using some rubbing compound that he had in his garage, and applying it with an old rag.

Obviously, he messed up the finish, and pretty badly. So he asked me for help. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that if he tried to correct his mistake by himself, that he'd have a good chance of making it worse, and possibly irreparable. I told him I'd contact Gary K to see if he knew of a reputable place in the Detroit area we could go.

So, Gary obliges, and gives me a name and #. Buddy calls the guy, gets a preliminary estimate for 40 dollars (sure beats repainting the hood!), but tells me this:

quote:
I suppose I'll get his estimate and whether or not I like it, I may see if there is a joint a bit closer to home.

I was flabbergasted...here is my response:

quote:
Do me a favor. Since I took the time to contact a reference for you, and find a shop with a good reputation, please take the time to go to them if you decide to have this work done. Otherwise it's a slap in the face to me, Gary, and the guy who quoted you. Quality work is worth a few extra miles out of your way. Go with some local shop you've never heard of before, and who knows what you're going to get? They might make it worse, and by law, all they are required to do is refund the money you paid....NOT pay for repairing the damage to your car.

You know now that proper use of the products is a key factor in making sure that things come out right. Misusing the products can result in permanent damage. So, unless the guy is a total fleabag jerk, and tries to upsell you the moment you come in the door to his $500 super detail special and then sell you 150 dollar wax, use him. He's got references from someone I know and trust, and I expect you'll see good results from him. I would be totally floored if you get less than stellar treatment from him.

Sheesh....save himself a few miles and go to some unknown guy when I gave him a guy from the detail king himself and he would only have to pay 40 bucks! (I mean seriously, by the time you bought the right polishes and applicators to do the job, it would probably cost you 30 to do the job yourself!)

Oh well, now I feel silly for trying to help out.

[purple04]

Just between you and me if stupid was painful, Poway would be shut down by OSHA for the noise...

[turbomangt]

Crazyjoe, don't worry about it we both did the best we could do. The worst thing that could happen is he takes it to a "hacker" as we call them in our business, and it turns out worse. I'll you this, for $40 he should be all over that deal like a sea of ants on a dropped ice cream cone? Man, is it getting late or what. ??? Gary

[crazyjoe]

Follow-up...

He e-mailed me again assuring me that that was just an off-the-cuff statement, and that he really will go to the recommended guy.

Anyhow, yeah, for 40 dollars, ants on ice cream would be moving too slow!

[PTRobert]

quote:Originally posted by purple04

Just between you and me if stupid was painful, Poway would be shut down by OSHA for the noise...

That is too funny!

But really, stupid is painful for some. For me it was not paying attention when parking in a lot and pulling up too far. The parking block did a nice job of creating a gap in the seam between the fascia/bumper and fender on my passenger's side of the Cruiser when I backed out. Ouch!!! [|)] That was painful!

[crazyjoe]

Jut an update to this, we went to see the guy a couple weeks ago, and he made major improvements to the finish, but could not repair all of the damage, as it was too deep. He charged 50 dollars. I don't have any before/after pictures to post, but if you look at the recent thread gary posted where a guy used 400 grit sandpaper on his car, it looked similar to that, only on his hood. The results were about the same, you can definitely tell where the damage was done, but the gloss is back, so it is much better.

Gary, the guy who did the work had never heard of you, though! How did you hear of him?

[turbomangt]

He was recommended to me through a professional detailers site I log into. Its a net work system we search for por's in all states. Seems to work. Gary