This commentary is not about any painters or advisors on Stovebolt. It's about my experience with auto painters. I suspect others may have had similar. Not commenting about good auto body repair shops or custom painter. I'm talking about trying to find a guy who can paint, needs a fair amount of money and is a go getter. A guy or gal who is still humble and does not make it sound like they are creating a masterpiece. A person who knows it's not as much work for them as it would be for me. Just someone who can sand it and paint it fairly smooth. Not Maaco and not Show quality.
What I've run into:
In general, they are independent folks. They work from their home or some are "mobile". Most are very flakey, never finish and they loose interest. Can't say that I blame them because I don't like sanding either. I would never use a mobile guy, which craigslist is full of. I have a hunch that they can remain anonymous that way and you can't find them if something goes wrong. Anyway, after you make initial contact with them, they never call back, they never email back. I guess they just wait til you show up. I guess they see a lot of flakes also. Get a lot of inquiries that never follow up. BUT, they need to realize that is part of ANY business and is no excuse to treat the next guy like a flake. Once they get the job, you can't get it back from them. They push Peter back to finish Paul. I had to badger a guy and his wife for months to get my truck back. He finally delivered it one night, after dark, and it was not really finished as day broke the next morning. I lived with it. It should be easier to find a painter for $4000 than it is. $6000-$10,000 and up is the going price. That's too much money for manual/electrical sanding and spraying some paint they get at a discount. I always strip down my trucks so there is really NO masking to do. They don't care. If they do a truck a month, that's $72K per year gross on the side/cash. Give me a break! really that's what I want, a break for bringing them the work. I'll eventually find the right guy who looks and acts right and is reasonable to a poor man on social security.
