Winne painted at precision paint

[ron55]

If you are thinking about getting your rig painted at precision painting in Bremen, In., contact me if you want and I will give you my experience. I am a unhappy customer of theirs. ron55555@att.net

[Route 66]

This may be the first negative report about them.

What happened?

[FDchief]

Why the PM request? Let us all know.

[bellsharbor]

Yes, ron55, please let us all know what you experienced. Thanks--

[Beabop]

Sorry to hear that. They did a great job for us and even gave us jars of touch up paint.

[azloafer]

Why the secret? Post so everyone can see, please, Joe

[94bago]

Just curious, what was the cost?
Thanks,
James

[FDchief]

I was thinking the price for my 34' Itasca would be between 10-15k. Thats alot of cash, but could be worth it.

[ron55]

The cost for a 33Voyage was $13,000. for the paint but it will escalate for so called body work, mine went to over $15,000 My neghbor told me his 40' DP was $13,000 so I think they have one price no matter the size.
To make this short, what ever piece they removed was not put back as good as it was before they took it off. My hood says it all about precision painting. We all know how bad a design the (2005 and older hoods are). I had mine repaired and was pretty good. After removing for painting I now have a 2" gap at the top and one side at the bottom don't latch. I pointed this out on pickup after they said it was ready and just got a ho-humm response. Then on the way home I put my tow vehicle into the back of my M/H causing a hole about a foot in diameter. Took th M/H back, over $6,000. more for repair. At this time I said, make sure you repair the hood that you messed up. reply OK OK! One month later is was ready when I picked it up the hood was the same 2" gap, never been touched. What I am saying pp messing up something and hands it back to you and more or less says there it is. What does that say about the company. Like most, once they get your money, you will get nothing but lip service. A pp job might look good at 20 feet, but when you, or as I noticed, when I washed it ( fancy paint job you have to dry or your have water spots) I noticed all the dust. lint whatever that was painted over, this will cause failure sooner or later, a large chip in one of the doors that I pointed out upon return for repair is still there. The diamond shield that was installed on the front has bubbles, edges comming up, dirt or lint, one string underneath which will cause bacteria to turn it back and there is no fix except to removed (pp offerd to send some out to look at the diamond shield) I thinks that will screw up the paint (the paint is very soft) and the front will have to be repainted. I am in Chokoloskee, Florida.
I asked for SOME refund of the cost, but that is a No., bring it back and they will look at it. They will keep you running back and forth till they ware you out. I am wore out! Now done with the bitching, there is some good infor I could tell you befor getting a paint job.
I wanted it painted (the winne design) as it was., but they would not do that my big mistake, I sould have walked, I sould have got three bids on cost. There is another paint shop nearby in Bremen and one just inside Michigan. pp have their own design and I had to pick one of them. Also they have colors to pick from. You need to already know your colors and color numbers before you go there. You need to think about after the paint job. Are there stripes going through hatches or latches or things that are going to be repaired or lost such a the vent door on the refrigator. What ever you repair or replace will have to be painted. They don,t tell you that. They paint things that don,t need to be painted such as the roof air (the paint is comming off mine already) They painted the damn awning legs and they are getting skinned up. I made reservation 6 months ahead but it did not make any difference, so they had it a month for painting and a month for repair. So you could walk in and it would be the same time frame. For you people who say they have a good paint job, dry it, wax it and you still think it good, great! I must have been put in the dummy section. This paint is thick and soft so you have to be a lot more careful just touch or bang it a little and there a mark.
My orignal gel coat was so thin and cracked and I didn,t want to trade so I thought a paint job was the answer. The most costly mistake I have ever made. I am through whinning now, but remember every time I go in and out the door it reminds how igorant I am.

[azloafer]

Ouch! For that kind of money the finished project should be perfect! They may have messed up big time. And then the hole, which was not their fault, BUT $6,000 seems to be awfully high, especially after having paid $15,000 to them. You would think that they would give you a better deal at least. You must have had a sick feeling in your stomach when you had to go back to them for that repair. Maybe legal action? After having gotten ripped off a few times in my lifetime, I feel for you. Joe

[bellsharbor]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I understand how you feel and don't blame you a bit for being fed up. I think we have all been in a situation like yours where you expect top notch service and a quality product and don't get it. It's important to get the word out like you are doing and maybe file a complaint with the BBB and look into legal action. You are not the ignorant one--it's the company providing bad customer service and poor quality work. "What goes around, comes around", they will get what they deserve. You are not the ignorant one--they are! Best of luck--John

[smlranger]

Just some observations from just having my Journey painted. It is impossible, IMO, to paint anything this big and have a 'perfect' paint job. When you look at it real close during a wash and wipe down, you will find flaws. However, most of the 'flaws' in my paint job are very minor and would never be seen unless I pointed them out to others. I've seen similar flaws and contamination in factory paint jobs. Modern finishes (base coat/clear coat) should not be 'soft.' Once the finish cures, it should be hard. I found an obvious flaw (contamination) on mine the day I picked up the coach. In about 3 hours, the shop took it back inside, sanded the area, applied base color and clear coat, and I left with it for home. The next day I wet sanded and polished an area (I agreed to do that since I knew how) where they blended the clear and the finish was hard. The coach looks absolutely stunning with 4 coats of clear.

As far as the damage done by your toad running into the back of the coach, that should be covered by your insurance less your deductible. Repair and finishing of a one foot hole in fiberglass is not cheap, so $6K may have been a reasonable cost for collision repair, based on time and materials. I had some minor damage to my coach (self inflicted) a couple of years ago and the cost for repair was over $3K.

I had considered Precision due to the many reports of the good quality of their work and, in my communications with them, they seemed knowledgeable and helpful. However, I chose a shop closer to home for the very reason that if I had problems, I would not have to travel great distances for assistance.

Sorry you are not happy with your paint job and hope you can get things resolved to your satisfaction.

[micd]

Thanks for letting us know about Precision Paint. It is important when you get such a bad job to let folks know so that they can be forewarned. I hope they completely redo your coach for you and give you at least half your money back for your trouble! If your a member of Sam's club try the action group that seems to get good results for members who get bad service and can't get it resolved. It seems that they publish alot of successes.

Good luck!
Michelle

[JucenBrudi]

Hi Gang,

Ron55's report of his experience with Precision Painting could hardly be more different from our recent experience there (June, 2010). We had our 2004 Adventurer painted with a full custom paint job (original design by our artist son). We are extremely pleased and have had huge numbers of positive reactions from friends and strangers. Serious amateur and professional painters have examined it up close and expressed admiration for the quality of the work and the obvious attention to detail.

The crew, at all levels, from owners through sales to painters, were a pleasure to work with, start to finish. Everyone seemed to take great pleasure and pride in the work they do. We didn't need a lot of body work, but what they did appears to be excellent. Our paint hasn't cured yet, but I have washed it twice and spot cleaned it chronically; the paint is great, no softness or problem at all. Most people presume we have a new motorhome and are surprised that it is a paint job.

While we were there we met other clients, either VERY happy with their new paint jobs, or back for additional work based on their satisfaction with earlier work. One man, from Maryland I believe, was back for repairs of hail damage to his new paint job. The fact he drove all the way to Bremen instead of having repairs done locally indicates how much he values the work of Precision Painting.

One of the signs of excellent craftsmen is their openness to questions and observing their work. We were welcome to watch most of the work (we couldn't go in the paint booths) and came in every other day or so to see the major steps. One of the owners of the business took time to explain details of the painting process, obviously proud of their work.

We also had new carpet installed throughout our rig. We are very pleased with that work, too.

We looked at their designs; there were many to choose from and we were well into the process of modifying one of their designs to suit our personal tastes. We stopped that process, however, because we managed to talk our artist son, Marshall, into creating a unique design from scratch. He worked hard on that, over nighted the drawings to Precision Painting, and they painted the motorhome accordingly. This was a complicated process, we were not always confident of just what we wanted. They were always patient and helpful and contributed significantly to the final result. The design was complex and we had several last minute adjustments. That all went beautifully.

As we saw the quality of their work, we added things to our list. We had repainting done on a section of our Honda Element. We had Diamond Shield put over that to help protect it from our bike carrier. It is excellent work.

We had Diamond Shield put on the front and the top front. They added pieces at the hand grips and a couple places subject to more than normal wear. It looks great, all around.

We plan to go back for more work, not repairs or complaints, but more of the excellent work.

I'll make the same offer Ron55 did, if you have questions or want to discuss our experiences in more detail, let us know and we'll arrange to talk directly. We've enjoyed talking about our experience with friends, family, and enthused strangers across the north east, back to home base in North Carolina, and here at home base.

I have planned to post pictures in "Show off your new rig." We've been busy getting Sticks and Bricks ready to sell and I've been repairing my air conditioner (with excellent help from iRV2), so I haven't posted. I'll push that along and try to get something posted soon.

Bruce and Judi