I want to re post what I said last night, but in a better way. I'm custom painting 25 years, I've done some of the most complicated jobs you've ever seen and I know first hand what goes into them, and what they cost. People Count on my experience to get them out of what could potentially be a nightmare trying to find someone capable of doing a difficult job right, and done once, at the right price. I accommodate all three. The cost of the materials to repair Bills 38 about 1600, and 1500 for labor and your done. I charge according to the level of difficulty involved, and the cost to me, I then give my best price first, period, take it or leave it, there's No negotiation. No bartering, yes or no, that's it . If you can get a better qualified person, and a better price, I'd long be out of business. So I say my prices a more that fair, the quality is always there, and we do things once. That's worth more than just the cost of repairs, it's peace of mind as well , thank you

Sad that you had to even attempt to justify yourself .... a 1.5" scratch doesn't go away if you love your boat, it just glares right back at you - a 15' mark is a frickin' billboard to repair!

the chemicals cause cancer. They are not good at all. It is physical work. 1 little thing can make you redo the whole thing. Lots of things can go wrong. it takes years to get good at it.The good materials are really expensive. I think that's what you are looking for. Also Most people think people that do it are just workers and have no respect for what they are going through. They think.. " how can i get someone to do this" It's just bondo and paint. How can it be so hard. They must be an idiot to begin with for doing this for a living anyway.. Cause i do it for a living for 30 years now

A well done paint job goes beyond craftmanship - it is art - very few people understand or appreciate the skill and just plain work that goes into paint and or repair.

No one doubting the craft, this is more about being on a run,damaging someones boat, making a promise in front of people and in writing then backing out and not paying for the portion of the repair that caused the trip to the shop. Then desparaging the owner saying he did more work on his dime and saying "his painter" could have done it for cheaper.... the fact is when you jack up not one but 2 boats at the same time, you dont get to chose who fixes them, you be humble in your mistake and get it fixed. The fact that wmf was leaving the boat in florida for thr rest of the year and decided to have more done is irrelevant. The guy that scratched the boat needs to man up and pay his debt.

with leaving names out, how did the scratch happen on the two boats?

at a raft up, the person didn't secure their boat properly, it drifted into wmf's boat and another causing serious damage, Approx 17-20 ft of scratch down the side) Richy started the post as he is a custom painter with custom blended paints, when he did the boat originally for cigarette, he put a lot of heart and soul into this paint job. the simple fact is, no other painter would be able to make the blends and match the colors or the airbrush work as no 2 artists are the same. simply put, yes it does suck, but just like in cars, there is going to be a difference if you scratch a prius vs a custom painted Lambo...

Offshore, The repairs and blends can be done the same or even better than they were before. Try to stay optimistic about it. :) Also any painter will tell you there's no such thing as a perfect job, so it is a big pain when something like this happens. But when you have custom paint that something that you signed on for. Thats why my street bike is just black. It sucks that that has to happen by someone's negligence.
But we're here now so let's just try and find a good painter

Does the person who scratched the boat have Insurance?

Padraig

Everything is done on the boat, Bill (wmf) paid the painter for the fix and the additional work.. this is a direct quote form the guy...

Sorry, I am not denying that my boat did the scratch and I did agree to take care of it. My issue is that it is not a $2900 repair. I did not expect to
have to take out an equity line out on my house to do so.


Everyone in the industry knows that a chip or a nick starts out the size of a pea, but by the time you sand it, its the size of a grapefruit, by the time you prime it its the size of a basketball, by the time you blend it, its the size of a beach ball, by the time you clear it to blend its bigger than that... Hence the quote above, he damaged a custom boat (lambo) not a gelcoated/painted generic boat (prius)