I find paint overspray removal tedious and unsatisfying

S

Scottwax

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I removed overspray from a Dodge Sebring and Pontiac Montana starting last Thursday and finishing them up today. Would have been nice to know last Thursday the employees left at 4 PM. Ended up having to go back today to get the rest.



Anyway, it seems to take forever, especially on the van since the roof was just caked with overspray (the building was repainted and it got on the van and car) and even after you think you got it all, you look from a different angle and see you missed some. :hairpull



The Dodge was another problem, the mirrors are textured plastic and despite claying and Moose Wax (which, btw, does a great job removing overspray from smooth rubber trim), I could not get all the overspray off. I did inform the construction company that contacted me when they initially contacted me for an estimate that I could not promise I would be able to remove all overspray from textured plastic or rubberized trim, and reminded them again of that fact when they called back to schedule me to remove the overspray so they better not give me any crap about the mirrors if they have to either have someone else remove the overspray (and I'd love to know their secret) or replace them.



The lady with the van was happy, said it looked really good and the other lady was glad the paint and glass was free of overspray and said she'd contact her dealer about the mirrors to see what they recommend.



What is most unsatisfying though, is what I get paid to do is wash the vehicle, remove the overspray and rewax with a one step. No inside glass, no wheels or wheel wells (unless the wheels have overspray), no tire dressing, no needed polishing steps, etc. Sure, a one-step wax does make them look better but the van had some light rotary swirls on the back door and lots of scuffs on the Sebring. It really isn't very rewarding to not be able to give the job your best effort in completely restoring the exterior to look the best it possibly can.



Discuss...or not. :nixweiss
 
I agree I hate doing anything but a full job on peoples cars...I really just feel like I am shorting them...I feel I have done a half *** job and I am overcharging them almost. But then again its an easier job on your the detailer...I guess it could go both ways...
 
I'm not a big fan of overspray removal either. The denali I posted up yesterday has some deck stain overspray on it. Dad parked it outside while he proceeded to spray sealant on the deck. He washed it with gas and dawn, and then I clayed the thing, and it still isnt free. I just gave up, i'm the only one who will ever notice it and it's not my truck to baby.
 
Yeah, that's why they call it work!



I've done plentyand the trim is the worst...



Thanks for the tip on Moose Wax, I'm surprised.



Regarding the mirror housings. Look into ValuGard's ETR Kit ( autoint.com ) It is a dye, and UV protectant. It works. Makes the plastic look brand new, and Mazda liked it for three years on 30,000 (!) mirrors!



The Kit is a little pricey at about $45, but you can do hundreds of cars... I find a use for it at least once a week...



Rewarding? Are these jobs covered by insurance? I hope you are being well paid. Not long ago we did eleven cars from one 'incident', and earned over $4500 - all from one insurance company.



Jim
 
Jim-thanks for the heads up on the ValuGard ETR kit, I'll have to check it out. I am guessing it would completely cover the remaining overspray (which in the textured areas is now flush with the raised areas) and make it un-noticable. I am sure I can find a lot of uses for it. :)



Moose Wax works very well on stuff like that, plus it makes the rubberized trim very black again. The Compound Moose with a cutting pad eats overspray that clay won't touch. I did a black Silverado this past spring that was caked in overspray after a repaint. After 10 minutes of claying, I had cleared an area about the size of a volleyball on the roof. Switch to CM and a burgandy Meguiars cutting pad and the rest of the roof took less than 5 minutes and that including climbing up and down the ladder and repositioning it. Stuff just tore right through the overspray and left a reasonably decent finish, just a little light marring that #80 removed.



It pays well, but I don't do insurance. I'm not busting my hump then waiting 60-120 days to get paid. The company is paying me themselves. If they have insurance, they can file it and wait to get their money back. Cynical? Yeah but after getting screwed by insurance companies and having to wait months to get paid will do that to you.



It isn't the money, like I said, I can make out nicely doing overspray removal. I guess I am too much of a perfectionist to be satisfied when I don't get to take the necessary steps to bring the finish up to a higher level than overspray removal pays for me to do. I did mention the problem areas to the car's owners but they are assembly line workers with very limited English language skills who probably have other things more important to them than having the shiniest cars at work.



I hate leaving the wheels dirty, the door jams untouched, the inside glass smudged but overspray removal is tough work at times and if I am not getting paid to throw in at least a complete exterior cleaning, I'm not doing it for free. At least the ladies seemed happy to get the overspray off their cars and having slick paint.
 
Scottwax said:
I guess I am too much of a perfectionist to be satisfied when I don't get to take the necessary steps to bring the finish up to a higher level than overspray removal pays for me to do. I did mention the problem areas to the car's owners but they are assembly line workers with very limited English language skills who probably have other things more important to them than having the shiniest cars at work... At least the ladies seemed happy to get the overspray off their cars and having slick paint.
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I'd try to look at it just the way you expressed it above. When I did a similar housepaint overspray removal job on my dog trainer/boarder's work van (clay/one-step), he was thrilled just to have the overspray removed and shiny slick paint. Might not've been up to *my* standards, but it's not my vehicle and he got what the resources (mainly time in this case) allowed. Considering how much he credited my bill for the job, everyone ended up happy.
 
Accumulator said:
I'd try to look at it just the way you expressed it above. When I did a similar housepaint overspray removal job on my dog trainer/boarder's work van (clay/one-step), he was thrilled just to have the overspray removed and shiny slick paint. Might not've been up to *my* standards, but it's not my vehicle and he got what the resources (mainly time in this case) allowed. Considering how much he credited my bill for the job, everyone ended up happy.
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Hit the nail on the head....what matters in the end is that the customer is happy, though you might want to do more, thats just the nature of the business...knowing you scott you should have brought this subject up a long time ago...I though this would have already crossed your mind in doing 10000 cars! :woot2:



[/Justin]
 
Update on this particular situation. I finished the van last Thursday as stated above. I got a call on Friday from my contact at their office telling me I could pick up a check on Monday. Monday morning comes and I get a call really early (7:30 am, about half an hour before I planned on getting up so I didn't answer and was left a message) letting me know my check is ready and to call them for directions to their office or if I prefer, to give them my mailing address. I called back around 10 AM and was told that the women were still not happy. Huh? I was told the job supervisor was going out to look at the vehicles personally to see what the problem was-something I had expected someone to do while I was out there.



I call back this morning since I hadn't heard anything. My contact at their office gave me the job supervisor's number and I called him. He said he saw both vehicles and they looked great and that as far as he could tell, I got all the overspray off the glass and paint. He said the hang-up was the textured plastic mirrors and the trim at the base of the windshields. He was very pleased with the work I did and told me I could pick up my check any time. He also mentioned Kelly-Moore gave him a product (two strengths) that should remove the remaining overspray from the mirrors and trim around the base of the windshields and they will pay me for my time to go out there and see if this stuff will really work and if it does, he will put me in contact with his K-M rep so I can get hold of the kit for future use. He said it is in liquid form and the overspray should wipe right off without affecting the plastic.



I was also told my name was given to the other job supervisors as they want me to do their overspray removal in the future. Good news and bad news I guess. Not real fond of doing the work, but I make more per hour doing it than anything else. As long as it isn't a constant weekly thing, I guess it will turn out fine.



:)
 
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