Ok guys I'm new to the forum and I'm looking for some advice. I recently bought a 94 Ford Lightning and after a month I ran though some acid or something that damaged my paint all over the truck.

I took it to 3 different shops to get estimates. All were within $200 to $300 of each other. I was told everything would be fixed and the entire truck painted for $2000. Same color so no doorjambs or under the hood was necessary.

Well they kept the truck for 5 weeks. I got it back and it looked great from 10 feet. Once I got up close I started finding all kinds of problems. The deep pits in the paint caused by whatever I drove through was just painted over. Two small one inch rips in the metal of a seem right next to the roll pan were just painted over. I found 2 small dents (they pull these already with paintless dent removal). I found 2 runs. I also found vertical lines in the body on the drivers side of the bed. They told me these were factor seams. Since when did ford or any manufacturer put 3 seams down the side of the bed? The amount of orange peel texture was very obvious in certain areas. Now for my questions.

1. Is any amount of orange peel acceptable?
2. Lower spoiler on the Lightning has some deep scratches in the plastic. Can they use body filler and fix this or do I have to buy a new spoiler?
3. Am I expecting too much from a $2000 Black paintjob.

Any advice or questions are appreciated.

 

It should be better if you paid 2 grand, but then again, black shows off every imperfection

 

I think you could have spent $200 at Maaco and got the same quality paint job. For $2000, much of this should have been fixed. But still, some runs and orange peel would be common and can be sanded and buffed out. Check the contract you signed and see what is included, what you paid for. They will stick to the letter of the contract and so should you.
And yes, the plastic should be able to be filled.

 

it could be worse, but like what sean said above me, it all depends what is in the contract. i had my lower valance ptm on my 2000 and it had a dime sized cut in it and they put some type of putty in it and that made for a smooth even surface for them to paint over, so to answer your question about the lower spolier, that is what they should have done.

good luck!

 

At the risk of a second post, I think Sean has some sound advice.

 

How reputable is the shop? What type of warranty do they offer on their work? Personally sounds like a high priced Maaco.

Like others stated, check the contract. Pits, runs and most orange peel should have been taken care of before releasing the truck back to you. Sounds like a lack of attention to detail by whoever inspected the work. Never heard of these vertical seems in the bed, where are they located and do you have any pics? Don't know if the spoiler was included in the work, but I'd check if I were you. Should be an easy fix either way.