Shop Painting my Aircraft taking egregious amount of time

[2nd505th]

For my Cessna 152 I was originally told 10-12 weeks. It is now almost 8 months. No extraordinary work was needed except taking care of some extra hail damage. It ended up being cheaper to replace the aileron skins. He has had a short sickness and lost one helper (now replaced) but a main problem is my little 152 is being given low priority over bigger planes with people who complain more than I (he told me the cash movers are priority, but also is not charging me as much for the hail damage) and I did not want to get irate as I think that might push someone to not do as good a job. But I feel the time is getting over the top and I lose money renting. Right now he does not respond very well when I contact and is vague on how much longer (perhaps 2 more months?) So 10 weeks to 10 months is getting painful. I'm not sure there is anything I can do since my plane is in a hundred pieces and is 80% paint and rest is primer. I don't think there is anything I can do.

 

[C3flyer]

Situations like this I find it's best to show up face to face. Have a serious conversation and state the facts. You are way over time, you need the plane done and ask when will you get it back.
Hopefully that gives him a kick and he gets it done

 

[Gary Ward]

Situations like this I find it's best to show up face to face. Have a serious conversation and state the facts. You are way over time, you need the plane done and ask when will you get it back.
Hopefully that gives him a kick and he gets it done

This^^^

 

[Magman]

It sounds like a very small shop. Illness for the principle worker and hiring

an untrained helper really slows things down. Shops often take on projects

as “ fill -ins” with big discounts. Then they get busy, or illness,etc.

Was a time frame ever discussed?

Doing a full strip and repaint is hard to justify on a rental.

btw. I used to do “ quick & dirty” paint redo on the 152 rental fleet.

Priority was minimum down time. You don’t see top of wings so maybe a

little touch up. Bottom of wings has minimal deterioration as does bottom

of fuselage. What was addressed was leadings edges and cowling. Keeping

the same trim pattern allowed a nicer appearance with little down time.

Mostly sand prep. New seat upholstery really did a lot.

 

[bonefishpete]

Sitting outside or inside? State? Cut bait or fish now. 152? I’d be ready to tell them I’m bringing in my A&P and putting back together as is. Lawyer up is always possible.

 

[frfly172]

Once the paint shop gets your airplane and starts stripping it your unfortunately at their mercy. Had a friend leave his plane in the winter,and the owner of the paint shop went to Florida for two months. Study the contract carefully before committing to the job.

 

[Luigi]

Check out Corona Air Paint Corona CA. They did my plane on time, it looks great, and they are very reasonably priced!!!

 

[Bell206]

For my Cessna 152 I was originally told 10-12 weeks. It is now almost 8 months.

Did you have any service agreement for this work with defined benchmarks in the process? Unfortunately since you have given him a buy on some of his delays you may have lost the upper hand. Having been involved in a few maintenance issues like this, as mentioned above, get your ducks in a row, make an appointment with the shop owner and reach some sort of conclusion to get your aircraft back in a timely fashion.

 

[Piperonca]

Written agreement for some kind of bonus if finished by certain date.

If you can't negotiate date or dollars, start showing up every week and saying hello very politely, then take a seat in the shop for a while smiling the whole time.

 

[StraightnLevel]

... problem is my little 152 is being given low priority over bigger planes with people who complain more than I...

This is the root of the problem. Be present, and be persistent.

Generally speaking, competent service teams of any sort are always in high demand, and they are often better at doing their skilled work than they are at scheduling a business operation. This generally leads to them having more work in front of them than they can reasonably accomplish when "real life" happens. As a result, it's all about prioritization.

There are several ways to get priority. One is to pay more and set expectations accordingly. Another is to put the timeline into a contract with a bonus/penalty clause (not always possible after the work starts). Yet another is to be a pest and drive them to complete the job to get you out of their shop.

How much have you lost in rental income? Would you have been better off paying a higher price for the work to have it done sooner?