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"the original paint cost somewhere @10.00/gallon and the u.s. paint cost only @4.99 plus they don't know what they're doing."
Uh-uh. It isn't house paint, and anyone who uses auto paint in any quantity, knows that you won't leave the paint store for less than $50, for any decent paint, for a quart. In fact, the last pint of Atlantic Blue I bought, was something like $34, and that is shop price, not retail. The clear is less expensive as it often comes as gallons, but doesn't require much attention.
Forget about the "original paint" business. The "original paint" isn't going to match much better, or possibly any better, than the current stuff does. That's because the paint itself isn't as important as matching the color to the best extent possible. Any good paint (PPG, DuPont, Sherwin-Williams, etc) should be able to be matched properly. Some of the best shops exclusively use PPG (or whatever brand) paint, and they handle all the high end brands. The shop your car was at probably had the paint matched elsewhere and then sprayed it on. You need a shop with a color eye, or the shop you went to has to take a piece of the car to the paint shop to re-order paint mixed correctly. Maybe it was a bad mix. Also maybe they had leftover paint, and that wouldn't be good at all.
You could try to take it up with the at-fault insurance and tell them that the repair they paid for is crap, and then go back to them. They might not be willing to write another check (if you chose the shop) but they will probably be willing to get you out of their face by calling and having the shop take care of it. They might ask you to come in for another look, so they can see what the story is.
Either that or you can start a claim with your own insurance company, and that will eventually get attention from the other ins. company and the body shop.
I think the most important thing to do in your case, would be to keep learning about painting techniques, paint types, and blending. Don't learn from people when you are complaining about your shitty paint job, because they'll give you examples like $4.99 auto paint, and "once I had a Cadillac that had the most perfect body work you ever did see". You know... the "biggest fish" stories, that always improve over time.
Once you have enough information to make yourself sound educated on some of the processes, make a stink. Don't get too into detail. Just tell them that you had excellent paintwork on a previous car and don't know why this is so poor. Or something to that nature. Because believe me, if you go in breathing fire enough to give them the idea that you have no idea about paintwork (problems that you THINK exist but perhaps don't actually exist) they will immediately whisk you out the door as someone who is simply an uninformed crank who wouldn't know his head from a hole in the ground. I hate to make it sound like that, but that is what they will argue, if you come off as not knowing about paint, or paintwork. And it'll be an easy arguement for them to make.
Or, just see an attorney. That usually gets some attention.
Basically, I know more than the average person about auto paint, having actually been there and done that on several cars a week, while in a shop that specialized in volvo. So I'm trying to help you out, by playing the other side of the arguement. If you don't know about what you are saying to them, they'll kick you out and they won't back down... because they'll just play you off as someone who wouldn't be satisfied with anything. But if you know enough to at least know that your car should be matched better, that's a different story.
Good luck.
--
a Brickboard.com Expat
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