Can this polycarb face be saved?

[petrosgraphics]

tell him he needs a new face..... if he does not go for it, walk away...... and feel

good about it...... it not worth the few $$$ you will make.....

 

[vinylbarry]

It's toast for sure and if you letter it and it fails he will blame you!!
We will not do work on any pan that the custormer took short cuts on period. Your company will get in trouble if that pan crumbles becuase he for sure will say you did it.
It's also your image becuase any sign you do falls back on your image.

 

[CentralSigns]

Walk away. I know if I tried to use substandard materials and they failed causing damage or injury, my general liability insurance would be voided. Its not common practice to re-use lexan(polycarb). This would void any insurance you might have. If you are not a limited company or a corporation and failure results, you could lose your shirt and literally everything else you own. I enjoy what I have, enough to walk away, from a cheap customer. Walk away, the money isn't worth the headache. If the money means that much, make it elsewhere, there are many ways to make money.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

The face looks bad. It will look like total crap when it is lighted. But the damage is cosmetic only. The damage is to the surface only; it is nowhere near deep enough to cause the face to fail. Even if the face did fail, it is on a wall and there is no way anyone could be injured.

So I'm gonna call the customer and tell him he's ruined the looks of his face. He's gonna tell me he doesn't want to buy a new one. I'll tell him I can letter this one or he can do without.

How exactly does that make me either a liar or a cheat?

In this thread, you have asked for help and have received it. You have been "SCHOOLED"! It is now a matter of public record. Deal with it! Be a professional or be a schmuck.....your choice. I would not want to be in your shoes when the shit hits the fan. You do know what that sounds like, don't you?..............."Moorroooooon".

 

[cdiesel]

Why, oh why do people ask for advice and totally ignore it???

You have received some good advice here. You should take it for many reasons.

There is a huge liability if something were to happen.
You have just allowed your customer to dictate the terms of your business. That's ridiculous! You should take this opportunity to teach the customer a lesson, because the $100 he saved by doing his own removal just cost him $200 for a new face.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Cool! When people ask him who did his sign (thinking to themselves it looks like shit) he's gonna proudly tell them you did it. When a chunk of it breaks off this winter they're gonna remember you did it. When the whole thing falls apart and he's got to get it replaced he's gonna call another shop because in his mind you did it.

Congratulations....you just sold yourself out to save him $200.

 

[signage]

Don't walk a way! Run as fast as you can, unless you want to get a bad reputation!

 

[G-Artist]

You guys need to lighten up a bit.

The OP asked about "salvaging" the face. Who knows, maybe there could be a product out there
that can be applied to rejuvenate the plastic and possibly restore the color like there is for
automotive paint and fiberglass.

Whether the plastic is now sound or not isn't a concern since the OP did not do the removal work.

The OP can either supply a new legend or another shop will. It is that simple. Since he
already has time invested, he should supply the legend, bill accordingly and recoup that investment.

All the OP should do at this point is to print a disclaimer on the invoice that the face is
unsuitable for the purpose intended and absolutely no warranty of any kind is given.

 

[Flame]

You guys need to lighten up a bit.

The OP asked about "salvaging" the face. Who knows, maybe there could be a product out there
that can be applied to rejuvenate the plastic and possibly restore the color like there is for
automotive paint and fiberglass.

Whether the plastic is now sound or not isn't a concern since the OP did not do the removal work.

The OP can either supply a new legend or another shop will. It is that simple. Since he
already has time invested, he should supply the legend, bill accordingly and recoup that investment.

All the OP should do at this point is to print a disclaimer on the invoice that the face is
unsuitable for the purpose intended and absolutely no warranty of any kind is given.

Best case scenario... it will still look bad. Why oh WHY would you let a customer dictate how you run your business? Would you tell a mechanic to replace your throttle cable with a plastic one because YOU want it that way and heard it's like $20 cheaper for a plastic one instead of metal?

They'd say heck no!

Would a mechanic keep working on a car that runs on diesel but accidentally had gas put in... and ONLY do a small repair knowing full well it'd take a lot more to make the motor run right?

Heck no! Liability!

Would a hair stylist use brake cleaner in your hair because you asked for it and think it'd give it a interesting look?

NO NO NO


Flat out, you can budge on some stuff, but just because someone else will do something doesn't mean you should. The facia is ruined.... needs to be replaced. Period. You are the professional, not him.

 

[G-Artist]

Sorry, I can't go with that.

Do you only letter NEW trucks and cars? Do you tell your clients to get a new
paint job and body work on their vehicles before you apply graphics should the
finish be less than stellar? Do you tell your clients to paint their buildings before
you will affix a sign? If you do, what do they tell you to do?

I don't know about others here but I am in business to make a buck. If the sign
owner doesn't want a new face then why should I care? I'll do my best to work
with what is there. If it takes longer, I'll bill for same. If the substrate is unfit,
then I wouldn't warrant anything. Neither labor nor materials. But I still would
do what I can in a work-man like manner. I am not about to alienate a client
who may provide more work in the future over aesthetics.

 

[Flame]

I don't know about others here but I am in business to make a quick buck.

Figured we should edit this real quickly

Sorry, had to. lol.

 

[Jillbeans]

You can probably re-letter it but it will always look bad.
Pat is right, you don't want potential customers thinking you made the sign like this on purpose. You'll be polishing every turd in town.
If you really want to help the guy (I wouldn't) sell him RTA translucent vinyl and let him re-letter the thing himself. He'll think he's getting a bargain and you won't have to mess with the stinky brittle rough old face.
Love....Jill

 

[heyskull]

Walk away from this job....
You gave this customer good advice, he ignored it!
If he is still being cheap and ignorant that it now needs a new face let him find someone else to do the job.
I would walk away. Sometimes saying NO is the only thing to do.

SC

 

[Techman]

Do you only letter NEW trucks and cars? Do you tell your clients to get a new
paint job and body work on their vehicles before you apply graphics should the
finish be less than stellar?

This is hardly a valid comparison.

This face is ruined.

 

[BobM]

When facing a cheap bastard cusotmer who I know is going to throw me under the bus if I shortcut the job, I pretend I'm in front of a jury, as a professional sign maker, trying to defend my decision to save the customer money by using a known defective product that in the end looked like crap and failed resulting in injuries to a pedistrian walking by.

Why would you put yourself in such a position so the customer could save $200 - $300 dollars?

 

[Fitch]

YES !!!!

There are some things you CAN do - all at a cost.

1) If the substrate is thick enough, plane face 3 grades paper - heavy, light, ultra light then polish. Should cost more than $100 though. Offer no warranty.

2) Use as is - placing a high grade clear on the back. Offer no warranty.

3) Turn the bloody thing over and use the unmarred face - once again covereing with a high grade clear on the front. Offer no warranty.

The clear won't stop it from cracking - just hold it all together in case it does.

Do the right thing - get the guy to cough up $$$, walk away, or if the food is ok- do a contra deal for the cost of the acrylic.

Cheers - G

 

[CentralSigns]

I was running away from the sign face, not the customer. Sell him something else. Sell him vinyl only he installs it, sell him coro, sell him banner to cover the hole himself, doesn't matter let him do it wrong. Only an idiot would put his company name on junk. I'd like to think my business means more to me, and I want to be in business in 10, 20 , or 50 yrs from now. I believe in doing the best job I can and if I can't, I don't do it. Have some honor in our trade, and don't be a money hungry hack, cause you will be know as one with all his friends, acquaintances and customers, when the job fails. Give him all the best advice but if he is too cheap to see how the crap sign will let his customers see his business, than so be it. Sloppy sign sloppy kitchen, heard that one before. Sell him something, but don't build crap. That's my business philosophy. An as a result I have doubled sales in my first two quarters from hard work, fast service, word of mouth advertising and a hack for a competitor. Think on that!

 

[Dave Drane]

Common sense = Labour V Material?? Go Figga! I know what I would be telling him!