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Pete, the clearcoat is wet sanded down till it's smooth and then reapplied. So stripping it might not be the right word I was looking for. It can be done. A few folks have already done it on this board. I guess the proper pics will decide this but I am pretty sure it can be done.
Today I went to the shop and saw the defective hood from Evolution mounted on the car. The top guy from the shop was already gone, but I was free to look at the defective hood, and take photos.
From far away, it looks great.
From up close, it looks like crap.
The finish of the clear coat is terrible, at any price.
There are several chip-like defects in the clear coat that are very deep, and look like they go down to the fibers. There are other scratch-like defects all over the hood (not in the weave), which are about 1/2 inch to 1 inch, and some of them are also very deep. Also, the entire surface of the clear coat is rough.
After examining the defective hood, I understand what the body shop is talking about. In order to correct the really deep defects, the clear coat would have to be sanded completely down to the fibers, then to get the surface level, basically the entire hood would have to be sanded down that far.
The clear coat on the defective hood is not like a coat of paint. It is VERY thick. Also, from what I have read, if the sandpaper just touches the CF threads, the look will be ruined, so the deep defects are risky to repair.
I couldn't get good pics of the defects in the surface of the hood, because of the overhead lighting, but you can see what I am talking about in the first photo. The clear coat is not chipped, those defects just look like chips.
The other big problem for me is the worst of the CF weave defects- which is the big one on the front of the hood. It looks like a big scratch, right in front, basically in the center of the front view of the car. I hate it! It's in the second photo.
At this point, I don't know if this defective hood can be painted properly, or not, or how much it would cost. If it can't be painted I will have to get rid of it.
Maybe this hood that I purchased from Evolution is not as good as the other hoods, but I can tell you that there is no way I will keep this piece of crap on my beautiful S2000.
I can't believe that Jeff from Evolution told me that he would do nothing for me with regards to the hood. I have purchased many products from our site sponsors, and this is the first time anything like this has happened.
I would like to make sure that other members and owners are informed, so that they won't end up feeling cheated, like I do.
I'm sorry guys, but this is totally unacceptable for an s2ki.com consumer to be left holding the bag on something this incredibly shoddy. I've seen VIS hoods for $300 that are nicer than this particular job. This hood should NEVER have left its origin and unfortunately, this is what happens when items are drop shipped. The shop really has no ability to inspect each hood to prevent stuff like this from escaping. However, I guess I'm still an old fashioned LL Bean type of New Englandah and feel the customer is always right. In the long run, taking care of situations like this is just good for business. Or am I naive?
Ok....that's a little worse than I expected it to be. Good luck in getting this resolved.
Maybe another shop is willing to attemtp to paint this...however, if I were you, I'd fight tooth and nail to get the situation resolved with Evolution. If it doesn't get resolved, I'd keep the hood and start driving away business for them...I'd be sure not to use a vendor that had no respect for their consumers.
If they don't want to ship you another hood, and ship the original back at THEIR cost...then get them to antee up the cost to paint it properly. Either way, they need to make things right here.
Here's an idea, at any post you see regarding an Evolution group buy, sale, etc....hijack the thread and post these pictures up. It'll kill the resale value of the pieces that Evolution sell, limiting their customer base. Mind you only go to the level, if they offer no solice for your woes.
Sorry to see you in this situation, but I'm tired of crappy vendors...can't they all try to model themselves against Rick's?
After I saw the pix on the 2nd page post. I contacted the manufacture immediately. And you will get full support from them. I think they will be calling you to resolve this problem.
And regarding the rest, we sold a lot of these hoods. And most of them were high quality. And for it's price. It's a great buy. We are only the distributor for these products and we are not the manufacture. My controls are less limited. But these hoods are opened and check before it's shipped out. I guess somebody missed the defect. It's only human error. I hope Pete will have this problem resolved by the manufacture.
this is absolutely unacceptable. unless evolution makes this right with you they will never receive another dime from me. when i ordered my cf lip from them their customer service seemed suspect, but i let it go as circumstantial and had intentions on giving them another shot, as so many people were quick to jump to their defense. now i wonder if geographical location has anything to do with them adamantly refusing to offer you the correct resolution, or any resolution for that matter. i've been w/russ and now luder94 on this one, you are their friggin' customer, how can they be so indifferent? anyhow, if push comes to shove, it'll probably be wiser to use the money it would cost you to unsatisfactorily paint the hood for litigation. it's amazing how some companies don't grasp the significance/meaning of good customer service.
I think I would have had a heart attack.