Hello Guys, First off, I'd like to express our great appreciation to the Fchat community for the support we have received - thank you all and best wishes to you all for a safe and enjoyable upcoming Thanksgiving. As many of you know (that have used our refinishing services), we strive to provide the absolute best quality refinishing available in the world and it's no accident how we do so. Unlike the exterior of a car, dust in the finish cannot be wet sanded and buffed. So, any dust in the finish must be sanded and another coat applied. We apply a minimum of 2 finish coats but on larger parts such as steering covers, it can be as many as 5 or 6 to achieve a dust free, flawless finish. That said, our current paint booth is a professional, open face booth. While brain surgery could be done in our 3.5 year old, state of the art facility, dust is dust. A few months back I worked to design a new, custom, paint booth / clean room system. Once my concept was complete, we had to find a manufacturer and we did and the system is on order. Last week I approved the drawings and the system is due 4 weeks from today. But, it's like a giant erector set and we will be tasked with the mechanical assembly, wiring and duct work. We are extremely excited about this new, $50,000 system (yes, you read that correctly) While it will be a rather daunting next 6-8 weeks, when complete, this system will greatly reduce rework and provide a road to shorter lead times. Furthermore, this system is a 2-booth system (capacity for 2 painters). Once in operation, we will be hiring another painter to increase capacity and take some load off me. All of this said, any orders received from now until the new year are subject to longer than normal lead time. We also have a substantial backlog in the shop now. Our prep department will not have any interruption (aside from the Holidays) but the painting department will. So, I don't want to deter anyone from sending in orders however I want folks to be aware that it will take some time for us to complete and we request patience through the next 6-8 weeks. I'm very forthcoming that I will gladly lose your order before we rush your order and sacrifice quality. That will never change. Thank you all and feel free to contact me anytime with questions. My best, Dave
Congrats on the new paint booth/room. I'm sure that everything will work out as planned knowing how meticulous you are.
I'd think that you could split your orders pretty easily between owners currently driving their cars this time of year (sensitive to time delays), and those putting them away for winter storage. Perhaps some owners facing a long winter could volunteer their spot in line for those who may be counting the days until their cars are back together.
Well, we have been at this for a while and it doesn't work like that. We also service a bunch of dealers and independent shops. Increasing our capacity is the only option. And, it's impossible to hold time slots open. First off we process many orders simultaneously and second people say they will send parts on a certain day yet they get busy and don't. Our current system works very well.
Hi Guys, Just to provide an update: After this week, we are shutting down the paint department for 2-3 weeks. Next week we will be rearranging a few sections of the shop to free up the floor space for the new paint booth system, along with some other process flow improvements. We are firmly taking delivery of the new system on 12/20 and will begin installation the same or next day. A lot has to happen. We need to cut some holes thru the back block wall of the shop for exhaust ducting, we are running a new sub-panel for power to the back of the shop and we need to mechanically assemble / install the new system and wire in when done. Oh, some compressed air line work too. More than likely, once we get to a certain point we will continue to use our current system (in a new location within the shop) until we can get this new system fully operational. Prep work on orders will continue thru this, aside from the holidays. Thank you all for your patience during this time of growth and improvements.
I will be sending some parts over in 2018 once the new booth is fully up and running. Congrats Dave on the developments. Hope you get some time off soon to recharge.
Sounds great. When my friends were creating the Iron Man suits for the first movie they ended up having to do the same thing. There was just no way to control the dust otherwise
Thank you for your support, Elliott. We have a large AUS following and I think you are responsible for a great deal of it
The new clean room / paint booth system was loaded on the shipping truck today and will be delivered to us Wednesday morning Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Floor space cleared. Booth arrived and was unloaded tonight - now the fun begins unpacking 45 crates and installing it. Image Unavailable, Please Login
LOL - yeah, it's a giant erector set This is one of 2 booths - they are connected with a clean room in the middle - this is all the details I will post I will post some overall photos when completed and perhaps a few as we assemble Image Unavailable, Please Login
I might be free for a day or two if you need another set of hands. I've been repairing a lot of equipment in the past 2 weeks and I'm getting caught up. Let me know.
Yes, Sir, Dale. 100% dedicated for Sticky RX. We are 100% committed to continuous improvement and perfect quality. Our customers and the Ferrari community deserve it and we will always strive for excellence
Off to a slow start as un-crating takes a ton of time.... We expect to make some serious progress tomorrow Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is such a great story, exactly what the USA is all about. A person identifies a need for a product or service. Provides it then figures out how to make the process even better. Congratulations on a job well done!
Congratulations Dave! You and you’re shop are becoming the ultimate source for “Sticky” interior part refurbishing. My 550 interior looks better than when it came from the factory thanks to Sticky Rx. Ferrari’s poor quality control of its interior parts is your gain. Bravo and have a nice holiday and Happy New Year!
Hey Dave. You might have everything under control but let me know. Couple of us could take out the trash or push a broom around and stay out of your hair while the build goes on. Bruce