Nightmare

[SteveA]

A decorator brings in a small round table with a scraped top.  How Much ?  - I say $ 100.00 figuring I can fix the scrape.  No such luck - tried to polish it out - no good.  Not sure of the finish so I buy a spray can of rustoleum black gloss oil paint figuring oil can go over anything.  Two coats later - the scrape is gone but the finish doesn't look too uniform.  So I buy a spray can of clear gloss rustoleum.  Mist the top - 2 coats - looking good.  The decorator comes by and says what are those lines - I don't know ?  They are in the substrate.  She says - Steve I know you can fix it.  So I strip off all the black paint - sand smooth - fill in the lines between the boards with rock hard water putty - two new coats of spray black rustoleum - looking good but as it dries it shrinks and the lines come back.  Now I'm done playing around.  I call Mohawk for a gallon of black lacquer - can't get it in quarts - w/shipping $ 50.00 a gallon.  I sand again but this time coat the top of the surface with bondo finishing putty followed by red lead finishing putty in the white color.  Top is smooth no joints between the boards showing  - 2 coats of black lacquer and two coats of clear gloss lacquer - finished this morning but maybe some rubbing out in a week.  $ 75.00 in materials and it was in the shop over two weeks.  Some jobs just test your patience and are money pits.  The decorator will make it up to me on the next job - she's good that way but once I gave a price I had to stick to it.

[gene]

I always stick to my price when it's my fault, especially with designers who have given their prices to their customer.

I feel your pain Steve. I've been there once or twice.

gene

[Mojo]

I remember an awning job I did. Nothing went right and I had already gave the customer a quote. I lost my ass on that job and was to the point I was ready to write him a check just to disappear...with his damn awning.

If you have stay in our business long enough, sooner or later one of those jobs will come along which will test your patience and sanity
and make you wonder why you ever started in this trade.

Mojo

[MinUph]

We've all been there. A job from Hell. The estimate seemed good and the final product cost twice as much to produce. You win some you loose some. Never change the estimated price.

[baileyuph]

The table job Steve:

How old do you estimate the table to be? 

Could it be an import?

You mentioned lines and the top incorporated boards;  if the top is a group of boards (butted obviously),
could that have explained the lines?

A lot going on there wasn't it? 

Sometimes the question comes to me, what can be done with this finish (table, chest?) and the item
is identified as an import - so won't go there, so to speak.

China made stuff (I assume could be another foreigner), not encouraging.  Your table is probably
an expensive antique?

Hope the final rub out is a winner!

Keep the heart!

Doyle

[SteveA]

The thickness of the table was achieved with multiple glue ups.  It's contemporary and locally made from popular wood -  a retro Art Deco look.  I considered putting a veneer top to kill the lines between the glue ups  for the end grain problem - that would have been easier but since I started the finishing putty and was doing the top for the third time   -  I didn't want to strip it again.  After all the aggravation the decorator came by and said - it looks so nice 
although there was no profit it was a good feeling to hear the decorator say she liked it.  I held my price and it sounds like all agree once you give a price you live with it - but I can still complain here to my buddies
SA

[kodydog]

Some jobs just test your patience and are money pits.  The decorator will make it up to me on the next job - she's good that way but once I gave a price I had to stick to it.

Been there done that, stick to your price and make up for it later. The most important thing is the quality of the work. The decorator will never be able to complain on a job done right.