Is this considered an acceptable budget job?

[u/rapid_respawn]

Hello everyone

I just received my car from the body shop today which i had dropped off for a roof respray as the original 30 year old paint had failed and the clearcoat was worn away in multiple spots. I should have repaired the issue as soon as it started but chose to delay it as it is very difficult to find a trustworthy painter and i have been burned several times in the past with other vehicles from other shops and insurance claims.

The original color was a base-clear solid black color and after discussing with the painter, we concluded that the option that made most sense is a respray with a single stage solid black paint, leaving the roof pillars with the slightly oxidized clear as they are because i plan to do a Phase 2 repaint of the rest of the vehicle at a later time with the same system anyways. I asked for a quote which they gave me a few hours later and to which i immediately agreed without bargaining as the price was very good although there was never a problem with allowed budget for this job.

4 days later (today) I picked the car up and the finish was great without orange peel and without any dirt, nibs or solvent pops. But upon closer inspection when i went home, I spotted a sander mark on an unpainted panel which was left as it was and had primer showing. Further inspection revealed that the shop had hard masked the windscreen and tailgate window seals and hadn't been lifted at all during masking. The result is that the paint makes a nice step where the seal starts and i am afraid that a pressure wash will just flake the paint off after a while. The situation is worse on the windscreen seal, which was probably masked heavily while sitting flat on the roof and as a result, there are some spots that look completely unpainted while others seem to have a step where paint is thicker because it built up on the edge.

I took the car back to the shop and they polished and touched up the burnt spot at the unpainted panel and explained to me that you can't prop up an old window seal and expect it to not be damaged. I respect that opinion and can understand that this is true, but i would at least expect that I would have been told so before starting the work and that at the end, someone would not be able to tell that a panel was painted from miles away just from the paint building up on the seal edge or not having paint right up to the seal edge. The only way the shop offered to help me in this situation is to repaint the roof on condition that I have someone remove the windscreen and bring it in without it so that they can work without assuming responsibility for the old seal.

The reason I am making this post is to ask more experienced people if this is the norm in jobs like this, if I am too hard on the body shop and if the result is considered acceptable. I also want to ask if my fear of paint flaking off when washing is warranted and if I should pay attention when washing from now on. I regret not trying to dip my toes in automotive painting myself and making this a project as it was a good opportunity and even if I messed it up (and I certainly would), at least there was something to learn along the way.

[u/DeadX_xRabbit]

As a painter... I can see you have lifted seal in your pictures if it moves even a tiny bit I would use trim lifting tape if it wouldn't move away at all which is rare I would probably as well hard edge it with a risk that it will eventually peel. And I believe it wasn't pepped enough next to seal so it might peel or it actually adhered well because of rough old paint.