In 2009 I got myself a custom paint job done by Scott Daugherty from AIREA 5150. At the time I used to live in Maryland while AIREA 5150 was based in Phoenix, AZ.
He used to have a very intensive ad for his painting business: “You Get What You Pay For”.

First time I spoke with Scott I had a very good feeling, it sounded as a very professional guy.
We discussed over the phone every details of the paint job: colors and the design of the airbrushing.
I was told that in three/four weeks I should have received back the paint job.
I don’t want to spend too many details (several e-mails and phone calls) but the three/four weeks turned into three months.
I had my Road King ready the day before to leave for Daytona.
Paint job looked good even if there were minor imperfections.
The paint job (fuel tank, and the two fenders) costed me $2000

After five months, the day I arrived in Sturgis, I found a paint chip on the fuel tank due to, I assumed at that time, to a stone impact.

I shipped back to AIREA 5150 the fuel tank and had also the saddlebags and side covers painted to complete the job.

For another $2000, I had to face the same delays of the first time, months of messages and calls.

After one year the paint job was on, paint from fenders and fuel tank started to discolor very badly! From a very strong cherry red color, flames turned into an almost white color on a big portion of the fuel tank and front and rear fenders. It seemed like the paint disappeared, leaving this white big areas. It was really visible and bad to see. I believe the paint was a very low quality one.

On right side cover came out a huge zone of underneath bubbles, very visible and really bad to see.
As final issue, another two paint chips showed up on the fuel tank at the same time. I can be unlucky once with a stone but not three times. New paint chip damages looked very similar to the one I found in Sturgis. Could the paint chip damages to be related to a bad paint job? I say yes due to the previous issues.

Now, after $4000 spent I don’t have anybody to complain with. AIREA 5150 website is “temporally unavailable”. It is been like this for months. No e-mail address to write to or a phone number to call.
Did I get what I paid for? Absolutely not!

I’m having my KING repainted from a local painter.

I took several pictures of how the AIREA 5150 paint job looked at the end.

For all the above, if AIREA 5150 will ever come in business again, I strongly recommend everybody to don’t have a paint job done by Scott Daugherty.

Does anybody else have the same problems with an AIREA 5150 paint job?

See you on the road!

 

I used to custom paint cars and trucks for 21 yrs. Retired now. First picture is a common problem called fish eyes. Comes from many sources. In this case I would say containated air lines from the compressor supplying air to the paint gun. Number 1 problem when painting on a super hot day.
Fish eyes can occur from silicone in the work area or natural oil from the painter's hands too.

The fading and white look is called blushing, its cause by using cheap fast paint reducer for low temperature when slower more expensive reducer is needed for working in a hotter climate. The humidity in the air casues the paint solvents to evoperate fast and blush out over time leaving a faded out and clouded appearence.
What I see happen here is your stuff got painted on a 90 degree day using cold weather paint thinners and reducers.
The paint popping off is also cause by paint solvents out gassing. Sometimes it blisters up as a small pimple and then pops looking just like a rock chip.

Make sure the painter doing the job now strips all the old paint off and starts with bare metal. Otherwise that F'ed up paint work will come up and haunt you all over again.

Not hard to see why Airea 5150 isn't around anymore. Guy deserves a major beat down!

Best of luck to you.

 

I agree with Ken, my reccommendations have always been to find a local to paint any vehicle, that way they know the climate your ride is in. It's just like tuning your carbs, needs to be done for the climate and altitude you ride in.

 

Thanks Chicago Ken! I knew it was a very bad paint job and your technical comments confirmed it!
Thanks for the C.S.I. on this matter!
Unleast now I know what happened!

 

Wildwave, that sucks man. Companies you can trust are hard to find nowadays. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do but get it repainted. This forum is a great place to find local shops of honest guys with the same passion we have for our bikes.

with that said, Welcome to the forum to both you and Bob @toontown
Bob, I've seen your work in person. I live near NJC. It's nice when local shops join this forum

 

A good way to find top painters is to go to custom car and bike shows and ask around. Usaully its a small group of people who know who the top guys are and stand by their work. Word of mouth travels quick in those circles and they know who to stay away from.

 

Thanks for the tip Ken. I have been looking for a painter in Central New Jersey. I'm looking for a classic flame job that wont break the bank.

 

Welcome to the forums, you do some nice work. A word af advice though, you might want to scale down on the advertising a little. The site Mods might not like that to much, they charge for advertising. Click on a users name and send him a private message or something. Maybe you an put you website addy in your signiture.

 

This is how my King looks like now!!

 

Looks great man. We just did a denim black RoadKing for a guy. I powder coated his Necelle, front end and some other stuff. Looks really good.