Initially, I was impressed with Tony and the paint job (since a new coat of paint always looks…read morenice) but, after the project was fully paid and I began to experience issues, Tony's tune totally changed.
During early conversations with Tony, he lead me to believe that he would be using high-quality Benjamin Moore paint to complete the job, as well as performing any prep work, including sanding and priming. However, it was only after the project was underway that I noticed Tony switched the paint to use cheap Valspar paint, which I specifically asked him not to use due to issues I have had with it in the past. I brought up my concerns to Tony and he assured me that the paint would work fine and that he would cover any issues that may arise due to using it. Also, crucial prep work was skipped during the painting process. The kitchen cabinets were not sanded or primed before painting over the existing, tacky, peeling paint.
It has only been 2 months and, currently, the paint on my kitchen cabinets scratches right off, chips from normal use, and leaks color when wet. The cabinets have already had to be touched up by both Tony and myself. However, despite me bringing this to Tony's attention within the 6 month guarantee window he provided me, he was reluctant to do anything about it stating that I just need to stop worrying about it. I have now contacted (4) other professional painters to understand what went wrong to see if I could fix the issues myself and all (4) have told me that, because Tony used cheap wall paint that is not meant for cabinets and did not follow the professional process for doing the job correctly, my only option is to strip the cabinets completely and start over. I am now looking at having to pay a minimum $3,400 to correct Tony's work despite still being within his guarantee window.
Tony's only proposed solutions are to either paint over the existing paint, which all (4) other professionals have stated will not fix the problem, or provide me with a $600 refund, leaving me to pay $2,800 out of pocket to fix the damages. His defense is that I never told him the original cabinets needed to be prepped or that he needed to use cabinet paint, which are both unrealistic expectations since he was supposed to be the professional with the expertise to know how to do the job properly.