What is the name of your state? FLORIDA
I let a "friend" of mine who paints cars as a job (well, his SECOND job it turns out) talk me into repainting my car (1997 Mazda Miata.) I paid him $500 to purchase the paint and supplies, and agreed to pay him the balance ($700) when I picked the car up. He told me it would take 10 days, give or take a few, to finish it. 3 weeks later, after calling and bugging him numerous times, he finally said it was ready.
When I picked it up, the paint was HORRIBLE! There were numerous bugs stuck in the paint, runs, drips, some paint was thicker in some areas than others, etc. He seemed pleased when I drove up, until he saw me go ballistic - and at that point, told me he could "buff it out in 3 or 4 weeks", and asked for a check for the rest of the money. I told him I had "forgotten" it and left. I spoke with him 2 days later, and he offered to "do it over" and fix it, but wanted me to pay the balance ($700) first, since he'd need to purchase more paint and supplies.
I went to three different body shops, who all agreed that the paint work done was shoddy work; there is paint all over the trim pieces, orange peel all over the paint, and the paint is already peeling! It isn't even sticking to the car in some places. It's costing me $3400 to get it stripped off and done correctly. Of that, about $800 or more is just labor hours to sand everything he did off.
Can I take him to Small Claims Court for a refund of the initial $500 I gave him? Can I ask the courts to award me damages in the amount of labor it's costing the body shop to sand off everything he did?
I let a "friend" of mine who paints cars as a job (well, his SECOND job it turns out) talk me into repainting my car (1997 Mazda Miata.) I paid him $500 to purchase the paint and supplies, and agreed to pay him the balance ($700) when I picked the car up. He told me it would take 10 days, give or take a few, to finish it. 3 weeks later, after calling and bugging him numerous times, he finally said it was ready.
When I picked it up, the paint was HORRIBLE! There were numerous bugs stuck in the paint, runs, drips, some paint was thicker in some areas than others, etc. He seemed pleased when I drove up, until he saw me go ballistic - and at that point, told me he could "buff it out in 3 or 4 weeks", and asked for a check for the rest of the money. I told him I had "forgotten" it and left. I spoke with him 2 days later, and he offered to "do it over" and fix it, but wanted me to pay the balance ($700) first, since he'd need to purchase more paint and supplies.
I went to three different body shops, who all agreed that the paint work done was shoddy work; there is paint all over the trim pieces, orange peel all over the paint, and the paint is already peeling! It isn't even sticking to the car in some places. It's costing me $3400 to get it stripped off and done correctly. Of that, about $800 or more is just labor hours to sand everything he did off.
Can I take him to Small Claims Court for a refund of the initial $500 I gave him? Can I ask the courts to award me damages in the amount of labor it's costing the body shop to sand off everything he did?
You make mine look like a drop in the bucket...! Sorry to hear about yours. You're right, I should have had the body shop I'm having do it now, since it would have cost me ~$2000 to have it done right the first time. 
) Clearwater Collision also said they would take photographs like it was an insurance claim, and provide me with a statement testifying to the quality of the previous paint job and why they had to sand it all off.