Today we’d like to introduce you to Randy Borcherding.
Randy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We are a hobby that became a business. We never intended to be what we are, yet, here we are. Our journey, and it is just that, is proof that hard work, integrity and a bit of luck (or blessings) can make anything happen.
We take old things and make them new, ugly things and make them pretty and unfocused vision and steer them to the proverbial bullseye.
I have a passion for all things mechanical. Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, watches…whatever you can think of in that vein. As a child, I built models as fast as I could earn money to buy another. I even won a couple contests. Now, I guess I just build bigger models for other owners.
I also have a need to create perfectionism around me. I like things to be the best they can be, within reason. It is a blessing and a curse at the same time. It is not that I expect others, or even myself, to be perfect, I know better than that! I am drawn to always find a way to do a job or project better the next time. I am not willing to settle for “okay” or “good enough”. I like subtle things, but don’t mind a little “in your face” like a loud exhaust or candied, metal-flake paint when appropriate.
I have never had any formal training in this field, I am 95% self-taught through the School of Hard Knocks. At this point, I should have a Master’s degree! Other than product-specific training from paint manufacturers, it has all been learned the old-fashioned way.
I started working on real cars in high school. First, a 1971 Nova, then a 1982 Mustang GT, then a 1967 Dodge Coronet… and so on. I have always had a fascination with straight bodywork and very slick paint, as well as detail throughout a vehicle.
I decided to try my hand at paint and bodywork while working at a former job of mine. I ended up painting all of their work trucks and vans and the race was on. I started doing jobs for friends and family, learning all the while. I asked lots of questions to people who would share information, and read whatever I could find to help me pick up clues and tips.
In May of 1989, I decided to start my own business doing this “paint and body” thing. Within 2 years, I had grown from a small, 1200 square foot lease space to a 3500 square foot pair of buildings. In the grand scheme of things, relatively small, but a huge step up in my career. We are presently in Cypress, Texas (NW suburb of Houston) in our new 4000 square foot building with a heated paint booth, in addition to an existing 3000-foot garage/shop.
In our genesis, I took whatever came in the door, be it insurance, custom or restoration – whatever. I have painted antique semi-trucks, grand pianos, coffins (with the deceased inside!), prototypes for large marketing companies, boats, airplanes, not to mention cars and motorcycles…basically, an eclectic mixture of stuff. From that, I have learned it is almost impossible to combine the custom/restoration world with Insurance/collision work and be productive and profitable simultaneously.
At times, I have had to take on partners, none of which have worked out. As a result of those experiences, I have also had to take jobs at “normal” body shops for periods of time. I have done it all from estimating to painting and frame repair. I never lost my passion for all things old or custom. I always had a little project of my own or someone else’s going on. I have to admit that the collision shop mentality has helped me appreciate the value of production and efficiency, which I continue to try and encompass into my present work today. I try to work smart as much as hard. Conversely, I will not sacrifice quality in the interest of time or money.
I have many people to thank for where I am now, and they know who they are. Although my company, in the past, has been larger, I have no desire to be a big, mass-producing facility. I feel that quality and personal contact become inversely proportional to the size of the company. The larger the company becomes, the harder it is to maintain your relationships and standards. Ultimately, I would end up being a babysitter of sorts. Therefore, my company is presently comprised of 5 people. We are not the biggest shop around and that is just fine with us. I want to be in touch with my customers, employees and my family.
We have built many high- end vehicles, as well as being seen on TV multiple times. Maybe that matters, maybe not. We, as a company and as individuals, love what we do and hope to do it for the rest of our lives. If we weren’t doing it for a living, we would be doing it at home for free, so – why not try to make a living if you can?
I am not only the owner, I am a large part of the labor force as well. I am the painter, and do much of the sanding and polishing as well (believe it or not, my favorite part!). I have a great group of people that work with me to create what we do. They all love this and want to do it for the foreseeable future as well. We can build a turn-key, frame up version of your ultimate ride, or provide any part of that process if you are handling parts of it elsewhere or yourself. We can provide a custom color for your project, whether we paint it or not. We have sold our custom mixed colors all over the world and hope to grow that part of our business as we continue to build beautiful vehicles. PAINTHOUSE can build a show-stopping, one-of-a-kind winner or a Saturday night cruiser – you decide.
We are happy to answer questions when asked. If we don’t have the answer, we will help you find it. We don’t know it all or pretend to. We are not the fastest or the cheapest. We want to be neither of those as they breed compromise of the unwanted kind. You are more than welcome to visit us before, during or after your project’s journey with us. We welcome that and feel free to take as many pictures as you like. We will, too, and you will get a complete pictorial history of whatever we do for you.
I think you will find the most valuable asset we have to offer is honesty. We will not mislead you just to collect a paycheck from you. There have been many times that I have advised a customer to get out while he can, or to not even begin the project, based on what they are starting with, or their budget, or both. Some may accuse me of being a bad business man, but, I am not trying to get rich on one job. I see the big picture and know how expensive these projects can get. I often tell people that it is cheaper to buy something finished than to build it yourself.
Having said all these things, it is an honor and a pleasure to be involved in building something that is part of your dreams. Maybe it is a reward for a life well-lived or a handed-down family heirloom. Maybe it was a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment decision or a half-finished horror story from ‘Body Shop Hell’. It doesn’t really matter, other than the fact that we will do whatever we can to help you make logical, positive and creative decisions on whatever it is that “moves” you.
That is our story, for the most part. Along the way, we’ve had horrible lows and amazing highs. After all, it is the journey that matters to us and it’s not over yet. We hope to build your perfect ride for your journey.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Self- employment is never a smooth journey. Add in 3 kids, a marriage and an unscrupulous former “partner” that stole it all right from under us, We had to start over completely. It proved to be a test of the highest magnitude. If it were not for my wife and a few select people that believed in us, I’m not sure we’d have made it. It is proof that hard work and doing the “right thing” will prevail.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Painthouse – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We build custom automobiles. We take old cars and/or trucks and make them as close to perfect as any human can. We also mix our own custom colors that are being used by other shops all over the country, and world for that matter.
We are most known for our paint quality and clarity. The process of building the vehicles was born out of necessity as our customers had been through terrible experiences and needed a place to put their vehicle, and their trust, in. We filled that need for them and in the process (at the risk of bragging) have built some of our industry’s most impactful custom vehicles. We also paint vehicles for other shops as they perform the remainder of the building process.
Our custom color collection has been a new phenomenon and something we are really enjoying as we see our colors on projects all over the country and the world. Like most of our journey, it was not expected or anticipated – it just happened organically, as it should.
I believe I am most proud of our integrity. I will not mislead a customer. I have lost much more work than I’ve gained as a result of being as honest with my potential customers as I can. We cannot build and/or paint every vehicle and we don’t want to try. We are much more about quality than quantity.
I am also extremely proud of our staff. The people that work with us all share a passion for what they do. We all know that we are not going to get wealthy doing this for a living, however loving what you do is worth so much more than money in this day and age. Not many people can say that they truly love what they do – but we can.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’d love to take our custom color collection to a larger scale, something that I am not sure how to do yet. Other than that, painting and building these projects to the level that we are capable of is what drives us. We never quit learning and each project becomes better, in some way, than the last.
At the risk of being redundant – it is a journey and it’s not over yet.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10503 Florafield Lane,
Cypress, TX 77429 - Website: www.painthousetx.com
- Phone: 281-477-7781
- Email: randy@painthousetx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/painthousetexas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Painthousetx
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/painthousetexas
- Other: www.painthouserags.com
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