need urgent help - houston, tx area.

Mystical_Ice · 08-27-07, 12:04

THE STORY:
I planned on getting a clear bra installed on my 2005 CTS-V which i'd purchased about 6 weeks ago. Before getting that done though, there were one or two lights scratches on the hood (you couldn't even feel them with your fingernail), and a scuff in the lower bumper (plastic) that i wanted fixed, so i took it to a local bodyshop. I picked the car up later that day, and noticed that there are swirl marks all over the car. Even on the plastic tail lights... it's as if they just glided their high speed rotary right over the taillights. i was pretty upset. They said that it needed to get waxed, but i said that wax would just be a band-aid, and when the installers put on the clear bra, they'll remove the wax anyway, and there's no way i want those halos/swirl marks under the clear bra, where they'll be permanent.

http://www.f1f3.com/hlphosted/swirlmark1.jpg
http://www.f1f3.com/hlphosted/swirlmark2.jpg
http://www.f1f3.com/hlphosted/swirlmark3.jpg

THE PROBLEM:
I want to get rid of the swirl marks on the car, and i don't want them just 'covered up' with wax. Even now, with a couple of coats of wax, it's still clearly visible.

THE SOLUTION (WHAT I NEED HELP WITH):
The shop's solution is not going to cut it. There's no way i want to 3000grit wetsand the car (that's the only solution they offer... which i've been told will remove entire coats of clearcoat, which will be far from necessary), even i know better than that, and i know next to nothing about paint or detailing. Everyone i know has said the same thing, to not under any circumstances let them do that.

Instead, i'm going to try to get them to pay for me taking the car somewhere else to get the swirls out (without just hiding them with wax), whether they can use 3M swirl remover, or whatever else. I need there to be no swirls visible without wax, so that the 3M clear bra can be installed. If i can't get them to cover it, then so be it, and i'll just have to pay out of my pocket, but i hope that won't happen, because it took me over 2 years to save up for this car, and i don't really have much money to pay for an expensive detailing job

So who can you suggest in Houston that will do a good job of detailing it? Other people have said that it will probably take 10 hours to do.

For a play-by-play listing, or to read the original thread in its entirety to get the story, see here:
clear bra

- Page 3 - Cadillac Owners

Mystical_Ice · 08-27-07, 12:08

i just want my car's finish back like it used to be

mikebai1990 · 08-27-07, 12:23

That is an absolutely disgusting job they did.. Is there any way you can get them to refund your money? I'm pretty sure it can be fixed with a good polishing.

Lemme clear up some facts so you know how to deal with the bodyshop. First, wetsanding will not remove entire coats of clearcoat. Wetsanding, if done properly, would be quite effective. However, I would most definitely not let this shop do it. Heavy compounding and polishing needs to be done after wetsanding, and it's quite obvious that this bodyshop doesn't have any idea how to do it.

Detailing just the hood should not take 10 hours. It should take 3-4 hours tops. I'm pretty certain that a heavy polishing done by a professional (and good) detailer will clean up all those swirls. Sorry to hear of your horrible experience...

twitch · 08-27-07, 12:34

OUCH!! That sucks!

I recall seeing some nice work in the Click and Brag section by MobileJay and he is in Houston. Shoot him a PM.

Good luck. Oh and I agree with Mike, DO NOT go back to that body shop to let them fix it.

SubyDude · 08-27-07, 01:14

OUCH is right! I would try talking with management to have them pay to have it corrected. They should own up to that. Very sorry about your troubles!

themightytimmah · 08-27-07, 01:25

WOW! that's beyond unacceptable. You will likely need a 3-step to get it perfect again... hit up their management for it, because it's going to cost 250+ to get that back to Autopian standards. You're going to need someone good to fix it with a high-speed rotary - I know it's hard to trust rotary polishing after a hack job like that, but a dual action will have a helluva time to remove those marks. Look up MobileJay - he'll take great care of you.

I would not let them within a mile of that car with 3000grit paper - if done right, a 3000 grit job will knock down some of that GM orange peel and leave your car looking better than factory at a slight expense in paint longetivity. If done by them - you'll be heading for a paint booth.

Mystical_Ice · 08-27-07, 02:10

I have emailed Mobilejay. Any other suggestions anyone?

It seems prettyclear that 3000wetsanding it is something i SHOULDN'T do...

mikebai1990 · 08-27-07, 03:13

Nono, you are getting the false impression that wetsanding is wrong. In some cases, it can be even safer than a heavy compounding. The big but is that the person who does the wetsanding has to be knowledgeable and experienced. Whether you need wetsanding is not clear to me, only because I can't tell how severe the damage is.

Mystical_Ice · 08-27-07, 03:46

i was under the impression that wetsanding was to remove large (deep) issues, not scratches that are only a couple of microns deep.

Not to mention that would you recommend i let this shop wetsand my car after the problems they've caused already?

Mystical_Ice · 08-27-07, 03:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikebai1990

Detailing just the hood should not take 10 hours. It should take 3-4 hours tops. I'm pretty certain that a heavy polishing done by a professional (and good) detailer will clean up all those swirls. Sorry to hear of your horrible experience...

it's not just the hood though. unfortunately when they 'buffed' or 'polished' or whatever, they did the ENTIRE CAR. i took pictures of only the hood, but those swirl marks are everywhere

... even on the tail lights :-/

mikebai1990 · 08-27-07, 03:53

Haha, of course it would be a bad idea to let them wetsand it

Wetsanding is used for scratches that can be felt with a fingernail. Is it that bad on your paint?

They did the whole car?! Oh dear... I really do feel for you. Definitely talk to their management and demand a refund and extra money to pay for the paint damage correction somewhere else. There can't be ANY way that they can consider this acceptable work, it's disgusting! Anybody with a bit of knowledge should be able to do better... How much did they charge for this horrible job?

Mystical_Ice · 08-27-07, 07:58

yeah the thing is i didn't TELL them to 'buff' or 'polish' my entire car. i wanted the 2 scratches out of the hood, and the scuff out of the bumper. but if you look at the car in the sun (not so much now because it's got a couple coats of wax on, to temporarily hide the swirls), you could see EXACTLY where the rotary buffer was... and the buffer was clearly swept right over the taillights