Body shop detail quality

[Bill1975]

After getting my car repaired at a great local body shop, they initially detailed the car (no correction or swirl removal) and it looked fine. Today I took it in for them to wash the car and wax the re painted area. I was shocked to see lots of swirls on the sides and hood of the car. There were some there before, but it wasn`t that bad. I`ve seen this happen before with cars that come out of body shops - the quality of paintwork is good, but the final polishing or detailing isn`t. I would think that as good as a lot of shops are at painting that they would take just as much care at properly detailing a car and either removing light swirl marks or being careful not to add any. The repainted area (rest bumper and hatch)is not bad at all, just the sides and hood.

I don`t know what the shop and say if I took it back to him and I was in a hurry to get to another appointment when I left. Frankly, now that I have some good tools and products, I would rather do it myself. I had just washed my car myself about a week and a half ago and while there was some light marring, I know that it was not this bad.

[grisby]

My wife slid into a mailbox with her black Yukon in early winter. Left rear 1/4 panel was damaged. We had it painted by a local shop that does street rods and it looked very good. UNTIL I washed it a week later,--- swirled all to heck!!!! Got my work to do when it warms up, but I have a new Continental to do this weekend, so paying customers come first!!

[Swanicyouth]

Really - you guys have to understand... Nobody understands swirls or scratches in the paint refinishing industry. Most people, including body shop guys, will look at that and think it just needs to be washed or waxed to look better. Actually, most people will just consider that looks fine. So, please, even if you use the best body shop - don`t expect any better.

[ShaneB]

This is the norm. The majority of people don`t see the swirls or holograms or buffer trails like us detailers do. So body shops don`t care to learn or care that they do this type of work. It`s going to happen unless you tell them don`t put a buffer on it.

the worst thing a lot of people do is take it back and expect them to fix it, expecting them to know how. This usually leads to them just making it worse.

my wife`s van got in an accident, front end was in pretty rough shape, body shop did a great job repairing it but the day we picked it up the hood was covered in buffer trails. Didn`t even mention it to them. I`ll fix it myself and use the before and after a for marketing material. In a way, their ignorance is my gain.

[Migue]

It`s not their priority. When I worked at a certified Mercedes Benz Body Shop, the guys would give it a fairly quick "buff" session after getting the car out of the oven . I never saw any of those guys using appropriate lighting and actually hunting for swirls/holograms. They only used the sun gun for color matching(that`s pretty much what it`s for anyways) and their goal while machine compounding/polishing was to make it look shiny and "remove" wet sand marks from removing nibs/dirt off the clear coat.

This was at a Luxury Vehicle body shop, I don`t want to imagine on an "average" shop.

[The Driver]

Take it from the anomaly (Me); it`s literally impossible to find an auto body shop that puts out proper finished down panels. How do I know, I have a detailing business that`s paired with an auto body shop. It`s highly improbable for many reasons, body shops are dirty & dusty, workers have a different skill set and pay range is different. We`re paired together so we can control everything from A-Z but (Big one) we have two separate locations. You cannot mix the two, vehicles leave the auto body and then come to us either for basic clean up or to be fully corrected, PPF and a coating if the customer opts for it.

[Bill1975]

I figured this was the case. It`s a bit like expecting the sales clerk at the local Guitar Center to be a brilliant musician.

It still surprises me, and is disappointing. And this is at a local independent body shop, they did a great job repainting and repairing my car, and has stellar reviews. It`s not like I went to Maaco.

In my case, it isn`t buffer trails, right it looks like they were way too aggressive when washing and drying the car. The upside is it`s an opportunity for me to get more practice.

[grisby]

Really - you guys have to understand... Nobody understands swirls or scratches in the paint refinishing industry. Most people, including body shop guys, will look at that and think it just needs to be washed or waxed to look better. Actually, most people will just consider that looks fine. So, please, even if you use the best body shop - don`t expect any better.

Actually, I do understand!!! I expected this to happen and I was pointing out to the OP that no matter where you go or how good the reputation of a shop, that this is what can and will happen. They are painters, body men, not detailers. I am sure there are a lot of detailers(hacks) that do the same quality of work.

[Oneheadlite]

I also think that they use a high filling/low durability product to make the cars pop for pick up. Just like you said - looks great when you pick it up, then you wash it...

Had work done on my wifes car a while back and asked them what they used. I can`t remember what it was, but it was definitely a "fill first" product. I`ll see if I can track down what it was.

[RaskyR1]

Having a father that`s been a body man/painter all my life I`ve been in a lot of body shops, worked at one early on, and detailed for several of them back in the day. A simple walk through in the detail area will tell you why them simply washing the car added more swirls. I`ve seen bath towels draped over dusty tool boxes that get used several times before they are washed, wash mitts well beyond the point where they should be replaced and they`re filled with dirt/debris, and some even use those wash brooms like you see at the coin-opp washes. Buffing pads are even worse and I`m not the least bit surprised by the holograms.

I actually gave my father my old Rupes 21 back when the BOSS came out along with dozens of foam pads, polishes, and a 10L jug of Cockpit Premium cleaner. While I doubt they are perfect, I`m confident they look better than most shops.

[xspwrstang]

It looks like they used a scrubbing mop to wash the car instead of a mitt. Even though it will come off, it`s just a pain to have to correct other people`s mistake. You should have them cover some of the expense.

[dcjredline]

Really - you guys have to understand... Nobody understands swirls or scratches in the paint refinishing industry. Most people, including body shop guys, will look at that and think it just needs to be washed or waxed to look better. Actually, most people will just consider that looks fine. So, please, even if you use the best body shop - don`t expect any better.

And they are right in the literal sense. Waxing it will make swirls "look better" lol. It doesnt fix them but it will look better for now.

[Lonnie]

Let`s put it this way:
Many professional and excellent hobbyist detailers make a living (or at least decent supplemental income) "fixing/correcting" this very problem from less-than Autopian-acceptable "standards" of vehicle exterior surface appearance and presentation.
I know , as Rasky pointed out, that it is a combination of ignorance or lack-thereof in workmanship, poor equipment, and the need for business profitability (IE, time is money) for most body shops. Most of this work is done by an insurance claim that only pays so much, and I think the general assumption is that the vehicle is a daily driver and the insurance company will only pay so much to return it back to OEM specs and appearance.
Just because YOU kept your daily driver vehicle looking like a show car does not imply they will or even need to return it to you in that condition, as sad as it may sound. SOOO, in addition to the deductible you may be forced to pay for initial repair, those of you who are OCD Autopians who keep their vehicles in show-car condition will also need to pony up the time, effort, and expense to return it to that condition after its visit to a body shop.
There are body shops that have their own detailing departments, but you will find that they will "upcharge" you if you want that service. As stated, profitability and insurance remuneration (IE, claim payments) play heavily in how a "repaired" vehicle`s appearance will be returned to you.

[Accumulator]

My paint/body guys understand that I`m just at a different level, and they do generally try to keep my satisfied (if only in the sense of "first, do no harm").

But, sigh...my "good" painter, who was doing some final work on the Jag, totally [messed] it up after having previously been 100% great. Can`t fix it, no paint available, nothing to be done. 32 year old car with 18K that I bought new...ruined IMO (and that`s the opinion that matters).

[Lonnie]

This thread also brings to mind what businesses do with PITA customers (the politically correct term is "discriminating customers") and how to handle their complaints. Accumulator, this is NOT intended to imply that you are such a customer: it`s just that Autopians have a different (AKA, higher) expectation of service and workmanship and not everyone (businesses) "share" (IE, deliver) in that expectation.

EDIT:
(Story retracted by poster to protect business interest and adhere to professional confidentiality and ethics agreements)