Swirl marks in dealer paint protection !

[ss_blake]

Perhaps I made the foolish mistake of paying for dealer paint protection on my new AUDI A6 but I didn`t start researching here until after the fact..



Just brought the new vehicle home.. its phantom black pearl effect and from far looks great. But in the light from a few feet away the ENTIRE car is covered in swirl marks. The dealer said the detailer at their shop is very experienced, give it some time for the sealant to set (imperfections in paint normal until then) etc



What are the opinions here - was this done properly? Are the swirl marks likely in the original paint or the sealant coat they use? Should this be fixed and could it worsen the paint more ?

[Thomas Dekany]

Perhaps I made the foolish mistake of paying for dealer paint protection on my new AUDI A6 but I didn`t start researching here until after the fact..



Just brought the new vehicle home.. its phantom black pearl effect and from far looks great. But in the light from a few feet away the ENTIRE car is covered in swirl marks. The dealer said the detailer at their shop is very experienced, give it some time for the sealant to set (imperfections in paint normal until then) etc



What are the opinions here - was this done properly? Are the swirl marks likely in the original paint or the sealant coat they use? Should this be fixed and could it worsen the paint more ?





I really doubt that THAT person has a concience. Do these "car salesmen" think the customer is stupid?????



The only experience that detailer has is BAD HABITS.



Your car should look perfect. Tell the stealer that:



1 - you want your $$$ back

2 - pay the difference for correcting the HACK job or you return the car for an untouched one.

3 - find a real detailer right here. Where are you?



Unbelievable.



I am so sorry.

[Thomas Dekany]

PS: take some sun pictures tomorrow or with the flash in your garage. Don`t touch the paint.

[Street5927]

I agree that this is rediculous! Giving sealant time to set will not diminish the swirl marks at all. The swirl marks were caused by bad habits and someone who is not at all experienced. As Td said, it should look perfect from a few inches away to a few feet away. I assure you that the sealant was not done properly, and I also assure you that the swirls are not from the original paint. When the surface is sprayed, it looks perfect (well, under 99.9% of the circumstances, it should look perfect after coming off the paint line). Again, the swirls are a result of poor technique on the "detailers" part.

[Don]

Not foolish, just uninformed. The only things that will "fade with time" are smear marks from wiping down a sealant/wax that isn`t quite ready to be removed. Your options are:



live with it

make them do it again right (personally, I wouldn`t let them touch it again)

get your money back

find a real detailer and make them pay to have their mess corrected



Good luck

[proudpoppa]

I apply a paint protection product a couple times a week, its part of the environmental package they sell. If the paint is perfect before they got it, it sure as hell should be perfect when you get it back. Washing, drying, and sealing the paint without marring or swirling is not that hard but some people really seem to struggle with it.



P.S. Don`t take it back to have them fix it. You can show them what they did, but don`t let them touch it. I would have to assume that their correction skills are on par with their performance so far so just find a good pro locally.

[Dan]

I really doubt that THAT person has a concience. Do these "car salesmen" think the customer is stupid?????



The only experience that detailer has is BAD HABITS.



Your car should look perfect. Tell the stealer that:



1 - you want your $$$ back

2 - pay the difference for correcting the HACK job or you return the car for an untouched one.

3 - find a real detailer right here. Where are you?



Unbelievable.



I am so sorry.



Agree 100%. I will add that Audi clear is harder to swirl than most so that meams their hack is even worse. You will be very sorry if you let them near your car again. What is worse is the lies they told you hoping you would just give up.

[mini1]

Let me guess, you paid $600 for someone to take a pour a couple drops of a $10 paint sealant on your car and buff it? These dealer paint sealants are NEVER a good idea, even if they don`t hologram your paint. They are a rip off times 600% and a complete waste of money.

[ss_blake]

I appreciate the advice.. I will take some pics to show what was done.. it sounds like the dealer will "fix it" next month but I agree it may not be done right.. should a high rpm rotating polisher even be used (which is what I assume caused the swirl marks) with these sealant products?

[Thomas Dekany]

I appreciate the advice.. I will take some pics to show what was done.. it sounds like the dealer will "fix it" next month but I agree it may not be done right.. should a high rpm rotating polisher even be used (which is what I assume caused the swirl marks) with these sealant products?





Blake - I don`t mean to sound harsh, but what did we just say to you?



DO NOT LET THE STEALERSHIP TOUCH IT.



Ok - first, you are told that it is the sealant before it is settled. Now you are told that they will fix it. I thought the stealer said it was the sealant. What is there for them to fix?



You are still trusting them?



I guess it is your $$$, I shouldn`t be so personal about it. :dig:dig:dig

[efnfast]

I appreciate the advice.. I will take some pics to show what was done.. it sounds like the dealer will "fix it" next month but I agree it may not be done right.. should a high rpm rotating polisher even be used (which is what I assume caused the swirl marks) with these sealant products?





The swirls are microscopic abrasions ("pits" if you will) in the clearcoat. To remove them, you`ll have to re-polish and re-seal the entire car. if they didn`t do it right the first time, they definately won`t the second time.



Most dealerships either employ hacks or high school kids to do their inhouse detailing - why - they can pay them $10/hr, because most of the population will not notice/care about swirls; those that do, such as yourself, will be given a BS line, and because of your lack of knowledge of detailing, will swallow it hook/line/sinker.



Get your money back now and find a proper independent detailer.

[polyester1970]

I feel your pain. Actually, I fell for the same stupid thing too when I bought my BMW. I knew the sealant was all BS, but I thought the warranty might be worth a couple bucks since I have a baby and I figured she`ll spill bleach on my leather eventually... I digress.



I had swirls all over after I washed it a few times, but I wasn`t sure if it came from the paint protection or just their after-sale detail since I brought the car a few days later for the paint protection. I talked to the guy and they said they use a foam applicator by hand for the paint protection, but the swirls definitely came from a machine, so I think for my case it came from the after-sale detail.



These guys have to detail the car in a couple hours. It looks like they did a 1-step with a wool pad, but people here know that you need to follow up wool/aggressive foam with a softer foam + finishing polish, otherwise you`ll get swirls. But a 2-step usually takes a day, so they probably just rushed it. I tried to get them to pay me to get it fixed, but they wouldn`t and I didn`t want them to touch it again. I found a good local detailer, and he finished what they started; he used a light polish & soft foam just to remove the micro-marring/swirls. I didn`t want him to do a heavy cut compound and remove too much clear coat for a brand new car.

[2010V8Colorado]

The local GM dealer, Cadillac-Buick-Chevrolet, has the small additional window sticker on every vehicle. It`s $650 for Paint Protection and Interior Protection. When looking for a car, I asked the salesman, "just what do they do on the interior protection"? His reply was, "they do a Scotchguard treatment on the seats and carpet". I asked him, "just how does that Scotchguard treatment work on LEATHER since it`s for fabric"? His reply, "I`m not sure, but I`ll check on that for you". I told him, "no need to do that, I know how this works". And as no surprise, this same stealership has a "recommended service" schedule that in no way resembles the factory guidelines, includes things like "brake fluid flush and power steering flush", and costs $100`s to over $1000 for their 30K mile service.

[Thomas Dekany]

I feel your pain. Actually, I fell for the same stupid thing too when I bought my BMW. I knew the sealant was all BS, but I thought the warranty might be worth a couple bucks since I have a baby and I figured she`ll spill bleach on my leather eventually... I digress.



I had swirls all over after I washed it a few times, but I wasn`t sure if it came from the paint protection or just their after-sale detail since I brought the car a few days later for the paint protection. I talked to the guy and they said they use a foam applicator by hand for the paint protection, but the swirls definitely came from a machine, so I think for my case it came from the after-sale detail.



These guys have to detail the car in a couple hours. It looks like they did a 1-step with a wool pad, but people here know that you need to follow up wool/aggressive foam with a softer foam + finishing polish, otherwise you`ll get swirls. But a 2-step usually takes a day, so they probably just rushed it. I tried to get them to pay me to get it fixed, but they wouldn`t and I didn`t want them to touch it again. I found a good local detailer, and he finished what they started; he used a light polish & soft foam just to remove the micro-marring/swirls. I didn`t want him to do a heavy cut compound and remove too much clear coat for a brand new car.





The question is? Why use wool on new paint? AND why a rotary? At least use s finishing pad with glaze or switch to a DA machine.

[Accumulator]

ss blake- Welcome to Autopia! Fellow Audi-nut here :wavey



As noted, the bottom line is that the dealership guy(s) messed up your new car. It`s highly unlikely that they possess the knowledge or the skills necessary to correct the damage. It`s highly likely that they`ll make things worse, perhaps *much* worse. They could even precipitate premature paint failure (no, that`s not an exaggeration).



Don`t let them touch it. Just pray they don`t mess it up again later, say...when you take it in for an oil change or something, but that`s another worry for another time.



For right now, in the worst case, you`re out the money you paid them for that protection package and the cost of having it *correctly* rectified. At best, you can perhaps get them to pay for the remedial work. I myself would be scheduling a meeting with the owner of the dealership to discuss the problem (I`ve had wonderful results when unfortunate incidents required such measures).



As noted, find a respected pro who`s a member here and have him do the work. I suppose that sounds like a forum-fanboy suggestion, but the people here *do* know how to fix this sort of thing. Audis have very hard clear and you want to make sure the person fixing this will do it right.