This nightmare situation is about to bring a grown man to tears

[john1277]

Brand new black 2011 Camaro. Came out one morning to find that someone I know had dumped a bucket of white paint on it, spray painted it with black spray paint, and put various dents in it. This was shortly after I had spent 7 hours washing, sealing, and waxing the car. Needless to say, I was furious beyond words.



I bring it to the body shop. They take 3 weeks to work on it, buffing most of it out, repainting a few things, and replacing the headlamps and taillights, etc. I finally get it back yesterday and I breathe a sigh of relief because it looks good and I think I can just put this whole thing behind me. Wrong.



Today I washed the car. After drying, there are SEVERE hologram swirl marks all over the place. I can`t stand to look at it and the body shop won`t be open again till Moday.



What should I do here? Should I bring it back to them and have them fix it (I called them and they said bring it over Monday)? Or should I bring it to someone else and try to get insurance to cover more repair at another place (Not sure that this is possible)? Should I insist that they just repaint the whole damn car?





I greatly appreciate any feedback providing help as to how to handle this situation! I know you guys are awesome and will have good advice! :biggrin1::clap1:

[C. Charles Hahn]

DO NOT take it back to the body shop to have them "fix it" -- they will just hack it up further.



If in fact all you`re dealing with are swirls, you should not need a new paint job, it should just need to be polished out. You can either elect to do it yourself (invest in the tools and products and learn proper technique) or take it to a professional detailer and have them correct it. You might be able to get the body shop to pay for that, since their people don`t know how to buff paint properly.



Where are you located?

[Richard Grasa]

Find a good "autopian style" detailer on this forum and bring it to them. Do NOT bring it back to the body shop, they will most likely just hack it up even further. Don`t have them respray it because they will just hack that paint up and you will be in the same boat you`re in now. Body shops are notorious for instilling swirls and holograms just like or worse then dealerships. No reason to have it resprayed if a good detailer can fix it, plus there will be a full respray in the vehicle`s history report, not good for resale value. I would try to make the bodyshop pay for the detailer, as this could very well be a $1000 plus bill to make the paint look like it should. If the bodyshop refuses to pay for the damage, get an estimate from a good detailer, have them take pictures of the damage and write up a damage report and go get yourself an attorney.



I believe you should be able to find someone good in your area in the "find a detailer" directory on this forum. Good luck and keep us posted.

[john1277]

DO NOT take it back to the body shop to have them "fix it" -- they will just hack it up further.



If in fact all you`re dealing with are swirls, you should not need a new paint job, it should just need to be polished out. You can either elect to do it yourself (invest in the tools and products and learn proper technique) or take it to a professional detailer and have them correct it. You might be able to get the body shop to pay for that, since their people don`t know how to buff paint properly.



Where are you located?

Find a good "autopian style" detailer on this forum and bring it to them. Do NOT bring it back to the body shop, they will most likely just hack it up even further. Don`t have them respray it because they will just hack that paint up and you will be in the same boat you`re in now. Body shops are notorious for instilling swirls and holograms just like or worse then dealerships. No reason to have it resprayed if a good detailer can fix it, plus there will be a full respray in the vehicle`s history report, not good for resale value. I would try to make the bodyshop pay for the detailer, as this could very well be a $1000 plus bill to make the paint look like it should. If the bodyshop refuses to pay for the damage, get an estimate from a good detailer, have them take pictures of the damage and write up a damage report and go get yourself an attorney.



I believe you should be able to find someone good in your area in the "find a detailer" directory on this forum. Good luck and keep us posted.

Appreciate the responses.



*sigh* I have been through so much with this I`m not going to spend money on an attorney. I`m in Massachusetts. The only autopia detailer that I could find near me is the one in Marlborough, which is kind of far but do-able if necessary. If you think I can get the thing fixed for 200 or under maybe I will just take the hit. Otherwise, I don`t know what I`m going to do.



Why do you both recommend so strongly against taking it back to the body shop? Couldn`t I just have them polish it again and then wait till the paint is cured enough where I can use my Klasse AIO sealant on it and that should make it look right again? right?

[Lowejackson]

An alternative view is that if everything else is good about their work eg painting then holograms is not the biggest problem, I would suggest taking it back and give them a chance to fix it. If they cannot or will not then at least you know where you stand

[john1277]

An alternative view is that if everything else is good about their work eg painting then holograms is not the biggest problem, I would suggest taking it back and give them a chance to fix it. If they cannot or will not then at least you know where you stand

Not my first choice, but this is probably what I am going to end up doing. The thing is, I`m not sure what it is that I should make sure that they do to fix it? They said they polished it like crazy before handing it back to me. Is polish supposed to just instantly come off after being washed?

[Lowejackson]

Polish should no come off at all. My guess is they did not wipe the polish oils away or used a glaze to hide them. Polishing like crazy could also mean it was a rushed job but the outcome is not satisfactory irrespective whether of it took them 5 minutes or 20 hours to polish the entire car.

[Nth Degree]

I`m curious to know a little more about how/why this happened in the first place. You said someone you know did the damage? How do you know and can you prove it? That would have been my first priority before destroying the evidence. If you can prove who did it, I`d spare not expense at getting it corrected.zz:

[Bill D]

Is polish supposed to just instantly come off after being washed?

Only products that are loaded with fillers may wash off after being applied. These fillers, especially those that contain an excess amount of them, often hide the poor quality of work of a body shop with personnel not properly trained in the process of *proper* paint correction--or--especiall in the case of original single stage paint that runs the rish of being buffed too thin, to hide what simply can`t be safely corrected.



The Autopian way of polishing never results in bad marring or bad hologramming and products that contain fillers are seldom used. The proper way to polish paint is painstaking and never rushed and little to no expense is spared when using proper tools, backing plates,pads, and compounds and polishes.



High volume body shops cut corners far too often, rush, because time is money, and probably go for more economical products used and voila, the results are what you`re seeing right now. This is all understandable but when they run across a customer who actually *cares* about the quality of the looks of the car, then they have a lot of back peddling to do.



You could take it back and see what they say or you could take this as an opportunity for the "Autopia bug to really bite" and start to correct it little by little to perfection yourself. It is highly rewarding in the end!

[Jokeman]

Contact RickRack. RickRack79@hotmail.com We can take good care of that car for you and bring it back to what it should be.

[john1277]

Awesome! Thanks!

[TLMitchell]

Came out one morning to find that someone I know had dumped a bucket of white paint on it, spray painted it with black spray paint, and put various dents in it.

She was really pissed off, huh? :sick:



TL

[john1277]

She was really pissed off, huh? :sick:



TL

She was not someone that I had any sort of personal relationship with. Jealousy runs high in some people. She saw me outside every weekend working on my cars paint to perfection. She knew she would strike a nerve by doing this.

Contact RickRack. RickRack79@hotmail.com We can take good care of that car for you and bring it back to what it should be.

Email sent. Thanks!

Only products that are loaded with fillers may wash off after being applied. These fillers, especially those that contain an excess amount of them, often hide the poor quality of work of a body shop with personnel not properly trained in the process of *proper* paint correction--or--especiall in the case of original single stage paint that runs the rish of being buffed too thin, to hide what simply can`t be safely corrected.



The Autopian way of polishing never results in bad marring or bad hologramming and products that contain fillers are seldom used. The proper way to polish paint is painstaking and never rushed and little to no expense is spared when using proper tools, backing plates,pads, and compounds and polishes.



High volume body shops cut corners far too often, rush, because time is money, and probably go for more economical products used and voila, the results are what you`re seeing right now. This is all understandable but when they run across a customer who actually *cares* about the quality of the looks of the car, then they have a lot of back peddling to do.



You could take it back and see what they say or you could take this as an opportunity for the "Autopia bug to really bite" and start to correct it little by little to perfection yourself. It is highly rewarding in the end!

Really appreciate the response! Thanks!

I`m curious to know a little more about how/why this happened in the first place. You said someone you know did the damage? How do you know and can you prove it? That would have been my first priority before destroying the evidence. If you can prove who did it, I`d spare not expense at getting it corrected.zz:

The hard evidence that we had was not enough apparently, and the police were not interested in gathering more evidence, which I`m sure is possible. The fact that they didn`t lift a finger for this just adds insult to injury.

Polish should no come off at all. My guess is they did not wipe the polish oils away or used a glaze to hide them. Polishing like crazy could also mean it was a rushed job but the outcome is not satisfactory irrespective whether of it took them 5 minutes or 20 hours to polish the entire car.

Thanks for the reply!













If/when I bring it back to the body shop on Monday and give them a chance to make it right what is it that I should make certain that they do exactly? What questions should I ask?





Thanks again, everyone!

[C. Charles Hahn]

If/when I bring it back to the body shop on Monday and give them a chance to make it right what is it that I should make certain that they do exactly? What questions should I ask?

If it were me, I`d TELL them two things:



1) "IF I let you touch my vehicle again, you should be using a DA/orbital buffer, not a rotary."



2) "IF I let you touch my vehicle again, you are NOT to use a polish that acts as a filler or glaze."



The problem with them using a rotary buffer is that most likely it was the source of the swirls and holograms you`re now seeing in the finish. A DA/orbital polisher will allow them to remove those swirls without instilling new ones as they go. And the problem with fillers/glazes, as you discovered already, is that they wash away quickly and reveal the defects all over again. What you want is a PERMANENT fix, not a temporary "solution" that won`t last.



If they can`t comply with those two simple and basic requirements, you don`t want them anywhere near your car. The more times they `try` to polish, the more paint they remove and you don`t want them removing more than they absolutely have to.

[john1277]

If it were me, I`d TELL them two things:



1) "IF I let you touch my vehicle again, you should be using a DA/orbital buffer, not a rotary."



2) "IF I let you touch my vehicle again, you are NOT to use a polish that acts as a filler or glaze."



The problem with them using a rotary buffer is that most likely it was the source of the swirls and holograms you`re now seeing in the finish. A DA/orbital polisher will allow them to remove those swirls without instilling new ones as they go. And the problem with fillers/glazes, as you discovered already, is that they wash away quickly and reveal the defects all over again. What you want is a PERMANENT fix, not a temporary "solution" that won`t last.



If they can`t comply with those two simple and basic requirements, you don`t want them anywhere near your car. The more times they `try` to polish, the more paint they remove and you don`t want them removing more than they absolutely have to.

Thanks so much for the response!



I will be sure to make it clear that I want a permanent fix and not any temporary fillers or glaze. If they have to get supplemental payout from the insurance company it doesn`t make a difference to me. They claim to only hand polish.