Help! Did Body Shop Ruin my Paint? (Pics)

[daltvater]

Recently had my insurance company paid for a repaint of my car. (rocks fell off a truck and chipped paint/windshield etc) I had the car back for a month, looked perfect after the repaint. There was orange peel on the clear but after a month I took it back for a wet sanding which was included in the job. I picked it up on a cloudy day, (it is Seattle after all) and it looked fine. BUT...I was at the track yesterday on a sunny day and instantly noticed what looks like burnt paint in places. Instead of blue it looks burnt in places and there are swirl marks everywhere!

My guess is that they buffed it and didn't wet sand it. Looks like they got too aggressive with the buffer? Can this be fixed without repainting? I've been detailing cars for years but am unsure how to fix this. My insurance company is coming out next week to check it out.

Thanks for the help!

Notice the difference in color where the buffer missed the door handle well.

[tmsautoart]

looks like they need a new buffing pad and some micro finish to get rid of those swirls. As long as there is enough clear on it, they (or better yet...somebody else) should be able to fix any dull spots.

[cgarr]

Looks like they may have gone thru the clear coat into the base which will not ever shine.

[haycait911]

if they've gone thru the clear, it'll be very obvious, you'll see an edge. not likely though, it takes a LOT of sanding/polishing to do that. have whoever fixes it go back to step 1. wetsand with 2000 to 2500 grit, then polish with progressively finer pastes. I suspect they got lazy and sanded with 800 or so, then went straight to polishing. those are classic swirl marks, bad/dirty pad is usually the cause. also polishing too dry. polishing properly involves a lot of polish and water, messy and not fun. insist on a new pad if you can.

[kevin M]

Those look like holograms to me. Have your shop run over the car with trizac 3000. Should take care of all these issues.

[Zeke]

I can't decipher the 1st pic whatsoever, but the overall workmanship is really poor. I think you have a new claim.

[daltvater]

Thanks for the help, your comments give me a little more knowledge for when I go back to the ship on Monday. A month ago it was perfect, I'm kicking myself for going back there to get it sanded out, I should have left it alone.

What about the discoloration? It was perfect before now it appears there are areas that are no longer deep blue but almost a brownish blue. Could that be from getting the clear coat too hot? I hope my insurance company comes through and helps me fix this.

Thanks again.

[Buckterrier]

Sorry no advice other than let the insurance battle the hacker that it that, geez.

[Mitch Leland]

I'm surprised you got the truck driver to own up to the claim in the first place...

[daltvater]

I'm surprised you got the truck driver to own up to the claim in the first place...

. All I did was call call liberty mutual and go to their recommended shop (my mistake) the truck was an Oregon Dept of Trans truck. It was putting down gravel for a impending snow storm.

[Scott Douglas]

Milt
The first pic is a close up of the door handle shown in the second pic. Key slot is in the upper left of the picture.
Just trying to help.

[gtc]

What shop did the work?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by gtc

What shop did the damage?

There, fixed that for you.

[Black_Hat]

Some body got on your car with a wool pad and compound

Read & learn


http://tiny.cc/EfDsT

an important part is step 4 needs to be done at a higher speed than most buffers are capable of .

http://tiny.cc/oJdWx

[rnln]

I would try the simplest thing first, apply some wax and buff it a little bit by hand to see what happen.

[t6dpilot]

Take that to a proper, and I do mean proper, detail shop. My side business is a full service car wash and detail center so I might be able to help a little. I cannot tell definitively from those pictures, but it looks like classic swirl marks from a goof with a buffer. You really have to know your tools, products, and techniques to not screw up a car. Once you have been properly trained on the proper technique and tools, the process can be dummy proof. Looks like they screwed up from square one.

We clay first, followed by a fine buffing compound, then an even finer polishing compound, and finish off with an orbital and carnuba based wax. The process works fantastic at getting out minor scratches and swirl marks, rejuvinating oxidized paint, fixing acid rain/hard water stains, ect. The only way I would used a wool pad (and mine are also wool/silk) is to remove heavy scratches. The wool pad actually dulls up the paint with "swirl marks" and you have to go over it again with the medium to fine buffing compound to smooth out the area. I did this for a customer's dark blue 911 as it had some pretty good scratches in the paint from drywall dust. My normal process would not get ride of the scratches, so I used the wool pad. Worked like a charm, but I would be judicious with its use.

We do not wet sand as I will not let anything that abrasive at my customers' cars. It is possible that the darker areas have been sanded too thin and the primer is showing through, but I have never seen a brownish primer before - you never know though. I highly doubt that the darker areas are burned clear coat. Typically, if you "burn" paint, you are going through the clear and color into primer. Typically around sharp edges and right angles where the edge of the buffer zings the surface.

Like I said, it is hard to tell without getting a really close look at the finish, but I think a good detail shop can spiff that up for you - no problem. Good luck.

[joe payne]

3M makes a product called Liquid Ebony for swirl mark removal.

It may do the job. My father and I used it on my Cal Look VW we
built in the early 80"s. Took the swirls out like magic!

[daltvater]

Thank you all for your help. The car is going to a shop in Kirkland called Eurotech Bodywerkes to repair what "Phil's Auto Body" did wrong. (they also cracked the paint in the front bumper, scratched window tint, poorly replaced seals etc) Phil's actually came recommended and I've seen some great work from them. I think I just got a bad tech. The paint out of the booth was amazing.

thanks for the help. I'll post pics once it gets fixed up. Thank you for all the lessons. I detailed cars for a living in college and Megueirs #1 seemed to work for everything!

[daltvater]

All fixed...

Take 2: This time I went to Eurotech Bodywerkes in Kirkland, WA. What a difference. The owner Mark and his crew was great to work with, they ended up re-painting the whole car and fixing all of the mistakes. Re-assembly was tight and correct. I've gone over the car several times and I can't find a single mistake. Not even a nub of dust, nothing. The craftsmanship is incredible. Paint looks much deeper this time around too. It's almost black at night and no longer has any hint of purple which Midnight blue can sometimes have.

[Scooter]

Looks great. Mark's the man!