Have a 2000 E320 wagon. just got back from body shop where they painted right rear quarter panel (was rear ended in June). Looks very nice.
Car lives outside so needs wax often. I last waxed in March so it was due again. Last night was washing and the rag felt rough over the paint, except over the new paint areas. Had never been like this before. I figured I was just overdue for wax, even though paint looks good. Waxed the whole car with Meguiar's tech wax by hand then used terrycloth then microfiber on a random orbital. Still rough even after the wax! The only part that feels like smooth glass is the new painted area. Then I felt the windows, window trim, headlights -- all had exactly the same feel as the paint, like frosted glass - over the whole car, waxed or not. Again, nothing visible.
I wonder if this is residue from the shrinkwrap they use at the body shop. What should I do next? I was thinking about clay, but what about the windows and headlights? If it is adhesive residue will it just wear off? Thanks
Vehicle: 1999 500sl sport - 2001 e430 4matic - 2000 bmw 528i sport - 1966 corvette
Location: st louis, mo
Posts: 65
I hope I am wrong, but it sounds like the body shop got paint overspray all over your car. The freshly repaired section doesn't feel rough because it was probably just buffed. A professional detailer could fix this, but it will not be cheap as it very time consuming.
You've got a classic case of overspray, probably not from direct painting spray, but from the "cloud" of paint droplets that don't go where aimed and partially dry in the air, then settle on the finish and complete drying. The body shop should really remove it for you, but you can do it yourself with a clay bar and lubricant. I've done it myself many times and it's easy and takes very little effort.
Take it back to the body shop, show them the overspray and make them clean it up and detail it out for you for free. Heck, free is not cheap enough, tell them you want a rental car while they do it, that will speed it up for you. In the receipt for the body work, did they bag the car? That's the term where the cover the entire car in a plastic bag and then they usually cut out the area being worked on. What probably happened is they did that, but they found a spot they damaged during final detailing by buffing through the clearcoat so they figured they would just give the painted panels a quick clearcoat spray without bagging it again. Also check everything tires, wheels, antenna, healights, sounds like everything got hit. The longer you wait, the hard it will be to fix.
Also, was this a body shop recommended by the insurance company? If so, get them involved because where I live, if the insurance company recommends a body shop, they are liable.
Yes they bagged it. To my touch, it feels like a cloud of spray descended upon the car. rough on all horizontal surfaces and all windows, even the bronze window trim. Headlights got it. If you run your hands down the sides of the fenders, gets smoother until it hits the trim line, then smooth underneath. Wheels okay. I will take it by in the morning and have them look at it. This was the body shop I chose, they do all the high-end cars in town and are recommended by the dealers. I found some paint overspray on the liftgate threshold which scraped off ok, but didn't notice this global overspray until I washed the thing. Thanks, will post updates.
Well, good luck to you on this ordeal. I was trying to get a mental picture of what my cars feel like. Hey! I know, their surfaces are as smooth as a...........
took the car by the body shop on the way home. they said it's not overspray, and I tend to agree -- when it sits in the sun and heats up it gets tacky. the shop is next to a horse racetrack and the guy thought it was some horse product released in the air that settled on the car when it was parked on their lot (!). they said it has happened 2-3 times in the past. at any rate, they offered to clay the whole car (no charge), and they will fix a couple other little spots (some orange peel on the bumper and some color overspray on the liftgate threshold) as well. can't wait to see what it looks like afterward - will take some pictures for sure.
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