Could I have damaged my paint?

[Junkman2008]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

Trust me, I don't mind the questions. I answer them all over the web on a bunch of different forums as I glean them for information.

As for painting the bumper, you are dealing with a dealership. Those are the absolute last people on earth who I want laying paint on my car. For a dealership and companies that do insurance work, it's about getting your car in and out of the shop as quick as possible. If they are having issues getting the car done, that's scary. It doesn't take that long to do a bumper so it they can't get it done in a few days, there's no telling what the experience level is of the body shop personnel.

You normally get what you pay for. With dealerships today, that is far from the truth in a lot of cases. Not all are this way, but this is definitely the case with a majority of them.

[David Fermani]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

That brings me to an off topic question, though. How long should it take for a dealer/body shop to pain a bumper? Can it be done in a single day? They messed up the bumper before I every took possession of the car and it didn't' show till later. Now they keep sanding and spraying it and I" border="0" alt="" />

Is there really no way to put paint on a bumper and make it stay? Or are they cutting corners with this repair?

Yes, it definitely sounds like the dealer dropped the ball painting your bumper for a couple reasons (i.e. excessive rock chips/shrinkage). A normal repaint for a bumper cover is 2 days. Day 1 will consist of removing the bumper, detriming all the attached pieces, sanding the entire bumper, spot repairing the damaged areas, prime, paint. They'll then let the bumper dry overnight and reinstall it the next day, sanding/polishing any required defects.

Keep in mind that some dealers are very capable and do high quality work. Whether they do business with Insurance companies has zero effect on the outcome.

As far the original problem you're having with your paint looking streaking/spotty, that’s most likely etching created by letting the product dwell incorrectly on the surface. The strong solvents/cleaners in the product eat into the contaminants on top of paint resulting in a washed out look. M105/205 via DA will easily even this problem out. The same thing happens when people spray APC direclty on dirty light colored leather seats and is allowed to run down the panel. The cleaners intensely clean everything it comes in contact with (especially with extra dwell time) and doesn't clean the remaining surface as well.

[8k_RPM]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

As for the bumper, they say they can do it in a day, told me to drop it off 10:00 Wednesday and pick it up Wednesday night. To me that seemed quick, I thought it needed to dry before I took it on the highway. The only reason I keep dealing with them is they redo it for free, but I think I should possibly just go through the expense of having a real shop do it. The bumper itself is puttied since it had a dent, I don't know if this affects the way the paint says on over time or the shrinkage. I tried to get a new bumper out of them and they wouldn't go for it.

There is a washed out look where I used the solvent. I'll try 105/205 if you think it will help, but its not really etched. In non-direct light, I don't even notice a difference, except for one spot. In direct light you can see where it dripped a bit. The best way to describe it is that its less glossy and a bit foggy.

Normally I'd want to do something right away, but I don't want to be sore right before my surgery, so if this is just the waxes in the product and they'll wear down over time...I'll just leave it until I'm well enough to work. If you think its more than that, I can have a body shop look at it (since I don't want to do the work right now). While I'm upset with the uneven look, if its temporary and the paint is protected, I'll leave it for now.

I also had a professional tar remover product that my dad had bought a while back, but being a beginner I was afraid of burning through the paint, and thought a consumer product would be safer.

If it helps to know, water beaded over the surface before and after using the product, so it doesn't seem to have stripped the wax (and its says it won't on the bottle, but that's marketing).

I'll post a picture of the car with the sun shining on it tomorrow night. During the day if I took a picture, you really wouldn't notice it (which leads me to think its a wax problem, but you would know more).

Thanks,
Jeff

[8k_RPM]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

Hmm...I just looked up some pictures of etched paint, and maybe that is the problem. You say with m105/205 this problem will clear up? Can I just do the areas affected or do I have to do the whole panel?

[8k_RPM]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

I'm thinking about take it into a body shop for the bumper and then asking them to look at the other things too. Anyone know a good one in Northern Virginia? If I could do over, I'd have left them, but I was afraid they'd have to come off eventually and I thought sooner was better than later.

[8k_RPM]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

I just looked up the reviews on m105 and it definitely sounds like what I'm looking for. What kind of prep has to go into using it. Just a wash or do I need to clay the area. Also what the difference between this and using a clay bar.

They both seem to be used for removing surface contaminants. Does the clay just scrape everything off whereas this is more of a polish which cleans the surface.

Last question, should the m105/205 just be used on problem areas or should it be used to polish the entire car.

I never knew car paint could be so interesting. I'd be outside tomorrow evening, but I don't want to do anything this week to bother my back or hips.

Thanks so much.

Jeff

[8k_RPM]

Re: Could I have damaged my paint?

What I find strange is a lot of people seem to use TW B&T, and no one complains about the etching/clouding that I got.