Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

[Flatland2D]

Hello everyone, I've been reading the forums for about a year now but this is me first post.

My wife hit a deer and I've so far had a less than great experience with the collision repair shop. The first time the pulled a dent out of my hood and repainted it, but when I went to pick it up it still had a small ripple in it. A week later they got a new hood and painted it, but it appears that they put two very visible scratches in it cleaning it up after painting.

The scratches could be felt with a fingernail and they went ahead and tried to buff them out with rubbing compound. The scratches are still visible bit harder to feel with a fingernail. They let me bring the car home since I need it for work an I'm taking it back in on Friday for them to try to get it out with a DA polisher. The rubbing compound that they worked in pretty vigorously left its own (fine) scratches. They make the paint look more hazy though.

What I'm wondering is, is the scratch deep enough to justify trying to fix, or should I ask them to repaint? I hate the idea of repairing the paint that was freshly applied. The car is a 2012 Hyundai Elantra so that car is very new. It's also black, which doesn't go well with the scratches they put on.

Also, one more question about they new paint. It was just painted yesterday and it very easy to scratch. The sleeve of my cotton shirt easily scratches it, even with hardly any pressure. Does the paint need more time to cure?

[Bjkearns]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

repaint

a honorable shop strives to make the customer happy and want to to return

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

A couple of things going on here. First, this shop needs to give you what you're paying for, and if they inflicted the damage they should fix it and give you the final product you're paying for. Bottom line. End of story.

Second, this paint is going to take some time to cure because, unlike factory paint, it's not being baked the same way that factory paint is and in fact the chemistry is quite a bit different than factory paint. Factory paint is almost completely cured by the time the car leaves the assembly line, and certainly is by the time it finally makes it to the dealer and then into your hands. Aftermarket paint will take something on the order of 60 to 90 days to fully out gas and cure and it can be fairly delicate during that time. But a fine scratch inflicted by a towel or even your shirt sleeve is easy to buff out down the line. But a scratch that's deep enough to catch a fingernail in is a different story. And, as stated above, if the body shop caused that sort of scratch, they need to be held accountable for it and fix it. But a good shop will immediately recognize that and take care of you. It should be straight forward for them, and they certainly don't want customers leaving with a negative experience; customers who these days can all too easily vent their frustration on the Internet for all the world to see (not that you're doing that, we understand, but it does happen).

[Flatland2D]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

Thanks so much for the info. My post (as you know) is less about venting and more about getting educated about paint. I'm happy that I'm able to get a qualified second opinion since I don't know what might end up being a worse problem down the road.

I'm leaning towards just asking for a repaint. The whole car has an orange peel texture in the paint but the new paint job on the hood has it worse. I thought I remember the hood being one of the smoother pieces but I can't say for sure. What worries me is the orange peel is more exaggerated on some parts of the new paint. What causes that? Was it sprayed on too thick?

I was talking to a coworker about this and it looks like whoever was wiping the car down had some jewelry on their wrist or fingers.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

Orange peel is pretty much standard these days on cars ranging from inexpensive to quite pricey. But a good painter should be able to match the factory orange peel when he shoots a panel, or at the very least shoot that panel uniformly enough to keep a consistent level of peel throughout the panel. And any kind of jewelry is just a horrible idea when working on paint. Last summer at Barrett-Jackson here in Orange County my friends at Superformance asked if could help out with some scratches on the back of one the black Cobras they had on display. It seems the owner of the company was wiping it down but didn't take his watch off when doing so, and put some pretty deep scratches in the paint just next to the roll hoop. I ended up doing a little spot wet sanding and then DA Microfiber Compounding to remove the sanding marks. It came out, and they were thrilled. But I told the guys to never let the owner touch the cars again. And then I told the owner the same thing. Yes, I know the man personally and we get along great, so I could get away with that!

[Flatland2D]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

So I took the car back and after about an hour of sanding with 3,000 grit and buffing, the scratch is still there, just more faint. I brought it to their attention and they want me to bring it back another day for them to try 2,000 grit. I brought up a repaint but they said they are sure they can fix it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. This is a brand new hood with brand new paint. It shouldn't have to be repaired like this. Are their attempts to fix this by further sanding the clear coat thinner bad or causing any other problems I should be aware of?

I also pointed out the inconsistent orange peel and they acknowledged it was there and said they'd try fixing it when they're sanding the rest of the hood.

And my once pristine engine bay is now dusty because they didn't cover it up when they had to hood off so all the dust in the air in their shop is now on my engine and hoses. Would it be out of line to ask for an engine bay detail? Or at least make some half-hearted attempt to blow the dust off?

Thanks so much!

[Murr1525]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

If they are sanding and rotary buffing for an hour in one location... I would be getting a bit worried...

[tguil]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

After lots (whole lots) of body shop experience I have observed a couple of things: 1) They do not like to redo messed up work and try to avoid it. 2. "Perfect" is darn hard to achieve. I have always gone to very high end shops. And yes, working on one location for over and hour is not good. I'd insist on a repaint...at least the clearcoat. I might leave the orange peel.

Tom

[Flatland2D]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

Thanks for all the input. It gives me more to think about before taking it back.

Just to clarify, the hour included sanding, rubbing compound, polish, and washing the car down to clean up the mess.

All the advice is greatly appreciated.

[tguil]

Re: Repair shop scratched the new hood they just painted - need advice

Something to think about...If they get it darn close to perfect, accept it and ask for a written guarantee that they will repaint if/when necessary. I made a deal like that with a shop and never had to use the guarantee. The paint held up just fine. Usually on a body shop paint job, they lay on lots of clearcoat.

Tom