Swirls on new paint job

[texan solstice]

I'm new to AGO so my questions are going to be dumb an I apologize beforehand. Today I went to the body shop to pick up my Aggressive (name of the color, which is red) 2007 Pontiac Solstice. They installed a new custom fiberglass bumper and a new hood. The problem is that when I inspected the car I noticed some swirls so I asked the guy about it and his response was that since the car wasn't just washed and it rained in the morning it looked that way. Since they said it was an easy fix I told them to wash it and fix a little detail I found on the door. The question is is it normal to see swirls on fresh paint? Could it be that it was just a bit dirty, that's why reflections weren't crisp? These guys are supposed to be the best in town I shouldn't be having problems with this. BTW I asked them how long to wait before waxing it and he said since the paint has baked I didn't need to wait. Opinions?

[Tundra1316]

Can you please, post some pictures of the paint job.
Thanks.

[Mike Phillips]

The question is is it normal to see swirls on fresh paint?




It's normal to see swirls on fresh paint because it's normal for most body shops to inflict swirls into fresh paint.

The paint didn't have swirls when it came out of the paint booth, it was inflicted with swirls when one of the employees buffed the paint incompletely using only a rotary buffer.

This is called a Horror Story and we read about them all the time and usually help people who are victims of this normal practice in this industry.


Read this...

The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/28142-story-3-h-s-horrendous-horror-story-hack-detailers.html)


Note my purposeful use of the words Horror Story in the title...


As for when to wax...

Don't wax your car for at least 30 days! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/26967-don-t-wax-your-car-least-30-days.html)


Both of the above can be found in my article list (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/23722-articles-mike-phillips.html#post295644) which is a link in my Sig Line in every post I make.



:)

[opie_7afe]

so did the body shop just paint the new hood and bumper? or did they respray the whole car? those are 2 questions we need to further help you out. if the whole car was sprayed i would not wax for 30 days just in case if it was just the hood and bumper being painted you can wax your car just dont wax the newly painted parts. but regardless im wondering if they buffed the whole car instead of just the newly painted parts maybe they buffed it to make the holograms on the hood and bumper match the rest of the car? and just because the paint shop is best in town they got that for best paint job i doubt it was for best buff job unless it was just stuff that was already in the paint before painting began....post up some pics so we can see this solstice! always loved the look of the solstices but wondered why they didnt put the ecotech turbo engine like the sky has....

[david79z28]

I have had a body shop swirl a whole vehicle when I only had a door repainted. When I brought it to their attention, they applied a glaze with blue paper shop towels.

I have found that alot of body shops don't finish the polishing process. Although when you look at alot of cars nowadays, swirls don't seam to bother a lot of people!!!

[FUNX650]

2007 Pontiac Solstice.

Opinions?

IMHO....By presenting a few of his many articles (RE: Post #3), I feel Mr. Phillips has offered excellent advice to follow.


Also...Search threads/posts by Cee DOG (Corey)...He takes the meaning of: Vehicle Appearance-Care of his "SKY BABY" not only into the stratosphere, but through the exosphere and to the worlds beyond! :wow:

:)

Bob

[texan solstice]

Thank you for your response Mike, that is a true horror story, thankfully my car is not that bad it doesn't have does weird shapes just like cobwebs.

[texan solstice]

so did the body shop just paint the new hood and bumper? or did they respray the whole car?
always loved the look of the solstices but wondered why they didnt put the ecotech turbo engine like the sky has....

Yes, they only painted the bumper and the hood and both parts are new. BTW the solstice GXP comes with the same 2.0 ecotec turbo engine, unfortunately mine isn't one.

[texan solstice]

I have found that alot of body shops don't finish the polishing process. Although when you look at alot of cars nowadays, swirls don't seam to bother a lot of people!!!

The thing is they don't bother you until you notice it, then you looks ways to improve it, find these place and the addiction begins. :xyxthumbs:

[texan solstice]

Sorry for the bad pictures, first time trying to get swirls on a crappy phone. Notice the car is dirty but I hope you can see what i'm talking about.

[dougaross]

When I needed some body work I took it to local MB/Audi paint shop. Not only did it have a lot of swirls but there were some areas that had such a lack of clarity that I couldn't see the reflection of the LED in my flashlight - just a blur of light. Fortunately they took care of the blur but still left many swirls. However, when they returned it to me originally they thought they had done such a nice job.

[texan solstice]

However, when they returned it to me originally they thought they had done such a nice job.

How can that happen? Are we the only ones who notice it?

[texan solstice]

So am I wrong if I don't want to receive my car like that? I don't thing that looks like a top notch paint job which is what i'm going to pay for.

[david79z28]

Not wrong at all. A new car doesnt have swirls, neither should a repaint!!!

[DARK HORSE]

It's normal to see swirls on fresh paint because it's normal for most body shops to inflict swirls into fresh paint.

The paint didn't have swirls when it came out of the paint booth, it was inflicted with swirls when one of the employees buffed the paint incompletely using only a rotary buffer.

This is called a Horror Story and we read about them all the time and usually help people who are victims of this normal practice in this industry.


Read this...

The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/28142-story-3-h-s-horrendous-horror-story-hack-detailers.html)


Note my purposeful use of the words Horror Story in the title...


As for when to wax...

Don't wax your car for at least 30 days! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/26967-don-t-wax-your-car-least-30-days.html)


Both of the above can be found in my article list (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/23722-articles-mike-phillips.html#post295644) which is a link in my Sig Line in every post I make.



:)

Unfortunately Mike is absolutely correct about "most" body shops.

Here is a real body shop horror that I was recently enlisted to correct...http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/42273-hack-job-corrected.html