Car Back from the Body Shop...What is this? How do I get it off?

[AdamsImport]

So I got a car back from the body shop, it looked okay for some reason when I picked it up.

I didn't pay attention to the car (busy) until today and noticed some kind of adhesive or tar on the hood and roof.

The rear fender was being worked on.

So for I clayed one part of it (80% of the hood is hit with this...bad lighting right now)

Right now I only have a Cyclo Polisher to work with, and it's not great with cutting.

I tried a cleaner wax...nothing
Swirl Remover...nothing
I tried a Compound...nothing

I have a feeling my polisher is to blame or wrong product is used, I am waiting on my GG and Makita to come in from AG.


The part that I worked on looks much much fainter than before, but it is still fairly deep.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2wmet0l.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/2lnjqpu.jpg

[embolism]

can you scratch it with a fingernail? Does it feel like a chalkboard?

maybe they splattered some kind of solvent on the car and it sat there for a while?

[habeba86]

Ya, can you feel it? Is it above the surface with a chalky feel or smoothish feeling?

[Sylox]

Hmm I hope it isnt slag from a grinder or welding splatter.
Does it look like its eaten in or rusty at all?
Feels similar to say concrete on paint.

Check the glass all around for the same marks.
All moulds etc head lights



Hard to tell from photos but may be compound. Some Compounds hate being sprayed with water can generate splatter that sticks like cement. This is even worse if its hot of the paint is fresh.
Try to pick it off with your finger nail and see if one of them moves?

[AdamsImport]

I can compare to the parts that I polished already vs. the untouched part.

The polished part I can still catch with my finger nail, its much smoother, if I run my fingers palm down, it almost feels like a part of the paint.


I believe it's splatter from something... he had very tight quarters. This was the first time I used this bodyshop, and I am upset I didn't notice it right away. (maybe he put some kind of wax/glaze to hide it initially?)

I may just continue to try to cut it, I cut a little of it. I considered using a fresh razor to try to scrape it off very gently.

[timaishu]

Which shop if you dont mind me asking?

One of these days I want to get one of my bumpers repainted and I want to add this shop to my avoid list. Looks like your from SanDiego as well.

Have you tried taking it back to them and have them remove it? If you damage the finish trying to remove what it is its on you. If they mess it up then I imagine they would have to fix it at their cost.

[Sylox]

Which shop if you dont mind me asking?

One of these days I want to get one of my bumpers repainted and I want to add this shop to my avoid list. Looks like your from SanDiego as well.

Have you tried taking it back to them and have them remove it? If you damage the finish trying to remove what it is its on you. If they mess it up then I imagine they would have to fix it at their cost.


I'd definately be taking it back to them and getting them to fix it. Other wise is will be tough luck and you will own it!

[AdamsImport]

He gave me a really good price, so I don't want to be a pain. I will handle it myself.

[Kaban]

Maybe it's compound splatter from someone using a wool pad on a rotary? It can get pretty messy, I've seen this type of thing in person.

[rakkvet]

I was going to say what Kaban said. Bodyshop guys can be extremely reckless with the compound and polishes.

[AdamsImport]

Well.. I finally cut this properly. Using the Meguiar's MF system and was not happy with what I found. I took most of the overspray off and found that whatever the compound was, it eroded away the clear coat.

So unfortunately I will bring back the car to the body shop...at least show him, and see what he does.

I figured I could of taken care of this myself with simple correction, but looks like he actually damaged a good portion of my paint. (while working on a much smaller area)

[Kaban]

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. It must have been a strong solvent of some sort because a compound left to dry won't do that to the paint.

[AdamsImport]

Wanted to Update Everyone even though this was awhile ago.

- the spots were from a lacquer thinner that the FIRST bodyshop refused to claim he did it...

- took it to a SECOND bodyshop, and they painted it, took them a week when they quoted me 2 days. They dropped it off themselves (it looked like it was sitting) I believe they allowed it to acquire dust so I wouldn't notice the horrendous color mismatch.

After trying to call for about 2 weeks, I used my cell phone ,and low-and-behold I can TALK to someone! I told him that the color is mismatched and the wrong color (way too dark)
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/adamsimport/shop/IMAG0282.jpg
he tells me that I need to blend the fenders, I tell him if I blend the fenders then the whole front half would be dark (I was being nice on the phone) I worked with this guy before, but he changed faces quickly after I mentioned something that wasn't done right. He tells me to go to another shop and I ask him if he will help me pay for the re-paint, he hangs up...

- SO I take it to a THIRD SHOP, he paints the hood in a day, gets the paint right, and while we were inspecting the second shops work, we find that they didn't even remove enough to get the spots off.


The car looks good now, I was going to go through the Bureau of Automotive Repair and have the second shop fix their work because I had no proof of the first shop's mistake, but I just left it be.

I have written a 1 star review on Yelp for the guy, and will be leaving him some nice Google Reviews too.

This is what the car looks like now.


The mismatch is hard to see in the photo but it was really obvious and I was mad at myself for accepting the car. But he dropped it off when it was busy, and I trusted him, so I got screwed.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/adamsimport/shop/IMAG0285.jpg

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/adamsimport/shop/IMAG0286.jpg

Story closed.

Morals I learned:

Don't try new Bodyshops out for cars that you're trying to sell
Always inspect vehicles before you pay (meticulously)

[Mike Phillips]

Morals I learned:

Don't try new Bodyshops out for cars that you're trying to sell
Always inspect vehicles before you pay (meticulously)




Thanks for sharing your experience with our forum, hopefully it will help others into the future...


:)

[cmichael258]

As R.R. used to say "Trust but verify".