Dealer Added Paint Swirls - Advice Needed

[dwfoley]

I recently purchased a new Genesis R-Spec w/ Black Pearl paint. I took the car back to the dealer to have it re-badged and the windows tinted. I thought I would get the car back the same day but unexpectedly they ended up keeping it for two days. I picked it up from the dealer around dusk, drove it home and parked it in the garage.

A few days later I pulled it out of the garage on a sunny day and what a surprise. The dealer had "detailed" the car while it was in their shop and totally wasted the paint with some kind of electric buffer. I have never seen swirl marks this bad in any car let alone a car with 200 miles on it. I am not being picky either - every square inch of the car is covered with swirl marks.

I drove the car back to the dealership this evening and the sales manager says he is bringing in a "specialist" and that he can "fix it". They were not really forthcoming as to why they used a buffer on the car but after some coaxing the manager indicated that they parked it under some trees that dripped sap and they turned it over to their detail guy to clean it up. The sales experience was very good and the dealer seems to be a straight shooter - stuff just happens i guess.

What do you think - is it fixable? What are my options at this point?

 

[Mark_888]

Can't answer your question, but why would you take the car to a dealer for window tinting? They just farm it out to a tint shop and mark up the price. Plus, you probably don't know what kind of tint film was used, and tint films are not all the same quality.

One of the reasons I do my own oil changes is that I am afraid that the dealer may give me a "free" car wash, and end up like yours. At the very least, I can almost guarantee that they would use an ammonia based glass cleaner on my tinted windows, which is a no-no.

 

[Gurkha]

I'd tell them to fix it and fix it good, or get it repainted worst case.
Of course you could always try it yourself if you're so inclined and send them a bill for your time

 

[KeithS]

Try goggleing McGuire's swirl remover, or other brand.

And don't let the idiots at the dealership "fix" it.

 

[MHT]

For the most part swirl marks can be removed.
DO NOT TRY TO USE ANY SWIRL MARK REMOVER YOURSELF unless
you have used a polishing compound you can make matters worse.
If the dealer said they will bring in a specialist than let them do so but talk
with the specialist and see what he or she intends to do and if you feel comfortable let the specialist do it.
You can also take the car to a professional auto dealer and have them to do it and get the dealer to pay for it but I would recommend that the dealer do it as they are the ones who damaged it and the liability is on their shoulders.
If the dealer does not repair it to your satisfaction than tell them to replace the car as repainting a new car to me is not acceptable.
A good detailer should be able to correct the problem.

Good Luck!

 

[dwfoley]

but why would you take the car to a dealer for window tinting? They just farm it out to a tint shop and mark up the price. Plus, you probably don't know what kind of tint film was used, and tint films are not all the same quality.

The tint was negotiated as part of the purchase price. It's 3M tint with a "lifetime" guarantee. As long as it does not bubble up or discolor I figure I am good. I am not too picky about tint.

 

[dwfoley]

For the most part swirl marks can be removed.
DO NOT TRY TO USE ANY SWIRL MARK REMOVER YOURSELF unless
you have used a polishing compound you can make matters worse.
If the dealer said they will bring in a specialist than let them do so but talk
with the specialist and see what he or she intends to do and if you feel comfortable let the specialist do it.

I am glad to hear that swirl marks can be removed! I don't intend to do any of the work myself, I'll leave that to the specialist they are bringing in. I will talk with him today to see what he intends to do.

I guess my biggest concern would be that by polishing out the swirl marks that they are actually going to remove a bit of the clear-coat. Will this compromise the ability of the clear-coat to protect the cars's finish over the long haul? If it doesn't affect the clear-coat and it looks like-new I won't sweat it.

On the other hand if they can't fix the car to like-new condition do I really have the option of returning it? Re-painting the car is definitely out of the question.

 

[Mark_888]

The tint was negotiated as part of the purchase price. It's 3M tint with a "lifetime" guarantee. As long as it does not bubble up or discolor I figure I am good. I am not too picky about tint.

Living in Dallas, you should be picky. There are many different kinds of tint material (dyes, charcoal, metallic, ceramic, etc), with vastly different sun-blocking characteristics, and unless you specified what you wanted, you probably got a tint with only minimal heat rejection.

 

[dwfoley]

And don't let the idiots at the dealership "fix" it.

I hear you. I don't want to tackle this on my own - no time and no talent .

The sales manager says they bringing a guy in that travels the country detailing cars and trucks at car shows. He says he is really good. I wouldn't have a clue on who to call.

 

[dwfoley]

It is ironic that this is the first car I've owned that I was committed to taking care of in the right way - to avoid swirl marks. I take very good care of my cars mechanically but don't really pay much attention to washing/detailing. I typically get it washed every two weeks at a drive through car-wash and get it professionally detailed twice a year. I don't think much about it and I never do it myself.

Of course I am lazy and wanted to cut my wash time to a minimum so I researched how some of the detail fanatics take care of black cars and made several purchases to help out.

I bought a Metro Air Force Master Blaster for towel free drying, a CRSpotless system for rinsing and elimination of water spots, and a foam cannon and pressure washer for washing.

The gods are laughing at me.

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[dwfoley]

Living in Dallas, you should be picky. There are many different kinds of tint material (dyes, charcoal, metallic, ceramic, etc), with vastly different sun-blocking characteristics, and unless you specified what you wanted, you probably got a tint with only minimal heat rejection.

Yes it does get a bit warm here in Dallas! I have heard about ceramic tint and asked the dealer about it but he was not very knowledgeable so I kind of blew it off. It was kind of an afterthought after negotiating price - tint and re-badging were thrown in at the end at no-charge.

I'm in a parking garage at work, in my garage at home and max a/c while driving. I will look into it again with my or my wife's next car, I usually go 3 years between changes. What brand do you recommend for maximum heat rejection?

 

[ImInPA]

If you have a black or dark colored vehicle, it would be a good idea to find a good local detailer. A good detailer will have your paint looking fantastic.

 

[Mark_888]

Yes it does get a bit warm here in Dallas! I have heard about ceramic tint and asked the dealer about it but he was not very knowledgeable so I kind of blew it off. It was kind of an afterthought after negotiating price - tint and re-badging were thrown in at the end at no-charge.

I'm in a parking garage at work, in my garage at home and max a/c while driving. I will look into it again with my or my wife's next car, I usually go 3 years between changes. What brand do you recommend for maximum heat rejection?

I (and quite a few others on this forum) have Formula One Pinnacle (35 VLT would be about right for Dallas). There are some other good ceramics also.

 

[dg_moore]

Try goggleing McGuire's swirl remover, or other brand.

And don't let the idiots at the dealership "fix" it.

I've tried Meguairs's and other swirl removers, both manually and using DA polilsher, but none of them have worked for me. I still have a lot of spiderwebs and swirls. I think I may have picked them up at the "brushless/cloth only" car wash, which I don't use very often (but probably once is enough).

 

[TJPark01]

DISO = The Dealership Installed Swirl Option

This can easily be fixed. But someone with skill needs to properly prep the car. Since it's brand new it should be a pretty easy job. Just find a skilled detailer in your area. The dealers are clueless about paint correction, it's not what they do.

2010 black Hyundai Genesis - swirled, etched and oxidized!

Hyundai Genesis - Dealership Repair Work

 

[dwfoley]

Thanks for the links! My car is as bad or worse as the ones pictured but it is encouraging to know that it can be fixed.

I guess it will be ready tomorrow - we'll see.

 

[TJPark01]

It's common for dealers to swirl the $hit out of cars, when they wash them. I do all the prep in my garage so it's not a big deal to me, but for someone who is just getting a new car I can imagine it's a bit upsetting. I would just take it to a dedicated detaling shop and get the full detail done.

 

[newman]

So sorry to hear about your troubles. I really feel for you as I also have a new black Gene that I also intend to take care of myself exclusively. Every time that I take it to the dealership I have specified that they do not wash the vehicle. So far this has not been a problem but I am concerned that it just might be a matter of time.

As others have stated - swirl marks are almost always reparable by a good detailer. The repair work will take out a bit of your clear coat but there should be plenty left considering it is a new car. Ensure that the detailer (or yourself) applies a good paint sealer and wax after the work is finished. Keep applying the sealer and/or wax periodically (up to you - I recommend quarterly) to keep the protection up.

Finally, I have found this site to have really great articles on paint maintenance and repair; it also lists detailers that you can hire yourself in the future.

My best wishes for a successful repair job. Please let us know how it goes.

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/

Cheers,
Newman