Hello Paint Chip Glass Chip and Interior Ivory Leather Detail Qs

[NolaG80]

Proud new owner of a used 2017 Genesis G80. Patagonia Blue exterior and Ivory (off white) interior. Former Q45 owner (another land yacht).

On the long vacation road trip home after buying the car, I got some 1-8mm scratches and paint chips from construction truck road rocks, bugs (wiped off each day or night), etc on the plastic front bumper, hood and behind the front wheel at the wheel well lip. Also teeny tiny glass chips that seem only 1-2 mm in size, but visible right in front of me while driving (LOL) – have found 4 so far. No star patterns, etc. Also a few small leather stains (less than 1 inch each) and some darkened patches in the fabric parts of the interior.

Any suggestions as to how best to address these separate issues:

- Tiny paint chips and short scratches. Should I try tiny bits of touch up paint?
- Aftermath of the bugs. Is the damage simply done at this point?
- Teeny tiny windshield glass chips. Just live with them or try “micro” fill in?
- Interior detailing – re leather and cloth issues. Off white color – so every bit of dirt is visible.

Any suggestions regarding front window reflector product to keep the sun from baking the interior or front / rear bumper guards?

Thx in advance

From NOLA with love

 

[TinsleyC]

On the paint, I'd probably go with a small touch-up tip applicator. No idea on the glass... but I had a car that went through a dust storm once and the windshield was basically sandblasted. It had to be replaced. There may be a way to repair yours.

Maybe get the body fixed up and consider a clear bra.

Try a leather cleaner. Meguire's makes some good products. I'll never buy another light colored interior again, at least not the seats. Our tan Infiniti has blue-jean marks on the seats.

 

[The White Shadow]

I recommend hitting up YouTube for your answers. I had a small chip in my windshield, low on the passenger side. Not really visible, but it bothered me because I knew it was there. I did a search on YouTube and saw several videos about how to fix chips and product reviews. I went with the RainX brand and now I can't even remember where the chip was.

As for the paint, there are some really good videos on paint repair. It's not overly difficult, but takes a little bit of time. (A day or two depending on how much you have to fix, but it's worth it.). I did the small chips on my front, and after following the steps, I can't tell where they were. As a note, if you purchase a touch-up pen, make sure it includes both the paint and the clear coats. If you want to "blend" everything well, it's important to have both. Just take your time and follow all the steps.

As for the interior, I recommend a light cleaning the first time, followed by a conditioner. Then just stay on top of it. I have a light sand color in mine and I try to clean at least once a month. I use Chemical Guys products, and they have a nice leather care set that you can get from Amazon for a reasonable price. And if you go to their website, they have some cool videos on how to clean and protect your leather.

 

[StarPower]

I've had good results with Lexol products. I've dealt with both dye transfer from jeans and ink transfer from the bottom of a shopping bag (takeout - heat from the food transferred the logo on the bottom of the bag to the seats). In both cases, gently rubbing with a soft cloth soaked in cleaner for a couple of minutes removed the stains. I recommend avoiding hard scrubbing or stiff brushes, which can damage the coating on the leather.

 

[BretL]

A friend of mine used Glass Nano Repair, I was not a believer till he showed me; it worked on small stuff very well.

Paint chips - as others have said good videos on youtube but you have to decide how far you want to go. fill, fill, clear, wet sand, buff and polish or just the basic touch up? I usually do just touch ups, but I do them two to three times - very stingy with the paint and I hate touch up globs.

I'm a Lexol fan also. You want a brush that's harder than a boars hair brush but not as hard as a tire brush. They make some really nice round black interior brushes that are on detail sites. My go to, if I have a mark that Lexol leather cleaner won't get off, is Foaming Scrubbing Bubbles with a toothbrush or my round interior leather brush.

Just so you know I'm not kidding . Followed by a damp rag, dry, then Lexol leather treatment.

 

[NolaG80]

Re Tips to repair paint chips and windshield and leather and cloth interior Genesis G80 and other items

Folks, Thank you so much for the tips so far ! I added the G80 back to my to do list this morning, talk about timing…. LOL. I have owned the used 2017 G80 car 4 ½ months now.

I was watching too many You Tube paint repair videos a few months ago. Biggest issue for me, beyond choosing technique, seemed to be the heat and humidity in NOLA. I might try to do the paint repairs before May. I have a new 1 cm door ding on the passenger side door with a small scratch too. Argh. My Q45 which must have had thick and heavy steel doors as it never got door dings, just deep paint scratches. I assume the G80 is aluminum.

I also noted that the front wheel well several mm paint chip on the passenger side (faces N so rarely any sun) now looks brown or rusted. Similar paint chip, from road rocks back in September, on the driver side which faces S when parked does not show brownish discoloration (yet). Wow, rust already-on aluminum? But it is hot and humid here.
On the engine hood, maybe 6 small areas that look rounded, about 1-2 cm, and abnormal when shedding water in the rain or wash water. Maybe these need a good waxing. I do not see chips or scratches here when dry. I do see about 6 tiny scratches and / or chips of about 1-5mm each elsewhere on the hood.

There are multiple small scratches or tears (0.5-1.5cm each) maybe from road rocks, bugs, etc on the plastic front bumper, even at the top of it. No real clue if I can do anything to fix those. Maybe apply some protective plastic to prevent further damage, but the existing damage will show. Not sure if this best as I do not know if the plastic protector can be removed once applied. The protector is pricey and seems difficult to apply.

Car would need an A+ cleaning/wash ?wax? before doing any paint/plastic repairs.

Given all of these, plus the windshield teeny tiny micro chips, I might take the car to body shops for repair estimates. Guessing 1k cost for the bumper, hood, wheel wells (scratches and chips), and door ding.

I need to buy a little car vacuum as I cannot find my very old one from 30 years ago !

The interior needs a good vacuum, but the leather and roof cloth actually look better than in the past despite doing nothing. Not sure why. Maybe the sunlight? I protect the dash with a bed sheet. Have not yet found a windshield reflector to fit the car that would also allow the use of an as yet un-bought car cam.

Still looking for a plastic sleeve that can be placed over the wheel lug nuts and an X shaped lug nut wrench to use over them if I have a tire issue when traveling. Every lug nut looks pristine even though the 4 tires were changed before I bought the car.

Also looking for a big thick license plate holder like a bumper extender. Have seen a few on amazon. Hopefully to prevent parallel parking dings from those in front of or behind me.

Have had some close calls regarding the undersides of the front and rear bumpers. Compared to the Q45, the lowest points of the rear bumper, just behind the rear wheels are 1-2 inches lower than the Q45. On the front, about 1 cm higher on the G80. But I am still almost always scratching these up when I park, from the raised parking blocks or sidewalks (parking head or back in). Maybe I need “feelers / antennae” or even small cameras for this. The Q45 had a fenestrated lower front plastic bumper part. Made terrible noises, but the deep scratches were not visible unless the car was up on a lift as they were never at the front of the front bumper, began maybe 4-6 inches behind, On the G80 they would be visible and at the very front from what I have seen with other pictured cars.

Also thinking about doing a subwoofer, but without wiping out the trunk space. Perhaps behind passenger seat and movable to the trunk if I have 2-3 folks in back.

Suggestions appreciated for any of the above.

I only tend to drive about 2-3x/week during COVID and usually under 15 miles RT.

From NOLA with love. Almost Mardi Gras