Car Was Ruined Paint Job

[garyk]

This one kinda thru me. I went to a car wash where they use the pressure washers. And i kept thinking the pressure was very high. It was un real. The guy could hardly hold it. I kept watching and thinking maybe i should tell them i do not want my car pressure washed with the pressure they use, but i got side tracked and when i picked up the truck i thought it looked kinda dingy. I ran my hand over the paint and it was like sand paper. I couldn't believe it. I told the guy and he gave all kind of excused then disaperered.

Short of it the pressure washer took off the clear coat and part of the paint. So watch out for the high pressure washes. Make sure they are safe for your paint job.

I kid you not it is like find sand paper on 50% of the truck now. What do you do?

[Pomthai]

Buy some T-Cut

Sorry for above, looks like a respray, talk to your insurers.

[Cuban]

Sorry for above, looks like a respray, talk to your insurers.

Make a police report.

Take pictures. (Car and pressure washer)

Talk to other car owners.

[slapout]

Was this an original paint by the malefactor? How old is the vehicle/paint job?

[MikeyIdea]

Sorry to hear about the car

You'll never get compensation, see it as an unfortunate lesson for the future, check price for re-spray, talk to your insurance company and choose the best option. No use to cry over spilled milk. No matter how sad and unfair it is, move on

[richard_smith237]

Deal with your insurance company. Tell them where it happened and leave it to them to deal with the car wash.

Tell as many of your friends as possible about the location / name of car wash, post it here.

A similar thing happened to me when I asked Emporium car wash to steam clean my interior roof lining - The roof lining of my car was falling off 2 days later - it cost me B18,000 for a new lining - but that was kind of my own fault. Now I only get a car wash to wash the outside and vacuum the carpets.

[garyk]

6 months old and original paint. I hate to cause problems in a small town where all the kin folk live. I think it will cause serious problems for them.

It is in Phonthong. I will ask for the name and post it here. I hope it helps the next guy.

Will post the name tomorrow.

[soundman]

Will post the name tomorrow.

Please don't, as "naming and shaming" can open up this website to possible defamation action.

[siggie2]

Without seeing it, sounds like sand or muck in the water so the system acts as a sandblaster. I say this cos if the pressure was really high it would distort body panels as well, leave panels uneven ( as panels are very thin metal). Awkward situation for you as nobody will admit liability for fear of coughing up money. Talk to insurance S.A.P.

You have a point there.No vehicle 6 months old could have paintwork blow off unless there is a fault from new.Maybe go see the dealership first for advice,they could ask the paint manufacturer of that make of vehicle to evluate the condition of a 6 month oe paint system.Surely there is a warrintee on all new paintowrk world wide now,some are giving 10 years or more.If you are right and said the clear coat has come off then you will not be able to t cut(urgggggggggggggggh,contains silicone) the areas to gloss again.

[katabeachbum]

Without seeing it, sounds like sand or muck in the water so the system acts as a sandblaster. I say this cos if the pressure was really high it would distort body panels as well, leave panels uneven ( as panels are very thin metal). Awkward situation for you as nobody will admit liability for fear of coughing up money. Talk to insurance S.A.P.

You have a point there.No vehicle 6 months old could have paintwork blow off unless there is a fault from new.Maybe go see the dealership first for advice,they could ask the paint manufacturer of that make of vehicle to evluate the condition of a 6 month oe paint system.Surely there is a warrintee on all new paintowrk world wide now,some are giving 10 years or more.If you are right and said the clear coat has come off then you will not be able to t cut(urgggggggggggggggh,contains silicone) the areas to gloss again.

Too high pressure would damage bodypanels as well as paint, so I dont think this is the reason for your paint to peal off. Sand in water could be a reason. I would see main dealer ASAP to make a warranty claim.

Similar happened to a friends red car 3 months old. It turned out to be blue painted under the red paint!!!! GM never figured out what had happened, and gave him a new red car.

Edited December 31, 2009 by katabeachbum

[JimsKnight]

Get some pics posted so we can all see what happened. Might be a lesson for us all on this one...

[CDNinKS]

You might get the same response from the dealer as I have from Honda. The paint keeps peeling off the small fender flares of our 8 month old Civic. Being repainted now for the 3rd time. The dealer says we are washing the car too much I laughed and told them "oh, when we bought the car you didn't me that you could not wash a Honda"

Good luck with the dealer, probably better luck with the insurance people. That is one thing I have found very good in LOS, insurance.

[torrenova]

Of course, presuming no manufacturing defect, the car wash is liable. The problem is that it is unlikely they will have any liability insurance, but they just might so ask.

Claiming on your insurance should be a last resort and I'd go after the manufacturer on this but if they will not pay, then you can go after the car wash or get your insurance to pay.

Not fair, but you'd have had to ask for their liability insurance before handing over your vehicle to make sure. They won't want to pay Bt20,000 or whatever it costs for a respray, though they are liable and they should be forced to pay.

How else will they ever learn if people keep letting them off ?

[zorro1]

Without seeing it, sounds like sand or muck in the water so the system acts as a sandblaster. I say this cos if the pressure was really high it would distort body panels as well, leave panels uneven ( as panels are very thin metal). Awkward situation for you as nobody will admit liability for fear of coughing up money. Talk to insurance S.A.P.

You have a point there.No vehicle 6 months old could have paintwork blow off unless there is a fault from new.Maybe go see the dealership first for advice,they could ask the paint manufacturer of that make of vehicle to evluate the condition of a 6 month oe paint system.Surely there is a warrintee on all new paintowrk world wide now,some are giving 10 years or more.If you are right and said the clear coat has come off then you will not be able to t cut(urgggggggggggggggh,contains silicone) the areas to gloss again.

have been in the motor industry and related for 30 years. As suggested take your car back to the dealer for warranty repair, sounds 99% like faulty paint from the factory

[jkinbkk]

Over zealous use of the jet wash is just plain laziness on the part of the operator.

The most stubborn areas to clear on any vehicle is normally the front vertical sections (bumpers, grill, leading edge of the fenders and hood)

These areas are usually packed with dead bugs, which we all know from experience are difficult to remove without a lot of elbow grease and persistence!

(Did you know the most effective agent for removing dead bug is saliva!...yup, your own spit!)

Unfortunately these same vertical areas are also subjected to the most stone impact/stone chip damage!

If then, you power the jet wash as close and and a hard as you can at these vertical areas in an attempt to shift the dead bugs, you also have a high risk of the water blast getting under the exposed clear coat areas around the stone chips and can lift the clear coat off in sheets.

Normally the systems of factory production painting is of a high international standard and colour coat/clear coat bond will last a lifetime when subjected to normal tried and tested conditions.

If, your vehicle has been subjected to an accident or some kind of re-work to the paint, then there is a very high risk that the colour and clear coat coating have very low adhesion properties.

Refinish paint work is softer that factory paint work even if a 'low bake refinish coating' has been used.

Refinish paint work quality is a minefield were a large array of errors during repair can result in any number of problems if the recommended system is not followed correctly when preparing and spraying the affected body parts.

By the way, if the clear coat has been removed by the jet wash there is no point in attempting to do anything with the exposed colour coat. The coat coat is only there to provide colour/visual effect and will have a slightly matt finish.

It is the clear coat that provides gloss, weather and UV protection.

If you have success with your insurance company, they will probably request that you take it to there recommended Bodyshop. You should ask what length of warranty they give on the areas they will re paint? If your car is new it should match the original duration of paint warranty given by the vehicle manufacturer from new. If not, you should ask why not?

Your insurance company may say that if you want that type of quality repair then you need to pay part of the bill. I suggest you do it as the result of any substandard paint work you have done now will detract from the value when you come to sell your car.

Anyway good luck, but don't waste your time on trying to get anything from the guys who created the problem or the dealer. For different reasons they are not interested and can easily defer the blame to the other. One will claim excessive pressure did the damage, the other will claim poor factory paint work is to blame!

[aussiebebe]

If you take a truck to a place to be cleaned, it's likely that the pressure washer has been used countless times before, on numerous other vehicles - unless it's brand new, which would be obvious.

Isn't the OP, Garyk, the guy who bought the Ford Ranger at an auction?

I've been in LOS long enough to have questioned how he got such a great deal on that truck.

If the car in question is the second-hand Ranger, is it not possible that the paint which has now become 'like sand paper' wasn't the factory original?

How can you tell if a car has been resprayed? I'm not sure.

This is worth looking into as I've had a door resprayed before, and I'm aware of how cheaply it can be done. Maybe the previous owner reprayed the Ranger prior to auction?

[zorro1]

If you take a truck to a place to be cleaned, it's likely that the pressure washer has been used countless times before, on numerous other vehicles - unless it's brand new, which would be obvious.

Isn't the OP, Garyk, the guy who bought the Ford Ranger at an auction?

I've been in LOS long enough to have questioned how he got such a great deal on that truck.

If the car in question is the second-hand Ranger, is it not possible that the paint which has now become 'like sand paper' wasn't the factory original?

How can you tell if a car has been resprayed? I'm not sure.

This is worth looking into as I've had a door resprayed before, and I'm aware of how cheaply it can be done. Maybe the previous owner reprayed the Ranger prior to auction?

Look for over spray engine firewall, inside of doors and boot is a give away. Sounds like the car was bought at auction after a quickie respray or a dealer factory stuff up. water pressure from a car wash cannot remove factory approved paint.

[garyk]

Interesting. Thanks for all the response. I wil take it to the dealer tomorrow.

I will let everyone know the result.

[garyk]

Got up early this morning and went to the dealer and to a independent and they both agread that it has not been repainted and not in an accident. WO!!! I have been sweating.

I checked the truck before buying it and thought i had checked the paint good. BUT....... it turns out that the truck had never been waxed and the paint not cared for. They say they see it sometimes in new and old cars that are not cared for and are parked close to a repaint shop or a factory. The particles adhear to the paint if close to a paint shop, and the chemicals near a plant is the main culprit they think.

In short i owe the car wash man an apoligy and am going to tell him I made a mistake. I think it is the right thing to do. When i saw the pressure i assumed it was a problem and i inspected the truck with a fine tooth comb and found the problem.

Good news it can be fixed easiy and cheaply.

I jumped to a conclusion that was wrong. Now i have to eat crow and say i am sorry.

Anyway, thanks for the help and as always it is the opions of many that help in this maner. Also i learned alot about paint.....

[aussiebebe]

So pleased to hear that the truck's paint can be fixed and I'm glad you hadn't bought a reprayed truck! That must have been a relief.

I'm not suprised that the previous owner had never waxed his car, but I never would have guessed that was the cause.

Now, if only wax wasn't so dam_n expensive in LOS. The cheapest place I've found for Turtle Wax is Carrefour, where a bottle sells for 1,288baht. The same product is only 6USD in the States if you check amazon.com.