Smudge on Car from angle?

M

markhedder

New member
I have a 2 week old Metallic Gray car. It's dark out now, but when I look at the hood from an angle, I see something that appears to be a smudge. But when I put a flashlight over it, I can't really see much of anything. The entire hood looks like a mirror except for that smudge looking thing. I can't figure out what it is? I've detail sprayed and wiped it but nothing wipes off and it still appears to be there. It can only be seen from a side angle when the hood has a reflection. Top to bottom can't really notice anything. Any ideas on what that might be?
 
Any pictures of it? If it is a hologram it would be from improper use of the machine that put the product on. Not the product itself and nothing but polishing will take it out.
 
and the dealer never touched it when they prepped the car or for delivery?
and the "detailer" did he polish the car or just slap some z on it and say "done"
 
Markhedder -
Congrats on the new car !!!
Bet its beautiful and fun to drive !

I would just take it back to the Shop and show them what they did to it...
Be polite, but firm...

You want the mark removed, and the Zaino re-applied to that area..

I used all the Zaino Products for years, over a decade ago, and they are good for what they are...

If there was anything I really learned about using Zaino - Apply Really Thin, Even, Coats ! :)

Sal Zaino was the Innovator of Sealants for decades before they ever evolved into what we have available today.. His products are still great for what they are..

Let us know what happened..

Good luck,
Dan F
 
When you guys say hologram, are you referring to just the reflection on the car?

Ronkh said:
and the dealer never touched it when they prepped the car or for delivery?
and the "detailer" did he polish the car or just slap some z on it and say "done"
Click to expand...

The dealer did prep it but was a basic prep. I inspected the car with a LED flashlight before delivery and didn't see any signs of scratches or swirls. I don't think I saw that mark beforehand but it's hard to tell.

The detailer clayed, washed, and put a few coats of Zaino from what he told me. There was some residue from the tape that my car came in that was still on the side, so he used dawn to pull that off. Maybe it's tape residue? I can't really tell. I wiped it with detail spray but it almost seems like it's not on the surface.

Here are some pictures. It's hard to see it, only at an angle when the car has the mirror-like reflection can you notice that it's different. Was hard to actually get the angle right and catch it on my phone's camera. On a top down angle, you can't see any difference.

View 8F9jqC.jpg - cubeupload
View MCM5eT.jpg - cubeupload
 
Hollograms are from bad buffing

Even though you inspected it on deliver, most dealers use a heavy glaze. So car looks GREAT till the stuff wears off a few weeks later.

Claying did nothing to correct that. It needed to be polished before adding any type of sealant/lsp

The type of lsp really is a minute % of the looks when a car is done. It's all in the prep
 
Take it back and have that spot polished out and the Zaino reapplied. Inspect it in the same light conditions as when you noticed it before. Have them polish with a DA and not a rotary, if possible.
 
Thank you guys. I'm glad I asked. So do you think it was dealer damage or just from the detailer not polishing properly? I asked if the detail included polishing and scratch/swirl removal from the adhesive before bringing it in and he said yes, so I am assuming he polished it.

Also, could it not be the case that a detailer just hides the hologram with glaze?
 
The sad reality of getting a new vehicle or used vehicle from a Dealer or any Car Lot, is that they totally Cheap Out on cleaning up the car, they don't train the kids that do this, and/or they perpetuate terrible work practices..

These include using cheap compounds or cleaners, glazes, cheap waxes, that are designed to add a lot of products to the paint to hide the terrible job they are doing to the paint, oftentimes, with dirty wool, etc., pads, that are never cleaned.. And as has been already said above, the junk products they use will all wash off the car very soon, and if they did a bad job, all the dealer inflicted defects will be very clearly seen..

I cant tell you how many German Cars I have Detailed that came from another Shop full of swirls, etc., and the nice Owners said - "Oh, they told me that is how its supposed to look"" :(
Then, when I do correct the mess made and give them back a big, rolling MIRROR, they always exclaim - "thats NOT my car!!!" And, yeah, it Always is their car... :)

Ive already given you my take on what you should do, above.. Post #7

You can ask them this - "Which Zaino product did you apply to my paint and how many coats did you apply " Correct Answer - "we used Z-2 Pro, (or possibly Z-5 Pro), and we did 3 coats"... (This is the maximum nbr of coats that can be applied to a vehicle at one time using the ZFX catalyst..)

Then you ask them this - "Did you use ZFX ? " Correct Answer - " we used ZFX properly mixed with the Zaino Pro product, so we could get 3 coats done in 1 day, let it cure for 24 hours and then gave it back to you"...

If they give you answers that are not these, then I would be questioning what exactly they did - In Addition- to putting a nice swirl or hologram on your hood..

You need to speak to the Manager - not the lot boy or the guy who takes the orders...

You are in Charge... They took your money and did what, besides swirl your hood ???

Good luck,
Dan F
 
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