Finger prints in new tonneau cover

EricDawg

EricDawg
Howdy,



About 2 months ago I bought an ARE LSXII tonneau cover for my 2005 black Dodge Dakota quad cab. It's really cool. The problem is, when they installed it, one of the "kids" had greasy hands and left finger prints on it. They didn't wash out. I took it back and they had the same guy go rub on it with 3M polish. He used paper towels. Now it's hazy, and the finger prints are still there. :(



It was painted only 2 weeks before they installed it, and came with all sorts of instructions on what not to do until it cured. They washed the thing with a crappy old wash mitt. Sigh. So I believe the finger prints are in the paint.



I took it back last weekend and the sales guy said they'd just send it back and have it repainted. Of course the Manager didn't think the finger prints were a big deal. :mad: He wanted that same guy to come out and polish them out. The sales guy said we already tried that.



So they're gonna have some guy come by this weekend with a machine and try to machine them out.



I only use Zaino and and expect 0 swirl marks. I'm not familiar at all with what a machine polisher can do.



Is it giong to leave swirl marks or any other obvious signs? I expect it to look brand new... since it is. Or is it possible it could remove the finger print marks (you can feel them when you rub them) and make the hazy-ness go away?



Thanks much for your replies.
 
Sounds like the paint wasn't fully cured so the kid left an impression in it. I'm pretty sure a repaint would be in order, if not get a refund and take your money elsewhere.
 
If they give the machine buffer to the same idiot who used paper towels and put his hand on wet just-applied car paint, then it'll look like someone got some nice 1000 grit and went to town on your car.
 
Thanks for the sympathies. But I'm still wondering if a machine polisher will work. I think I should have put this in the machine polishing area. Moving it there.
 
A "machine", if it is a rotary, may cause more damage in the wrong hands. I'd say demand a repaint, tell them not to even touch it after it's painted, and then if there are still any surface flaws, someone on this board would probably be willing to come help you out on that... where do you live? I don't foresee you living near me, but i'd help someone in your situation for free if they were nearby, and I know other guys on this board would too.
 
I live in Mill Creek, WA (20 miles north of Seattle).



The person who will be doing the work is a detailer. Not the idiots that messed it up. Hopefully he knows what he's doing. I'm guessing it can't hurt to try. If it ain't perfect, I'm gonna expect that it gets sent back.



Yeah... it's so hard to sit and listen to this big dumb guys tell me things like "It'll just rub out with polish" and "all black cars have swirl marks" and "it's not a $10,000 paint job" when it otherwise looks really nice... except for where the installer touched it with grease and/or other stuff on his hands.

:(
 
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