Ultima Paint Guard Plus leaves white spots on a 09 Challenger decal

Cleaning Fool said:
Defective decals or not, UPPG should not be doing this. I would be on the horn with Ultima, somebody there should be stepping to the plate and swinging the bat.:mad:



I disagree with that completely....



IF its a defective decal, then the Dodge dealer should have it replaced, in fact said car should be under warranty and some cars have a paint warranty for 3 yrs 36k miles or something like that.



I wouldn't offer to pay for anything for the client, IMHO its the car that had the problem that HE (the OP) didn't cause, its a defect in workmanship and should IMHO (in a perfect world perhaps) be covered under some type of warranty.
 
in fact this is covered by the basic limited warranty and the anti-corrosion warranty. Either way its 3yrs 36k miles or 5yr and 100k miles.



2009 dodge challenger warranty PDF document said:
2. What's Covered Under

Chrysler Motors LLC's

Warranties

2.1Basic Limited Warranty

A.Who Is Covered?

You are covered by the Basic Limited Warranty if

you are a purchaser for use of the vehicle.

B.What’s Covered

The Basic Limited Warranty covers the cost of all

parts and labor needed to repair any item on your

vehicle when it left the manufacturing plant that is

defective in material, workmanship or factory

preparation. There is no list of covered parts since the

only exception are tires and Unwired headphones. You

pay nothing for these repairs.
These warranty repairs or

adjustments � including all parts and labor connected

with them � will be made by your dealer at no charge,

using new or remanufactured parts.

..........................



2.2Corrosion Warranty

A.Who Is Covered?

You are covered if you are a purchaser for use of

the vehicle.

B.What's Covered

This warranty covers the cost of all parts and labor

needed to repair or replace any sheet metal panels

that get holes from rust or other corrosion. If a hole

occurs because of something other than corrosion,

this warranty does not apply. Cosmetic or surface

corrosion � resulting, for example, from stone

chips or scratches in the paint � is not covered.

For more details on what isn’t covered by this

warranty, see 3.5.



C.How Long It Lasts

This warranty starts when your Basic Limited

Warranty begins under 2.1(E).

This warranty has two time-and-mileage limits:

•For sheet metal panels, the limit is 36 months,

with no mileage limit.

•For an outer-body sheet metal panel â€â€� one

that is finish-painted and that someone can

see when walking around the vehicle � the

limits are 5 years or 100,000 miles on the

odometer, whichever occurs first.



fast forwarding to section 3.5 list of exemptions

3.5Certain Kinds of Corrosion Not

Covered

Your warranties don’t cover the following:

•corrosion caused by accident, damage, abuse,

or vehicle alteration;

•surface corrosion caused by such things as

industrial fallout, sand, salt, hail, and stones;

•corrosion caused by the extensive or abnormal

transport of caustic materials like chemicals,

acids, and fertilizers; and

•corrosion of special bodies, body conversions,

or equipment that was not on your vehicle when it

left the manufacturing plant or was not supplied by

Chrysler.

3.6Other Exclusions

Your warranties don’t cover the costs of repairing

damage or conditions caused by any of the following:

•fire or accident;

•abuse or negligence;

•misuse â€â€� for example, driving over curbs or

overloading;

•tampering with the emission systems, or with

a part that could affect the emission systems;



IMHO using those sections of the warranty for this car is should infact be covered under if not 1 section but both....
 
IMHO they dont have much choice with the wording of the Basic Limited Warranty, and given the fact its an '09 one would assume its not got more than 36k miles on it.



I would argue they either replace it under warranty as it says they will do. OR its lawyer time.....
 
bwalker25 said:
in fact this is covered by the basic limited warranty and the anti-corrosion warranty. Either way its 3yrs 36k miles or 5yr and 100k miles.







IMHO using those sections of the warranty for this car is should infact be covered under if not 1 section but both....



CLUTCH!!!!
 
I just don't see this being a defective decal issue at all, which in turn makes the whole idea claiming its a warranty repair useless. Is the decal peeling? Is it fading? Is it falling off? Doesn't lool like it in those pictures
 
how can it not be defective? it has spots all over it, they didn't come that way from the manufacturer, would seem as though since it didn't come that way, its an "undesired" effect...wait for it.....a defect if you will in the vinyl/laminate that is the decal ;)



wouldn't be to hard to prove that it didn't come that way...sure there might be plenty of challengers and I bet not a one on the dealer lot has white spots on it...those with out the spots are not defective (yet)......
 
"Gee Dodge, I sprayed a sealant on the decals and it wont come off, will you please replace my decals under warranty"..Sorry, I don't see it.
 
good point - I enjoy a good civil conversion, so in keeping with that....



if the car was dealer preped, they also "sprayed" something on those decals as well...whose to say they didn't cause this entire thing? Ultima dries clear, at worst it streaks, it doesn't spot-up or get white spots all over the place. If nothing else lets say it is the Ultima, it should come right off with a very fine polish. Those spots however look very much like laminate failure if you ask me.



More over if it was ultima it would be white spotted all over the entire car, not just the decals, white spots ONLY on the decals suggest a higher likely hood of laminate failure and/or a combination of workmanship/manufacturing defects.



thus covering it under warranty.....
 
What would you suggest that they sprayed on the decals during prep? To my eyes, the laminate looks just fine. The paint and decals are two different surfaces entirely. Just because it didn't spot the paint means nothing, again, not the same surface. Something on the decal doesn't agree with Ultima. The laminate in the pics looks just fine. My opinion, there is clearly a foreign substance on the decal and no evidence at all that its laminate failure but then again I'll say this, you can't rule it out. Hopefully Dodge sees it that way. Might be a good idea to check with Dodge and other forums to see if there is defective decals/laminate. Odds are theres more than 1
 
good points....could be just failure at the white spots? could also be ultima. I say do a test with a very fine polish or compound, if it comes off it was clearly something on the decals (poss. ultima or the dealer prep wax?)



I suggest its the dealers sealant or wax that was sprayed on there? I hope he tries the warranty aspect first before shelling out $$$ for something that could be covered....



Thanks for the civil conversation :)
 
If you get your window tint removed, and the tech pulls off a defroster line- you can't claim the window was defective.



In no way should a detailer urge an owner to press an issue like this at their dealership. The detailer introduced a foreign substance that reacted unfavorably to the substrate, case closed. A professional would eat the cost or file his own claim with his own insurance. But a professional company with a chemist would offer to foot the bill for falsely representing their product's capabilities.
 
Try a normal carnuaba wax on a section, see if it does anything. If it doesn't we know that UGPG's makeup is causing the issue.
 
I suggested this earlier but got no response. Since this is stick kicking I will write it again.



Tape off a 12" x 12" area with painters tape in the middle of the decal. Take a digital photo. Re-apply the Ultima and see if more spots appear. If they do its certianly the Ultima and I believe they will stand by the product and help you with the repair. I used way too much the first time and streaked the car. I called CS at Ultima, Autopia and got a chemist on the phone to help me out. They are very concerned about their products being well recieved. If it does not happen, it also does not mean Ultima is in the clear. It could have just plugged the holes which are now already plugged. I have never seen it dry spotty white in my 6 months experience with the Ultima line.



My wifes truck has clear film on the lower rocker pannel behind the rear wheels. I will apply it there and let you know. I have plans to sell it after the winter anyway. Its silver and if the white spots aprear and they won't jump out at you. I would like to know anyhow.



Another thought, You could also buy the small $ 97.00 decal that goes off the hood and apply Ultima to it. See what happens then you know who to blame.




Good Luck.
 
The pictures appear to be from all the same section of decal, is it uniform across the entire section of the decal or just in that spot?



I'm not sure if this relates, but one time I had spots on the plastic that covers the guage cluster which I believe came from my careless application of interior detailer. I didnt notice it, and it dried on there and appeared to etch the plastic. (You could not feel the dots, just see them.):angry



I tried all kinds of things...isopropyl alcohol, windex, goof off, was getting desperate. Turns out, peanut butter is the thing that worked for me. Dunno why I thought of trying it..(i think it's been mentioned to take wax stains off trim pieces...)



At any rate, if I were a professional detailer I would probably end up eating the cost to keep the customer happy. (retain their business, etc)



I also would keep working on the company that led you to believe it's decal safe.



Best of luck getting it resolved.
 
I would join a Dogde/Challenger forum and see if others are having similar issues.

Vehicle is still very new but you never know.
 
I found a company that sells the decals very in expensivly. They say they have the OEM carbon fiber pattern. Complete kit is 189.00!



If you do have to replace this might be a good source. You would just have to find an installer if your shop is not experienced with this. I do not know the people at the website below so check them out yourself. I was searching the web trying to help you solve the issue and came across this.



Good Luck!



Phoenix Graphix 2008-09 Dodge Challenger and Challenger SRT8 Hood & Header Panel Stripe Kit
 
^That's something to consider^ But it's not OEM.



Obviously, everyone understands the issue and the minor financial blip that can

happen. I'm no exception as i'm losing over 15g's on one project; i could still

charge something but it's best to take the loss and keep the customer...



A reason should still be found but sometimes it's best to "eat" it and move forward.
 
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