Car wash scratched the hell out of baby type R

[lilDumpsterRat]

My type R is less than 3 months old. I dropped it off to get a window tint and the guy texts me when it's done, hey I also got you a complimentary car wash.

It never crossed my mind that he would do something like that. My stomach began sinking when I saw the ratched looking car wash in the same strip mall. Super cheap, 'hand wash' multi lane thing that looked like it hadnt been updated since 1979 basically they converted an automated wash into a low cost 'hand wash'. I noticed only old 4runners and 2005 ford taurus' seemed to be goin in..

You wouldnt believe it, the clear coat has more scratches now than a used audi I have with 207.000 miles.. there is tons of small scratches all over the paint basically over the whole car. The black trim inbetween the c pillars looks like a 2001 used civic now. The tail lights are scratched also.

I freaked out. The owner showed up with his detailer., the detailer marveled at how bad it was...

I dont want to polish into the clear coat just yet. These horrible mini scratches are only visible up close and under direct light.. but it bugs me. They offered a free detail, but honestly id rather do it myself than have someone polishing the hell out of my clear coat.

Is there any wax you guys recommend that fills little sratches like this pretty well?

I should have never left the car alone with this idiot. I cant believe the tint guy would think that some clapped out car wash like that would be a good idea for a brand new car. It's so bad it almost seems malicious. this is from the front fender and it looks like this all over the entire car now.

Sponsored

 

[Chilly613]

What kind of crappy tint place washes the car immediately, you're supposed to wait a few days!

I'm a big fan of Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to get out swirls and light surface scratches.

 

[Blindeye_03]

What kind of crappy tint place washes the car immediately, you're supposed to wait a few days!

I'm a big fan of Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to get out swirls and light surface scratches.

But tint is on the inside of the windows?

Anyways - perfect time for them to pay for a 1 or 2 step paint correction. Then find someone else (that doesnt suck) and have them ceramic coat it.

 

[lilDumpsterRat]

You know whats also pissing me off is i noticed that same crappy rag that caused all these scratches they probably used inside too

the plastic on my screen and the plastic on the climate controls are also all scratched like that now.

What would you guys do in this situation?

Can you apply something to the plastic also to remove tiny scratches?

But its the only new car ive ever had, and the fact i gotta polish the crap so soon to try and get rid of scratches just doesnt sit right w me.

 

[Chilly613]

But tint is on the inside of the windows?

Anyways - perfect time for them to pay for a 1 or 2 step paint correction. Then find someone else (that doesnt suck) and have them ceramic coat it.

Probably because I read that the tinter took it to a "hand wash" car wash and sometimes they will wipe the windows inside.

 

[Chilly613]

You know whats also pissing me off is i noticed that same crappy rag that caused all these scratches they probably used inside too

the plastic on my screen and the plastic on the climate controls are also all scratched like that now.

What would you guys do in this situation?

Can you apply something to the plastic also to remove tiny scratches?

But its the only new car ive ever had, and the fact i gotta polish the crap so soon to try and get rid of scratches just doesnt sit right w me.

You can polish the glossy black trim too, but you have you'll have to be a little easier on it since theres less material than paint panels. TBH, this is on the tinter for taking your car to a sub tier car wash. Take more pictures and have them fix it. Whether they pay for a complete detail/paint correction or replace the damaged parts, its on them.

 

[optronix]

First of all, take a deep breath and relax. On the scale of actual catastrophes, this is like a 0.5. I know it's a new car and you have a lot of emotion tied to it. And I agree, it's an idiotic mistake and you have every right to be pissed- and some people would make an absolute scene over something like this, I get it. But it happened. And it's an object, not a person or a pet; it's only devastating if you allow it to be.

As someone else already said, your first option is have them pay for a correction. But honestly that may not be your best option for a couple reasons, one being negotiating stuff like this is hard, and two you might just end up with another vendor that doesn't know what they're doing and you end up disappointed again.

So another suggestion is forget these idiots and learn to correct the paint yourself. It isn't actually all that hard, and you get to learn a skill. And honestly, most new cars- especially those shipped from overseas- usually need at least a minor paint correction when they're delivered anyway. The only downside is the initial cost of a decent orbital buffer, and then the time spent watching a few youtube videos and then the actual effort of polishing the car.

The stuff on the inside, don't know what to tell you. I've got a Type S with far more piano black than the FL5, and I notice micro scratches but nowhere near enough to bother me. Some people may be more sensitive to stuff like that... it is tough to imagine significant damage done by just taking a cloth to it but I haven't seen it... not sure there's much you could do about it regardless.

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

My type R is less than 3 months old. I dropped it off to get a window tint and the guy texts me when it's done, hey I also got you a complimentary car wash.

It never crossed my mind that he would do something like that. My stomach began sinking when I saw the ratched looking car wash in the same strip mall. Super cheap, 'hand wash' multi lane thing that looked like it hadnt been updated since 1979 basically they converted an automated wash into a low cost 'hand wash'. I noticed only old 4runners and 2005 ford taurus' seemed to be goin in..

You wouldnt believe it, the clear coat has more scratches now than a used audi I have with 207.000 miles.. there is tons of small scratches all over the paint basically over the whole car. The black trim inbetween the c pillars looks like a 2001 used civic now. The tail lights are scratched also.

I freaked out. The owner showed up with his detailer., the detailer marveled at how bad it was...

I dont want to polish into the clear coat just yet. These horrible mini scratches are only visible up close and under direct light.. but it bugs me. They offered a free detail, but honestly id rather do it myself than have someone polishing the hell out of my clear coat.

Is there any wax you guys recommend that fills little sratches like this pretty well?

I should have never left the car alone with this idiot. I cant believe the tint guy would think that some clapped out car wash like that would be a good idea for a brand new car. It's so bad it almost seems malicious. this is from the front fender and it looks like this all over the entire car now.

I read posts like this and I want to vomit. So sorry this happened to you. Find a top notch detailer and ask them what can be done. Don't let the tint guy use his detailer. See if you can get some cash from the tint guy and get the F away from him.

Why the f he takes it upon himself to the have the car washed? I hate these imbeciles. ASK, would you like the car washed? F NO!

 

[Gizmo]

Make them pay for a paint correction at a shop of your choosing. Get it ceramic coated while it’s there. May even work out in your favor? Have the tint moron pay for the paint correction portion then you are only on the hook for the ceramic part of it.

 

[lilDumpsterRat]

what waxes are you guys using? i want to see if i can mask the scratches with a good wax before i mess with any polishing

 

[optronix]

what waxes are you guys using? i want to see if i can mask the scratches with a good wax before i mess with any polishing

I think most folks these days skip the wax entirely and go straight to coatings.

I think the proper answer is going to fall back to a polish. The only difference really between "waxing" and polishing is that you're using a machine. I know that's an incredibly oversimplified view, but when it all comes down to it that's pretty much it.

You can try putting any decent carnauba wax on by hand and see what happens, sure. It will probably look great from a distance, but I'd temper your expectations for making the scratches go away to the point where you'll have complete peace of mind. That part will require a physical buffing with a machine to "rearrange" the clearcoat and eliminate the scratches. A professional (with a good reputation) is your best bet here because it's a new car, but there isn't really much opportunity for you to screw anything up by doing it yourself assuming you use an orbital buffer (NOT rotary...).

Of course I'm no pro detailer, but I have had amazingly good results polishing a couple of my sons' cars. I'd buy them used with paint in fair condition, and then after a polish and applying a user-friendly DIY ceramic coating (there are tons on the market these days), and they'd be looking like new with almost no visible scratches, and stay that way for months to years.

I think I used this kit exactly... but maybe with Mequiar's pads and compounds, it's been a while. The stuff it comes with should be perfectly fine.

Just saying, polishing isn't as scary as some folks think it is.

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

what waxes are you guys using? i want to see if i can mask the scratches with a good wax before i mess with any polishing

I would have a professional, reputable detailer do a paint correction and ceramic coat. I would skip waxing. Really, need a reputable detailer to give you a reality check on what can be done and what you should expect of the results.

 

[zeRRRep]

You want a glaze....

a glaze fills imperfections...issue is it doesn't provide much protection

 

[Tougefl5]

They would be paying for the damage first and foremost. The bigger question is why are the employees driving your car in the first place

 

[AZCWTypeR]

Meguiar's PlastX works well for me when polishing plastics.

It is very gentle compared to some compounds. It takes out light paint scuffs too. I originally bought PlastX for motorcycle windscreens. It also polishes headlights.

Sponsored