QuestionA few months ago, my car was parked in the university parking lot near the baseball stadium, which they were remodeling. Needless to say, they were repainting the steel beams w/ an epoxy and it left an overspray on my month-old car. My car is black and the overspray was white. The construction co. took responsibility and had it taken to a detailer they worked with who tried buffing and a clay bar before finally wet sanding the overspray off. I was unhappy with the work (very intense swirl marks, buffer haze, and hairline scratches) so I took it to the dealer that I bought the car from and had them give me an estimate to remove the swirl marks/scratches. After two weeks of the dealer trying to get it right, I was still unhappy with the work. It looked the same as the first time. I started asking around and was informed that epoxy sometimes has thinner in it to allow it to be sprayed. I was also told that it is possible that the epoxy has been eating away at the clear coat and base coat preventing the body shop from being able to get a smooth finish.
My question is whether or not you think that the epoxy could have long term damaging effects on my paint, and if so, would you recommend repainting the whole car or possibly just the clear coat? The dealer is advising I not repaint the car, but I imagine that is because they do not want to do the work. Also, are dealer body shops reputable, or would you advice I take it somewhere else? Basically, my paint job looks like it is 5 years old rather than 5 months old. I have only washed the car once or twice before the overspray occured, so any swirl marks should be minimal. Thanks for your help and any insight is greatly appreciated.
AnswerNate. My heart goes out to you bro. I have dealt with this and totally know what you're going through. I take care of epoxy overspray for a huge boat repair company and they paint the big oil tankers and cargo ships with an epoxy type product. It is very difficult to remove. The painting company should be liable and you may want to get an attorney involved at least to write them a letter.
First of all, an agressive clay bar is your best bet. Wet sanding, from my experience is not necessary, and definitely takes off a bit of the clear coat. The hard part is getting out the sand marks and swirl marks. Very few detailers can do it right, and I even have a hard time myself. It takes several steps i.e. Deep cutting step to take the clay rub marks out, ligher buff marks to take out the swirls from the deep cut, polish to take out the final marks, and wax to finish it off and protect. Most detailers won't take the time to do it because it's several hours, even a day to do it right. Call some body shops, not dealer body shops, and get a referral to a good detailer. Take the car in to them and have them look at it and even work over a panel for you. Go to the paint company and have them agree to pay. Get it done and inspect it under good lighting, and also sunlight if possible to make sure you're happy. Best of luck to you.
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