Overspray

[bmohr]

Had a new front bumper put on last week due to a minor collision. When i retrieved the vehicle it came with the whole car basically covered in overspray. I took it back, they were supposed to polish it off. Picked it up again and no change. What would be the best way to remove the overspray...looks to be clear coat overspray. Could a manual wax/buffing do the trick? Polisher? Product to use? Any advise would be great. Many thanks in advance.

[number9ine]

Always do least invasive first, which in this case is claybar.

If that doesn't do the trick a paint correction may be in order. A qualified detail shop could take care of this for you.

I'd document the overspray with photos as best as you can, write a letter to the body shop expressing your dissatisfaction and ask them to cover the cost of the paint correction. If they didn't bother to remove your bumper to paint it (or left your car near something else being sprayed) then I wouldn't trust them to correct the problem themselves.

Mark

[Orient Express]

Agreed, use a claybar first, that should get the overspray off.

[steveespo]

Man, why would they paint the bumper cover on the car, that is very quick and dirty and you ended up with very quick and dirty. Take it to a detail shop and tell the original shop you are filing a claim in small claims court. Even if you dont maybe you can get them to pay for the buff out of your car. Good luck man.

[bmohr]

Thanks guys, all good advice. I was going to try and claybar it but took the advice and called my insurance company USAA(awesome group) and they were upset, filled a complaint for me and are going to get me squared away. I just couldn't imagine that a company could hand over a car with that much overspray and claim it's just a bit of pollen or something that will "buff" out during the next wash and wax job. Hell if it was that easy they should have done it themselves. And as far as the bumper is concerned I have no idea what they did. He says the bumper was painted off the car, which makes sense. And yet he said the car was "covered" during painting, so i have to assume that took place during the blending of the paint to match the bumper. So either it occurred then, or they left my car uncovered while they did another job close by and it got sprayed over. Who knows. Again, thanks for all the advice, hopefully the shop that takes care of me doesn't thin out the factory applied clearcoat or some other catastrophe. jaysus!

[number9ine]

Thanks guys, all good advice. I was going to try and claybar it but took the advice and called my insurance company USAA(awesome group) and they were upset, filled a complaint for me and are going to get me squared away. I just couldn't imagine that a company could hand over a car with that much overspray and claim it's just a bit of pollen or something that will "buff" out during the next wash and wax job. Hell if it was that easy they should have done it themselves. And as far as the bumper is concerned I have no idea what they did. He says the bumper was painted off the car, which makes sense. And yet he said the car was "covered" during painting, so i have to assume that took place during the blending of the paint to match the bumper. So either it occurred then, or they left my car uncovered while they did another job close by and it got sprayed over. Who knows. Again, thanks for all the advice, hopefully the shop that takes care of me doesn't thin out the factory applied clearcoat or some other catastrophe. jaysus!

Again, I wouldn't trust the original shop to correct the problem. Body shop techs might try the same technique they use on repainted cars--heavy-grit sanding and buffing--to remove the overspray, and I'd hate to see them use a similar technique on OEM paint. The results could be disastrous, especially if they don't own a paint meter. Your story makes me think that the shop isn't likely to care much about the little details, and I'd hate to see you come back here with horror stories about burnt paint and other collateral damage.

I assume you washed the car to ensure that whatever it is doesn't just come off, to refute the body shop's suggestion?

I'd insist on taking your business elsewhere (again, find a recommendation for a professional detailer in your area) and let USAA sort it with the original shop. That way you're made whole on your terms, with little risk of collateral damage to your paint.

Mark

[bmohr]

Indeed Mark. That is exactly what i told them. I refused to take it back there. I'm still waiting to sort out the details but have been promised it will be taken care of. I'll update the process once it gets finished and i'm (hopefully) happy.