Need Help!?

[teemgreen99]

Ok guys I have a 07 Tahoe with 3,000 miles on it, I have never waxed or buffed or polished it at all just a regular was I notice when it is clean and in the sun there are really bad swirl marks in the paint, it is extremely noticable when you are standing close to it. I know that this is not a custom paint job but this is the third GM vehicle I have owned and the second black one and I have never seen swirls this bad. I am wondering if I should take it back to the dealer or what? Plaese help, any advice?

 

[OStateFlyer]

To me, it sounds like one of two things. What immediately comes to my mind is crappy dealer prep/detail. An inexperienced or less than caring 'detailer' runs a rotary and you wind up with swirl marks. When you first took delivery of the vehicle you may have not noticed due to lighting or a finishing product, like certain waxes, that fill the swirls temporarily.

The other option, is that you may be responsible for the swirls depending on your washing methods. I think that this would be far, far less likely. Automated car washes, dirty towels, dirty water, can swirl the finish, but you're more likely going to see scratches and marring rather than distinct swirls.

The good news is that it is more than likely fixable, and if done correctly, will look better than ever. I personally wouldn't trust the dealership to correct the paint. I don't trust them to clean my vehicles in any way. Find a professional and reputable full-time detailer to correct your paint. If it's a black Tahoe, it probably won't be cheap (couple/several hundred, it is time consuming to do correctly and the size of the Tahoe doesn't make it any quicker). You might attempt to get the dealer to reimburse you for it or do something for you, but I would think that will be an uphill battle. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

If you want to know way, way more about taking care of this kind of thing, head over to Autopia.org.

 

[Gambler]

If you use the do-it-yourself car washes, those brushes can easily scratch your car's clearcoat (as happened to me). I fixed it on my tahoe using a 3 step wax (Meguiars) and it did a good job at getting rid of the swirl marks. You'll need the three step to 1-clean off your old wax, 2-polish your car's finish (gets rid of the swirl marks and especially important for dark colored cars) and 3-rewax. It took me about 3 hours to do it myself and cost about $35 for chemicals/applicators.

 

[22cntrfield]

Do you think that would work on my dk grey, gambler?

 

[OStateFlyer]

You can certainly polish the Tahoe out yourself as Gambler suggested. It will be a b!tch to do by hand. Depending on the severity, to actually remove all of the swirls you will probably need something more than the Meg's 3-step Deep Crystal system. The Deep Crystal 'polish' is more glaze than polish, and as such has more fillers and far fewer abrasives. While it will make the paint look good, it is a temporary fix, as it isn't actually removing them. The swirls will 'reappear' when the filler dissipates with washing, rain, etc., and you're back to square one. The better the lighting, the more apparent the swirls/scratches will be as well. The advantage is that a glaze is really easy to use and looks good quick. To remove the swirls, which are actually fine scratches, you need to carefully abrade the clear to level the surface with the scratches and restore gloss, and protect it with a sealant or wax (or both). Then be careful about how you wash/wax and what you wash/wax with in order to keep the swirls away.

 

[Gambler]

:iagree:

Yes, if you scratches are bad enough, the polish won't cut it on its own, mine weren't super bad, so they came out.

22cntrfield: As long as you get a polish for dark colors you'll be fine, just read the bottle to make sure.

 

[teemgreen99]

I am positive with a good 3 step process it will come out and I do know how to do it myself but I think that I would rather pay someone to do it, I am in the Southern California area, anyone know a good detailer?

 

[johnebgoode]

Google 3M scratch & swirl removers. They are worth their weight in gold.