Dirt specs in paint and attempted repair at factory/dealer

[ZmanII]

I recently picked up my stone blue Denali. After a few days of rain, I notice a hazy spot in the paint after I washed it. At first I thought it was a palm print. After it didn't wipe off, I realized in the center of this haze was a spec of dirt in the paint. I then noticed another hazy spot with a spec of dirt in the paint. I took out my harshest polish and was able to remove the hazy spots. A few days later I saw a 3rd hazy spot with another spec of dirt in the center.

 

Has anyone else seen this on their truck? I understand that it is nearly impossible not to have any dirt specs in the paint, but I am a bit annoyed that someone tried covering it up using rubbing compound and then not polishing with something less aggressive afterwards. I am assuming that this was done at the factory, I would be surprised that the dealer prepping the car would notice the dirt spec and attempt to fix it.

 

I am an avid car detailer, so when I saw the hazy spot, I knew how to remove it, but most people wouldn't know how to fix these hazy spots. In my opinion, the hazy spots were much more visible than the specs of dirt.

[TJay74]

My truck has around 3-4 dust specks in the paint as well, they were never touched up at all. In reality it would take some wet sending and a full on polish to fix them properly which I don't believe the factory is able to do.

[CounterMeasure]

My truck has around 3-4 dust specks in the paint as well, they were never touched up at all. In reality it would take some wet sending and a full on polish to fix them properly which I don't believe the factory is able to do.

 

Hell, I have 3-4 dust specks on one panel alone.

 

I've thought about cutting and buffing it all to get them out and remove some of the orange peel since I have the equipment and the skill from previous vehicles. However, I've been told the clearcoat is really thin. It would be my luck I'd cut right through it.

[ZmanII]

They may have wet sanding the spots a bit, then used rubbing compound, it is hard to tell.

 

I was watching a show the other night on the corvette plant in bowling green. They showed workers on the line buffing out imperfections in the paint with these really small buffing pads, which would be the size of the hazy spots in my paint. These buffing pads were half dollar size, which is approximately the size of my hazy spots. Because the spots are so small. I wouldn't expect the dealer to have pads that small.

[Clocked92]

I had this exact thing on my truck. Looked exactly like a palm print when I picked my truck up and I mentioned it to the salesman. I figured I'd take the truck home and wash it and wax it to see if it came out but it didn't. Phoned my salesman and he told me to take it to the body shop of the dealer and they'd get it polished out. It took them 5 minutes to do and it looks perfect now.

 

They said they had seen a few trucks with it and that they were surprised mine only had one spot on it as they had seen trucks covered in marks. It seems like they noticed a mark in the paint at the plant and tried to fix it but didn't do a good job. In addition, they said certain colors were much more prone to these marks. Iridium metallic and the blues were the most common.

[Fishingbear]

I recently picked up my stone blue Denali. After a few days of rain, I notice a hazy spot in the paint after I washed it. At first I thought it was a palm print. After it didn't wipe off, I realized in the center of this haze was a spec of dirt in the paint. I then noticed another hazy spot with a spec of dirt in the paint. I took out my harshest polish and was able to remove the hazy spots. A few days later I saw a 3rd hazy spot with another spec of dirt in the center.

 

Has anyone else seen this on their truck? I understand that it is nearly impossible not to have any dirt specs in the paint, but I am a bit annoyed that someone tried covering it up using rubbing compound and then not polishing with something less aggressive afterwards. I am assuming that this was done at the factory, I would be surprised that the dealer prepping the car would notice the dirt spec and attempt to fix it.

 

I am an avid car detailer, so when I saw the hazy spot, I knew how to remove it, but most people wouldn't know how to fix these hazy spots. In my opinion, the hazy spots were much more visible than the specs of dirt.

 

It could be the protective adhesive residue they spray on the vehicle after it is built and before it's placed on the rail road in Mexico to protect the paint from rail dust. The roof of my cab was covered in this stuff. Apparently when the trucks are received at a local hub on the rail they are acid washed to remove this protective adhesive before put on a vehicle transport trailer for their final delivery to the dealership. The dealership is also supposed to remove any left over residue during their prep procedures. I noticed it about two weeks after purchasing my truck while washing it for the first time. I took it back to the dealer and they properly removed the remaining protective residue at no charge and re-detailed my truck.

[ZmanII]

This was definitely rubbing compound applied to the paint. In the center of each spot was a dirt spec in the paint. You can see the orange peel is slightly knocked down in the hazy spots as well.

[valkyrie9901]

Have you tried using a clay bar treatment on it? They sell a kit with everything you need.

[pm26]

Clay bar will not help with something embedded under the paint. it only removes surface particles without damaging the paint.

[ZmanII]

I had removed the haze in the paint using a medium duty polishing compound. I didn't mind the dirt so much, but I was annoyed at the attempt to cover it up.