Does anyone else have burn marks in thier paint?

SierraMyst · May 24, 2016

So I washed my truck this weekend in a different position and when I was done, I noticed that there were faded marks.

My truck is black and there's three spot on the driver's side and one on the passenger side that are 5 - 10 inches wide.

It looks like someone tried to buff out some scratches or something and burned the clear coat.

The odd thing is that you cant notice looking head on or if the truck is even a bit dirty.

But freshly washed and at an angle in the sun, they are there. Clear as day.

Anyone else seen this? I only have 3500 miles and the truck has 4 miles on it when I bought it, so I was the only driver.

cbrsilv15 · May 24, 2016

Pics will help a lot.

Thomcat · May 24, 2016

If you are talking about dulled areas, usually circular, from small to a few inches wide..........some can be buffed out with scratch polish or faded to a shadow, but not completely removed, or worse which upon close exam "crazed" right down to the color coat.....then it is almost certainly chemical damage, likely caused by prolonged exposure to bird crap.

Seems birds love to drop their load upon takeoff to lighten flight weight and if you park next to a building in their flight path (like my driveway) your ride becomes an excellent target. Your cleanup time before permanent damage will depend upon what they have been eating, and how long it remains baking in the hot sun. They dropped a few nice sized splats on the hood and roof of my wife's 2 month old Trailblazer. I figured there no rush because it had a coat of wax and left them on baking in the hot sun for a few days and they permanently dulled the clear coat. Usually made worse living in an area with early morning dew which seems to revitalize the corrosive properties of dried poop. A polishing helped with some of the surface ones but others were really deep....under a magnifier the clear coat appeared to have micro-cracks in the affected area. Attempts to refinish or correct will usually enlarge the affected area which may appear to clear up but after a short period they will return. Only solution is either a repaint or leaving a light layer of dirt to disguise the really deep ones. Now I wash the affected areas ASAP, even made a bird poop cleaning kit.

Seems use of the new water based, environmentally friendly, clear coat formulation has the ability to keep the oceans from rising, but is no match for bird poop!

cev103 · May 24, 2016

My wife's 2013 Tahoe had a very symmetrical circular dull spot (about the size of a tennis ball) on the drivers side C post when we first bought it. I was able to polish it out with a Rupes Polisher and Adam's paint correcting polish. If you don't have access to a polisher I would bring it back to the dealership and have them fix it if your truck is fairly new.

SierraMyst · May 24, 2016

_{I'll post pics. It rained all day yesterday.}

_{These are what I believe are buffed out spots from the dealer.}

_{Maybe there were imperfections from the factory or train, and the dealer tried buffing them out but did a poor job. or didn't look at it form different angles.}

_{Someone mentioned it above. They look like shadows in the black paint.}

2liter · May 25, 2016

I have them on my Silverado, on both sides of the truck. Noticed them after the first time I washed it, they stand out when the sun hits it. It was a bright day when I bought the truck and I had time so I looked at the paint very closely and didn't see them before signing the papers, was dark when I left. So I agree that it appears to be from a buffer. My thought was that when they took it to detail it they buffed to hard or to long in those spots. I mentioned to my sales guy and he told me that he had never seen them use a power buffer before on any vehicles on the lot. Did the survey from chevy they want me to call them to discuss the issues i have with my truck. This is one issue I plan to bring up along with the drivers door not being lined up the way it should be.

TJay74 · May 25, 2016

I have 2 spots on my white truck, that along with a nice piece of sand on the roof that made it under the paint while at the factory. The one spot is on my drivers side fender and the other is on the rear bumper cover. Both are noticeable, you can tell that the paint was smudged at the factory and a crappy repair was made.

20SierraL8T24 · May 25, 2016

No but I have 2 bugs in the clear on the roof. I'll live with then rather than have the dealer repaint it

If you are talking about dulled areas, usually circular, from small to a few inches wide..........some can be buffed out with scratch polish or faded to a shadow, but not completely removed, or worse which upon close exam "crazed" right down to the color coat.....then it is almost certainly chemical damage, likely caused by prolonged exposure to bird crap.

Seems birds love to drop their load upon takeoff to lighten flight weight and if you park next to a building in their flight path (like my driveway) your ride becomes an excellent target. Your cleanup time before permanent damage will depend upon what they have been eating, and how long it remains baking in the hot sun. They dropped a few nice sized splats on the hood and roof of my wife's 2 month old Trailblazer. I figured there no rush because it had a coat of wax and left them on baking in the hot sun for a few days and they permanently dulled the clear coat. Usually made worse living in an area with early morning dew which seems to revitalize the corrosive properties of dried poop. A polishing helped with some of the surface ones but others were really deep....under a magnifier the clear coat appeared to have micro-cracks in the affected area. Attempts to refinish or correct will usually enlarge the affected area which may appear to clear up but after a short period they will return. Only solution is either a repaint or leaving a light layer of dirt to disguise the really deep ones. Now I wash the affected areas ASAP, even made a bird poop cleaning kit.

Seems use of the new water based, environmentally friendly, clear coat formulation has the ability to keep the oceans from rising, but is no match for bird poop!

Or love bugs here in South Florida!

Thomcat · May 25, 2016

_{I'll post pics. It rained all day yesterday.}

_{These are what I believe are buffed out spots from the dealer.}

_{Maybe there were imperfections from the factory or train, and the dealer tried buffing them out but did a poor job. or didn't look at it form different angles.}

_{Someone mentioned it above. They look like shadows in the black paint.}

Actually, it could be from the factory.

I downloaded a video showing the new automated Camaro manufacturing sites which included the painting and inspection of finished vehicles. The final finish inspection is done manually and if any dirt or minor blemishes are noted the inspector has two air powered (4") buffers hanging on coiled hoses, one for abrasive and another for polish and they take less than 30 secs on the moving line to buff the spot smooth.

Manufacturing a Camaro took less than 18 hours, start to finish.....is it really OK for someone to be screwing with a clear coat that has been cured less than a few hours?

SierraMyst · May 25, 2016

Yeah...the two on the driver's side rear door and the one on the passenger side front door are about the size of a tennis ball, maybe slightly bigger.

The one by the drivers' A pillar is larger. It begins under the side view mirror and crosses over to the fender.

I'm confident that @Thomcat is correct.

I think that they "spot" buff at the factory. I and since I chose a black truck, it shows more in direct sunlight.

I think a trip to a dealer is required. But I'm not a fan of them repainting.

GMCustomerService · May 25, 2016

Hello SierraMyst,

I regret to hear you have found some dull paint spots on your new Sierra. I would like to help facilitate a service visit with your dealership, if you are interested. Feel free to shoot me a private message with your VIN, contact info and dealer you’ve been working with so we can get started on diagnosing your truck.

Best,

Julianne M.

GM Customer Care

cbrsilv15 · May 25, 2016

Once again, pics will give us a ton more insight on whether it can be buffed out or not.

Thomcat · May 26, 2016

Yeah...the two on the driver's side rear door and the one on the passenger side front door are about the size of a tennis ball, maybe slightly bigger.

The one by the drivers' A pillar is larger. It begins under the side view mirror and crosses over to the fender.

I'm confident that @Thomcat is correct.

I think that they "spot" buff at the factory. I and since I chose a black truck, it shows more in direct sunlight.

I think a trip to a dealer is required. But I'm not a fan of them repainting.

In my previous post re: the Nat G documentary on GM manufacturing on Youtube .....check out minutes 20:15 - 21:30 for the factory inspection & touching up of paint defects, and the size of the buffer used, performed about 25 minutes after clear coat curing. A whole 45 second refinish that looks as shiny as it was from the start...."hopefully".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE2l8r65o_c