petethib8

I have a 15' Black C-7, and I am not impressed with the factory paint job to say the least. Like most of you I keep the car immaculate, and after a good detailing you can look close at an angle and can see small clear type circles. They look like water spots left to dry under the clear coating. I am not sure if it is the coating or the paint.
My wife has a black Audi and this is not present on her car. I know black shows all blemishes and is tough to keep clean but I hoped for better from the factory.
Does anyone else have this issue? Or did I just get a bad job from the factory?

20mercury

will send you a PM, might help.

13611

Well that stinks! I kind of have an idea of what you're talking about but a picture or two would save a lot of guess work by those that are going to chime in to help here in the near future. That will give the pros on here the ability to go, "oh yeah, that's ..." Good luck.

petethib8

I am out of town on buisness for 2 1/2 weeks on buisness, but will try to get some uploaded when I return home.

DUB

ARE YOU COVERING you Corvette with a car cover...and it being OUTSIDE???????

I will need for a photo to be posted that is REALLY GOOD....and I know it is hard to do. AND I will also need to know...FOR A FACT...if these 'small clear circles' as you put it are actually IN the clear or under it. AND that may require some serious magnification ...such as a 10x jewelers loop.

DUB

Dt86

I have read lots of complaints on the quality of the factory paint on the new vettes so you're not alone. Have you mentioned the issue with your dealer?

1974CorvetteJimCr

Sounds like a warranty issue to me.

petethib8

DUB, These were present on the first detailing I put on the car, the second day I had it home. Unfortunately the car is outside. I thought after I polished the car once or twice they may come out. No such luck. So I bought the custom fit Stingray outdoor cover from the dealership. Used it for about three nights straight and noticed it looked like it was rubbing the paint as well. I no longer use the cover because of it. My wife's car is outside as well like I stated and does not have these issues. When i return home I have to broing the car to the dealership for another issure but will point it out then. Also will do my best to get pictures that show this.

DUB

Thanks for the reply and will wait when you get back and can post photo's.

DUB

speck

I have a 2008 C6 that I bought used. My BIL helped me detail it. After we were done, we noticed that there are the little circles you describe all over the place. No amount of compound/polish/wax seemed to make a difference. I've seen lots of explanations but nothing about how to get rid of these defects. I keep it covered and garaged when I'm not out joy riding.

DUB

HOW it was detailed has everything to do with it. Getting swirl marks...or the really fine micro scratches...is all done when someone is polishing on the car incorrectly or are not getting the specific stage of polishing to the point where they are able to be taken out. Simple as that. It has all to due with technique...how clean the environment is where the car is being polished. So..polishing on your car expecting it to be 'swirl free'...and doing it where the wind is blowing or can blow into the garage...is where a problem can begin. ALSO..knowing how to determine when a pad is dry and actually putting the scratches right back into the finish. Because I know I can not be the only person who can polish a black finish and get it to look like a pool of black oil.....flawless.

DUB

speck

Sorry, I guess I didn't describe what I am seeing correctly. I know about swirl marks, where they come from and what to do about them. I wish that was my problem, it would have been fixed already! The circles I am seeing are all complete circles about 1/4 to 1/2 inches in diameter. They look like water spots left on a glass. The surface feels smooth, that is, the circles can not be felt by wiping you hand over the surface. They are clearly visible if a light is shined on the paint at a sharp angle. I'm not sure I can successfully photograph them. I'll try when I'm home after New Years.

DUB

I have to ASSUME that these small circles are ONLY on the top surfaces...and NOT on the sides of the car....correct????

Has this car ever been covered OUTSIDE???? If so...with what?

DUB

speck

DUB to tell you the truth, I really have no way of knowing. I appear to be the third owner with the first one being in West Virginia and the other one being the dealership. Yes, the spots I'm seeing are only in the upper surfaces not the sides. There are some signs that it spent some of its life sitting in the sun. For example, the headlight lenses were badly clouded, enough so the somebody replaced the driver side. As far as my ownership, I've only had it a few months. I keep it covered and garaged. The cover is a 3 layer indoor/outdoor rated cover. I live in Florida so there's always a good chance of getting caught in a rainstorm. When that happens, I wipe it down when I get home so the rain drops don't dry in it. It runs great and unless you get really close, it looks like brand new. It just bugs me that I can't seem to get these circles out of the paint. I've even considered wet sanding a section to see if that helps.

Thanks Dub!

Art

DUB

Art.

DO a VERY SMALL test spot and see what that does. OR...have you tired to use a jewelers loupe and look at these circles under severe magnification. It is worth doing so.

I do know that sometimes if you have hard water spots..and try to buff them out...getting the paint hot only causes them to sink deeper.

AND...I restored a 1980 Corvette...and the rear back glass and the T-tops were so badly hard water spotted....I mean numerous layers where the glass was so bad ...you could not really see out the rear glass. I used CLR ( Calcium Lime Rust) and saturated paper towels and removed the rear glass and t-tops and kept the paper towels saturated...and let it sit like that for a good day. The I took super fine steel wool and actually got all of the spots out and the t-tops and back glass looked spotless.

I really would look really close at them under magnification.

Just be aware that if your car is outside and it is covered...and it gets wet....and then dries...regardless of the car cover ans what they CLAIM....it still reduces air movement due to being covered and it can cause for issues to arise. It seems like to take the time needed...but just do not let it fool you...sometimes the car just needs to be a car and allowed to totally dry out and not be covered up.....especially if it has been rained or washed.

DUB

DUB