Water Spots in Brand New C8 Corvette - DOCUMENT PRE-EXISTING DAMAGE

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Water Spots in Brand New C8 Corvette - DOCUMENT PRE-EXISTING DAMAGE


Here's a video showing the current condition of the paint on a BRAND NEW C8 Corvette. This car has 91 miles on it. I did a waterless prep-wash[/b] and then using the Speed Master Swirl Finder Light, I show you what I'm seeing in the paint.

This video is hosted on my Facebook page, sorry about that.

Water Spots On Brand New C8 Corvette with 93 miles




Here's the video on my Instagram page...

Water Spots On Brand New C8 Corvette with 93 mile




:dunno:

 

[Billy Baldone]

Looked just like how a brand new black Tesla gets delivered. Mike do think this was all after it left the factory?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Mike do think this was all after it left the factory?

My guess is yes.

The holograms, the round dull spots on the front of the car probably from the factory.

The large weird circles on the top of the car just in front of the back window? I have know idea. I keep thinking maybe some kind of magnetic base light?


I have know idea. :dunno:


I called the owner, he said all he did was pick the car up from the dealership and drive it a bit and then drop it off with me.


The water spots are actual ETCHINGS in the paint. These type of etchings I share here,

Imprint Rings - A specific type of water spot on car paint by Mike Phillips



Next I'm going to do the Baggie Test. I hope the paint feels smooth and clean. The Baggie Test will tell me the accurate condition of the surface.

 

[firecorgi]

Wow...just...WOW! Mike, was this the car you mentioned in the Favorites of 2020 video the other day?

Steve

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Wow...just...WOW! Mike, was this the car you mentioned in the Favorites of 2020 video the other day?

Steve

Apologies, but I don't remember the context of my comment? Can you job my memory?

This is the 2nd or 3rd C8 I've detailed this year.

Heck, I don't even like working on these things - WAY TOO MANY PLANES.


:buffing:

 

[2black1s]

Wow!

What a disaster for a brand new high end car.

I have to believe the water spots are from either a sprinkler system or from rinsing the car at the dealership without drying it. Dealers tend to do that around here... they will rinse the cars on the lot almost daily to remove the accumulated dust without drying them. Rain water, at least around here, doesn't seem so aggressive.

Speaking of water spots, I don't ever remember water spots being such an issue in days past. It seems to me that clear urethanes are more susceptible to etching than paints of old. I can remember some single stage metallics that would discolor, or stain, from water spots, but I don't recall etching as being an issue. It might just be my recollection being a little off, but I just don't remember etching from water spots being a significant issue like we see today.

As for the holograms and possible strike-throughs, I have bought three new cars in the past 20 years, and on each of them I have requested the car in the "as-recieved" condition from the dealership to prevent such issues. One of those, a '97 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, I was actually at the dealership to see the car off the transporter.

 

[firecorgi]

A relatives car? Either way...what a mess and shows the importance of doing a through inspection.

 

[glen e]

My guess, from working in car dealerships for the past 30 years, is this is caused by the bulk car wash sprayers they do via truck in the new car inventory and used car areas….They clean a lot of cars quickly, and none of them done well. Then they are not dried well at all, the sun heats up the paint, especially black, and burns in the etch.....

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Update


Prep Process

Did a Prep Wash using SONAX Glass Cleaner - entire car including wheels and tires.

Used Pinnacle Ultra Fine Poly Clay and SONAX Glass Cleaner to clay entire car including glass.


Paint Correction

I started the paint correction, I think at 3:30pm, I can look at the time stamp on my pictures to find out. I finished at 5:30pm.


Here's what I used,

1. CBEAST with 6" backing plate
2. RUPES 7" white foam finishing pad.
3. Dr. Beasley's NSP 45

Buffed out the entire car including all the glass. Took me 30 minutes to wipe off the Dr. Beasley's NSP 45


Andre gave me some new towels to test out and write a review for, at first I didn't like them because normally I'm not a big fan of fluffy towels, (these things are the cousin to the Cookie Monster), but after wiping off the NSP 45 - I'd call these NSP Safety Removal Towels. They worked perfect.


Done for the night, won't get to the installing the coating until tomorrow after work. Will share a few pictures via TapaTalk later, time to get on the road.

Here’s NSP removed but no coating yet.

 

[98CayenneTA]

I love the new C8. That black should look pretty wicked when you're done.

Possibly a rotary held in place for a while on that front bumper......

I really despise dealerships but I guess I shouldn't because they keep me in business.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here’s the other C8 I detailed when I did a review for BLACKFIRE Black Edition when it was launched.

This is after a day on the Sebring Race Track.

What a mess!

:bolt:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

This is the water beading picture from the first C8 I detailed

I’ll be installing the BLACK EDITION on the new C8 tomorrow night.

We also de-badged the newer C8

Stay tuned...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[muaddba]

So, was the spot on the hood where you suspected burn-through actually burned through? Were you able to get out the scrape/smudge from the roof?

More importantly, I assume you've now removed some of the super-thin clearcoat (which gets thinner and thinner as cars have gotten newer) from pretty much the entirety of this new car. When you've done that, do you recommend multiple coats of a tough coating of some kind? In other words, how do you add maximum protection to this paint so that any future damage that may occur does as little damage to the actual paint as possible? Would you, for example, tell the customer to demand the dealer pay for a partial or full PPF coating due to the delivered damage (assuming he didn't get a discount on the car due to the damage).

 

[zvez]

I'm with you, the c8 is the best looking vette ever.

 

[57Rambler]

I'm with you, the c8 is the best looking vette ever.

'63 Split-window coupes beg to differ ...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

So, was the spot on the hood where you suspected burn-through actually burned through?

Thank the Paint Gods - no.

Whatever the two circular dull areas were - they paint buffed back crystal clear. :dunno:

Were you able to get out the scrape/smudge from the roof?

Yes. That ended up being something smudged over the paint but under the smudge were scuffing of the paint. It's all been removed.

More importantly, I assume you've now removed some of the super-thin clearcoat (which gets thinner and thinner as cars have gotten newer) from pretty much the entirety of this new car.

When you've done that, do you recommend multiple coats of a tough coating of some kind? In other words, how do you add maximum protection to this paint so that any future damage that may occur does as little damage to the actual paint as possible?

I don't know that clearcoats have been getting thinner. My article on this topic states that the basecoat and primer coat need at least 2 mils of clear over them for the ENTIRE PAINT MATRIX to hold up over time. I don't think car manufactures need the headache of tens of thousands of customers bringing their cars back to dealerships for only putting 1 mill of clear over the basecoat.


Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips



As for what's left of the clear?

First - I used a FINE cut polish, Dr. Beasley's NSP 45 and a soft foam finishing pad so the amount of clear removed will be un-mearsurable.


Next - Instead of trying to apply something to be an the answer to thin paint - the real answer is for anyone that actually is educated about this topic and cares, (that's 2 things), they need to simply need to learn how to wash and dry the paint carefully.

When it comes to the paint and anything we apply to the paint how long either lasts always comes down to how WE TOUCH the paint. And yes, for the most part it is that simple.


Great questions, thanks for asking. :xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

***Update***

We used the C8 for TV commercials today. The car is two freaking cool to not have used it.

As of right now, (almost 5:00pm on Monday, December 21st), the car is in the garage. The paint has been polished with NSP 45 and then wiped clean.

Due to the volume of TV commercials we still have to shoot, I plan on finishing the coating on either Tuesday night after work, or Wednesday afternoon after Autogeek shuts down for Christmas.

 

[TMQ]

You ARE busy...!

Things been bit slow over the Holidays. Hope things pick up a bit more.

Tom

 

[kgs365]

watching !...great job Mike...

 

[2black1s]

Question...

When polishing an entire car, as done with this Corvette, then going back to wipe-down the whole car, how do you insure that you've removed all of the defects to your satisfaction before moving on around the car?

I'm a panel-by-panel guy. I do each step one panel at a time so that I can inspect my work in real time. If not to my satisfaction I'll repeat the step, either to areas of or to the entire panel as necessary, until it is to my satisfaction before moving on to the next panel. Then, once the first step is completed I'll proceed panel-by-panel with the next step, or steps, if any, in the same manner.

It just seems to me that if you polish the entire car before going back to wipe-down, there's a fair chance that you're going to find areas that need more work during that wipe-down and inspection. At least that is my experience.

I understand that a test spot to determine the process and effort needed was most likely performed, but a test spot is just that - a test spot, not the entire car.

This is more of a process question, not necessarily specific to the subject Corvette or directed exclusively to Mike, so please chime in with any thoughts you may have.