# VW Approved smart repair- In need of someone good at wet sanding...



## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

Well, after the main dealer suggested I do come back to get my scratches fixed as corrosion might take hold if I ignored it, here is the result:



















Poor pictures, I hope the paint even matches as I picked it up tonight, under artifical lights.
It was totally excpected- they didn't even wash the car before the did the work. Just a quick wipe- with all the winter grime that was still on it.
The result it, and I'm not a bodywork expert in the slightest is a good dose of orange peel, loads of those 'hard dots' in the paint- dunno what they are, and tons of swirls...
The car did need detailing but I would like to find someone who could bring the paint back to its former glory- I assume this is done by sanding the paint?
I'm in the south yorkshire area but willing to travel for the job to be done 100%.


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## P.A.D (Jun 26, 2008)

That's appalling dude,

get the bodyshop who done the work to sort it out to your satisfaction.

I wouldn't accept that as it is...


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## Hoovie (Sep 3, 2008)

They lacquered over the dirt?!
Sounds like forget a correction polish - needs it taking back to before they started and then some more to be rid of the bad job!

Was it done in-house or did they bring in a third party SMART (or not so smart) Repairer?


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## woodym3 (Aug 30, 2009)

Straight back to the bodyshop mate.


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

butchers take it back :devil:


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

Yikes!


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## JamesGBR (Dec 11, 2012)

Yeah thats a none starter for collection. take it to a professional company


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

You can tell they can't be arsed- and to be honest they've told me they have to do it as cheap as possible- it's pretty clear this is as good as it's going to get...
I'd just rather have someone I can trust 'fix it'. It's disapointing but so many people do not take pride in their work- it's profit before customer satisfaction.


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## CTR De (Feb 10, 2011)

:wall::wall::wall:


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## Hoovie (Sep 3, 2008)

There's cheap and there is plain incompetence!


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## P.A.D (Jun 26, 2008)

Hoovie said:


> There's cheap and there is plain incompetence!


Ain't that the truth dude.

Shambles.


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

I'm hoping a good detailer should be able to bring it back to looking good again. Pronto!


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## Z4-35i (Jun 12, 2012)

That's really poor work and something you shouldn't have to accept. I think we have a better paint finish on the side of our washing machine.


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## Bryno (Oct 31, 2012)

Always suprises me the appauling quality of work you see out of dealer body shops, particually insurance repairs, and how many people just accept it.. I always start by telling the body shop I am a very, very, very fussy customer.. 

Hope they sort it to your satisfaction mate.


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

And more, in the light of day:


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## MK1Campaign (Mar 27, 2007)

Don't touch it. It's needs redoing.


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

Bring it down to me mate and i will have a look for you and advise whether it can be done, or i am in Rotherham tomorrow morning if you are anywhere near there.


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## Mikej857 (Jan 17, 2012)

Sorry but by the looks of the pits in the paint even wet sanding wont get rid of those and it needs stripping back and repainting


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## jolls (Dec 25, 2012)

Mikej857 said:


> Sorry but by the looks of the pits in the paint even wet sanding wont get rid of those and it needs stripping back and repainting


From the pictures it looks like there is silicon in the paint and has been said these will need flatting back and repainting as just flatting back and polishing will not remove them completely. That "finish" is unacceptable.


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

I wish the paint could be taken off again!


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)




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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

I wish stevie wonder would stick to trying to play the piano.
What did he do just pour the paint on straight out of the tin...
Personally i would do them a favour with a few gallons of petrol and box of matches and get rid of that workshop... ( sorry abortion centre not workshop)


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

Well I got my car back this afternoon! It was this time sorted by the VW bodyshop. I'm no paint expert, but I cannot actually believe that the fish eyes are still there?? I give up- I don't actually know wether to laugh or cry- I've done everything I could but it seems to me that even VW customer services would consider you picky and would make you accept the repair.
To help matters the car has got horrendeous buffer trails- happy days!


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Dude where are you based? Why not get a local pro to go with you to the garage and explain things?


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

I have been back 3 times for this- they seem to have no idea what a good finish is. I don't mind buffer trails but fish eyes still being there. What did they do. I'm in Sheffield


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

They have clearly done a bad job lol. Same place each time?

I don't know where you stand, but if it's due to an accident or damage I'm sure YOU can choose where the car goes yourself, it's your choice

If not, go see russ at reflectology, he will guide you


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

Seems no one wants to touch it on here due to the fact that its unrescuable... Catch 22.


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

I totally understand their stand point as well. If these guys are that bad at their job, there is now way of knowing how much clear etc you have to play with, and how much is slapped on colour

Let it sit for a while, see if anyone will take on the job, if they dont, we are having a swaps meet near saddleworth (just off m62 near the farmhouse) at tue end of feb. There will be a few pro's and amatures alike with a fair few gauges etc. They can look it over and give an honest opinion on quality and future care :thumb:


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

Thanks for that. Might give that a go. So gutting- really was my pride and joy and now just doesn't feel the same...


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

sat1983 said:


> Thanks for that. Might give that a go. So gutting- really was my pride and joy and now just doesn't feel the same...


I had the same with a reflex silver golf. It was pretty upsetting. In fairness the job they did was above acceptable, but as you say, it's never the same, not really

Regarding the repair, as long as you are content to try to improve it and run a small risk, there are a few machine pads out there that level op to a certain extent. Perhaps a big improvement would suffice given the trouble you have had?


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

Yeah all I ask for is an improvement-No swirls for a start would be good!


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Give russ another try, he is near you and very good. If not, pm me for details of the meet. Even if you are sorted, it will still be a good day :thumb:


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

+^ russ :thumb:


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## tom-225 (Aug 30, 2009)

Try contacting your local pros wether it be an email or phone, i know that alot of them dont really get a chance to come on here and look at every thread.


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## NickCW (Dec 29, 2007)

I worked for VW not long ago, they have a massive drive on being one of the best in customer service in the UK, and they will bend over backwards for this.

Trust me if this was done at a main dealer I would complain to VW, you WILL get it sorted.
We used to bend over backwards for everything, because if you didn't and the customers complained and dropped your scores then thousands upon thousands of pounds in bonuses would be lost.

They took it very seriously, to the point of it being a pain in the ****.
So I would take it straught back, and if theres no joy ring VW customer service.

HTH.


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

NickCW said:


> Trust me if this was done at a main dealer I would complain to VW, you WILL get it sorted.


But they knew I wanted the panel 100%, they know how fussy I am, and STILL they did nothing but inflict more buffer trails.
It's incredible how useless they are- how can you trust folk? Maybe it's the best they can do- in which case what _do_ you do?!


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## M.J (Mar 17, 2010)

Can you get your money back?


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

See the problem is all they did was flatted it back wiped it with a tak rag and blew it in.
Now the problem arises if there was ( IS ) silicon present. As ANY spray man will tell you you cannot "sand" silicon away you can push it round and push it in but you just wont sand it away.
The ONLY way to remove silicon is with a type of panel wipe, now whether that be panel wipe or that be IPA they are basically the same so it doesnt really matter but THAT is the only way to shift it
So that panel will need panel wiping sanding right back to the depth of the fisheyes. Re panel wiping possibly twice then mist coating to ensure you have shifted all the silicon if you have flatting then painting if not more prep to remove it.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news there.
Allen


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

AllenF said:


> Sorry to be the bearer of bad news there.
> Allen


Not at all- thanks for your very informative point. They have sprayed it again since the first pics were posted. It's an improvement, now I've had chance to see the car clean but by no means perfect.
Some very small fisheyes remain (I think that's still what they are) but I could do with a pro to have a look at it!:buffer:


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

M.J said:


> Can you get your money back?


Not a chance- and getting too tired to fight. My health is bad enough as it without having to worry about this issue more seriously.


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Ok a fish eye looks like a small crater where the paint has "rolled" off the silicon and created a sort of "volcano" round a small area that if you look VERY hard at has no colour to it


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

AllenF said:


> Ok a fish eye looks like a small crater where the paint has "rolled" off the silicon and created a sort of "volcano" round a small area that if you look VERY hard at has no colour to it


Ok well there are some but it's a struggle to capture them on a picture so I guess it can't be that bad... It is annoying that you know they're there- but at this stage I think I'll just have to let it go as it is clear that they cannot seem to be able to do any better.
At least the scratch is gone, the orange peel matches the rest of the factory finish car (unlike the horrendeous finish on the 1st page of this thread) meaning no rust and 99% would never notice it has been sprayed when time comes to sell on.

I'm sure a pro could work their magic to improve the finish further, it's just finding one- seems they are reluctant to try it.


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

I cant speak for all only myself.
I personally would be retisent to touch it on the grounds that the fish eyes indicate silicon present. That being the case i wouldnt like to say what other steps have been skipped or corners cut on, fear of making it worse not better (and i'm confident and proficent with machining)


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## sat1983 (Jan 27, 2007)

I was promised the door would be resprayed at a VW approved bodyshop but I find it hard to believe the bodyshop is where the work was carried out... The top right of the picture especially shows the poor paint finish.
It's been difficult to take a pic of due to the weather we've had recently but if you zoom in, you can tell the same issues remain. We have the exact same line dividing the factory paint finish and the 'resprayed' part. The horrendous orange peel remains alongside 'fish eyes' in the paint which have still not been rectified properly. A bodyshop as far as I know should blend the paint to match the factory finish yet it looks like the original smart repair has been rectified slightly.
It still more or less looks as bad as it did!


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