I recently was involved in a fender bender , anyhow when i went to pick up my car from the body shop, they told me that they put a coat of wax on the car (no clay or polish) as well as fixing the bumper damage. initially i was satisfied and with a quick visual inspection, the wax job appeared to be fine. when i got home, i ran my hand accross the finish and realized that it was fairly coarse, pretty much on the entire car (car was not repainted). any ideas as to what could have caused this? after reading some threads here it seems that claying the car would be the next logical step to hopefully remedy this problem? thanks in advance for any feedback on this matter folks.

 

Overspray from them painting other cars most likely. Get the Meguiar's clay kit and clay away the bumps

 

Yup, does sound like overspray.

 

thanks for the replies folks! one more question, assuming that the clay takes care of my problem, is it okay if i don't apply a sealant immediately after the claying? i don't own a buffer yet so i was thinking that i'd take the car some place to get a professional wax job so i could watch them to figure out proper techniques etc. i just don't trust myself yet!

 

after u clay, u can put a couple layers of wax. it'll give better protection compared to nothing at all.

 

You do not have to wax it immediately so if you want to wait to get a professional job its ok. But if it were me i would try to get it hand waxed. You dont really want to buff the car unless you have too. If you do get it buffed keep a lot of wax on the car to minimize the swirls.

 

I'd take it back and tell them your car is covered with overspray and make them clay it. This is not something you should have to repair when their sloppiness caused it.

BTW, you said you had body work done. If this included paintwork they should not have waxed that area so soon. Fresh paint should not be waxed for at least 30 days.

If you do clay it yourself, I'd follow it up with a sealant even though you want to take it to a pro for polishing and waxing anyway. Sealant is not very costly and it will keep your bare paint protected until you get a pro lined up so you will have lost nothing but a hour or so. Bird droppings on bare paint can etch the paint an a couple hours.

Be aware that for what the pro will charge, you can purchase the PC and products to do your own polishing and waxing several times over. If you want to see how it is done you can search youtube as there are several excellent videos up there that show the entire process.

Lastly, and sadly, detailers are not certified. There are good detailers and there are bad detailers. Some are inexperienced and only a select few will do as good a job on your car as you will do yourself. You likely have more than money invested in your car and the detailer does not. Detailers need to do a car or two every day to make money. That is their primary goal. You will take whatever time is needed to do the job because it is your car and your passion in driving a perfectly detailed car. A detailer will be faster and a good detailer can produce excellent results in less time than you initially because they have developed and honed their techniques. You can develop that same technique in a couple attempts.

If you still wish to have a detailer do your car choose carefully. Ask your friends and relatives for recommendations. Seek out sources on Autopia and Meguiar's forum sites for recommendations. Above all, remember that any jackal can hang out a Detailer sign. Look over the detailers work space. Look at how clean it is, how well lit it is, what products he uses and how he treats his tools. Ask him for a few references and ask to see a car he working on.

If really don't want to do this kind of work yourself and you find a good detailer be sure to tip him well.

 

Many thanks to everyone for the extremely helpful tips ! I had originally considered taking my car back to the body shop however i'm thinkin that it might not be the best idea considering the quality of their work the first time around. anyhow, after reading these posts i've decided to tackle this problem myself without seeking the help of a "professional." once again, thanks everyone.