Dr Gong

I am looking for some guidance here (Sorry it requires such a long explanation). I have a 2004 TSX (Metallic Silver) with about 34,000 miles. I had some warranty repair work done last fall on the black trim of the side windows (the vertical trim between front and rear door windows). It is just a tape coating and was starting to bubble (I guess a common problem on some older TL’s). The dealer said it’s a pain to replace the tape, so they sent it to a body shop (outsourced) and had the trim on both sides painted black. It looked very good at first. However, this summer it started to fade and looked very discolored. I took it back to the dealer a couple weeks ago and the body shop painted again, realized I would likely have the same problem, and ended up putting new tape on all the window trim. 8 days later, I finally get the car back and the trim looks good.

THE PROBLEM: When they tried painting for the second time, the body shop got a fair amount of overspray on the roof of the car. Right above the trim, on BOTH sides, there is about 2-3 square inches of dense black (maybe 30-40% transparency). And remember, this is a Metallic Silver car! These two spots are very visible, and you can feel a lighter overspray on at least half of the entire roof, including the sunroof.

I have fears that however they fix this will affect the integrity of the roof for future rust protection.

I have an appointment at the dealer Monday to discuss with the service manager. Will this be easy for them fix? Should I be concerned? Please let me know your thoughts!!

If it ever stops raining, I will try to get some pictures posted.

hrj

iTrader: (1)

you have to buff it off asap, otherwise it will stay there forever.. try to buff it off with menzerna intensive polish, this is the best ive tried so far.. or go to a pro detailer, they should be able to remove it..

Dr Gong

They removed the tape before painting, but still a bad idea in hindsight. Thanks for the tips!

jlukja

You may want to post this same question in our Wash & Wax forum. It'll get more visibility and a number of car care professionals visit there frequently.

curls

A professional-grade clay-bar treatment might be the best place to start, as its the LEAST abraisive of the potential solutions.

If that doesn't work, hit it with a light-action machine buffing. If that doesn't work, move up a notch in the abraisiveness and then once you get it off, re-polish the area to glass-smooth. Re-wax, and be done with it.

acn684

agree with curls, try some clay. that might be able to take it off. Do it asap too!

Brandon24pdx

A pro detail shop could take care of that.

rx280

As curls and acn684 said, paint-cleaning clay is probably your best bet, at least as an initial attempt. Clay really is amazingly effective at getting contaminants -- including overspray, according to the advertising -- off of car paint. I’ve never used it specifically to remove overspray, so I can’t assure you that it’s going to solve your problem, which sounds pretty severe, but I think it’s well worth trying. If you haven’t used clay before, just follow the instructions and be sure to keep the surface you’re working on wet with the lubricating spray. Good luck.

aaronng

Just use detailing clay. It works great to remove overspray.

CJams

Bingo!!!! Although don't use Griots Clay. For some reason it won't pull paint. But I think Clay is your best bet. If not, use like 4billion grit sand paper, but only as a last resort.

aaronng

A good one is Clay Magic red. It will cause marring, so you will have to use a light swirl remover after.

curls

I've used Mother's "California Gold" clay and it worked for light overspray before. It was a $20 CDN kit from Canadian Tire. I'm sure Autozone or other automotive stores will have Mother's or Meguiar's, which are both entry-level but should still work with a bit of effort.