FAO paint experts

[sub39h]

hi guys,

relatively new around these here parts. i drive a Phantom Black A3 S-Line, which unfortunately a few months back was subject to a miscreant scratching his initials into the bonnet. around the time i was going to get it repaired i suffered more mishap in the form of a load tie flying off an HGV in front of me on the motorway and striking the bonnet 

i collected it last thursday from a non-approved bodyshop. they seem to have good credentials and they've even sprayed a couple of show winners lately. the gaffer is a VAG nut and has just finished a Mk1 GTI and has a Camper and a Beetle on the go at the moment. top bloke too, willing to source parts for me and hand me the trade discount without charging me a penny.

anyhow i collected it and initially was very happy with the work but later on in the day i noticed that if you look down the bonnet (as if you've just got out the car and are looking forwards) it looks a little ripply. it feels glass smooth and from any other angle it looks 100% spot on. should it be like this? i've tried to compare it to the factory paint on the wings and doors and it doesn't look dissimilar when looking from a similar angle, but with it being so wet lately it's a little difficult to make an objective comparison.

advice please?

regards,

S.

[stealthwolf]

If it's just the clearcoat, a bit of correction might sort it out. Needs a thorough assessment though.

[JPC]

Its probably a different level of orange peel. If its really really obvious, get it checked out by them again.

A good honest establishment won't mind sorting you out and making sure your happy but they have to be informed. I'm sure they'll see you right.


Just for references sake, orange peel won't change much at all with correction compounds and pads. It needs more abrasive work, dry sanding then wet sanding. Or just wet sanding depending on severity of said ripply finish

[sub39h]

thanks guys. well i'm popping by next week to collect the aforementioned parts so i'll have a word with him then.

it's not really really obvious, i'd imagine a random person off the street would never be able to tell. but we're enthusiasts so we play by slightly different rules. i don't wanna annoy this guy, he's bent over backwards for me thus far so i just wanna check i'm not being unreasonable

[sub39h]

took it back and showed them it today. they noticed the problem themselves and are gonna have a go at fixing it. i have faith in them so i've got some more work booked with them and they're gonna do it then

[sub39h]

ok took it down today and they spent an hour on it as i was in a rush. it looks a bit better but they said ideally they need more time. going back for some other work so they'll finish it off them. i know we're not out of the woods yet but looks like disaster averted!