[SoCalGuy]

So after picking up my Karma a few weeks back from my dealer, in the fluorescent lights of the dealership at night I noticed swirls/buff marks for lack of a better term on the hood, by the A-pillar and by the C-pillar that weren't there before. You really can't see the hood or A-pillar one during the daytime but under certain conditions, its very clear. I'm not sure how they got there, but the dealer is going to fix it by 'wet sanding' the paint. They've assured me this won't damage the clear coat or the underlying paint. Should I be concerned?

Here are some photos of my issues. Anyone else have these problems?

 

[jrocks]

Here's some info for ya... Be careful with wet sanding...


http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?2646-Does-Wetsanding-Clear-Coat-Failure

 

[Harleyguy]

Those are called buffer trails . From your picture it doesn't look like the car needs to be wet sanded if it needs to be wet sanded it will remove some clear coat and depending how deep the marks are determines how much clear coat will be removed . I also do car detailing and wet sanding . Buffer trails are caused by the detail department using a rotary buffer and this is very common . Rotary is the fastes why to detail a car but leaves the most left over problems like buffer trails . I use a rotary to remove most of the paint defects and then use a DA to finish . DA won't leave buffer trails .

The way you can tell if it's buffer trails when the car is out in the sun do the marks almost look like a rainbow or a Hologram if it does then it doesn't need wet sanding I've detailed many Karma's and not yet seen any paint impure factions that would need wet sanding . I usually have to wet sand when you see heave orange peel or pic tails left over from poor paint prep . I try to stay away from wet sanding like i said sand clear coat it thins out the clear coat wet sand to much and you blow though the clear coat and damage the base coat . Also by the way Fisker uses a 3 stage paint .

 

[Sigurd]

Those are called buffer trails . From your picture it doesn't look like the car needs to be wet sanded if it needs to be wet sanded it will remove some clear coat and depending how deep the marks are determines how much clear coat will be removed . I also do car detailing and wet sanding . Buffer trails are caused by the detail department using a rotary buffer and this is very common . Rotary is the fastes why to detail a car but leaves the most left over problems like buffer trails . I use a rotary to remove most of the paint defects and then use a DA to finish . DA won't leave buffer trails .

The way you can tell if it's buffer trails when the car is out in the sun do the marks almost look like a rainbow or a Hologram if it does then it doesn't need wet sanding I've detailed many Karma's and not yet seen any paint impure factions that would need wet sanding . I usually have to wet sand when you see heave orange peel or pic tails left over from poor paint prep . I try to stay away from wet sanding like i said sand clear coat it thins out the clear coat wet sand to much and you blow though the clear coat and damage the base coat . Also by the way Fisker uses a 3 stage paint .

Great information. Thanks Harleyguy.

 

[ixtractm]

Those are called buffer trails . From your picture it doesn't look like the car needs to be wet sanded if it needs to be wet sanded it will remove some clear coat and depending how deep the marks are determines how much clear coat will be removed . I also do car detailing and wet sanding . Buffer trails are caused by the detail department using a rotary buffer and this is very common . Rotary is the fastes why to detail a car but leaves the most left over problems like buffer trails . I use a rotary to remove most of the paint defects and then use a DA to finish . DA won't leave buffer trails .

The way you can tell if it's buffer trails when the car is out in the sun do the marks almost look like a rainbow or a Hologram if it does then it doesn't need wet sanding I've detailed many Karma's and not yet seen any paint impure factions that would need wet sanding . I usually have to wet sand when you see heave orange peel or pic tails left over from poor paint prep . I try to stay away from wet sanding like i said sand clear coat it thins out the clear coat wet sand to much and you blow though the clear coat and damage the base coat . Also by the way Fisker uses a 3 stage paint .

Please excuse my ignorance but what is "DA"?

 

[LonePalmBJ]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is "DA"?

A Dual Action polisher. Also referred to as an Orbital.

See this link for more info:
http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html

From the Article: Dual Action polishers are characterized by the motion of the head. It spins on a central spindle, and this spindle rotates around an eccentric offset. A good metaphor for a dual action polisher is the earth's orbit. The earth itself spins and it also orbits around the sun. Dual action polishers are also called orbital polishers for this reason.

 

[ixtractm]

Those are called buffer trails . From your picture it doesn't look like the car needs to be wet sanded if it needs to be wet sanded it will remove some clear coat and depending how deep the marks are determines how much clear coat will be removed . I also do car detailing and wet sanding . Buffer trails are caused by the detail department using a rotary buffer and this is very common . Rotary is the fastes why to detail a car but leaves the most left over problems like buffer trails . I use a rotary to remove most of the paint defects and then use a DA to finish . DA won't leave buffer trails .

The way you can tell if it's buffer trails when the car is out in the sun do the marks almost look like a rainbow or a Hologram if it does then it doesn't need wet sanding I've detailed many Karma's and not yet seen any paint impure factions that would need wet sanding . I usually have to wet sand when you see heave orange peel or pic tails left over from poor paint prep . I try to stay away from wet sanding like i said sand clear coat it thins out the clear coat wet sand to much and you blow though the clear coat and damage the base coat . Also by the way Fisker uses a 3 stage paint .

Please excuse my ignorance but what is "DA"?

I just bought a Porter Cable orbital buffer. Do you think that has the potential for leaving a buffer trail?