Hi,
I’ve been handwashing my car since it was delivered on March 27th 2020. I have noticed that there is significant etching in the clearcoat, even after using tar remover and clay bar and light polish with DA polisher. The bonnet and all horizontal surfaces are similarly affected (wing flares, bootlid, front bumper PU). I believe the clearcoat is defective as I’ve never seen such extensive etching in such a short period of time. The paint is smooth to the touch after using tarspot remover and clay bar, so it’s not adhered to the surface - It actually appears to have eaten into the clear coat.
I’ve cleaned the car weekly since it was delivered , using pre-wash, jetwash, handwash and dry. I noticed this when taking the car out of direct sunlight to wax it. I’ve tried a polish and it is only maybe 10% better. To try and buff out with cutting compound is going to take too much clear coat out – it’s 120-140 microns across most of the bonnet and horizontal surfaces from my paint thickness gauge.
I’m absolutely gutted as this cannot be removed by ‘normal’ cleaning – this is a brand-new car and I’ve done everything I can to keep it clean and it shouldn’t happen. I’ve shown the car to my valeter, and he’s only seen one other car (out of thousands) with clearcoat damage like this (a 911 GT3). The car’s paint shouldn’t be damaged so readily with just being parked up and washed carefully once a week, in line with the manufacturer’s recommendation. If it is expected, it clearly isn’t fit for purpose as this is a nearly new vehicle and it shouldn’t look like this at six weeks and 377 miles on the clock.
What I’d like to happen:
Regards,
Alex
I’ve been handwashing my car since it was delivered on March 27th 2020. I have noticed that there is significant etching in the clearcoat, even after using tar remover and clay bar and light polish with DA polisher. The bonnet and all horizontal surfaces are similarly affected (wing flares, bootlid, front bumper PU). I believe the clearcoat is defective as I’ve never seen such extensive etching in such a short period of time. The paint is smooth to the touch after using tarspot remover and clay bar, so it’s not adhered to the surface - It actually appears to have eaten into the clear coat.
I’ve cleaned the car weekly since it was delivered , using pre-wash, jetwash, handwash and dry. I noticed this when taking the car out of direct sunlight to wax it. I’ve tried a polish and it is only maybe 10% better. To try and buff out with cutting compound is going to take too much clear coat out – it’s 120-140 microns across most of the bonnet and horizontal surfaces from my paint thickness gauge.
I’m absolutely gutted as this cannot be removed by ‘normal’ cleaning – this is a brand-new car and I’ve done everything I can to keep it clean and it shouldn’t happen. I’ve shown the car to my valeter, and he’s only seen one other car (out of thousands) with clearcoat damage like this (a 911 GT3). The car’s paint shouldn’t be damaged so readily with just being parked up and washed carefully once a week, in line with the manufacturer’s recommendation. If it is expected, it clearly isn’t fit for purpose as this is a nearly new vehicle and it shouldn’t look like this at six weeks and 377 miles on the clock.
What I’d like to happen:
- Arrange for inspection at a Tesla approved body shop
- Rectification of problem – this won’t be fixable with compound and polish without thinning the paint finish unacceptably (this is a six week old car with 300 miles!).
- Spray the affected areas to fix the clearcoat, or replace the car
Regards,
Alex