Shipping "residue" on paint and glass
 

I'm not sure what exactly it is, but on areas of the car that wasn't covered by that white shipping adhesive/tape/protectant, I'm seeing a what I can only describe as extremely fine sandpaper grit left on the paint and windshield. I have magnetic black so it is very noticeable to the eye but also to the finger tips. Has anyone else run into this on a freshly delivered car? I have called my dealer and will make an appointment next week for them to look at it, but wanted to see if you guys knew what it was. I will try to take a good picture of it tomorrow.

Be careful, some dealerships would offer to remove the residue but then leave nothing but swirls behind. Depends on how good the hired help is at detailing.....

Good luck and congrats on getting your car!

Exactly. I'd invest in a Clay bar and do it myself.

I certainly wouldn't let the "wash bay guys" do anything, I would require this to be done professionally by their body shop. But have you guys seen this kind of thing before/do you know what I'm talking about? This is not a $20k econobox and yes, I've read the threads on how cruddy the paint is on these cars, but this is simply unacceptable.

Fortunately, I don't think it's a defect in the paint as like I said, I'm seeing the same "residue" or grit on the windshield as well. So I'm hoping that that the ultimate solution, regardless of who does it, is just a clay bar.

clay it! :tup:

If it came by train there is always some "rail grime". Gotta clay bar that baby!!! Then wax

I will be (hopefully) taking her in to the dealer's body shop on Monday for them to assess. I don't have a problem with claying her, I just don't want to screw it up and I would prefer if a professional did it, given she's brand spanking new!

I am also very disheartened to note that I have my first damned door scratch from an idiot in the GO Train parking lot (public transit) - I even parked between an Audi and a BMW after I scouted the lot for somewhere to park. *sigh* People just don't care for other people's property. Thank goodness it's not a dent, we'll see if it will come out...

Anyhow, I will report back sometime next week when I hear what the heck is up with my car's paint. I cannot wait to get her back and put layer upon layer of Meguiar's NXT wax then Carnuba...

I had some blemishes on the clear coat from the shipping protective "film" that Nissan puts on a lot of the surface. Couldn't really see it unless you looked carefully (color is PG). I decided to wax the finish and that cleaned up all the clear coat issues. Now, the paint is as close to perfection as you'll see.

? You said your color is PG but your signature says Carbon Silver...

He's probably in a Canada...

Yes, that's for you U.S. folks. In Canada, that color is called "Carbon Silver". Same thing, different country.

Thought I'd provide an update to those interested. Long story short: everything has worked out and though I have yet to detail her to get a final judgment, the "problem areas" that I sampled looked excellent when I went to pick the car up.

All right, so when I left you guys about two and a half weeks ago, the car had what I now know as "rail dust" on areas not protected/covered during shipping. So I booked an appointment with my dealership (Burlington Nissan) on Aug 17 and while, surprisingly, they couldn't initially see or feel what I was referring to, they brought out some of their detailers who saw/felt the rail dust and said they've dealt with it before. I was very clear up front about where the affected areas were, what my expectations were, and what I wanted to see when all was said and done. They assured me that everything would be fine and as up until this point, I've had nothing but terrific service from them, I had no reason to think otherwise.

So a few days pass and I go to pick up the car on Aug 21 and to my dismay, not only had they not fixed the problem - they've added several scratches in the process. Immediately I spoke to my sales manager and the dealership's head sales manager and voiced my disappointment in a very calm, cool and professional manner (it was everything I could do not to flip out). When the two managers came out to see the car, they were having troubles seeing/feeling the rail dust and couldn't see some of the scratches, claiming "they must be getting old".

At this point, I didn't want them touching my car again so I said this car would be going to a professional body shop and they would be handling the bill. After a little bit of chit chat, they said to go for a quote saying that "Nissan's pockets weren't bottomless" and to follow up with them on Monday. So, I did just that and took it to CARS in Burlington on Aug 24 and had a good chat with their manager and explained the situation.

Unlike the dealership, the manager from CARS knew exactly what I was referring to, saw the issue and knew exactly how to fix it. Fast forward another few days to Aug 28 and I am extremely pleased with the result. Like I said, I still have to properly detail the car to thoroughly check it over but the few spots I checked when I went to pick up the car that were particularly bad, looked almost spotless. CARS also appeared to removed most of the scratches that the dealership had put on and yes, Burlington Nissan footed the bill. CARS had used a few coats of "fallout remover", several washes, a 3M black polish, and then my Meguiars NXT wax.

So in the end, barring any surprises when I go to clean the car, everything appears to have worked out. But Burlington Nissan definitely lost a customer as while they ultimately ended up doing the right thing, the car should never have been delivered to me with the rail dust still on it and I was overall not pleased with the attitude I received when trying to explain my situation to them. So I've already logged a complaint with Nissan Canada and will be following up with them in the next few days to tell him how everything worked out.

Let's just hope that this is the worst that this car goes through. I'm wondering if I should still clar bar it though… I don't want to risk screwing something up but if there is any rail dust left, I would like to get it out before it rusts. Thoughts? I'll report back once I've had a chance to take a closer look.