New paint peeling after pressure washing

[Hooty]

Hey everyone,

I picked up my car from paint two weeks ago and decided to give it a wash yesterday. I used my gutless greenworks pressure washer - as I have done for years on all my cars - and began rinsing. When I got to the edge of the hood, paint chips immediately started flaking off and then peeled like onion skin.

I have been on the customer side of paintwork - from minor to full resprays - and never had an issue with pressure washing; especially with my puny electric machine. This is the painter’s second go at the job after the first spray was equally as brittle albeit nothing this egregious… only a front end full of chips after 2,000 miles.

What do you all think? Is this my fault? If not, what do you think has caused this type of paint failure?

Thanks,

Hooty

[bmwstephen]

Assuming the bodyshop prepped and painted it correctly, you made a cardinal sin by washing what is essentially fresh paint. Even the fine print from their invoice would likely instruct you not to wash it for at least a month until everything is fully outgassed and cured. Above all you used a pressure washer and would be cause enough not for them to warranty the work

[Braymond141]

Assuming the bodyshop prepped and painted it correctly, you made a cardinal sin by washing what is essentially fresh paint. Even the fine print from their invoice would likely instruct you not to wash it for at least a month until everything is fully outgassed and cured. Above all you used a pressure washer and would be cause enough not for them to warranty the work

Wrong, Stephen.

This is the result of poor prep/paint. Take it back.

[ScotcH]

Wrong, Stephen.

This is the result of poor prep/paint. Take it back.

Absolutely agree ... no way paint should peel like that from the primer!

[RRSperry]

That's some seriously bad work there.. Take it back to the guy, and hope he does better.

[Nova1]

I would ask for my money back to go elsewhere.

[E85STI]

Hopefully you can get a refund, as I wouldn't want to have the same person repaint it.

[Tom44]

Seems like the guy screwed it up twice, even when given a chance to fix it. Get your money back.

How much did you spend on the paint job? Was it a full respray w/ window and trim removed?
I’d be worried they screwed something else up when reinstalling trim or windows, if those were removed.

[Hooty]

Thank you all for your responses. The shop offered to fix the hood if I pay for materials but will not issue a refund.

By any chance does anyone know of a shop that might agree to attest (for a consulting fee, of course) to the poor quality of work?

Looks like I’m going the legal route.

[Tom44]

Thank you all for your responses. The shop offered to fix the hood if I pay for materials but will not issue a refund.

By any chance does anyone know of a shop that might agree to attest (for a consulting fee, of course) to the poor quality of work?

Looks like I’m going the legal route.

If you paid with a credit card, you could also see if you have protection. Those are usually capped to something around $2-$5k. Maybe higher if it’s an AMEX.

I also wonder if you can go through insurance for this. Your insurance carrier might have a shop you can take the car to that can verify this was damage caused by poor workmanship. Especially if the shop that did the paint job admitted it’s their mistake since they’re willing to redo the work, you def have a leg to stand on. You might have to pay a deductible but at least the legal mess is off your plate.

[golgo13]

Thank you all for your responses. The shop offered to fix the hood if I pay for materials but will not issue a refund.

By any chance does anyone know of a shop that might agree to attest (for a consulting fee, of course) to the poor quality of work?

Looks like I’m going the legal route.

If you haven't already, start getting copies of everything in writing. You're going to need it.

[NeilM]

All that said, who the hell pressure washes their car's body panels, and why? That seems like a clearly bad idea, except for a foam canon.

I do pressure wash my wheels, especially the inner barrels, because brake dust. My 1500 psi (?) Ryobi electric does a good job on that and causes no damage, but even if it didn't it's not too expensive to get a wheel refinished.

Neil

[Braymond141]

All that said, who the hell pressure washes their car's body panels, and why? That seems like a clearly bad idea, except for a foam canon.

I do pressure wash my wheels, especially the inner barrels, because brake dust. My 1500 psi (?) Ryobi electric does a good job on that and causes no damage, but even if it didn't it's not too expensive to get a wheel refinished.

Neil

EVERYONE with half a sense for detailing?!? There's no need to make him feel like he's doing something wrong. He's not. There's ZERO issue using a pressure washer.

[samy01]

The shop offered to fix the hood if I pay for materials but will not issue a refund.

How do they justify not refunding you if they admit their mistake by offering to fix if you pay material cost? Do they think they're doing you a favor?

[hakentt]

you can see the primer there and it appears it was not sanded down with 400 grit, that is required for new paint to adhere properly

[notMpowered]

All that said, who the hell pressure washes their car's body panels, and why? That seems like a clearly bad idea, except for a foam canon.

I do pressure wash my wheels, especially the inner barrels, because brake dust. My 1500 psi (?) Ryobi electric does a good job on that and causes no damage, but even if it didn't it's not too expensive to get a wheel refinished.

Neil

Who the hell doesn't pressure wash their cars is a more reasonable question.