Bad Finish on 2003 Grand Am GT

[chris21]

I bought a neww 2003 Grand Am. I washed it on the 3rd day and discovered rail dust all over the vehicle, it had 200 KM on it at the time. I brought it in to dealership and body shop said they would gel it and remove raildust. Well turns out they clayed it instead of geling it, without aking me if clay was OK, plus it didn't work, still spots all over it. First since it is new car, is claying a car going to leave clear coat in the exact condition it left factory. i don't want the dealer claying car, ifit has just the slightest affect on clear coat. Should i be asking for them to replace barnd no car with an unmarked one. What is everyone opinion.

[DJCobol]

Clay wont hurt the clearcoat at all. They are designed to take off surface contaminets without hurting your finish. I would be more concerned with them using a buffer or something like that on it. I picked up my '03 GT with a series of horrible swirl marks across the top ridge of the hood. The dealership asked if I wanted them to buff them out and my response was "How do you think they got there in the first place. Dont touch my car."

Got home, clayed the entire car, used Scratch-X on 2 problem areas (thanks inattentive assh*les at work!) and then used Zaino to get rid of the swirls. She looks better than brand new now.

If the dealership cant even figure out how to get raildust off, they have some serious problems. Tell them to fix it. But for your own sake, dont let them use a buffer. Either that or fix it yourself. You know the old saying, "If you want something done right you gotta do it yourself". Truer words have never been spoken.

[Panacea]

Raildust is very common in new cars. There's really no way around it.

As was said, claybarring will not harm the car at all. Look in the "All Shine" section and look at the claybarring threads!