I finally get to detail a Lotus Elise and BAM! Disaster!

S

Scottwax

New member
Pretty, ain't it?



Lotus1.jpg




I was polishing out a Lotus Elise today using my UDM, DAS Scratchbuster white pad and Optimum Compound (they have pretty hard paint!). I had opened the driver's door and was polishing the top of the door sill (you have to open the door to get to all of it). I was sitting down, putting moderate pressure on the UDM (so it was still spinning quickly), the speed was 6. All of a sudden, there was white foam everywhere and I immediately pull the machine off the car but the damage was done. A 1" spot on the leading edge of the door sill, right down to the primer. :wall



I showed the customer the spot and the pad and explained what happened. I was kind of suprised he showed so little reaction and simply said "well, that is obviously an accident". I told him I knew of a high quality body shop that specializes in high end cars and I personally know and trust the owner to do the work right and that I would pay for it.



Anyway, I switch to a Meguiars burgandy cutting pad to finish compounding the car, then the final polish (OP, yellow Meg's pad) and then sealed the paint. He asked me how much and I told him to get his car fixed first and that if it was all right with him, I'd just apply the cost of the exterior detail to the cost of repairing the door sill. I told him I wouldn't feel right taking his money at this point. I also offered to make up the differnce in detail work and that seemed to make him happy because other than the door sill, he seemed really happy with how the car turned out since I got out all the dealer installed swirls (except two small areas where it was obvious the paint was severely scuffed but even those areas were much less noticable) and 95% of the other defects in the paint.



He then mentioned he had thought of having that door sill repainted anyway due to some chips, so maybe he will call us even if the cost isn't too bad.



I felt really bad though, he called me because I was highly recommended on a Subaru board (he also has a WRX) and I end up damaging his car. :(



Anyway, here is the pad:



bad_pad1.jpg




You can see the hole in the back, burned right through in an instant.



bad_pad2.jpg
 
Ralliart16 said:
damn! how the hell did that happen?



at least you were honest and up front.
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when you are upfront you will be surprised of the owners reaction, I burned off some bumper paint with a rotary on a ML500 a few months ago, and the response was oh well Ill get it touched when I get the front done.



Great customers to have when there is an accident
 
What exactly happened, Scott? It burned through the pad and then the metal backing plate burned the car down to the primer, or how did it burn through the paint? The first picture shows like a big tear on the pad, but the second picture there isn't a tear but a hole in the back. Those are the same pad right? How is it oriented in the second picture, I don't see how it fits with the first one. Man, hopefully it won't cost you an arm and leg to get that thing repaired. Do you think that kind of malfunction could happen if you were using one of your other machines like the PC or Cyclo?
 
That small dot you see in the 2nd shot of the pad is the center of the pad and the pad tore from the center out to the edge. That burnt spot through the pad is along the tear you see in the first shot of the pad and I am guessing that is what actually damaged the paint as the backing plate made contact with the paint.



I am sure it is possible for the same thing to have occured with the PC but I use the Edge system with my Cyclo. Problem is, the Cyclo is pretty awkward to use on small cars like the Elise.
 
Damn Scott. I'm sorry that happend. Are you going to do anything about the pad, such as sending it back to the manufacturer? Could it have been user error or manu. error? once again, sorry for the bad luck with this one.
 
Wow Scott: I've had a few burns with a rotary at the shop, but never with a random orbital machine. I shredded a pad on a vehicle because I used a thin pad at an angle and the backing plate created enough pressure to burn the paint and shred the pad. I managed to pull off the work quickly (or, like you, the packing plate would have contacted the body panel).



Fortunately, I was able to airbrush the burn, then wet sand and compound. It came out 95% correct and it's black so if you aren't looking for it, you won't find it.



Sorry to see that happen, but it does to a lot of us from time-to-time.



Toto
 
I think that unfortunate experience was handled very well on both ends......



You were up front and gave him options and he was kind enough to understand.



Your good rep continues on Scott.........:xyxthumbs
 
This thread scares me, like when I used to ride my CBR and I would go to the CBR forums and read the wrecks section. Then I wouldn't ride for months!!
 
Scottwax said:
No idea. I've never seen a pad do that before.
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Me neither! Do you think the extra strength of the UDM makes this more possible? I alway believe in telling the customer when ever something happens. It makes things much worse when you try to hide them and they find it.
 
Man, that's gotta be every pro detailer's nightmare...(or amateur's for that matter)



Was the pad new or have you used it a few times already?
 
Note to self polish the top of Lotus door sill by hand.



Sorry to hear that Scott, whens the last time something like this happened to you?
 
Sounds like it worked out; I'd say you're smart for being up front but you've been doing this awhile, so you already knew that. :) Seems like it's happened to all of us at some point. I took off some paint when pulling a clear bra off the rocker of an old porsche once. :/
 
Glad to hear both sides worked out well. Props for telling the customer exactly what happened and offering to pay out of your own pocket to fix all of it :)
 
I agree, if I were the customer and would've hated for something like that to happen, I appreciate your honesty and definitely will not hesitate to go back to you again.
 
I remember using my spot pads on a hood of a f250, somehow on the curve I allowed the side of the bp to polish the paint. I thought it was doomed but I was able to make it completely non noticable. the thickness of the paint in that spot was most likely very decemated. I did tell him but seen how he didn't see anything he didn't care.
 
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