Swirl Marks on new CX-5?

F

freelyfallin

Member
Hey all,
So I picked up a new Soul Red CX-5 a week ago with 93 miles on it. According to the sticker inside the door, it was manufactured in June 2014. Anyway, today I noticed very small lines in the paint which are only visible under direct sunlight. I did wash the car today in a touchless car wash (lots of salt on the car from snowstorms this last week), but I think the lines were there before. If I touch the car, the car feels completely smooth--can't feel the lines. I also noticed the lines are visible when the sun hits the headlights and taillights. I should mention when I picked up this car, it was after dark, so I didn't notice the lines then,

This being my first new car, I'm feeling a bit paranoid and wanting to make sure everything is as it should be. You can see the dealer installed pin stripe in these photos, which I plan on removing. I'm not even sure if these are swirl marks, but here's a few photos:

1) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3DMDxsayy42Ym5Jc3pOX3BERGdRVFBHQ25lZmI4aENQX0Rn/view?usp=sharing
2) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3DMDxsayy42ai0tYlF6cjlBMEZfMjh6V2EtNHdTa0E3QWQ0/view?usp=sharing
3) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3DMDxsayy42WmxkcERXakFub3d5QWVjY0IzcEJDZmVDZklr/view?usp=sharing

Are these swirl marks? Are swirl marks normal on new cars? Ie. did your CX-5's come with similar marks on them? Is this a problem I should be concerned about?

Thanks!
 
very likely from being cleaned at the dealership. since I got my new cx-5 I either hand wash, or touch less wash it. I don't use any car wash place because even hand wash places tend to put a dirty rag/brush (especially a dirty worn out brush) on your paint. Then they dry it with worn towels, or dirty leather rags.
 
Your new vehicle should not have swirl marks. Unfortunately, dealers often have GS drop outs, who don't give a darn, wash their vehicle or even go over then with a dry rag to dust them off. In the future, I would never let a dealer do a "free" wash job as a perk for having your car serviced there. ed
 
erhayes said:
Your new vehicle should not have swirl marks. Unfortunately, dealers often have GS drop outs, who don't give a darn, wash their vehicle or even go over then with a dry rag to dust them off. In the future, I would never let a dealer do a "free" wash job as a perk for having your car serviced there. ed
Click to expand...

So is there anything I can do about it now?
 
Dealer installed. You'll be lucky to have a dealer wash them with actual mitts. I've seen most (even Infiniti and Audi) dealerships pull the vehicles to the back, dunk a broom brush into a dirty bucket of soap, and go to town.

I always avoid stealership service because I know 99% couldn't care less about putting a few scratches in the paint, upholstery, or dinging up the interior plastics.
 
Yes. Most if not all new cars I've seen come with swirls. Unless they are FRESH from shipment with the plastic wrapping. If the wrapping is removed, then they most likely washed it with some sort of abrasive material without care.

High end dealerships like Tesla, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc are exceptions. Though I can't say that I haven't seen a new Porsche with swirls from dealer showroom/stock floor.

Have a laminated "DO NOT WASH" sign pre-made if you plan on visiting the stealership in the future with your car. I have a few for all four sides so the knuckle heads can actually noticed.
 
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SayNoToPistons said:
Yes. Most if not all new cars I've seen come with swirls. Unless they are FRESH from shipment with the plastic wrapping. If the wrapping is removed, then they most likely washed it with some sort of abrasive material without care.

High end dealerships like Tesla, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc are exceptions. Though I can't say that I haven't seen a new Porsche with swirls from dealer showroom/stock floor.

Have a laminated "DO NOT WASH" signed pre-made if you plan on visiting the stealership in the future with your car. I have a few for all four sides so the knuckle heads can actually noticed.
Click to expand...

What if anything can I do at this point? Is this a frustrating but somewhat inevitable part of buying a new car? Or do you think I could go back to the dealer and ask for something to be done at this point?

I'm also curious to hear from other CX-5 owners: who noticed swirl marks on your new car? After doing some research, it seems like these marks may be more accurately referred to as spider webbing....
 
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They couldn't care less. It has become the norm. Don't bother bringing it up to them, because the most they will do is bring it to their "in house detailer" and put more damage onto the paint. Last thing you want is someone to take a rotary polisher with an aggressive pad and compound and put holograms into your clearcoat and remove microns of it.

If you insist on removing the swirls, you have two options. Do research, buy equipment, and eliminate the flaws yourself and prevent future flaws from occurring. The other option is to find a REPUTABLE (very important) AND PROFESSIONAL detailer in your area to do the work for you. My preferred option is always the first as it ALWAYS pays for itself.

See these detailing community websites below:
http://www.autopia.org/
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/forum.php
 
The only thing it hurts is your perception of the vehicle. You have three options. !. Ignore 2. Do it yourself 3. professional help. I would first go to a real professional and get their opinion before doing anything. ed
 
It's pretty normal.. But easy fix if you know how to detail your car or take it to a professional for $300-$700 (depending on the quality/work/location/etc.) for a complete detailing.
 
You said it is a FIRST NEW CAR! CONGRATULATIONS! Nothing better than the new car driving off the lot feeling...

You can relax, and know that like your pin stripes, the swirl marks can be removed. However if your car ever gets hand washed or hand dried, you will have swirl marks again. With 93 miles on it when you took delivery, (most have 7-14 miles when ready for sale), I can imagine that yours got washed a few times before you got to it.

One of the things that I can hope to pass on, as I have had a few new cars too, is that CRAP HAPPENS. It might be the rock flying from the truck in front of you, the parking lot dinger, random animal encounters, petty thieves, etc.. The entire universe is out to pulverize your new car into it's individual atoms again. You can only do so much to protect a depreciating asset, while also trying to use it, and in the end it really is not worth the stress.

If it were my car, I would go to the best detailer in the area, have them remove the pinstripes, and wax / polish the exterior to remove the swirl marks.
 
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Back when my Mazda dealer would offer car washes with regular service, I'd always have to ask for them not to wash it. Haha! I liked them all very well in that service department though, so I had to ask nicely. This was with my Speed6.
Later, they quit offering the wash jobs, so it became less of a concern. My CX-5 came right off the truck on a rainy day when we bought it. So, the dealer I bought from didn't lay a finger on it.

That said, the dealer I bought my SHO from had left the black paint in utter ruin. I was able to correct most of the damage with some mild cut products/DA buffer. There's a couple of areas persisting, where I need something a little more aggressive. That's how bad it was. Nearly holographic on the decklid and spoiler. Heartbreaking.

Point is, they do you a disservice when they offer to clean your vehicle, because they are ignorant and careless, and often times have a 16 year old kid doing the wash jobs, earning 7 bucks per hour. If you get one they haven't try touched, cut them off before they even offer to clean it up for delivery. You can remove the adhesive and tar and dust that might be on it from shipment on your own.
 
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My Stealer offers "free" car washes, but, I don't let them do it. I use the soft mitt, two bucket system, with microfiber chamois towels. So, hopefully I'll avoid the swirl marks as long as I can. You'd have to use a polish of some kind, probably, to get the swirl marks out.
 
mazdadude said:
You said it is a FIRST NEW CAR! CONGRATULATIONS! Nothing better than the new car driving off the lot feeling...

You can relax, and know that like your pin stripes, the swirl marks can be removed. However if your car ever gets hand washed or hand dried, you will have swirl marks again. With 93 miles on it when you took delivery, (most have 7-14 miles when ready for sale), I can imagine that yours got washed a few times before you got to it.

One of the things that I can hope to pass on, as I have had a few new cars too, is that CRAP HAPPENS. It might be the rock flying from the truck in front of you, the parking lot dinger, random animal encounters, petty thieves, etc.. The entire universe is out to pulverize your new car into it's individual atoms again. You can only do so much to protect a depreciating asset, while also trying to use it, and in the end it really is not worth the stress.

If it were my car, I would go to the best detailer in the area, have them remove the pinstripes, and wax / polish the exterior to remove the swirl marks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses all. They are all helpful, and I found this post particularly helpful. Saynotopistons, you seem to disagree with the premise that swirl marks are inevitable?

Anyway, I think I am going to go back to the dealer because I need to pick up my cargo cover anyway--they ordered me the Mazda5 Cargo Cover by accident. I want to ask them if they will remove the pinstripes, because I don't want to be liable trying to take them off myself if doing so causes damages. Is it a bad idea to let them touch the car more?

The dealer also installed a clear bra, which overall looks good,, but has a few small bubbles in it, and at least two spots on it where literally one grain of dirt is stuck underneath. I mean, I know it's small, but don't you think this is reason enough for me to ask them to redo the clearbra or take it off and give me back my money?

Finally, I may as well point out the swirl marks to the dealer to see what they say about it. Based on what I've heard here, I won't let them touch the car again, but would ask them if they would foot the bill if I go to a detailer in the area. Why not try?

I guess there would only be three concerns I'd have about getting a detailer to fix the the swirl marks)
1) How exactly do I find "the best detailer in the area"? I live in Fort Collins Colorado, so I'm open to suggestions.
2) If a detailer was to polish the paint to get rid of swirl marks, how much of the clear coat would they be removing?
3) Finally, if I was to have a detailer polish the car to get rid of swirl marks, would it be advisable for them to do this to the entire car? This would probably mean taking off the clear bra--in which case I would just ask the dealer to take it off and give me my money back because of the imperfections I've noted above.

Lots of questions--but thanks for your replies in advance.
 
They are inevitable, but proper washing techniques WILL NOT induce swirls or introduce swirls. That is considering a combination with the right (quality) products with the techniques.

1) Good places to start looking are the links I sent you. Most if not all professional users on those sites are reliable. You can track their work with their threads as well.
2) Not enough to matter. Of course, you must MAINTAIN the finish and not introduce swirls to it, otherwise the frequency of polishing/compounding will increase in parallel to swirls introduced.
3) Polishing the whole car is preferred. Many detailers would only do it that way, unless it's spot correction with frequent customers- Common with super cars. If you can get your money back for the clear bra and start with a perfect foundation, that would be best. The installation of the clear bra is flawed anyways.

Do you know the brand for the clear bra made? I know clear bra technology isn't new, but there are still many that will fade, yellow, crack, and/or cause damage to the paint surface. The cheaper films of course. I don't trust dealerships very much when it comes to things like these. Stealerships love to maximize profit in every way.
 
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SayNoToPistons said:
They are inevitable, but proper washing techniques WILL NOT induce swirls or introduce swirls. That is considering a combination with the right (quality) products with the techniques.

1) Good places to start looking are the links I sent you. Most if not all professional users on those sites are reliable. You can track their work with their threads as well.
2) Not enough to matter. Of course, you must MAINTAIN the finish and not introduce swirls to it, otherwise the frequency of polishing/compounding will increase in parallel to swirls introduced.
3) Polishing the whole car is preferred. Many detailers would only do it that way, unless it's spot correction with frequent customers- Common with super cars. If you can get your money back for the clear bra and start with a perfect foundation, that would be best. The installation of the clear bra is flawed anyways.

Do you know the brand for the clear bra made? I know clear bra technology isn't new, but there are still many that will fade, yellow, crack, and/or cause damage to the paint surface. The cheaper films of course. I don't trust dealerships very much when it comes to things like these. Stealerships love to maximize profit in every way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your perspective! The dealer used ClearShield. Familiar with them?
http://www.solargard.com/window-films/automotive/clearshield

Should i let the dealer remove the pinstripes/ClearShield? I'm afraid if I do, they may further damage the car.
 
EVERY new car has swirl marks unless if you get the car immediately before the white transport tape is removed.
My Porsche 911 and wife's BMW had swirl marks. A good detailer will clean it right up
 
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