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Uh-oh

15K views 85 replies 49 participants last post by  engine ear 
#1 ·
Just talked to my fiancé who drives my Sterling Grey SE hatch and she hand-washed the car using a bucket of water and a green pot scrubber. I have not seen it yet, and I won't be until Wednesday. Even she noticed that it was badly scratched, in two places where apparently she scrubbed at some bird poop. But my concern is that the entire car is scratched, including the clear coat. I will post some pictures on Wednesday when I get home.

I am angry and disappointed but I am determined to do whatever it takes to restore the finish on the car. Does anybody know what kind of steps I need to take? Assuming the worse that the clear coat is heavily damaged how do I fix that? She also scrubbed the 17" black alloys. Yeesh.
 
#42 ·
Ok, picture time. She picked me up from the airport last night in her truck, not the Focus, because she didn't want to be around when I first saw it. She feels terrible and i think I've done a pretty good job of not making her feel TOO bad, though she knew i was very upset. More than anything it is a senseless waste of money and her and i will both have to bear the cost. So here I am with the car in the sunshine and there are a couple of spots that look pretty bad right on the hood. Also, she left the offending scrub pad with a note.













 
#44 ·
Man, I can't imagine how bad she feels. I didn't realize that you had been out of town during all this. I bet the thought of it has been stewing away at both of you--you not being able to see the damage first hand, and of course her awaiting your reaction when you did.
 
#54 ·
Enough shots on his woman, Christ. I myself hate when other people(my family
Members) wash my car. My dad loves to wash the whole driveway of cars with....1 bucket at 6am when I'm asleep. However, she tried to do something nice for the guy and didn't know how to do it correctly. My recommendation is to take it to a dealer. It will cost more but those are deep, and you'll waste money buying scrubbers and buffers and mirical wax. Hope everything works out!
 
#60 ·
All those scratches will buff out with some 3M buffing compound.

Also this is a newer car and not something that is 10+ years. Clear coat is plenty thick.

Take it to a good body shop and they will buff and polish it out. Yes it will cost you a few hundred but both of you will be relieved.
 
#64 ·
ok yall, I read the whole thread.

Yall officially suck for telling him to dump the girl..even if you were joking.

SHe was trying to help, granted it didnt work out. It looks like it totally fixable.

TO the OP, sorry some of the guys were calling you a troll. If you love the girl like you say you do, you two will put this behind you and have a great marriage.

Good luck with everything
 
#65 ·
How do people suck for joking about it? I'd never so much as consider messing with my fiancee's belongings without consent, approval, or in this case, more importantly, knowing how to do the job right. And vice-versa. And it is something as mundane as handwashing a car. Seems there was little thought going on. Result? He's going to be out a few hundred bucks pretty much no matter how he decides to fix it.

It would make me wonder about trusting said person with something more important, like kids and whatnot.
 
#68 ·
Any "after repair" pix? What's happening? Last year I took my black C30 to the guys that "only do black cars for Barrett-Jackson" and WOW, what a difference having pros that know what they're doing compared to me using my DA orbital. Find someone knowledgeable and pay em $2-300 and be done with it. If it's thru the clear coat have a body shop clear coat it. Then show her how to wash and dry it. Do it together. On those hot days I follow my wife around drying to speed up the process to eliminate water spots and such. Forgiveness is where it's at. Understand that a number of guys here put their car ahead of everything else in life, probably don't have a GF cuz the girls they did date for a while found out they were #2 and moved on to warmer surroundings.

It would make me wonder about trusting said person with something more important, like kids
Comparing scratching paint to trusting the woman who went thru the pain of child birth? LOL..seriously? I think that's a bit of a stretch. Have you helped your wife through that ordeal? Oh..probably not married. Seen your wife almost die from passing so much blood from a miscarriage? Probably not. I was there for both my sons birth and I'm glad it's the woman that does that cuz we don't have the guts to pull that off...if it were possible. You can't imagine the love they feel for a child they gave birth to...for all that child's life. If/when you get married and have your own you'll regret making that statement. You'll find she's the one you'll trust most with them and hopefully you'll mature enough to forgive your kids when they scratch your precious. You can always rub it out and get new paint or use that money for your kids trip to Disneyland or where ever. They'll remember that trip a lot more than being screamed at for putting a scratch on something you won't have for more than a few years. Sermon over.

The 1st week my wife had the C30, she backed into a bush scraping the bumper cover and some miscellaneous parts. Cost me about $400 and I put it back together. All told took me about an hour to fix once I had all the parts. I don't bring it up...what's the point? She felt horrible and knows the importance of money lost. I still trust her in the new Titanium...with back up warning buzzer. LOL (was 1 of those options I didn't want but came with this car or wait to order what I want and miss out on the rebate)

So, I'm sure you're over it. Fix it and move on. Life's too short...really. Be glad you have a new car. It could be so much worse...look around you. You better hope when you do your "screw up", and you will, she's not constantly reminding you of it. Kiss her while giving her flowers/chocolate/....tell her to forget about it and be the hero. Her girlfriends will love you for being the mature adult and will wonder when you changed and how lucky she is to have you. Every once in a while I'll bring my wife flowers/Starbucks to her at work. The men there probably hate me. I don't go in for the....secretary's day or bosses day...those made up days to promote retail sales. When I bring her something I call it ..." It's good to be Brant's wife Day" and it could be once a year it could be twice a month. What's nice about it, is, it can happen anytime...you don't know...you're not expecting it like Valentines Day..."you better get me something...it better be a diamond...it better be chocolate...it better be..." see what I mean? The whole meaning is lost because they're EXPECTING something that the retail stores have programmed them and us into believing. (don't miss Mother's Day though...just sayin') And, when you walk in, UNEXPECTED with a LITTLE something...doesn't HAVE to be much...they LLLUUUVVVVV you for it! And the other office girls WILL have something to say to their significant others that night...oh yeah! It IS better to give than receive...and, I got a feeling, she will give you something you weren't expecting...he he he (semi evil laugh).

So, what have we learned? Show her how to wash a car, do it together, forgive her, move on, bring her something for just being her...invest in her and reap the rewards.
Simple. And, when you start putting the dishes away without being told...well...you'll find out.
 
#71 ·
AS for those taking umbrage to jokes about dumping her: such a careless act on her part CAN portend plenty of more careless and annoying acts in the future that can really strain a relationship - as I've learned the hard way (I pay far too much attention to detail, and my wife far too little).

So, if it's indeed true love, carry on. But if you're not sure, do not rush in.
 
#74 ·
This thread is taking a really weird turn for a car site. Somebody recommend a different brand of polishing compound or something before someone calls for a group hug. [???:)]

And what happened to the OP? He probably took some of the advise to dump her and his life has spiraled out of control to an empty, meaningless existence.
 
#78 ·
This thread is full of so much win. I would have to say my 2 cents on this is: yeah, it's "just a car" but if you're in a relationship with someone, I would hope they know you well enough to know that things like washing the brand new car are something they let YOU do. I would seriously cry if I saw my car in that condition. Yeah, I would get over it, but I would never forget it.

At least it's not this bad:

 
#79 ·
Uh, wow. This thread has gotten - how to say it, interesting?

I don't check in much on this forum so sorry for the absence. However I think it was much more entertaining to read this way. The lady and I are just fine- she is forgiven, but also will not be washing my car anymore. This all started because I was taking the car to a hand wash shop for $20 a pop, and she felt that was a waste of money and that we should wash it ourselves. We live in the city and there is no yard, driveway or hose available to us so she wanted to demonstrate that it was still possible with a bucket while I was gone. She meant well, but as many have said here she wasn't thinking. However in the end it is just a car, and this is just the worst of a list of "breaking in" events that have happened to the 4 month old car, which includes a dead rat decaying in the engine bay. We still smell rat sometimes.

I found what I guess is the most reputable detailer in the area, and for the most part it went well. However there are still light scratches visible under the wax, and they couldn't fix the scratches on the bumpers because he said it would burn through the plastic. He did do some light buffing on the bumpers, but I really need to figure out a way to fix it. I think my mistake was going on a 95+ degree day. The owner of the shop called in his best detailer for the job, and the guy spent about two hours on it in sweltering heat. I think he would have done even more if it wasn't so hot. Also the new wax and polish looked so beautiful when I left there that it wasn't until later in the day that I noticed there were still some spots on the bumpers. Anyways here are the pictures, none of which show any scratches. (the close ups show where there had been scratches before)















 
#82 ·
if he couldn't get the scratches in the bumper out then he wasn't a very good detailer.

You got what I expected to see from a $200 buff job.
I would get on autopia.org and see what they have to say. They can also put you in touch with a pro detailer in your area.

Not to piss on your parade or anything, but they likely used a product with a significant amount of fillers in it, like a heavy duty glaze. The first (or second) time you wash it the fillers will likely be removed revealing unfixed marring...
 
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