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Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:54 am
by TheFrog
I noticed these last night in the neon lights of my garage. They start at the top of the A pillar near the sunroof and continue to about half way down.

I am 99% sure these must have been on the car on delivery 10 days ago, as I haven't used it much yet and haven't parked it anywhere apart from at home. I thought they might be the residual adhesive that holds the factory wrap on, but they don't come away with solvent or T-Cut. They appear to be actual scratches to the paint. On the opposite side, there are similar adhesive type marks, but no 'proper' scratches. Weird.

I will take it into my dealer to get their opinion, but does anyone here have any idea what might have caused them?

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Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:32 am
by Ste j
Could it be a football scuff do any kids play near your car?

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:52 am
by saty
Not sure what would have caused them but those scratches would come out with a machine polish

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 12:25 pm
by TheFrog
No footballs near the car, especially in the winter as my kids don't really play outside, and they're too deep to be caused by a ball, and also they're sort of on both A pillars and nowhere else. I have a MOP, but would rather the dealer look at it before I start doing anything.

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:46 pm
by Tooks
Did the dealers give it a pre delivery wash? If so, they're the likely culprits or they were careless removing the protective wrap.

My dealer washed my car after service despite me asking them not to, micro swirls from their filthy brushes and careless muppets everywhere, I requested and they paid for a full valet and paint polish...

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:05 pm
by TheFrog
Tooks wrote:Did the dealers give it a pre delivery wash? If so, they're the likely culprits or they were careless removing the protective wrap.

My dealer washed my car after service despite me asking them not to, micro swirls from their filthy brushes and careless muppets everywhere, I requested and they paid for a full valet and paint polish...
I suspect it was something like this - poor pre-delivery prepping. I will go and see them next week and let you know what they say.

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:44 pm
by TheFrog
Showed it to the dealer this afternoon and, predictably, they said there was nothing to worry about. To be fair, the scratches aren't visible at all in natural sunlight, but you can feel them with your finger nails.

What made me laugh the most was when one technician said that once the sun comes out and the temperatures rise a bit, the clear coat should 'expand' and fill the gaps! :lol:

I have sent the photo to VW Customer Service.

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 8:37 pm
by Mayhem
Im surprised they didnt just hand you a bottle of T-Cut. Why dont they just get it sorted for you?

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 10:01 pm
by jammydodger
TheFrog wrote:Showed it to the dealer this afternoon and, predictably, they said there was nothing to worry about. To be fair, the scratches aren't visible at all in natural sunlight, but you can feel them with your finger nails.

What made me laugh the most was when one technician said that once the sun comes out and the temperatures rise a bit, the clear coat should 'expand' and fill the gaps! :lol:

I have sent the photo to VW Customer Service.
It doesn't matter if the scratches aren't visible in natural sunlight, you've paid for a brand new car so why should you settle for substandard paintwork?

I wouldn't trust a dealer to polish my car however, I think your best bet to getting these out is getting a "light" polish such as Gtechniq P1 or even Farecla G3 and polishing them out by hand, the clear coat excuse is ridiculous, the only thing that will happen with the clear coat is that it get's softer making the paintwork easier to mark :?

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:17 pm
by Malcolm Scott
Possibly marks from a hose pipe being dragged over the car?

Re: Strange scratches discovered on A pillar

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:26 pm
by TheFrog
Malcolm Scott wrote:Possibly marks from a hose pipe being dragged over the car?
Hmm, interesting... It was snowy when I collected the car, so they would have had to hose it down before cleaning and prepping it. The marks are definitely consistent with a dirty hose pipe! :roll:

Good suggestion.