Apparent paint contamination from building work. How to proceed?

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lukefrom zim

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Hey guys, I had some pale stains appear suddenly on my car body last week (see an example in the pic) . At first I thought they might just be hard water stains but they won't budge at all with washing. There was painting work being done at my apartment last week and my fear was that some overspray made it on to my car. Unfortunately it looks like this is the case, and a detailer/repair shop I showed it to agrees that it looks like contamination from paint or similar. He said it might come out with polishing but there is a good chance only a respray would sort it out. It's basically on all the side panels and rear bumper, so that's a lot of respray work.

Does anyone have any pointers for how to proceed from here? I've messaged our body corporate representative about the issue and am waiting to hear back from them. Would this be something that my comprehensive insurance would cover? Bearing in mind my excess is R4.5k.

The car in question is a 10 year old Mazda 2. Not in pristine condition but obviously still not happy with the blemishes for both my own happiness and resale value.
 

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lukefrom zim said:
Hey guys, I had some pale stains appear suddenly on my car body last week (see an example in the pic) . At first I thought they might just be hard water stains but they won't budge at all with washing. There was painting work being done at my apartment last week and my fear was that some overspray made it on to my car. Unfortunately it looks like this is the case, and a detailer/repair shop I showed it to agrees that it looks like contamination from paint or similar. He said it might come out with polishing but there is a good chance only a respray would sort it out. It's basically on all the side panels and rear bumper, so that's a lot of respray work.

Does anyone have any pointers for how to proceed from here? I've messaged our body corporate representative about the issue and am waiting to hear back from them. Would this be something that my comprehensive insurance would cover? Bearing in mind my excess is R4.5k.

The car in question is a 10 year old Mazda 2. Not in pristine condition but obviously still not happy with the blemishes for both my own happiness and resale value.
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Well I think the Body Corporate is the first step, which you have taken.

I don't know when they were on the building and when you realised but if it's a fair amount of time apart, it would be questionable as to why you only raised it now. As a contractor myself, paint is not something that is easily missed.

If you are certain it was the contractor, contact them for their insurance details. As a company they should have public liability insurance. If they don't I would question the body corporate why they permitted risk work to be conducted without any cover in place.

If the contractor isn't held accountable, then you got a fight with the BC to deal with.
 
You'll have a hard time proving it was the contractor, which is the first thing they'll do is deny it was them. You'd have needed to catch it happening as it did.
Also, don't believe the car detailer - they always want to respray the car. This looks like it will come out with polishing as clear coat/2k is like glass. I'd go the polishing route (likely with a different detailer too, and not mention the cause etc).
 
I'm assuming you've tried the usual things to polish it off yourself?
 
So the contractors have been on site the past 2 weeks and I first noticed the stains last week Wednesday/Thursday. It wasn't immediately obvious to me what the cause was and I wanted to see if it would wash off on the weekend before making any accusations. It's only now that I've had a few people suggest that it looks like watered down paint. I must say I haven't invested in many DIY detailing products but might give it a go like several have suggested and/or get a second opinion. Just don't want to delay too long if indeed it won't come out, becaude that will probably lessen my (already slim?) chance of getting any help from the body corporate/contractors
 
lukefrom zim said:
So the contractors have been on site the past 2 weeks and I first noticed the stains last week Wednesday/Thursday. It wasn't immediately obvious to me what the cause was and I wanted to see if it would wash off on the weekend before making any accusations. It's only now that I've had a few people suggest that it looks like watered down paint. I must say I haven't invested in many DIY detailing products but might give it a go like several have suggested and/or get a second opinion. Just don't want to delay too long if indeed it won't come out, becaude that will probably lessen my (already slim?) chance of getting any help from the body corporate/contractors
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I can't imagine the BC or the painters conceding anything, and I don't really blame them either.
 
lukefrom zim said:
So the contractors have been on site the past 2 weeks and I first noticed the stains last week Wednesday/Thursday. It wasn't immediately obvious to me what the cause was and I wanted to see if it would wash off on the weekend before making any accusations. It's only now that I've had a few people suggest that it looks like watered down paint. I must say I haven't invested in many DIY detailing products but might give it a go like several have suggested and/or get a second opinion. Just don't want to delay too long if indeed it won't come out, becaude that will probably lessen my (already slim?) chance of getting any help from the body corporate/contractors
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Try this route, if that doesn't work. Go through your insurance. Let them fight your BC and contractor.
 
The Darkness said:
You'll have a hard time proving it was the contractor, which is the first thing they'll do is deny it was them. You'd have needed to catch it happening as it did.
Also, don't believe the car detailer - they always want to respray the car. This looks like it will come out with polishing as clear coat/2k is like glass. I'd go the polishing route (likely with a different detailer too, and not mention the cause etc).
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Truth, they could have easily tried polishing one of the spots to prove that it does not come out. It looks like a fairly simple thing to me that would come out with polishing, but looks can be deceiving.
 
GhostSixFour said:
Try this route, if that doesn't work. Go through your insurance. Let them fight your BC and contractor.
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They won't even entertain this. Unless there's proof that this is the cause it would be flatly denied. Hopefully your complex has cameras on the vehicles and the footage shows it. Otherwise it could be anything. OP could have Karen'd on someone and they brake fluid bombed the car. It could have happened elsewhere.
Luckily it's not a pedigree vehicle. Good luck
 
The Darkness said:
They won't even entertain this. Unless there's proof that this is the cause it would be flatly denied. Hopefully your complex has cameras on the vehicles and the footage shows it. Otherwise it could be anything. OP could have Karen'd on someone and they brake fluid bombed the car. It could have happened elsewhere.
Luckily it's not a pedigree vehicle. Good luck
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What shite insurance are you with? You've suffered damages, this should be repaired. That's why insurance exists. At the very least, OP should find out if his/her insurance is as bad as yours.
 
GhostSixFour said:
What shite insurance are you with? You've suffered damages, this should be repaired. That's why insurance exists. At the very least, OP should find out if his/her insurance is as bad as yours.
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Claiming from the contractor/bc will be fruitless. Read my post
 
I have buffed out worse. Get a light burnishing compound and polish it gently.
 
So it looks like the diagnosis of paint contamination suggested by the first body shop may be wrong. Took it to someone else who said it looks like clear coat failure and not external contamination. He still gave it a go with the clay bar but it didn't do anything, so seems he may be right. I'm still just surprised it appeared so suddenly if it is clearcoat failure. However it is a red car that seems to have been parked in the sun a lot of it's life so I guess that sort of thing can suddenly appear?

Obviously won't be taking it up with the body corporate if it just my own clearcoat failing.
 
Clay bar is not aggressive enough. I'm sure it will come out with a light burnishing compound.
 
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