GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I brought my new lava red Vibe home from the dealer last night and this evening I noticed that the right front panel, right front pillar, right mirror, and passenger door have multi-colored paint flecks all over them. It looks almost like the car was parked in a body shop and got hit with overspray, or like they were shipping paint on the same train they shipped the Vibe, one exploded and arasolized and wafted back onto the car. I didn't notice these flecks in the sun on the dealer's lot this evening without glare, they popped right out at me. I am totally bummed. This is the kind of thing that will bum me out every time I wash and wax the car. I am going to take it to the dealer tomorrow to show them. Do you think the dealer will make it right?

Did you have the vehicle undercoated? could be overspray from inside the fenders?

i think they will if u just picked up the car..its not like u had alot of time to go "get it painted"..congrats on the vibe.......welcome to genvibe..and lets see some pics.

Think it could be rail dust? It was a looong time ago (dang, 11 years!) but I recall when mom bought a Monte Carlo when they first came back out, white - and it had crap all over it when it was driven off the lot. Turns out it was "rail dust" that had eaten down into the clearcoat. It all buffed out after raising much hell at the dealer. That's a possibility, I would think...

I called the salesman tonight and he suggested that it might be rail dust also. Although it doesn't look very "dusty" to me. One spot almost looks like a wet drip and the rest are flecks. And the colors are so pure. Pure blue in some cases, pure orange in others, and pure silver in most. It really looks like paint of some kind.

Sounds like over-spray. Not sure how, but the way you describe it that is what it sounds like. I would definitely go back to the dealership and have a talk with the sales manager. My father bought an Oldsmobile 12 years ago that ended up having acid rain spots on it. They were nice enough to give him a slightly upgraded Olds for the same price as the other one. If you are really good at haggling, you might get a GTO out of it. By the way what the hell is "rail dust"? Or is that a REALLY dumb question?

Quote, originally posted by redlava »By the way what the hell is "rail dust"? Or is that a REALLY dumb question?Rail dust is just that... it is metal dust created from shipping by train. It lands on the car finish and oxidizes (rusts) causing tiny little orange pinpoint specks in the finish. We had that problem on our white Pontiac Montana when we bought it new. We had to raise all kinds of hell to get the dealer to do anything, and they spent 4 days cleaning the entire van with a clay bar to remove it. it sure was clean & shiny when they were done!

Our Lava Vibe has a spot on the hood where it looks like a paint flaw... if the (s)dealer refuses to fix it - they will find out how good my wife's negotiating skills (aka wrath) are.

My Vibe had a knick on the hood when I bought it and it was deep, you could see the metal. Needless to say touch0up paint fixed it but, I don't think that will work in your situation...

I haven't used a clay bar, but it sounds like it could remove the flecks from what I've heard.

Lava is a bit of an 'unknown' color to GM. The bodyshop where I bought mine did some touchups to mine with Salsa. So Now I have some darker red spots on the bright red.I'm still planning on repainting anyway..so as long as it doesn't rust out, i'm not too personally concerned.

Update: I took the car to the dealer today and they are going to fix it. The paint is from that stuff that some dealers use to write prices and whatnot on the windshield. Whoever applied and/or removed that stuff let it get on the metal of the car where it then baked in from the sun. That stuff should NEVER be allowed to dry on any non-glass surface.The detailing guys at the dealer first tried to get it off with chemical adhesive remover and then with a mild polishing compund, neither worked. So, it is now scheduled for 4 hrs of body shop time where they will use a more aggressive chemical. They assure me it won't harm the clearcoat. I hope they are right because I don't want the cure to be worse than the disease.

If they really fuc* it up, then you can just get a new paint job.

Rail dust is also produced form brake pads, the metal particles become airborne and stick to the paint. Get a clay bar, you will use it may times the long as you have the car. The dlr should make it right but in MO, it will probably come back with swirl marks all over it from the body shop buffing it out.Get the clay bar, it should work, I have used it on rail dust, tar and over-spray, do it yourself and without more issues.

I will also suggest a clay bar... works wonders on making a new car look even better. Takes out a lot of the "impurities" that get on the car durning shipping, etc.Used a clay bar on my car and make it look VERY shiny... it also removed some overspray from a building next to where I work that got on it when they were painting the side of the building.Clay Bar = highly suggested

clay bars are a lot of work, but they are worth it. it usually gets out stuff that you are almsot convicned won't come out.what boggles my mind is that rail dust has been a problem for how many years??? and still no solution offered by the transporting companies.

Quote, originally posted by jeffgtx »clay bars are a lot of work, but they are worth it. it usually gets out stuff that you are almsot convicned won't come out.what boggles my mind is that rail dust has been a problem for how many years??? and still no solution offered by the transporting companies.Probably not a very widely accepted problem... I've never heard about it until reading here - but it makes perfect sense.How many soccor moms are looking over their minivans for rail dust?

Quote, originally posted by binary »Probably not a very widely accepted problem... I've never heard about it until reading here - but it makes perfect sense.How many soccor moms are looking over their minivans for rail dust?It depends alot on the vehicle color. The tiny orange rust specs were pretty noticeable on our new white van, but i suppose it's not nearly as obvious on darker colors. But the clay bar definitely did the job for removing it.