Well, that's one way to look at it. But you can see it though, can't you. If the worker in the factory knew that a particular piece was to be hidden and he sees a flaw in it, would he care? Would he even care about grabbing that piece and possibly scratching it? Sometimes he will, sometimes he won't. But if he knew that piece needs to be kept nice looking, he won't touch it.

 

I had this problem... your recourse? 3M rubbing compound, glaze, and wax... sorry if it's not the answer you were looking for, but it worked for me...

 

My guess would be that something got on there during assembly (goop, grime, paint chunk) and they scrubbed/sanded it and covered it with tape so that the tape appeared smooth and clean after production. I would agree with xviper that this was probably done in this manner because they knew where the car was going to be delivered for sale.

 

Did you have the same kind of damage? Is it at all noticeable after the 3M treatment?

Which specific products did you use, or which do you recommend? 3M has a whole lineup of rubbing compounds, glazes and waxes....


http://www21.3m.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry10?...RP=0&CACHE_ID=0

 

cytopath, I had the same problem when I removed my tape, and my solution was to WAX the defected area and it all got fixed. So if you want, you can try that.



Chris C.


*Off-Topic: I see that you are from South Florida here is the link of our forum here in S2ki. Link: http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/forumdisplay...?s=&forumid=113*

 

I had an abrasion like yours about the size of a quarter... With the spa, the grime trapped in the abrasion was very noticable... I used the fine cut 3m compound, their showcar glaze and showcar wax... you can barely make out the markings anymore, and all the grime, which was the main culprit in making it noticable, was removed.....

:edit: I tried just wax, but unfortunately it didn't work, so this is what I did, rather then having the windowframe resprayed...

 

Note: if you have never used compound, let me know and I can help you out in the process....

 

Indeed, I have never used rubbing compound or glaze... just the 3-step Meguiar's system (Paint cleaner, Polish, then Wax). Is this comparable?

Do you know of any tutorials/how-to that would help the novice avoid making a mess of things?

I think this would probably be my shopping list. Any discount stores carry a good selection of these?

3M Perfect-It Foam Polishing Pad Glaze Swirlmark Remover, PN 39009, 16 oz $12.10

3M Perfect-It II Rubbing Compound, PN 39002, 16 oz $10.86

3M Perfect-It Show Car Paste Wax, PN 39526, 10.5 oz $14.88

 

Actualy several of us on this board have been successful in getting Hinda to pay for the repair under "good will". Theoretically they will argue that it's not their problem because you have "modified" the car. However their argument is weak because they have advertised the cars WITHOUT the w/s tape as follows:

1. On their website
2. On a showroom poster sent to all dealers for the 02 model year.
3. In their fulline 02 brochure.

This can be construed as an approval or endorsement of removing the tape on the part of AHM. I suggest you take it up with your District Service Manager (DSM). You might also want to try the BBB, it worked for me.

 

Andrew, I think you fellas were extremely lucky to find such a cooperative and generous dealer. Most brochures and ads will have a disclaimer in small print somewhere stating that the illustrations shown may not be a true representation of the final product and that information contained within can be changed without notice. What you see in those company brochures is not anything you can hold them to.