Alright everyone, need your thoughts:
I got into a fender bender 2 weeks ago. Only the bumper and left fender received damage. So they replaced both parts and painted it, obviously.
So I get my car back yesterday. It was overcast all day yesterday here in Philly, so I wasn't able to get a detailed look at the car, but the bumper and fender looked great. It looked like the accident never occured. I was soooooo happy to have my baby back, it almost felt like the day I picked her up, almost. They washed the entire car so it looked great.
I live in a Condo development. I have 2 reserved parking spots right outside our condo, and there is a street light next to one of the spots. Well, I'm walking the dog last night at around 9 pm. I passed the Z, and started looking it over like I usually do, making sure no one has scratched it up. Then I see it. Every single piece of the body has swirls in it. Now, I now the swirls were not there before because I only wash it at a DIY power-wash place, and I do not dry it at all. I take it around the block to let it air dry. I will admit I am very, very **** about swirl marks, so that's why I don't dry it. It has never felt a fabric of any kind as of yet. It was waxed when I picked her up, so I haven't even waxed it yet. The company I work for washes the employees cars every week. I do not let them touch my car. 4 people here just got new cars, they all have swirl marks.
What are my options with the swirl marks? I believe they come out with some buffing, correct? If so, this takes off a few microscopic layers of clear coat, correct? Is my only option to have them buff the entire car, then shoot some clear coat on it?
What's even more f'ed up, this morning I noticed on the passenger side seat, there are three impressions in the leather. They're not punctured, but they look like with just a tad bit more pressure, they would've been punctured. These were not there when I brought the car in. What are my options there? Have them re-upholster the leather? Is getting a brand new seat out of reasonable question?
I guess both problems can not be proved, except for my word, so I guess this puts my in a bad spot. I'm being completely honest though. I only want my car in the condition I gave it to them in (minus the bumper and fender, obviously). Am I going to take it where the sun-don't-shine on this one?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Edit add:
Here's the best part , the brand new bumper and fender have swirls in them too. Just got it back, haven't touched a thing on the car, and those two parts even have swirls in them.

Edit add #2:
I was just talking to a guy here at work, and he saw the "dings" in the leather and he brought up a good point. Why was someone even in the passenger side seat? There is no reason whatsoever that someone should be in the passenger side seat.

 

Unfortunately, your right. Your in a tough spot. Yes, I would not be surprised if someone at the body shop took it for a ride for a bit. Actually, I would want them to do this to make sure there were no rattles or anything. AND, if you worked at the shop yould you not say "hey man, I'll come with you" if there was a cool car that came in. The other guy must have had a screwdriver or something in his back pocket. Is it leather or cloth?The car was most likely sent to a car wash or hand washed with not the best products and tools before you picked it up. The swirls can be buffed out, but DO NOT HAVE THEM ADD ANY CLEARCOAT. PLEASE. If you do this, two years down the road, you will notice it chipping off around the moulding etc. TRUST ME. Just have them detail the car to remove the swirls.

 

You bring up a great point about taking out for a drive. It's leather.
I'm not blaming the guys who did the work for the swirls. I know it wasn't one of them washing a car.
Doesn't the buffing slice away the clearcoat? I know it's probably pretty microscopic, but it's that much less to protect.

 

a extremely light buff like 3m swirl remover, done by hand, will help, then use some good wax such as Z5 or similair, it may not be instant, but after a few coats of wax, it should go away, or atleast be better. swirl marks are inevitable... not saying thats a reason to accept this, just that in the future they will come, so its not like you keep waxing and theyll eventually go away, the old ones will, but new ones will come, you'll never know it.

 

What color is your car? I am thinking that it is black. If so, almost all black cars will show swirl marks under flourescent lighting (street lights).

 

It's a SilverStone.
Today is again an overcast day, so I couldn't see them. But, I'm taking it in tonight, so they'll see 'em under the lights. Like I said before, even the NEW bumber and fender have swirls, which is probably the most f'ed up part about it.

 

Do you presently have a layer of wax on the car? My Father recently bought the new car(black), and the car came with swirl marks all over it. Once he detailed the car himself, the swirl marks were gone.

If I were you go to the properautocare web page, get your self some Klasse all-in-one polish and the protectant and detail your car. This should help reduce the swirl marks.

Good luck

 

There is a layer on it, but the dealership put it on when I picked it up. And I did check the car under the lights after they put it on, and everything was ok then. Picked her up in december. In fact, that's how I know it was the body shop car washer. It hasn't been touch with any fabric of any kind since then.
I just bought some Crystal Guard, so I'll give that a whirl.
On a side note, how long do I have to wait for the paint to cure on the new fender and bumper? They said 90 days, but isn't that a little long. I thought the paint would be in a good condition for wax or what-not in around 30 days?

Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

Before using crystal guard, make sure the paint is how you like it. As far as I know, crystal guard is a sealent and will only lock in and brighten the paint, but will do nothing for the swirles. I agree that 35 Imperial hand glaze is the best thing to buff them out and then use crytal guard. AND I do agree with the body shop on the wait time. At the factory, the paint is applied using a different process then a body shop. I would wait 90 days, is imperial hand glaze and crystal guard then. It will look great and dont worry about the clearcoat.

With the seat, I guess just condition it and let it sit in the sun and see if that helps it at all. I think the leather is vinyl coated so the sun may expand it a bit and bring it back. Might as well try right?

 

Can't hurt. Thanks for the help.

 

For anyone still reading this thread, here's an update.
My worst fears concerning my issue occured. I took it to the insurance company, who insured the work that was done, and the supervisor was very defensive and argumentative. He pulled the "It wasn't us", hence, they are not responsible for the damages to the vehicle. As you know, I park under a street light in my development. Well, that must be one high powered street light. When I took it to the insurance company on Thursday, it was an overcast day, so we pulled it into their garage to check it under florescent light, so they could see the swirl marks. The ceiling in their must've been at least 15 - 20 feet high. The swirl marks did not show up under them. There was no evidence that it even occured, more or less making me look crazy. It also made me look like I was bsing about the leather damage. Even today, on a nice sunny day, they did not show up. When I took the dog for a walk tonight, I checked again, and sure enough, there they were. Clearly evident without having to look very hard at all. What the insurance company should see.
Concerning the leather, he pulled the same argument I was making, except his was rhetorical. The "Why would someone have been in the passenger seat." argument. Again, basically no proof that it was them. Only 1 picture of the interior was taken when they took pictures of the damage. Except that the shot was taken from the driver's side, thus not displaying the damaged interior. If the same shot was applied to the passenger's side, it would have shown that the damage to the leather did not exist. I did not drive the car, except on receipt of it, after the pics were taken. Even if it did show it, I didn't notice the damage till the next morning, so again, no way to proove it was them. He did massage it with his fingers and got 90% of it out. You can still see the impressions if you know what you're looking for, i.e., anyone who pays attention to detail would notice.
My only choice is then to make another claim to the insurance company to have them pay for it. But, I have a $250 deductible. I don't believe the damage would cost that much to fix (I should check to see if a new seat plus a "light buff", as suggested by members, would cost more than the $250). I don't think my rates would be raised because of this, but I'm not completely sure of that??? If my rates would not increase, is it worth it to make a claim, in your opinion?
Since he did try to get rid of most of the leather damage, and you can't see the swirl marks when it's a sunny day, should I take this battle where the sun don't shine?