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HELP!! I just bought a brand new white 2024 GLS less than two weeks ago. I purchased it at 10pm and was not worried about not examining the paint before driving off as it was brand new and this particular MB dealership includes a ceramic coating on every new car so it should be perfect right?! Anyways fast forward to her first handwash by my husband and he points out to me that there are small brown and yellow specs all over the entire car. I let the dealership know right away and bring her in. They're saying oh maybe the coating needs to be removed and redone but after researching, it seems that could be incredibly dangerous as you could actually remove paint so now I'm super worried.. Can anyone give me any sort of insight as to what these spots could even be? Could they be factory paint issues?? The car is Polar white btw and looks like vanilla bean ice cream up close!
Grab one of those thin plastic grocery bags, put your hand in it, and gently rub your finger tips over the paint. If you feel bumps, then they likely did the coating without doing a full clay bar prior to. It could be from the sticky parts of the shipping material (if it was wrapped for shipping), or rail dust if by train, or road / trailer grime if by convoy. I would suspect some type of road debris before factory paint defect. The question will be - was there before or after the ceramic coating?
Me personally, one of the first things I have always done with buying a new car is spend a weekend doing a full clay bar, then polish and now using ceramic myself (used to be wax back in the day). You would be amazed at how much gunk is in the paint from shipping.
If you feel bumps through that plastic bag, you have gunk on it. If you don't feel bumps, then perhaps it is a paint defect from the factory.
Also, I would ask exactly what type of ceramic coating they used. I doubt by default that they go with the kind of stuff that is hard to remove. That costs hundreds if not thousands to do correctly. Willing to bet it says "ceramic" on the bottle from Autozone. If that's the case, then a full clay bar will be fine to remove it, and the gunk (assuming not paint defect) and then start over. I have yet to see one of these 5-year ceramics actually last that long. I use something called Black Ice from a company called Last Coat, and it lasts realistically about 2 years max. But even then, road grime, pollution, and just life in general gets stuck to the car. I did our GLS back in 2020 when we got it, and just did it for the second time about a month ago. The clay bar was filthy, but the paint remains perfect.
To give you an idea what the clay bar does - this is a 10 year old VW that I recently purchased for my son as his first car. Lived in an apartment building parking lot, doubt it's seen a wax job beyond the gas station its whole life. This is after the clay bar, polish, ceramic. The clay bar is the key to all of it. Without that step, then it's a waste of money and effort in my opinion.
2025 Maserati Grecale Folgore and 2024 Jaguar F-PACE SVR
Looks very much like the "rust" issue some people were complaining about with the Cybertruck. Was actually "rust dust" that most likely came from transporting them via railroad:
Looks very much like the "rust" issue some people were complaining about with the Cybertruck. Was actually "rust dust" that most likely came from transporting them via railroad:
So basically the same stuff that you occasionally find on the paint close to wheel wells and fenders? The ones that are from the road or the brake pad dust that rusted on the paint? Rail dust?
2025 Maserati Grecale Folgore and 2024 Jaguar F-PACE SVR
Yeah, I guess an "iron remover" product like for brake dust is what's needed but I'm not a detailing expert. This guy is though and he even mentions a product that he used on a white car:
Yeah, I guess an "iron remover" product like for brake dust is what's needed but I'm not a detailing expert. This guy is though and he even mentions a product that he used on a white car:
So during the purchase process the dealership let me know this vehicle had a ceramic coating and the extra $1600 onto the sale of the vehicle was for the warranty on the ceramic coating and it was 100% non negotiable since the coating was already done and they priced accordingly so it wasn't a huge deal to me. They called me for an uupdate yesterday to tell me that their detailing team tried removing some layers of the protection and it changed nothing (whatever that means) so now they are going to have to remove the entire coating because they think the entire car was covered in dirt before the coating??? I guess I'll find out on the next update. Unfortunetly since the car is basically brand new and I paid extra for their jobs warranty, I cannot do this myself. We will see what they say...Ugh
Yep...they didn't properly prepare the car for the ceramic they put on it, just as I thought. This is on them, not MB. The clay bar is a chore, but so absolutely worth it to get it perfect. Hopefully that is exactly what they'll do this time, no shortcuts like they clearly did the first time. Yes they can remove the ceramic without damaging the paint. It wears off naturally anyway, it's not permanent. If this were my car, I would call them and tell them that you expect a full clay bar service for that amount of money!
I've used the iron remover myself before as well. It's good, especially on your wheels, but a proper clay bar detail will take care of it all too.
Did you try the plastic bag trick? Feel anything? That is the best way to know if it's ready for ceramic.
IF this were my car I would take it to a REAL detailed/ceramic shop in the area. Have an independent company look over the damage and BEFORE they remove the bad ceramic do a paint thickness check and keep the numbers. A concern I would have is that if a buffer is used by a dealership idiot, who has already failed once, then not only will the old ceramic be removed but also clear coat and original paint. The dealership has already proven to not know what they are doing and charged a good amount for thier screw up. They need to foot the bill and have a recognized installer fix this. Just my opinion. Good luck.
Hello! the small brown and yellow specs on your new GLS are likely iron particles or other contaminants that got trapped under the ceramic coating. To resolve this, I recommend taking the car to a professional detailer who can safely remove the ceramic coating. The detailer should perform a thorough decontamination using an iron remover and clay bar treatment to eliminate all contaminants before reapplying the ceramic coating. This process will ensure your paint remains undamaged and the specs are completely removed. My credentials? I’ve been 6 years working at AZ Auto Aesthetics located in Mesa.
So to recap, the dealer charged you $1600 for a ceramic coating that sealed in dirt. I'd almost look into a buyback or re-negotiation because the coating has now actually removed value from the vehicle. Personally I would have looked for a different dealer if they told me the ceramic was "included" for $1600.
So to recap, the dealer charged you $1600 for a ceramic coating that sealed in dirt. I'd almost look into a buyback or re-negotiation because the coating has now actually removed value from the vehicle. Personally I would have looked for a different dealer if they told me the ceramic was "included" for $1600.
It's the old "window etching" scam where they want you to pay for something you never asked for! I've successfully purchased cars where the dealer agreed to knock off the price of the window etching to make the sale.
I'm with you that I would have gone somewhere else to make my purchase!
The fact that they did it this way, makes me think that "ceramic" is nothing more than some Turtle wax spray bottle crap that would wear off naturally in about 6 months anyway. I recall when my dad bought my mom a CPO GLA a couple of years ago here in DC, they tried to sneak in some $800 seal coat fee. Immediately rejected it and told them not to touch the car. When we went to actually get the car, way in the back of the dealership, we passed the "detail" bay. Sure enough, just Turtlewax spray crap. I was furious they were making an 80 year old man walk to the back of the house to get his new car, and told the salesman "$800 eh? What is this, a Pontiac dealership?" That was Mercedes Benz of Tysons Corner - the worst $%!t-hole dealership I have ever come across in my life. I've seen better service and more honest sales people at the country used car dealership in the old Mobile 1 gas station, who basically recycle their cars via repos. Not even remotely kidding.
That is rust blooming which is very normal on a new car, its from metallic contaminants that get embedded in the paint and rust. Really obvious on white.
What you need is to do (or have a detailer do) a chemical and mechanical decontamination. The chemical is a rust removing product like Carpro IronX and then a claybar as others have suggested.
Wash the car, while its wet spray that on and it will turn purple as it eats the iron particles. Let it dwell for 5-10 min and hose it off really well. Don't let it dry, and don't leave any on there. You may have to do it a couple times. Here's a video how to:
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