Aaaggh! Roof rack marred my paint! How to fix?

[Tweakophyte]

Hi-

I rode around for 2 week with whispbars on my roof, and when I took them off to clean them (and apply some film) the roof was marred. Half of my roof was also stained yellow (the side that had some 1up USA roof racks).

I used a clay bar, and then scratchX followed up by wax. This took the yellow off the paint. I thought it also took the marring off, but a few days later I noticed it was back.

Here is the yellow:


And here are two shots of what it looks like today. The shots are of opposite corners of the roof, so one was yellow and one was not. (Note, the quarter is there to help the camera focuse on the marring vs the reflection).


and



Any thoughts? What do you think happened? Was there some kind of solvent on the mounting pads of the whispbars? How should I fix this?

[firstars]

No solution but... same thing happened to me. I think it will polish out.

[SwankPeRFection]

Sue the roof rack company. Lol

Clear bra type material under the footings will solve this issue next time.

[Tweakophyte]

Clear bra type material under the footings will solve this issue next time.

That was the plan, however, I did not expect this kind of damage after only 2 weeks. Maybe a scratch or two, but not this kind of distinct marring. I had Thule racks on my old car for years with no film and there was hardly any damage after 14 years (clear coat, metallic paint). This almost looks like some kind of chemical etching because how distinct and uniform the marks are.

[Tweakophyte]

No solution but... same thing happened to me. I think it will polish out.

What kind of racks did you have?

[SwankPeRFection]

That was the plan, however, I did not expect this kind of damage after only 2 weeks. Maybe a scratch or two, but not this kind of distinct marring. I had Thule racks on my old car for years with no film and there was hardly any damage after 14 years (clear coat, metallic paint). This almost looks like some kind of chemical etching because how distinct and uniform the marks are.

Take it up with the rack company like I said. Have them pay for fixing it and then tell you why previous racks from them never had this issue (if it's the same company). Maybe they changed the chemical composition of the rubber feet they use or Audi changed the chemical resiliency of their paint.

[itzjonjon69]

Sue the roof rack company. Lol

LOL

[Tweakophyte]

Take it up with the rack company like I said. Have them pay for fixing it and then tell you why previous racks from them never had this issue (if it's the same company). Maybe they changed the chemical composition of the rubber feet they use or Audi changed the chemical resiliency of their paint.

I sent Yakima/Whispbar a note on Sunday explaining the situation. I'll let you know what I hear.

[RecklessactN]

I sent Yakima/Whispbar a note on Sunday explaining the situation. I'll let you know what I hear.

I have the same "scuffs" from my Whispbar after 1 week, it did not polish out.....

[SwankPeRFection]

Did you guys clean the surface of the car before you installed these bars? If you did and both mating surfaces were clean and this still happened, then I'd wager to say there's a problem with the feet on the bars themselves. Either the rubber they're made out of is causing an issue (most likely a chemical one) or something else is going on. This shouldn't be happening and I hope you guys press the matter further with bar company. (You need to do this so they'll fix whatever is causing the problem and others won't suffer the same fate not knowing before it's too late.)

[Tweakophyte]

Did you guys clean the surface of the car before you installed these bars? If you did and both mating surfaces were clean and this still happened, then I'd wager to say there's a problem with the feet on the bars themselves. Either the rubber they're made out of is causing an issue (most likely a chemical one) or something else is going on. This shouldn't be happening and I hope you guys press the matter further with bar company. (You need to do this so they'll fix whatever is causing the problem and others won't suffer the same fate not knowing before it's too late.)

Clean, clayed, and waxed prior to mounting... and I agree.

[firstars]

What kind of racks did you have?

whispbars

[mr shickadance]

painter's tape will work in lieu of the clear bra

[staticuxo]

i used the clear lamin-x strips under the whispbars my whispbars are for sale by the way!

[RecklessactN]

i used the clear lamin-x strips under the whispbars my whispbars are for sale by the way!

^^^ Got this too late :(

[IanCH]

i used the clear lamin-x strips under the whispbars my whispbars are for sale by the way!

where?

[Toecutter]

My Whispbars marred my paint too. I was going to fix it but I waited long enough until eventually I didn't care any more.

[staticuxo]

^^^ Got this too late :(

i'm sure a bit of polishing could clean it up!

where?

http://bit.ly/1m66c5f

My Whispbars marred my paint too. I was going to fix it but I waited long enough until eventually I didn't care any more.

haha, just leave them on permanently! i never took mine off i'm only taking them off now to sell them.. if anyone is interested, PM me.

[chuthis]

...just put the racks back on? Viola!


Just kidding. I'm going to take my racks off when I get home later today now :(

[Tweakophyte]

Hi-

So far the response from Yakima has been encouraging. The woman I spoke to, who called me based on my email said she'd only heard of this one other time. I told her she may hear of this a few more times.

I have to take pictures of all 4 damaged spots, get two estimates to repair it the marks, and fill out several forms. They are sending me new mounting feet, but when I asked if this will prevent further damage they said they did not know.

It's disappointing to hear that several of you have damage from the rack. Maybe you could post some pictures?

[mr shickadance]

im surprised you are surprised about this, pretty much any roof rack will cause damage like this. while they are pretty well bolted on, they still moved very slightly and when your car flexes over bumps and stuff, these roof racks will rub against your paint.

basically what you are seeing is abrasion and typical to what you would see happened if you imagine something constantly being rubbed on your car.

usually the instructions tell you to put something on it to prevent it.

[Toecutter]

Darn, I just put my rack back on or I'd go grab a photo for you right now. The marring looks pretty similar to yours.

[Tweakophyte]

im surprised you are surprised about this, pretty much any roof rack will cause damage like this. while they are pretty well bolted on, they still moved very slightly and when your car flexes over bumps and stuff, these roof racks will rub against your paint.

basically what you are seeing is abrasion and typical to what you would see happened if you imagine something constantly being rubbed on your car.

usually the instructions tell you to put something on it to prevent it.

The surprise comes from the relatively short time-frame over which the damage occurred, as well as my previous experiences with the rack.

This damage on the S4 happened after only 2 weeks of being on the car. It is significant and consistent, on all 4 areas where the mounting feet contact the paint. There is even marring where the outer, flexible portion of the feet, which have minimal pressure and are designed to keep out moisture, touch the paint.

I had a Thule rack on my B5 A4 for most of it's 14 years, and it never showed this kind of consistent marring. The paint was the santorin blue metallic, which would have shown marks like this. I performed no special car on the car, either. While there was some scratching of the paint over time, there were never any distinct marks like the ones on my S4.

I suspect the material used on the whispbar mounting feet is much different than I had. Because the marring is so consistent, even where the mounting pressure light (the outer edges) there is a chemical reaction of some kind happening between the rubber and the paint.

[mr shickadance]

yea two weeks is a short time period, that is really odd, i hope you can get your roof re-sprayed on yakima's dime tho.

[Tweakophyte]

I am hoping this is something that can be polished out... I'd hate to think I need a full re-spray.

Has anyone fixed a marring like this?

By the way, I need to get two quotes to repair the marks. Should I hit a body shop or a detailer?

Thanks,

[Tweakophyte]

I am hoping this is something that can be polished out... I'd hate to think I need a full re-spray.

Has anyone fixed a marring like this?

By the way, I need to get two quotes to repair the marks. Should I hit a body shop or a detailer?

Thanks,

Bump. Has anyone fixed a marring like this? I am 95% confident it is chemical-based damage because of the way the outer rubber fringe is etched into the paint in every spot.

Should I hit a body shop or a detailer?

(Work has been to crazy to go get estimates... but hope to shortly.)

[SwankPeRFection]

I'd hit a detailer and see what they can do. Sometimes body shops don't do the best job at fixing a finish problem.

[100Daily]

Bump. Has anyone fixed a marring like this? I am 95% confident it is chemical-based damage because of the way the outer rubber fringe is etched into the paint in every spot.

Should I hit a body shop or a detailer?

(Work has been to crazy to go get estimates... but hope to shortly.)

That can be buffed out by a detailer, or anyone with some rubbing compound and an orbital.

[imola02]

Same exact thing happened with my Whisbars. Polished it out with a Flex, no problem. Now have LaminX film.

[mattchat]

Add me to the list, and my friend has it too. For what its worth I still think the Whispbars are the best rack for this car but I will be polishing it better before winter when I put the rack back on and use some 3M. When I recently waxed it did come off a bit, but its still there. Hard to see on my color car but definitely there.

[Tweakophyte]

Thanks guys. I happened to be slammed at work, but sent the pics to a local detail shop over the weekend.
I'll also get some film put on before a re-mount.

I wonder if this happens with the Thule aero bars. I had the standard Thule bars on my b5 a4 for 14 years with no special care, and don't remember ever having to deal with this.

[Tweakophyte]

Hi-

Quick bump to see if anyone has had a similar experience with marring/etching. I stopped by a rack place and they said they've never seen this.

Yakima is still working with me, and I will update when we're done.

[CamsS4]

I'll let you know later this week as my car is going in for a full bra. I'll get them to remove my rack and place film underneath the pads.

When I received my rack I was attending a cycling event so I needed to install it and have simply left it on since. Thule Box goes on in a month or so...

[svander]

This is very common - Id say almost unavoidable when installing racks. Water and dust will get trapped under the feet of the bars and mar the paint since the bars constantly shift (minimally but enough to make the debris trapped underneath them as if it were sandpaper).

I laid clear bra patches cut to size under the feet of my Whispbar carrier bars precisely to avoid this issue.

[Tweakophyte]

It might be common (I don't agree), but the amount of damage that happened in 2 weeks with basically no load is very strange. Every part of the rubber that touched my paint made a very consistent mark. Look at the last two pics and you can see a very thin and distinct outline of the outer part of the mounting foot. That outer part is flexible, acting as flange to keep out dirt, etc.. It has no load-bearing purpose, and yet that etching is consistent across the whole perimeter of all 4 mounting feet.

FWIW, I washed, clayed, and waxed prior to mounting.

[100Daily]

30 minutes of work with an orbital is all that is needed. Easy fix.

[Cr099]

30 minutes of work with an orbital is all that is needed. Easy fix.

Or, if you don't have an orbital, these focus pads from Adams work really well with a cordless drill. Affordable too.

http://www.adamspolishes.ca/p-771-ad...l-adapter.aspx

[svander]

It might be common (I don't agree), but the amount of damage that happened in 2 weeks with basically no load is very strange. Every part of the rubber that touched my paint made a very consistent mark. Look at the last two pics and you can see a very thin and distinct outline of the outer part of the mounting foot. That outer part is flexible, acting as flange to keep out dirt, etc.. It has no load-bearing purpose, and yet that etching is consistent across the whole perimeter of all 4 mounting feet.

FWIW, I washed, clayed, and waxed prior to mounting.

Honestly, no, it's not strange. Like I said, dust will get between the rubber feet and the paint and mar an scratch the paint. The rubber flange is making constant contact with the paint, shifting slightly under wind, etc, making the dust particles act like a sand paper. This happens to most people with racks. Washing, claying and waxing would have done nothing to prevent this.

Unless you know what you're doing, honestly I would just take it to a professional detailer so they can polish the marring off. This is 100% fixable as it did not go through the clearcoat. They shouldn't charge you more than a hundred bucks or so.

Then before you put the rack back on, order a 12x12 sheet of clearbra off the web, cut it in 4 equal parts that fit the rack pads and lay it on the paint - or even better, have the detailer do it.

[Tweakophyte]

Quick update.

Two detailers say they can buff out the damage. I'll be getting it repaired and applying film in the near future.

Yakima was great to work with, being responsive and supportive of my claim. They say they have not seen this before, and say they rubber is specifically designed to be non-reactive. Nothing was out of spec. It is unknown if it could have been a reaction to the wax, and generally could not be sure without testing all products on the market.

Regardless, they took care of me. I am very happy with the experience.

[Docwyte]

Yup. Have the car detailed then have Clear Bra placed where the feet will sit. That's my plan...