Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

[JustJason]

So my car is parked at my folks house right now, I have alot of stuff there because i'm moving and need to store it all in 1 location. Last week they had a granite company come in and do new kitchen countertops.

Apparently, the guy had a sawhorse workstation set up about 5 feet from my car and granite dust got all over it. The guy told my dad to just rinse it off with a hose and it will be okay. Supposedly my dad did just that.

I stopped by the house today because I had somebody comming to look at the car (it's for sale). I saw it and thought to myself, it's a little dirty, the last time I washed it was a month ago. So I gave her a quick bath.

It was very hot out, so I started out with just misting the car to cool the paint and windows down. After a good misting I hit it full blast with the pressure washer. Then I washed it with some car wash soap, I hosed her down again with my pressure washer and wiped the water off with one of those water blades. After it was all dry my jaw dropped.

The paint on the hood, roof, and trunk is scratched to high hell. Looks like it was gone over with an sos pad. And there is white "spots/spotting" everywhere in the black paint. It wasn't until after I called my father to see who the he'll was monkeying with my car that I knew of the granite guy and everything he did.

Does anybody know if granite dust has calcuim or lime in it that can ruin the paint? The staining seems to be in the paint itself and not on top of it. Ovbiously the scratching is probably because I was sponging the the car and while it still had granite dust on it.

What to do... what to do... I'm about ready to blow a gasket over this.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

Go find the granite guy !!!!

 

[JustJason]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

I called the owner.... waiting for a call back.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

That's the first thing I'd do- contact the installer and see what he has to say. If he's a legit contractor, he should have insurance to cover things like this. Then depending on what the installer does (or doesn't) do, you can pursue recourse thru small claims court, etc...
Make sure to fully document everything, and get some good photos of the damage.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

Well your Dad did something wrong when you weren't there !!. Granite dust is just that......DUST.

Lets see some pics of this.
.

 

[avenger79]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

the guy cutting was probably not the owner of the company and after realizing what he did was hoping to blow smoke up your dad's $# long enough to get out of there. call the granite company and get an estimate on the damage. all you can do. it won't be an easy fight now though because it's been a few days but you should still be able to get it taken care of.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

I hit it full blast with the pressure washer.

I wonder if that might be your problem. If you hit heavy grit with a pressure washer, it's going to dig in and gouge. Be prepared for the granite company to claim that it's your fault because of how you removed the grit.

 

[perchin]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

I wonder if that might be your problem. If you hit heavy grit with a pressure washer, it's going to dig in and gouge. Be prepared for the granite company to claim that it's your fault because of how you removed the grit.

And would you think the same if it were a nice new corvette??? nope. Bottom line is that this company sent over a knucklehead that got messy. This should of never happened, he should of had a running shop vac or dust collector of some sort going containning his mess as he was cutting...period.

Even if your setting is too high on the pressure washer......don't matter....its all a result of the contractor's neglegiance.... cut and dry (pun intendid).

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

The contractor made a mess but it appears the dust mess was compounded by the way it was removed.

Here's my experience- when you get dust particles on the paint and attempt to rinse them off in the hot sun, unless you get ALL of it off, the sun can bake those particles into the clearcoat. They get super hot in a water droplet that acts like a lens in the sun. One of the reasons you shouldn't wash a car in the sun, especially if you have hard water. Those granite dust particles will absorb solar energy and get super hot, especially when concentrated in a droplet acting like a lens. You mentioned it was very hot that day. Did dad hose it off and leave it to dry in the hot sun? That may explain the persistant spotting. If he hit it with the hose on full pressure, that may explain the scratching.

Rinsing and/or hosing off by flooding with water won't scratch the paint. Wiping, pressure washing or even high pressure hosing off may if there is grit on the paint.

I agree you're likely in for a battle. Yes, they got it full of dust but will probably claim your subsequent actions resulted in the damage. In hindsight, it would have been better to leave it alone and demand they clean it up. Then there would be no question of liability.

The good news is, a detail shop can probably buff out the clear coat and remove the scratches and spotting.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

And would you think the same if it were a nice new corvette??? nope. Bottom line is that this company sent over a knucklehead that got messy. This should of never happened, he should of had a running shop vac or dust collector of some sort going containning his mess as he was cutting...period.

Even if your setting is too high on the pressure washer......don't matter....its all a result of the contractor's neglegiance.... cut and dry (pun intendid).

If he used a garden rake to remove the dust, would the contractor still be liable?
If he drove off without rinsing it off and crashed, would the contractor still be liable?

It's a lousy situation for sure but there is a responsibility on the owner of the property to mitigate the damage, not make it worse and say, well they started it!

 

[perchin]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

If he used a garden rake to remove the dust, would the contractor still be liable?
If he drove off without rinsing it off and crashed, would the contractor still be liable?

It's a lousy situation for sure but there is a responsibility on the owner of the property to mitigate the damage, not make it worse and say, well they started it!

Again..... This should of never happened to begin with..... you (^^^^) are being foolish to think I'm trying to say if he drove off and crashed or some other crap that I said nothing about.... you my friend are just a classic example of why we need such good lawyers to fight off the people whom do no wrong and just play the blame game. good grief, the company has an obligation to leave things as they were, and also clean up any messes in result of the project.... seem's they have made a big mess to me.

 

[perchin]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

The good news is, a detail shop can probably buff out the clear coat and remove the scratches and spotting.

Yep.... and the bad news is, (if you read his post) he stated that there now is white spotting in the paint not the clear-coat....

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

Again..... This should of never happened to begin with..... you (^^^^) are being foolish to think I'm trying to say if he drove off and crashed or some other crap that I said nothing about.... you my friend are just a classic example of why we need such good lawyers to fight off the people whom do no wrong and just play the blame game. good grief, the company has an obligation to leave things as they were, and also clean up any messes in result of the project.... seem's they have made a big mess to me.

Not trying to start a fight here. Just pointing out something that will likely become a factor if you try to get them to take care of the problem. I've always been told that pressure-washing car paint is not a good idea, regardless of whether there's granite dust on it. Add the granite dust and you've effectively sandblasted it. I understand that you didn't know what the dust was, but it's going to be hard to prove that the dust would have damaged the car paint if you hadn't pressure-washed it in the direct sun. Also, you claimed that the worker told your dad to rinse it off with a hose and it sounds like that didn't happen, or at least not very well.

The worker didn't leave the car scratched. He left it dusty. The scratches were put there as a result of your actions. I'd say the responsibility for the damage is shared.

 

[jkust]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

I don't know much about granite but I do know how our tops were installed. There was no dust to be had as they arrive already custom cut from the machines in the shop to the exact specifications. The cutting is done with huge machines not hand tools. The only thing the installers did that could potentially create any dust was drill holes for the faucet which they do in the kitchen after it is all installed. I am wondering what the heck the installer was doing to create any dust. I could see someone cutting maybe tile and creating dust but that is done with a wet saw so again no dust.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

Was the granite co. bonded and insured? Dad did make sure of that before hiring them, right? If so, you really should have no problem; no different than if they'd broken windows in the house or rammed the car with their truck.

Otherwise, as said, it's either small claims court (or perhaps your own insurance co.)

In any case, I wouldn't be volunteering the info that I pressure washed the car, just that I gave it a "routine rinse and a wash."

 

[avenger79]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

you mean "rinsed it off per the granite guy's instructions" right?

guy should have known he was making that mess around a vehicle and the possible damage it could cause. I worked in construction for awhile and it amazed me what guys would do in people's homes. never thinking about what they were doing to someone else's property. (carry wet drywall mud or paint on a brush over brand new white carpet) big deal they can afford it. heard that one a lot.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

The company owner was here today to have a look at the car. He looked at the car for about 15 seconds and said no problem, we'll take car of it. It's going to a professional detail shop on saturday and they are going buff/polish/wax ect.
I guess now i'll have to wait and see how well a professional body guy can bring it back.

BTW, I use my pressure washer on everything. For blasting soap off I just use the 40 degree tip. Works great. If you use a 15 degree tip though and get to close to it, it will strip the paint off down to the bare metal.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

Jason, glad to hear the guy is helping out.
I would like to question you on the use of a pressure washer on "everything". You just found out that is can cause damage, so maybe it's time to be a little more cautious?

 

[JustJason]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

I really do use my pressure washer on everything. I've washed that car 100 times over the last 10 years and blasted it off with it with no problems. I pressure wash my boat to. Easiest way in the world to get rid of scum.
I blast the brake dust off my rims.
I blast my front porch every other year to clean it before I oil it.
I plast my concrete patio to clean it.
I blast my chimeny to knock the moss off it.

All I have is a Karcher with a honda 5 on it that I got for a song at depot years ago, I love it.

Never have any problems. I just don't go crazy with it and put the strongest nozzle tip on it right away.
I really don't think it was the blasting that ruined the paint. I think it was that there was still granite dust stuck to the paint when I was washing it with a sponge. I'm pretty sure that's what did her in. That and whatever the ell is in granite (calcium/lime) that has the car all spotted and streaked.

 

[perchin]

Re: Granite company ruined my car.... what to do???

I really do use my pressure washer on everything. I've washed that car 100 times over the last 10 years and blasted it off with it with no problems. I pressure wash my boat to. Easiest way in the world to get rid of scum.
I blast the brake dust off my rims.
I blast my front porch every other year to clean it before I oil it.
I plast my concrete patio to clean it.
I blast my chimeny to knock the moss off it.

All I have is a Karcher with a honda 5 on it that I got for a song at depot years ago, I love it.

Never have any problems. I just don't go crazy with it and put the strongest nozzle tip on it right away.
I really don't think it was the blasting that ruined the paint. I think it was that there was still granite dust stuck to the paint when I was washing it with a sponge. I'm pretty sure that's what did her in. That and whatever the ell is in granite (calcium/lime) that has the car all spotted and streaked.

NO NEVER..... only the guys on the internet, that have never met you know what your knowledge is of a pressure washer

Glad to hear that the Granite company stepped up to their wrong and are doing what is right.