Discolored metal after scratches polished out during delivery

[BeastForce1]

This isn’t the end of the world because I’m likely going to wrap. But after asking them about some fine scratches I saw on the sail above the bed at pickup they took the truck in and sanded them out. The heat from sanding seems to have discolored the stainless though. At pickup he claimed it was just hot from the sander and it would go back to normal but it hasn’t of course because that’s not how stainless works. So I sent a request into service and I’m curious what that will say or do.

Anyone else have something like this at pickup? Just curious.

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[sharpgator]

I suspect this is what happened to mine. See this thread.
https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/suggestions-for-spot-removal.18814/
Over time it has gotten better as I continue to clean the truck. But it is not gone.

 

[Woodrick]

This isn’t the end of the world because I’m likely going to wrap. But after asking them about some fine scratches I saw on the sail above the bed at pickup they took the truck in and sanded them out. The heat from sanding seems to have discolored the stainless though. At pickup he claimed it was just hot from the sander and it would go back to normal but it hasn’t of course because that’s not how stainless works. So I sent a request into service and I’m curious what that will say or do.

Anyone else have something like this at pickup? Just curious.

You wanted the fine scratches removed; they are removed.

Have you done a good cleaning of the truck?

 

[BeastForce1]

You wanted the fine scratches removed; they are removed.

Have you done a good cleaning of the truck?

Been too busy driving it for that lol. I have been wiping fingerprints off constantly.

 

[Woodrick]

Been too busy driving it for that lol. I have been wiping fingerprints off constantly.

If yours was like mine, there's a coating of probably oil all over it. And it makes fingerprints even worse. I went to a manual spray car wash and used their warm water and foaming brush to get things off. It helped tremendously.
A few of these along with some few manual elbow grease touch ups and sometimes soap got most everything off.

It may take something like Barkeepers Friend for the whole vehicle to get things matching.

My kind of obtuse statement about them removing it, well, if you do something like that, you have to do it to the whole truck to keep things matching. It's the good and bad of Stainless Steel.

 

[igs]

But after asking them about some fine scratches I saw on the sail above the bed at pickup they took the truck in and sanded them out.

You're not supposed to do that. The SS doesn't have a clear coat to sand.

 

[BeastForce1]

If yours was like mine, there's a coating of probably oil all over it. And it makes fingerprints even worse. I went to a manual spray car wash and used their warm water and foaming brush to get things off. It helped tremendously.
A few of these along with some few manual elbow grease touch ups and sometimes soap got most everything off.

It may take something like Barkeepers Friend for the whole vehicle to get things matching.

My kind of obtuse statement about them removing it, well, if you do something like that, you have to do it to the whole truck to keep things matching. It's the good and bad of Stainless Steel.

Yeah so I read up on the Tesla repair manual steps and there is zero chance they did what they were supposed to in the 5 minutes it was in there. Which is probably best because if they hit it with the wrong stuff or got it too hot I’m glad they didn’t mess up more panels. At the end of the day I’m not overly worried as trying to clean this beast and my OCD do not mix well so I’m looking at a ppf color change wrap sooner rather than later. Stainless is a way different animal than I thought lol. All good though. I’m gonna a experience it for a bit before wrapping.

 

[BeastForce1]

You're not supposed to do that. The SS doesn't have a clear coat to sand.

Yeah I had no idea how they would address it but he quickly said they would take it in and sand it. Scratches are gone ??‍ lol.

https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybe...UID-D33D78C9-9BCD-46CB-885C-52B4F482852C.html

 

[ideaXfactory]

Look closely at the surface and you will see a slightly different scratch. It's likely now a higher grit level from whatever technique they used. No I don't think it will "go back to normal" on its own.

 

[wtibbit]

For what it's worth, I overheated one of my good stainless steel skillets a few months ago, one of a set of cookware. Seriously overheated it. The color of the stainless was significantly changed in an uneven way on the bottom, inside and out. Luckily it didn't warp. It was ugly but not ruined.

With nothing to lose, I scrubbed it very thoroughly but with a light touch using a slurry of original Bar Keepers Friend and water. I used a pad of paper towel and didn't press very hard, but I scrubbed it for a long time. It was a lot of work, but that returned the overheated skillet to its original appearance as could be seen by comparing it to the other skillets and pans in the set. The exterior of the skillet was still a near mirror surface and the interior was still a more matte finish and the discoloration was gone.

I suspect the reason this worked is that the discoloration was literally only a few molecules thick - much less than the depth of the scratches that form the perceived finish/texture of the steel. I think the action of the mild acid and the relatively soft abrasive in the BKF removed enough of the surface to eliminate the discoloration (while re-passivating the surface), but not enough was removed to to visibly alter the surface texture.

The exact composition and treatment of the cookware's stainless and that of the Cybertruck is not the same; however, the truck's stainless could respond in a similar way to that process or one like it, perhaps using CitriSurf first, then BKF if required.

@BeastForce1, if you decide to wrap your truck perhaps you could try that on your truck's discolored area and let us know the outcome.

 

[BeastForce1]

Edit: I read the estimate wrong. They are replacing the rocker fairings, on both sides, I forgot I had that added to the service ticket because both were damaged on delivery. Quick easy plastic part to swap. I messsged them for further clarification on the discolored panel so I’ll wait.


Quick update. Finally heard from service. They are going to remove and replace the entire quarter panel with a new piece. Which is wild to think about. On any other new car I would be cringing at that thought but it’s just a piece of metal that bolts on and off. I am curious if I have to worry about it matching still but I feel like they have options to make the grain match the other pieces based on the repair procedure I saw. I will be talking to service about my concerns before my appt but still it’s pretty cool replacing the panel is an option if it can’t be brought back from their original sanding.

 

[Woodrick]

Edit: I read the estimate wrong. They are replacing the rocker fairings, on both sides, I forgot I had that added to the service ticket because both were damaged on delivery. Quick easy plastic part to swap. I messsged them for further clarification on the discolored panel so I’ll wait.


Quick update. Finally heard from service. They are going to remove and replace the entire quarter panel with a new piece. Which is wild to think about. On any other new car I would be cringing at that thought but it’s just a piece of metal that bolts on and off. I am curious if I have to worry about it matching still but I feel like they have options to make the grain match the other pieces based on the repair procedure I saw. I will be talking to service about my concerns before my appt but still it’s pretty cool replacing the panel is an option if it can’t be brought back from their original sanding.

Give Tesla service and chance and they often come through!

 

[BeastForce1]

Give Tesla service and chance and they often come through!

They usually do. There’s a disconnect between whoever answers the app messages and the actual service advisors though. People on the app usually tick me off then the people at the SC go above and beyond usually. I’m probably going to head up there and see them in person soon just to see what they think can be done.

 

[Woodrick]

They usually do. There’s a disconnect between whoever answers the app messages and the actual service advisors though. People on the app usually tick me off then the people at the SC go above and beyond usually. I’m probably going to head up there and see them in person soon just to see what they think can be done.

It's the same people.

If you notice, the Service Advisors often get entrenched in typing on their systems. They are answering their messages, more than likely.

The first couple of messages that you get may be automated though. And the Service Advisors can kick off some automated messages.

 

[MilliVanilli]

I have an upcoming first service to take care of some minor issues at delivery, including light scratches on multiple panels. I wonder if having them buff out the scratches will result in a truck that looks worse. Maybe I should just live with it.

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