Noticed sanding swirls & scratches on my newly delivered Cybertruck

[HaulingAss]

Over a year ago, I spilled some caustic chemical in my kitchen sink and didn't rinse it. Hours later, it had left a permanent "stain" or dull streak. Scrubbing furiously didn't help, and then I realized IDGAF lol.

Just now, I tried BKF to no avail. My sink stain is bonded to the surface, and will require mechanical friction removal (i.e. sanding) of the top layer to correct. I'm guessing the streaks on the CT are similar.

I can't imagine what caused it. I don't remember the chemical I spilled in the sink but it was definitely one of those "wear gloves and wipe up immediately" hazards.

Common hardware store muriatic acid will do this to stainless steel. Don't get it on paint either!

A painted vehicle would require a re-paint, stainless steel would require polishing the surface layer off.

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[jjadmd]

We put off addressing the panel. I had the Low Voltage Wire Harness replaced so I didn’t want to wait additional time to have them try a figure out a solution.

Collision center Service information has instructions on how to remove scratches if you are wanting to DIY. They tell you step by step what to do. I can add the link on the thread if anyone would like.

 

[Carlos Thomas]

Collision center Service information has instructions on how to remove scratches if you are wanting to DIY. They tell you step by step what to do. I can add the link on the thread if anyone would like.

I won’t be doing any DIY stuff on a $114K vehicle. I am going to have Tesla resolve it once they are confident it can get done right.

 

[HaulingAss]

I won’t be doing any DIY stuff on a $114K vehicle. I am going to have Tesla resolve it once they are confident it can get done right.

I can be pretty particular that a job is done right, whether it's pruning a shrub or tree, installing new tires on a car or motorcycle, wiring a new circuit for charging, replacing a door or window, cleaning a load of laundry, adjusting the valves on a motorcycle, detailing a car interior or washing a car or motorcycle, etc. As I get older, I have found that professionals are usually not any better, and often much worse, than a competent Do-It-Yourselfer. Sad but true.

The bottom line is that even though I have plenty of expendable income, if I care about a small job, I do it myself. I've found it takes about as long to hire someone else to do it by the time I've figured out who to hire and explained what I want done, and dropped it off and picked it up and paid for it. So I tend to just do it myself, at home, without having to get all those other balls rolling, making appointments, etc.

Tesla Service Centers, like all auto shops, have people of varying skills and abilities but, in this case, all of them are likely starting where you are at in terms of experience in polishing bare metal. Tesla has issued guidance on what kinds of tools and techniques to use to polish the Cybertruck, but much of it still comes down to looking at what you are doing, and having a good touch with the tool.

This is not rocket science, and Tesla's guidance is good, although I do think they failed to discuss what kind of lighting to use when trying to match panels to each other. They do instruct that all panels in the same plane must be polished together, in the same operation, to get consistent results, but they don't discuss how to light the adjacent panels that you are trying to match the panels you are polishing to. But again, it should be common sense that you need to look at what you are doing from different angles and with different lighting. But not everyone has common sense and some people will never be good at certain tasks, even if they excel at others.

I think most Cybertruck owners, at least those who even care about the exact appearance of their Cybertruck, could probably do just as good of a job, or maybe even far better, simply by using the correct pads and a reasonably good random orbit polisher, as any hired help. In time, at various Tesla Service Centers, certain employees will be found to be exceptionally good at polishing, and some will never be very good at it. Some Service Centers will be better at it than others because they have employees that have the eye.

So, sure, if you are too busy, or simply know you are not good at this kind of thing, let Tesla Service polish it up for you. They should do a passable job, but that's not guaranteed depending upon the skills of their employees. But a talented owner will generally be able to do a better job, because they will know how they want it to look, and they will experiment until they get the look they want. The Cybertruck is like a chameleon, it will take on its own personality over time depending upon how it is washed and cared for. Even a Cybertruck abused for a decade will be able to be brought pack to gleaming new metal with a couple of hours of polishing. But many Cybertrucks will never need to be polished, beyond a deep cleaning.

 

[RVAC]

This guy who does ALL the prep for the other service center says it takes him a good 2 to 3 days to get the trucks ready for delivery. That will work now since deliveries are only a handful a week or month, but not sure how these delivery centers will be able to handle that amount of prep for higher volume deliveries if they have to get that much work done.

Yeah, surely it must be a short term band-aid solution for early deliveries due to the production line not being fully outfitted/automated, not something that is sustainable in the long term as the ramp grows.

 

[ideaXfactory]

So, sure, if you are too busy, or simply know you are not good at this kind of thing, let Tesla Service polish it up for you. They should do a passable job, but that's not guaranteed depending upon the skills of their employees. But a talented owner will generally be able to do a better job, because they will know how they want it to look, and they will experiment until they get the look they want. The Cybertruck is like a chameleon, it will take on its own personality over time depending upon how it is washed and cared for. Even a Cybertruck abused for a decade will be able to be brought pack to gleaming new metal with a couple of hours of polishing. But many Cybertrucks will never need to be polished, beyond a deep cleaning.

Yes I agree, and the little bit (of scratch removal) that I let the service department do convinced me to never let them polish it, ever again...

 

[Jamezam]

It was on the stainless, hood and driver's door. When I picked it up it was still pretty dirty and I figured it was built around 1/24/24 right around the big storm they had at the Gigi Texas. I think the scratches are coming from when the delivery center is prepping the CT for delivery. They're sanding/polishing the CT and not doing a very good job. I can see an opportunity for the detailing shops to correct the problems that the delivery center is making. Sand/polishing marks we're not uniform. Attached is a copy of the scratch on the hood.

I have the same type of scratches on my hood.

 

[Jamezam]

I have the same type of scratches on my hood.

UPDATE: I have the same type of scratches on my hood. Because the "lead tech" told me to just use BKF MORE foam type and 0000 steel wool. And, because I don't have any faith in the SC, since they just suggested I take a photo of the BKF they showed me, on delivery day. I'm going to do the repair myself. I don't mind doing it, I consider myself very competent and I want it done right...

 

[agordon117]

UPDATE: I have the same type of scratches on my hood. Because the "lead tech" told me to just use BKF MORE foam type and 0000 steel wool. And, because I don't have any faith in the SC, since they just suggested I take a photo of the BKF they showed me, on delivery day. I'm going to do the repair myself. I don't mind doing it, I consider myself very competent and I want it done right...

Don't use steel wool at all. If you want to fix swirls you have to use an orbital sander with the right kind of spongy red scotchbrite pad on it. Anything done by hand will not look right. Also, steel wool will leave behind free iron which will cause rust.

the part number I used is 3m 29293

The most correct sander is a 6" random orbit sander with a 3/16" orbit. I used something slightly different on the recommendation of a youtuber, but I'm not convinced they knew anything that they were saying. You have to push pretty hard so that the orbital sander does its job and not just add swirls, and if you go back and forth over the surface too many times you will end up with a shinier surface that factory. keep a consistent speed as you go across a panel, then without lifting off at the end, move downward and go back the other direction until you've done the whole panel.

The one piece of information that the youtuber gave that seems to have been correct is that the procedure outlined in the service manual (linked below) will probably lead to a much finer finish than the trucks are coming with. I'm linking it anyway because you should follow the recommendations in there, just don't use the scotchbrite discs they suggest. Because the finish will come out too fine and you will have to do the entire truck.

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

I tried to do some "by hand" touch up where there were a few marks, and it looked terrible. Then I used the orbital sander, and you can't tell which door I did at all. It matches almost perfectly with the factory finish. Mine is just a little more consistent than the factory finish, but it's clear that the sanding marks are the same. It's hard to explain. A person who walked up and saw my truck, if I told them that I sanded a door, they would assume I had done the one with the factory finish because the sanding marks are much more erratic on that one.

 

[Jamezam]

Thank you ?? Yes, I just want to resurface the hood and I’ve read the Tesla resurfacing guide several times so far… ?

I was thinking about buying an orbital polisher because I have other vehicles I could use it for, to make the investment worthwhile.

Did you use a dedicated sander or polisher with the appropriate pads?

 

[agordon117]

Thank you ?? Yes, I just want to resurface the hood and I’ve read the Tesla resurfacing guide several times so far… ?

I was thinking about buying an orbital polisher because I have other vehicles I could use it for, to make the investment worthwhile.

Did you use a dedicated sander or polisher with the appropriate pads?

what I used was a cordless orbital polisher that had the red scotchbrite pad on it. If I end up doing more panels though I will probably buy one of the more expensive 3m electric orbital sanders though.

 

[Dazureus]

FYI

 

[HaulingAss]

The most correct sander is a 6" random orbit sander with a 3/16" orbit. I used something slightly different on the recommendation of a youtuber, but I'm not convinced they knew anything that they were saying. You have to push pretty hard so that the orbital sander does its job and not just add swirls, and if you go back and forth over the surface too many times you will end up with a shinier surface that factory. keep a consistent speed as you go across a panel, then without lifting off at the end, move downward and go back the other direction until you've done the whole panel.

The one piece of information that the youtuber gave that seems to have been correct is that the procedure outlined in the service manual (linked below) will probably lead to a much finer finish than the trucks are coming with. I'm linking it anyway because you should follow the recommendations in there, just don't use the scotchbrite discs they suggest. Because the finish will come out too fine and you will have to do the entire truck.

Tesla doesn't recommend a random orbit sander, they recommend an orbital sander. And based on this graphic they supply, I think it's clear they are speaking of a geared (dual action) orbital sander, not a random orbit sander.

I think this is clear based upon the description they provide of the orbital sander having a consistent speed of rotation. Only a geared (Dual Action) orbital sander can provide this. Random Orbit sanders have a consistent orbital speed but the speed of rotation varies with the pressure because the sanding pad is free to rotate.

The results will be very different between the two. That probably explains why the results with the recommended grits comes out finer than expected (assuming you are using the Random Orbit Sander).

I think it would be very difficult to get consistent results with a random orbit sander compared to a geared Dual Action Sander.

 

[StainlessVoyager]

I have the same problem on my hood. One spot looks like they sanded and edge of the sander made scratches and a different long winding scratch. Opened the ticket today, going to go to a new location, hopefully will come out better. Also they put tire dressing when I picked up the car and all that oil is now on the truck (WTF).

 

[getsometom]

I have the same issue on my since delivery. Waiting for a service appointment for Tesla to fix

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