Metal tab inside wheel well and possible issues with surrounding paint

[WATT TF]

I was performing a careful inspection of my clear bra and its integrity after a couple of weeks in the cold, snowy, and salty roads when I noticed a very flimsy metal tab inside of the wheel well. What is this and is it supposed to be rigid or flexible?

The last photo is the edge of my front bumper. I originally asked the company that installed a clear bra whether the lines are from a knife - they are not. To the naked eye it looks as if a clear bra was installed on top of a clear bra in the corners. Could this be an imperfection with the original paint or clear coat?

On another note I noticed what looks like galvanic corrosion near the Tesla logo on the hood, but I assume this will be easily removed next time the car is cleaned. Just a little surprised to see this 2 weeks after delivery.

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated!

 

[TeeEmCee]

I was performing a careful inspection of my clear bra and its integrity after a couple of weeks in the cold, snowy, and salty roads when I noticed a very flimsy metal tab inside of the wheel well. What is this and is it supposed to be rigid or flexible?

The last photo is the edge of my front bumper. I originally asked the company that installed a clear bra whether the lines are from a knife - they are not. To the naked eye it looks as if a clear bra was installed on top of a clear bra in the corners. Could this be an imperfection with the original paint or clear coat?

On another note I noticed what looks like galvanic corrosion near the Tesla logo on the hood, but I assume this will be easily removed next time the car is cleaned. Just a little surprised to see this 2 weeks after delivery.

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated!

In your second photo (5519), I’m gonna go with knife mark. I cannot imagine anything in the painting or assembly process that would leave such a mark.

 

[Jason_G]

I was cleaning my 3 yesterday, and when I ran my mitt around the wheel well, a small thin metallic trip came out. At the time, I thought it was road debri and discarded it. It looks exactly like what is shown in your last two pictures.

I wonder if it is a shim used for the installation process of the front bumper.

 

[MMBTUS]

Blemish appears proximate to/under wrap film edge, not logo. Odd spot for any corrosion to surface.

 

[Msjulie]

My car had a piece of thin metal poking out the left front rim, it was small and I just cut it that's how thin it was. Other's have posted similar things, I seem to recall it was some kind of insulation or sometime.

 

[WATT TF]

Thanks for the advice - I'm referring to the same tab and will cut it off.

Last weekend I parked next to another pearl while model 3 and noticed the exact same marks seen in my photo 5519. I think it's safe to say the marks have to do with the multi-layer aspect of the white paint or the clear coat applied afterwards. At the right angle it appears like my clear bra is on top of a clear bra leading me to believe this is the rough edges of the clear coat.

I am still confused by surface corrosion near the logo and will ask company that applied clear bra about it today.

 

[tyguy]

Small orange dots are almost always the result of a microscopic piece of iron oxidizing on top of the paint, which usually comes from rail delivery on new cars. White paint shows it the most. Over time it'll accumulate on the surface from things like brake rotors. There are liquid spray-on products to deal with this, like Iron X, and clay baring helps. I was surprised to see the PPF on your M3 was installed around the Tesla emblem instead of removing the emblem and reapplying it over the PPF. Personally I just had them remove mine and keep it off since I think the chrome detracts from the black paint.