Invisible Spots / ValuGard Decon ?

dnadrifterr

dnadrifterr

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I took delivery of a new Audi S6 in Jan. These cars had been sitting awhile (early 2018) as they were waiting for some recall parts. There was a little of what looked like some residual water spot imperfections in the hood when I got it, but just figured I would polish them out....no big deal, there weren't many.

Well, I used 3D One and a white lake county pad, followed by blue and got pretty much everything out. I could still barely make out a trace of a couple, but unless I looked hard I would never see them. Car was looking great. Finished with Prima Amigo and then Prima Hydro Max.

Today was the first day it had been outside in warmer temps and when I looked at the hood tonight in the garage the hood was covered with water spots/etching. What????

Did some internet searching (and there is a current related thread on here) and found that some folks have seen spots come back.Some folks recommended a nuetralization step like the ValuGard decon kit to potentially neutralize the contaminants thinking they would keep coming back or etching if they weren't neutralized.

Guess I am looking for advice. I don't have a huge amount of experience. Should I try the decon kit? Should I just do more paint correction. Maybe a microfiber or wool pad. I don't want to damage my new paint. I do have a paint gauge. The most I have ever done though on my other cars was using a yellow pad with Menzerna SIP.

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dnadrifterr said:
I took delivery of a new Audi S6 in Jan. These cars had been sitting awhile (early 2018) as they were waiting for some recall parts. There was a little of what looked like some residual water spot imperfections in the hood when I got it, but just figured I would polish them out....no big deal, there weren't many.

Well, I used 3D One and a white lake county pad, followed by blue and got pretty much everything out. I could still barely make out a trace of a couple, but unless I looked hard I would never see them. Car was looking great. Finished with Prima Amigo and then Prima Hydro Max.

Today was the first day it had been outside in warmer temps and when I looked at the hood tonight in the garage the hood was covered with water spots/etching. What????

Did some internet searching (and there is a current related thread on here) and found that some folks have seen spots come back.Some folks recommended a nuetralization step like the ValuGard decon kit to potentially neutralize the contaminants thinking they would keep coming back or etching if they weren't neutralized.
Click to expand...


Sorry to hear about this.... a real bummer to get a brand new car only to find a mystery paint defect. :dunno:


dnadrifterr said:
Guess I am looking for advice. I don't have a huge amount of experience.

Should I try the decon kit?
Click to expand...


I had a full write-up for this system, Todd Helme and I used it a few years ago and wrote a how-to article for it? That's weird. Looked on Autopia and here on AGO and can't find it. It's as though it disappeared?


2 thoughts....

You don't have anything to loose to test out the ValuGard Decon System except about $100.00

My other thought goes like this,

Paint defects are either topical or sub-surface. If they are topical it's fairly easy to remove. If they are sub-surface, that is "in" the paint, then as long as they are not to deep you should be able to remove via abrading.

I'd say try a more aggressive process than you've already tried and see what you get. Maybe only do a test section and then watch if for a few weeks and see if they come back. If no, do the rest of the affected area. If they do come back then look into the ValuGard system.




And welcome to AutogeekOnline!


:welcome:
 
I’m a fan of ValuGard ABC and since we are allowed to discuss it, I will say it has never done me wrong. It gets rid of all ferrous and non ferrous contamination. I wouldn’t hesitate to try it on water spots.

There is a how to video on YouTube. You just have to be ok with washing the car three times in three different steps.
 
Thanks Mike. Really appreciate your thoughts on this. I have a Megs microfiber cutting disk....I think I will try that and see what I get and if they come back.

Thanks for the welcome....I think I have posted before but had two accounts and this happens to be the one I figured out my login / password for. :-)
 
Bill D said:
I’m a fan of ValuGard ABC and since we are allowed to discuss it, I will say it has never done me wrong. It gets rid of all ferrous and non ferrous contamination. I wouldn’t hesitate to try it on water spots.

There is a how to video on YouTube. You just have to be ok with washing the car three times in three different steps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the you tube reference. I will look that up. Is this something in your opinion that I could do just on the hood, or do you have to do the whole car?
 
I don’t see why you couldn’t do just a section of the car but the full benefit of the system is doing the whole car.
 
Did a quarter of the hood with 3 passes of a megs cutting microfiber pad and 3D One using a porter cable 7424. Everything came out easy enough....guess we will see if they come back.
 
Bill D said:
I’m a fan of ValuGard ABC and since we are allowed to discuss it, I will say it has never done me wrong. It gets rid of all ferrous and non ferrous contamination. I wouldn’t hesitate to try it on water spots.

There is a how to video on YouTube. You just have to be ok with washing the car three times in three different steps.
Click to expand...

Can you still buy the kit? Valugard closed their online store, and I only see case quantities of the individual components in their product listing. Finish Kare used to sell a similar kit, but they don't carry it here at AG any longer.
 
Last time I looked they were taking orders by phone. I sure hope they are still selling it
 
Bill D said:
Last time I looked they were taking orders by phone. I sure hope they are still selling it
Click to expand...

Yeah, it still says you can order by phone. I used to buy their Custom Wheel Cleaner (which is a non-HF acid cleaner) by the gallon, but now they only sell it in 5 gallons. I just don't see the kit listed, only cases of the individual components.
 
I Googled “ValuGard ABC” and it brought me directly to the page it is sold on
 
Still available. Just ordered it. 1-800 number doesn't work...use the regular number in their contact info on the website. $55 plus $43 shipping to CA.
 
Wow, even to CA that’s hefty shipping. I wonder what it is to FL. Years ago I was able to get it through a re seller and if I remember right, the shipping wasn’t that bad.

Nevertheless, it’s still an indispensable thing to have in your detailing arsenal. I use mine whenever I want to start with a fresh, new LSP.
 
I think step B alkaline neutralizer says not to use on trim and only paint. Seems like it would be pretty hard not to get it on some trim if one is doing the roof. How sensitive are trim components with respect to discoloring or any other bad stuff?
 
I don’t have like aluminum trim on my car but I would just carefully apply B around it with the mitt. If you mess up, just rinse off quickly and start again. I recall it not being too difficult to control as you apply it.
 
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