Clear Coat Question for the pro’s

[bigmackmiller]

Finally giving my new truck the proper care it deserves and getting it protected for winter, going around with wolfgang Uber compound and a orange hex logic pad finding all these little spots, not sure if it’s over spray, clear starting to fail or something else? I can see them in areas that have not yet been polished so don’t believe it’s anything related to that, just wondering if it’s worth the effort to get more aggressive and try to remove them or if it is clear failure I already know that a respray is the only fix

 

[AZpolisher15]

Is that a re-paint?

 

[bigmackmiller]

Not to my knowledge, the good has been repainted and the bed sides were repaired, but this was on the top of the cab, almost thinking micro etching after looking at some pics, i can’t catch anything with my nail

 

[Eldorado2k]

Not to my knowledge, the good has been repainted and the bed sides were repaired, but this was on the top of the cab, almost thinking micro etching after looking at some pics, i can’t catch anything with my nail

How bad was it before you polished it?

 

[Eldorado2k]

Is it a GM truck? I don’t know if it’s just a GM thing, but I’ve noticed that they sometimes use a different kind of paint or different method of painting on the horizontal panels of some vehicles.. Whatever it is I’ve seen the roofs of some vehicles and sometimes even the hoods paint is of lower quality than the vertical panels as far as shine and clarity. It could also be due to the fact that the horizontal panels, especially the roof takes the most abuse over time. I think it could be a combination of both.

I’ve always wanted to know the correct answer as to why the paint on the hood could be different from the paint on the fender of a car.. Is it because the hood is made of a different kind metal and therefore couldn’t be painted the same way? The paint on my brothers Cadillac CTS was like that.. Fender shined like a mirror, the hood shined, but you couldn’t see reflections anywhere near like you could on the vertical panels of the car. It was completely different paint from the factory.

 

[Strong66]

My guess would be solvent pop, it could be wet sanded and polished out.

If it's factory clear, be cautious you don't have many mils to work with.

 

[itsgn]

To me it looks like the typical aforementioned solvent pop of a repainted surface. Did you measure paint thickness? If yes, what was it?

Similar defects can also sometimes arise when one is heavily overheating the paint while polishing it, without burning through it.

 

[Eldorado2k]

To me it looks like the typical aforementioned solvent pop of a repainted surface.

Similar defects can also sometimes arise when one is heavily overheating the paint while polishing it, without burning through it.

It may look like solvent pop of a repainted surface, but according to the information OP provided that’s not the case here because that panel has never been re painted.

And while similar defects may arise when overheating occurs during polishing, he said he can see these same defects in areas he has yet to polish...


So as far as his situation goes: Have a look at the factory paint on the hood of my 02’ Cadillac.

Now have a closer look...

Zoom in even closer and it looks alot like the factory paint in the OP.

Now look at the factory paint on the vertical panels of the same car. This paint is different. Compared to the paint they used on the horizontal panels this paint is perfect.

Does this somehow indicate that some panels on my car have been re painted? No, and I have no doubt about it. This is normal. Like I said earlier, my brothers Cadillac was the same way, I’ve also seen Mercedes Benz gray/silver factory paint look the same exact way on their horizontal panels. I wish I knew the reason why they do it...

Does it mean the horizontal panels don’t shine? Of course not.

It only looks like that under close examination. I could clearly see it as I was polishing my car.. Does it bother me? No not really, because there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s the way they chose to paint it from the factory, combined with many years of neglect by the previous owners.

 

[bigmackmiller]

Maybe it is a factory flaw then with the truck being from a similar era @ GM, and or clear coat etching from age. This truck is a 2001 Chevrolet 2500HD, to my knowledge the hood, and bedsides are the only repainted areas. I too am seeing this on the horizontal surfaces. The pic was taken on the roof of the truck, but it is apparent on curved body lines right under the driver side window as well that have a horizontal projection. Unfortunately I don't have a MIL gauge to see how much we have to work with that would allow me to wet sand the areas, but would consider purchasing one if you wouldn't mind recommending one. If the factory clear is thin to begin with I may only have to option of having it fixed at the body shop.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Maybe it is a factory flaw then with the truck being from a similar era @ GM, and or clear coat etching from age. This truck is a 2001 Chevrolet 2500HD. I too am seeing this on the horizontal surfaces.

I knew it.lol.

 

[MikeC78]

Hard to tell from the pics, but it might be clear overspray from a sloppy body shop. I've seen it many times before. Can you feel the 'dots' when you run your hand over it?

 

[SWETM]

Hard to tell from the pics, but it might be clear overspray from a sloppy body shop. I've seen it many times before. Can you feel the 'dots' when you run your hand over it?

Was my first thought too. But if he can not feel the dots. And you can test it with the baggie test to get a more sensitive feel on them. Then Eldorado2K findings is interesting to hear and can suit to your situation as well.

 

[itsgn]

It may look like solvent pop of a repainted surface, but according to the information OP provided that’s not the case here because that panel has never been re painted.

To his knowledge. Which is limited, because he is obviously not the first owner of the car. But even if the car would be brand new, dealerships sometimes "silently" have cars corrected, for ex. when they get damaged in transport. And sometimes cars overgo correction already in the factory. Just saying.

And while similar defects may arise when overheating occurs during polishing, he said he can see these same defects in areas he has yet to polish...

Again, that doesn't mean that nobody has polished the car previously. For all we (don't) know it could have been polished already not only once, but several times.

That said I did not say what the cause of the defect was (because, well, I can't know for sure either), just what it looked like to me. And I asked specifically for paint thickness measurement to get more hints (or possibly even confirmation) on whether the area has been repainted or corrected previously. Until we get at least that, there's really nothing we could go by, and it's equally probable that it's solvent pop from a repaint or a result of clear coat overheating from improper polishing than that it's a factory defect.

Paint thickness measurement would also be important to determine the possible course(s) of treatment, and to see whether there are actually any options other than a repaint, obviously.

 

[Eldorado2k]

To his knowledge. Which is limited, because he is obviously not the first owner of the car. But even if the car would be brand new, dealerships sometimes "silently" have cars corrected, for ex. when they get damaged in transport. And sometimes cars overgo correction already in the factory. Just saying.


Again, that doesn't mean that nobody has polished the car previously.

That said I did not say what the cause of the defect was (because, well, I can't know for sure either), just what it looked like to me. And I asked specifically for paint thickness measurement to get more hints (or possibly even confirmation) on whether the area has been repainted or corrected previously.

We’re not talking about whether it’s been previously corrected, we’re talking about whether or not that panel has been re painted, and according to him it hasn’t.

And yea, I know you said that’s what it “looked” like... It can look like whatever, but in this situation it doesn’t apply because that particular panel hasn’t been repainted.

I’ll go out on a limb and say most if not all people on this forum have a pretty good idea about whether or not their vehicles have been re painted or not. You could let me drive any vehicle for a week and I would be able to tell you what and where it’s been re painted even without the use of paint meter. I’m sure I’d be able to, wouldn’t you? It’s not that hard.

 

[Farmallluvr]

Looks like environmental damage to me ,maybe a waterspot acid etch or burnt in water spots,most of the GM paint flaws I've seen in the last 15 to 20 years resemble this.
I work at a GM dealer and see plenty but l am looking at it on my little phone screen,I look when I get home on the PC I'll re evaluate

 

[itsgn]

We’re not talking about whether it’s been previously corrected

Yes we are. You're actually doing nothing else than insisting on and arguing for that it could have not been possibly repainted - without having any factual verification for that. You're obviously confusing the lack of knowledge of something having happened with that thing not having happened - which are two different things.

we’re talking about whether or not that panel has been re painted

Yes, we are talking about that, too. More precisely: the OP has asked what might have caused the defect he sent a picture of. And we gave our opinions on that. And in my opinion a repaint could have just caused the observed effect. You not agreeing with this being a possibility is irrelevant, and not a determining factor in any way.

and according to him it hasn’t.

I've already addressed this. Feel free to read back!

And yea, I know you said that’s what it “looked” like... It can look like whatever, but in this situation it doesn’t apply because that particular panel hasn’t been repainted.

You. Don't. Know. Actually, you can't even know. I've already explained why. You not understanding that won't change this fact.

I’ll go out on a limb and say most if not all people on this forum have a pretty good idea about whether or not their vehicles have been re painted or not.

Which you can't know either, unless you asked most if not all of them. And even then they could be wrong about that. Not that this wouldn't be totally irrelevant to this topic anyway, because even if most people on this forum would be definitely right about their paints, it still wouldn't mean that OP is also necessarily right about his paint. Or that he necessarily would have been right, if he'd have actually claimed something definitive about his paint, which he didn't, because he only declared what he had knowledge of. Just saying.

You could let me drive any vehicle for a week

Yeah, but we're not talking about that. I mean: we are REALLY not talking about that - not like not talking about a possible repaint, which we are.



You're arguing about irrelevant things anyway. Because in the end it doesn't matter what caused (or whether we know or can know what caused) the defect. The only thing that matters is whether it can be corrected and/or that it would be worth correcting. And that can primarily be determined by first measuring the paint thickness, then if the latter allows, doing a test spot and trying some form (or if that one doesn't work out, then possibly trying other forms) of correction.

 

[Farmallluvr]

I looked at it on the big screen and still think it may be envirometal damge ,,just not what I stated before.

It could possibly be from what I call fallout,,usually from foundries and such.I've seen it leave little poc marks on the surface like this after it has been removed .

This stuff can really eat into the clear when heated up in the sun