Magnetic sign damage to paint

Dave Medvic

Dave Medvic

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My vista print signs left white marks on my truck, tried buffing it out but no luck yesterday. Any of you run into this before? I can try a different compound tonight or wet sanding, didn't expect this.
 
I have had one leave black marks and got them out with WD 40 not sure what the white marks are... can you take a picture?
 
I'd like to find out more about this as well.

I had a magnetic sign leave a strange etching on my door panel. Not sure about the color as my car is black. I was able to get most of it out using M101 on a cyan pad which was the most aggressive combo I had.

I guess I missed a few spots so am planning on hitting it again in the spring. Hopefully there's no permanent damage.
 
I'm assuming the white marks are from dirt getting between the magnet and the paint and abrading away at the clearcoat. I've fixed a lot of vehicles with this problem. Depends on how severe the problem is on how aggressive you need to go to buff it out. I've had many that needed to be buffed out with rotary and wool pad.

Also, things (liquids) that can degrade paints such as hard water, detergents and other types of fallout can get behind the magnet and dwell on the paint leaving a chemical etching.
 
tuscarora dave said:
I'm assuming the white marks are from dirt getting between the magnet and the paint and abrading away at the clearcoat. I've fixed a lot of vehicles with this problem. Depends on how severe the problem is on how aggressive you need to go to buff it out. I've had many that needed to be buffed out with rotary and wool pad.

Also, things (liquids) that can degrade paints such as hard water, detergents and other types of fallout can get behind the magnet and dwell on the paint leaving a chemical etching.
Click to expand...
Thanks Dave,
I may post a pic tonight, but I will go as abrasive as I can if that's the direction I need to go in. Black paint with white square spots outlining where the magnets sat. I saw this during the Summer and just figured on using my buffer further along in the season. Was surprised that Menzerna IS 1500 with a cutting pad on my Flex D.A. did not make much of a dent.
 
Yeah Post a photo when you get time to.

The problem with these magnets is that in the event some sort of chemical solution gets between the magnet and the paint and dwells there, the resulting damage can go below the surface and into the matrix of the paint and possibly be irreparable.

I always try a chemical (non-abrasive) polish like Poorboy's World Pro Polish or any bottled metal polish first before moving on to abrasive solutions.
 
I just tried 105 with a cutting pad and still no effect. Tried the Metal Polish idea, no luck. Decided to wet sand with 600 grit and it seems to have finally taken some out of the cloudiness out of the clear.
I plan on picking up 200 grit and see if I can't get some better results...I'll never use those signs again.
 
Just leave the sign off for a bit, moisture may have actually soaked into the paint. It may clear up when it dries.

I have some on my truck for my house buying business, and noticed they attract so many metal shavings. Iron-x is a must for anyone with these magnetic signs.

My truck had mostly abrasions and staining. After only three months on the truck. Polishing removed my issues, but I did go straight for my trusty rotary and wool.

Hopefully this helps.

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That's why I coated my doors before applying mine plus I wipe them down with UWW and dry them every time I put them on.


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Thanks for all the feedback, I hadn't thought about moisture stains, it was a rainy Summer and water was behind the signs often.
Sealant was applied before the signs went on but now I can see I should have pulled them and reapplied more. The strange part as I wet sanded was that the 1500 grit sand paper I used after the 600 grit, actually showed more white residue than the 600. I may resort to my Meguiar's sanding disks for my drill to keep working it down.
 
I read somewhereonce that if they are placed on a metallic paint that the metal particles will accually pull up into the clear coat and cause dproblems like this because the angles of the flakes change position and the light hits them at different angles it looks a different shade. Just throwing this in for info reasons. Anyone else ever heard of this type of reason?
 
I know someone who had one on their vehicle long enough that the rubber backing of the magnet actually melted to the paint... it was a black vehicle.
 
I only put mine on when I deem necessary. Only when looking at properties or meeting with other investors. I also might throw them on if I'm just going to be driving around town.

I won't leave them on for more than a few days at a time, just so I don't have issues like before. The little metal shavings were etching my paint pretty badly.

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This thread is old but I thought I should update it, wound up having to get both front doors repainted by a local body shop. The paint was actually gone from the doors where the sign was, seemed to suck the pigment right off the door. Well, I won't be using signs again.
 
I was looking to add them to my truck, guess I will have to skip or remove them at the end of the day.

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Really? Detailers that wont rub a purpose built water blade on their paint will put a magnetic sign on it? I had thought about these signs but then I thought "This may not be a good type of advertising for a person claiming to know how to take care of paint"

Doesnt this sound counter intuitive to anyone else?
 
I have heard of using a heat gun to reduce or eliminate magnetic sign discoloration.
 
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