Problems with the paint on a black '09 Jag

davidc11291

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Sorry for the long post. If anyone doesn't want to read all the details, here's my question- Do newer Jag's have anything unusual or unique about their paint?

Today I was working on a black 09 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas with less than 10k miles. The car has sat in the original owner's driveway (underneath trees) for the past 2 years while major home renovations were done. Amazingly, just 2 years worth of tree sap and construction dust have caused clear coat failure on the hood, roof, and trunk lid. Little spots about half the size of a dime where something has sat on the paint and caused etchings that have eaten through the clear coat. That's not really part of my question, but I was amazed to see it happen so fast, especially when I see 15 year old, abused minivans who's paint is in better condition, so I figured I'd share.

I had 2 strange things happen with this paint, and I'm hoping for some feedback.

1. When I wash a heavily soiled car, I spray a couple of panels with a bug remover to loosen the grime, let dwell for 1 min, then wash the panels with my soapy water. Never had a problem doing this. However, on this car, after I would wash the panels off, I was having this really oily residue that wouldn't come off. It was that fluorescent rainbow color, like when an oil spot in a parking lot gets rained on. I ended up doing a second wash with dawn to get the oil off. I figured it was just a strange reaction to my bug cleaner, but my bug cleaner doesn't appear oily, and I've never had that happen before. I believe my oil cleaner is butyl-based, but I'll have to look at the jug. I was in the shade, late afternoon, cool weather.

2. After I clayed, the next day I polished the swirled out finish with my DA, Ultimate Compound, and a tangerine hydrotech. I rinsed the car off and dried it, then I went to lay down a coat of Collinite 845. As I was removing the 845, it just wouldn't come off. When I finally did break through the wax, there was that same fluorescent rainbow colored oily residue smearing all over the paint. I couldn't get the 845 off, and this strange oily substance had reappeared and it wouldn't come off either. Together, they ended up leaving oily, waxy lines on the black paint, where the red pad I used on my DA to apply the Collonite had moved back and forth. I did 2 APC washes which removed a lot of it, but there's still visible streaks. When I go back tomorrow, I'm probably gonna do a mineral spirits wipe down to get everything off, so I can re-wax. At first, I thought the problem was that I had put the 845 on too thick and let it haze too much, but then I remembered having that same oily problem when I did the bug remover, so now I'm wondering if it has something to do with the paint itself? FWIW, this is only the second time I've used 845. After reading so many great things, I decided to try it out. First time went great. This time, I used a little more product and let it sit a little longer, but still not a lot. I know 845 is a totally different animal, so I did my homework and was still pretty cautious about keeping it thin and wiping it off as soon as I had applied it to the whole car (20 min to apply, in the shade, late afternoon, cool weather).

Thanks for reading through all of that. I really appreciate it.



If there was left over oily residue from the bug remover, it would've been taken off by the machine compounding, so why did it show up again when I waxed? Is there something different about this particular paint? Any ideas on explaining exactly what happened?
 
I've worked on several Jaguars and never experienced what you are describing. I'd guess that something has soaked into the damaged paint that is leaching out of the paint as you work on it. Strange for sure. Sorry I can't be of help.
 
Interesting theory. It's very possible, since the car was sitting right next to a house that was being renovated. Who knows what construction chemicals floating onto it.

If you're right, do you think that putting down a coat of wax would actually lock in the damaging substance and do more harm than good?
 
Interesting theory. It's very possible, since the car was sitting right next to a house that was being renovated. Who knows what construction chemicals floating onto it.

If you're right, do you think that putting down a coat of wax would actually lock in the damaging substance and do more harm than good?
That's a hard question to answer other than to say it's possible. If I were experiencing this issue, I'd mix up some degreaser in a sprayer and soak the car down and allow it to dwell for a few minutes and then pressure wash the car being careful to not get the concentrated pressure close enough to blast off any of the damaged clear coat.

I'm thinking that this might remove whatever it is that is causing the oily fiasco.
 
Anytime I look at a car for a prospective client and it has clear coat failure, I say to them...."You need a body shop, not a detailer". then I get back in my van and head over the hills and far away.
 
I have seen this on a few cars,they all had some sort of dealer applied sealant. Try wiping with alcohol
 
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