Troubleshooting and solutions...

[Pauly6401]

A friend of mine at work is having some issues with the paint on the hood of his car. He said that it started to turn sort of cloudy, but the clearcoat (as far as he knows) is still there. He also said that the paint looks cloudy or chalky when it's sunny but as soon as it rains or the car gets wet, the paint looks new again. I don't know if this means that the clearcoat is gone or failed, or has other issues.

I told him I was starting to get more interested in detailing and paint revival (for lack of a better term) and that I had a PC 7424 on order. He was pretty excited to see if I could help him fix his hood.

As an exciting side fact, he said that he tried to buff out the car once before but since he had no clue as to what he was doing, he just had a rotary and probably tore up the paint even more by using the wrong product and too much speed which generated more heat than he needed.

I don't have any pictures (I can try to get some) but what would be some good steps to try and fix the mistakes that he's made, based on what little information that I have? It sounds like he's just scratched the paint up with his rotary adventure and maybe had some oxidation issues previous to that. I'm thinking that starting with some aggressive product and pad and slowly working my way up to a finer pad and polish would gradually remove the scratches and oxidation and damage, and restore the shine. BUT, I'd really like to hear some opinions from the pros here, if I have provided enough info.

Any other questions that would help I can ask this week at work and see what I can get for you guys.

Thanks!

 

[D]

Never start with an aggressive product. Start with something gentle, then work your way up. It sounds to me like it might be marring, or holograms. I need to know what kind of car this is before I can recommend something.

 

[alban61]

Sounds interesting. Is it a repainted or replaced hood? My sister's Accord had a replaced hood, and it began to look cloudy too after a few years. After washing, and waxing, it looked fine for a few days. I had pictures posted and pro's here thought it was paint failure. Clearcoat appeared fine, but the paint under had failed because it wasn't allowed to fully cure before the CC was applied. I tried XMT3 and PC w/ LC Orange pad, and it didn't make a dent! Looked smoother, but still cloudy. Keep us posted. Will be great if you had pics.

 

[BILL]

A friend of mine at work is having some issues with the paint on the hood of his car. He said that it started to turn sort of cloudy, but the clearcoat (as far as he knows) is still there. He also said that the paint looks cloudy or chalky when it's sunny but as soon as it rains or the car gets wet, the paint looks new again. I don't know if this means that the clearcoat is gone or failed, or has other issues.

I told him I was starting to get more interested in detailing and paint revival (for lack of a better term) and that I had a PC 7424 on order. He was pretty excited to see if I could help him fix his hood.

As an exciting side fact, he said that he tried to buff out the car once before but since he had no clue as to what he was doing, he just had a rotary and probably tore up the paint even more by using the wrong product and too much speed which generated more heat than he needed.

I don't have any pictures (I can try to get some) but what would be some good steps to try and fix the mistakes that he's made, based on what little information that I have? It sounds like he's just scratched the paint up with his rotary adventure and maybe had some oxidation issues previous to that. I'm thinking that starting with some aggressive product and pad and slowly working my way up to a finer pad and polish would gradually remove the scratches and oxidation and damage, and restore the shine. BUT, I'd really like to hear some opinions from the pros here, if I have provided enough info.

Any other questions that would help I can ask this week at work and see what I can get for you guys.

Thanks!

Clear coat is gone........refinishing is the only option

 

[Pauly6401]

Checked out the paint today

So I checked out the hood of my friend's truck today, it's a 99 (I think) Ford F-150. The paint is fine other than the central flat part of the hood and the roof. It's not exactly chalky, but it is dulled and feels like primer when you touch it, as opposed to the smooth feeling of normal paint. Some of that is probably from when he tried to buff out the hood with a rotary tool before, but the rest just looks really oxidized. Prior to the paint getting wonky, he kept up the truck very well with regular washes and waxing. When he couldn't stop the dullness from occurring, he gave up.

I passed the links to this forum to him, so he might just pop up and say hi - I'll see if I can get some pictures but I am thinking the paint is just very oxidized - though it's weird because it only happened on the flat central areas along the whole hood and roof. Most times I've seen clearcoat failing you can tell a definite line where the clearcoat is being eaten away or disappearing...this just kind of looks dull and then normal again with no defined edge.

SO barring the fact that the clearcoat is failed and he will have to get a repaint - what can I try to restore the paint? We obviously can't make it any worse - we just want to restore the shine and repair the damage from the previous attempts to fix it.

The way the paint looked actually reminded me a lot of the truck in this thread (including the dull color and small, smoother spots):
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/3801-pc-7424-xmt-s-big-results.html#post49644

 

[BILL]

So I checked out the hood of my friend's truck today, it's a 99 (I think) Ford F-150. The paint is fine other than the central flat part of the hood and the roof. It's not exactly chalky, but it is dulled and feels like primer when you touch it, as opposed to the smooth feeling of normal paint. Some of that is probably from when he tried to buff out the hood with a rotary tool before, but the rest just looks really oxidized. Prior to the paint getting wonky, he kept up the truck very well with regular washes and waxing. When he couldn't stop the dullness from occurring, he gave up.

I passed the links to this forum to him, so he might just pop up and say hi - I'll see if I can get some pictures but I am thinking the paint is just very oxidized - though it's weird because it only happened on the flat central areas along the whole hood and roof. Most times I've seen clear coat failing you can tell a definite line where the clear coat is being eaten away or disappearing...this just kind of looks dull and then normal again with no defined edge.

SO barring the fact that the clear coat is failed and he will have to get a repaint - what can I try to restore the paint? We obviously can't make it any worse - we just want to restore the shine and repair the damage from the previous attempts to fix it.

The way the paint looked actually reminded me a lot of the truck in this thread (including the dull color and small, smoother spots):
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/3801-pc-7424-xmt-s-big-results.html#post49644

Id try polishing with a rotary.......or for lack of experience with a rotary??? a P.C. just to bring some life back into the finish......top off with any good LSP out there....

 

[Pauly6401]

Would using some XMT of various grades help with that, much like the guy in the other post? I'm getting a PC 7424 (as soon as it makes it to my house) and orange and white pads for it, but I don't have much in the way of polishes - at least not for a job like this!

 

[BILL]

Would using some XMT of various grades help with that, much like the guy in the other post? I'm getting a PC 7424 (as soon as it makes it to my house) and orange and white pads for it, but I don't have much in the way of polishes - at least not for a job like this!

I'd start with the least aggressive grade and work up if needed..white pad first..then if more aggressie product is needed stay with white or go to the orange pad.........

 

[Goose]

I tried XMT3 and PC w/ LC Orange pad, and it didn't make a dent! Looked smoother, but still cloudy.

Anyone else having an issue like this?? I have XMT2 and the paint does feel much smoother but it's still cloudy!

Anyone have any clues as to why?

thanks!

 

[BILL]

Anyone else having an issue like this?? I have XMT2 and the paint does feel much smoother but it's still cloudy!

Anyone have any clues as to why?

thanks!

Are you working it enough??? whats the condition of the clear coat..?? before the polishing..

 

[Goose]

Are you working it enough??? whats the condition of the clear coat..?? before the polishing..

I'm working it for between 5-8 minutes per half panel. There is no clear coat, this is a single stage red '91 Taurus. Any ideas?
XMT2 with a yellow pad has removed a good amount of oxidation, paint it smooth but still cloudier than I'd like it to be.......

 

[BILL]

I'm working it for between 5-8 minutes per half panel. There is no clear coat, this is a single stage red '91 Taurus. Any ideas?
XMT2 with a yellow pad has removed a good amount of oxidation, paint it smooth but still cloudier than I'd like it to be.......

Hmmm it must be oxidation then....unless your paint is down to the primer

 

[Goose]

Hmmm it must be oxidation then....unless your paint is down to the primer

There is no where on the car where the paint is down to the primer. Rust in places, yes, but the car looks decent for it's age. Just trying stuff on the car. The guinea pig of the bunch, as it were.

Do you think that Poorboys SSR 2.5 and a yellow pad would produce different results?

The reason I did not go with the SSR and went with the XMT is that I do not have a lot of SSR1 left to correct any marring/cloudiness the 2.5 may produce.
The XMT, as far as I read on Autogeek, does not need something finer to correct after it..........the only reason why I bought it really - that and it appeared by some posts here that it did a really good job on oxidation, Without marring and/or cloudiness.....

I guess I just expected better results after I followed suggestions on how to use the product from these forums.

Your thoughts?

Thanks Bill.

Justyn

 

[matteo86]

If your using a yellow LC pad..that could be reasons for cloudyness... its a very harsh pad. IF you worked the abbrasive polish in, try ssr1 with a white pad..that will remove anything left for the more abbrasive polish.

 

[Goose]

If your using a yellow LC pad..that could be reasons for cloudyness... its a very harsh pad. IF you worked the abbrasive polish in, try ssr1 with a white pad..that will remove anything left for the more abbrasive polish.

Yes, I am using a yellow pad SFX (sonus, I believe) pad at the moment. I know it's harsh, but I want to try and get maximum correction for the time I am spending on the car.

I believe I have worked the polish in enough. What are your suggestions for XMT2?
I have less abrasive pads, SFX -> green, white, blue, orange, yellow - that's it for pads that I have.

Ok, I'll give the SSR1 and a white pad a try. Maybe that will clear it up a little.

Thanks.

 

[pete detailer]

pauly. try clay first(we use synthetic here in aussie) then start with wool pad on a rotary at about 900 to 1100 rpm slow is the way to go with a good water based polish I believe menzarna is good although I haven't used it.The polish we use is available in the states but I can't mention it here though.