What is this and can it be removed with a DA?

Joe in PA

Joe in PA

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The pics below are from an 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 190k miles on the paint. Far as I know it has never seen any paint maintenance other than frequent trips to an automatic car wash. The first pic is of some sort of flaw in the clearcoat taken after washing and the use of a clay bar. The 2nd pic is after going over the hood twice with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound using a LC flat orange pad on a PC at speed setting 6. The entire hood is also pock marked with small etchings in the clear coat, similar to what can be seen in the 3rd pic.

Any idea what it is I am dealing with and if I can realistically hope to correct it with the PC? Thanks for any help you folks can provide.


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That's clear coat failure. A re-paint is in order.
 
Uh oh that looks like clear coat failure. Only way to fix is to re-paint, it'll only get worse from here...
 
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If you are referring to this, it looks like a possible bird bomb. A big one! ;)
 
Joe in PA said:
Any idea what it is I am dealing with and if I can realistically hope to correct it with the PC? Thanks for any help you folks can provide.
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Rsurfer said:
That's clear coat failure. A re-paint is in order.
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Wow, that's a harsh assessment! I'd say that what you are seeing are the remnants of, variously, bird poop-, water spot-, tree sap-, and whatever else-etching that just happens to most cars that aren't cared for in a Geek-ian fashion their whole lives (and maybe some that are).

The best you can do is give the car a good polishing. Some will come out. Some will be minimized. Some will be too deep and will be there. Just the way it is. You can't expect a decade-old vehicle that hasn't been meticulously cared for to be perfect.

Man, some of you guys are way over-reacting...localized etches like that can stay the same for many years...that's nonsense IMO to suggest a repaint.
 
Well a repaint is definitely out of the question but I can certainly live with the idea of doing the best I can with the UC and maybe M205 before applying some sealant. It is just an old beater intended for driving in the winter instead of the nice Jeeps, so I'll just do the best I can and live with the results.

Thanks!
 
Joe in PA said:
Well a repaint is definitely out of the question but I can certainly live with the idea of doing the best I can with the UC and maybe M205 before applying some sealant. It is just an old beater intended for driving in the winter instead of the nice Jeeps, so I'll just do the best I can and live with the results.
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There ya go! Take some consolation in that probably no one else will notice them. The worst is those crazed etch areas that hold wax/polish residue and look white, but the puddle-shaped defects...you're the only one that will notice them. Yeah...repaint for a winter beater with 190K...LOL...
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Wow, that's a harsh assessment! I'd say that what you are seeing are the remnants of, variously, bird poop-, water spot-, tree sap-, and whatever else-etching that just happens to most cars that aren't cared for in a Geek-ian fashion their whole lives (and maybe some that are).

The best you can do is give the car a good polishing. Some will come out. Some will be minimized. Some will be too deep and will be there. Just the way it is. You can't expect a decade-old vehicle that hasn't been meticulously cared for to be perfect.

Man, some of you guys are way over-reacting...localized etches like that can stay the same for many years...that's nonsense IMO to suggest a repaint.
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I'm glad that you spoke up as I was really starting to second guess myself saying that one spot looked like a bird bomb when I saw everyone else start talking about clear coat failure (those posts were made while I was composing my message).
 
Can you feel it with a gently touch of your fingernail? Meaning becareful not to pick at it, just see if you feel it... Try a IPA wipe down of the area, clay, then with a MF with a good cut M205 first to see if the least cut will buff it out or lessen the eye sore, if not maybe step it up with M105 or likewise, I would be a little worried myself to take a machine to it, but thats just me. If it is clearcoat failure thats the last step to the paint. it looks like etching. Do a trial and error with caution but do it in your comfort level. good luck and good question im stumped. can you get a closer picture and stable.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Wow, that's a harsh assessment! I'd say that what you are seeing are the remnants of, variously, bird poop-, water spot-, tree sap-, and whatever else-etching that just happens to most cars that aren't cared for in a Geek-ian fashion their whole lives (and maybe some that are).

The best you can do is give the car a good polishing. Some will come out. Some will be minimized. Some will be too deep and will be there. Just the way it is. You can't expect a decade-old vehicle that hasn't been meticulously cared for to be perfect.

Man, some of you guys are way over-reacting...localized etches like that can stay the same for many years...that's nonsense IMO to suggest a repaint.[/QUOTE

Have you seen the paint in person? How can you be sure? I said it looked like cc failure, but your saying that's nonsense.
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wow if you can understand anything I said hats off to you. sorry its about time to hit the sack, been up sense 5 this morning after going to bed at 2 in the morning.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Wow, that's a harsh assessment! I'd say that what you are seeing are the remnants of, variously, bird poop-, water spot-, tree sap-, and whatever else-etching that just happens to most cars that aren't cared for in a Geek-ian fashion their whole lives (and maybe some that are).

The best you can do is give the car a good polishing. Some will come out. Some will be minimized. Some will be too deep and will be there. Just the way it is. You can't expect a decade-old vehicle that hasn't been meticulously cared for to be perfect.

Man, some of you guys are way over-reacting...localized etches like that can stay the same for many years...that's nonsense IMO to suggest a repaint.
Click to expand...

It may have been initiated by bird poop-, water spot-, tree sap-, or whatever else-etching you want to call it, but it's now jeopardized the clear coat and become a failure. ;)
 
Rob T said:
I'm glad that you spoke up as I was really starting to second guess myself saying that one spot looked like a bird bomb when I saw everyone else start talking about clear coat failure (those posts were made while I was composing my message).
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Shoot, when I traded in my 16-yo car it was covered in various spots like that--and I thought I took good care of it! That was before I was Geek-ified, I hope to do better now, but stuff happens.
 
Rsurfer said:
Have you seen the paint in person? How can you be sure? I said it looked like cc failure, but your saying that's nonsense.
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I don't think you've seen the paint in person either, but you're righter than I am? Maybe you are, but I've had cars with both bird etchings and CC failure, and that looks like etching to me. To split hairs, yes, the etch is a localized type of CC failure, but IME those spots don't degrade the way large-scale CC failure does. I've polished surfaces with those kinds of etching with a burgundy pad and SSR3 and the paint didn't fall off the car, where as if you buff a panel that has CC failure it only looks worse, generally speaking.

At any rate, the OP is the one that is going to have to make the judgement.
 
Joe in PA said:
Well a repaint is definitely out of the question but I can certainly live with the idea of doing the best I can with the UC and maybe M205 before applying some sealant. It is just an old beater intended for driving in the winter instead of the nice Jeeps, so I'll just do the best I can and live with the results.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

That's also the perfect type of vehicle to get good practice on.
 
DARK HORSE said:
It may have been initiated by bird poop-, water spot-, tree sap-, or whatever else-etching you want to call it, but it's now jeopardized the clear coat and become a failure. ;)
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As Setec indicated, that is technically correct, but it is not a situation where the entire vehicle's paint is in jeopardy of complete CC failure.

If the car had just a single bird bomb that caused serious etching, would you refer to it as CC failure?
 
Rob T said:
As Setec indicated, that is technically correct, but it is not a situation where the entire vehicle's paint is in jeopardy of complete CC failure.

If the car had just a single bird bomb that caused serious etching, would you refer to it as CC failure?
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I know it's technically correct, that's why I stated what I did in my original post. You say "it is not a situation where the entire vehicle's paint is in jeopardy of complete CC failure". But the OP did state that "The entire hood is also pock marked with small etchings in the clear coat, similar to what can be seen in the 3rd pic". This would lead me to believe that it is far more wide spread than a single bird bomb. He also stated that he had already gone over the hood twice with UC previous to the second picture. And yes I would refer to one single bird bomb that caused serious enough etching to have compromised the clear coat as cc failure in that spot...(localized cc failure or non-localized cc failure)...IMO doesn't matter it's still some type of failure or compromise to the cc. I did not and would not suggest that anyone re-paint (thats for the owner to decide) I said that it looks like the only way to repair it is to re-paint.

Note: I do agree that those spots don't degrade the way large-scale CC failure does and can generally be polished without doing more harm, but also generally will not make them any better...
 
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