What is this flaw and can it be repaired?

H

hydro556

New member
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
105
Reaction score
0
Guys, I am having trouble getting these pics posted. Photobucket is mt host. What is the process? Here is a link until I can figure out how to post. I am not much of a photographer, hopefully you can see the flaws. There are little starburst looking flaws as well as some others. They almost seem to be under the clearcoat.

HPIM0707.jpg
 
could be acid rain etching, how long have they been there ?? Easily removed with vinegar wipe down ??? Polish ??? If not, wetsanding may be the only choice.
 
Last one, I know, a couple of them are useless. Hopefully, you can see what I mean and tell me if I can fix them. My guess is no, because they seem to be under clearcoat.

HPIM0711.jpg
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
could be acid rain etching, how long have they been there ?? Easily removed with vinegar wipe down ??? Polish ??? If not, wetsanding may be the only choice.
Click to expand...
Killr, I just bought the car a little over a month ago. It was in decent shape, with a couple of panels badly faded/oxidized. I managed to polish that out. The car now has a real nice shine to it, as you can see, but these spots, only on the hood are baffling me. I didnt really notice them until AFTER I buffed the car with XMT 360 and an orange LC pad. I dont see how I could have caused spots like these, but I never saw them before buffing. I am no expert, but these dont seem to flaws in the clearcoat, but rather the color coat. If you rub your finger over them, it is perfectly smooth feeling.:confused:

To answer your question, I havent tried rubbing them with vinegar. But I have washed the whole car several times and polished it and they arent coming off.
 
Last edited:
acid rain, like birdie doo-doo and egg will etch (think discolor) the clearcoat in almost this same fashion. It was likely there and your polishing removed other oxidation and thus brought this to surface. You can likely reduce it a bit with further polishing, but wetsanding is usually the only way to remove this and suggested a professional be consulted first. You normally cannot feel etching, just see it.
 
unfortunately you have clearcoat failure...you can wet sand it down to a very unsafe level if not remove it all in the process to at least get it even looking...but you will still be able to see the bad spots...basically its something you are going to have to live with (at least a minimal amount on the areas that are really bad)..... or respray...
 
Thats what I was thinking. No big deal, its my work/practice car. I will kepp working on it and see what I can do. I am thinking about getting the PB kit mentioned earlier and addinf in some clay and going from there, Thanks.
 
The last pic shows a bug shaped defect. Unless it is under the clear, just wipe it to the floor and stomp on it. J/K.
I have found defects under the clear before but those outlines look like failure to me. I would take it to a good body shop and ask their opinion.
 
the PB polishes will do a decent job of taking care of the sanding marks...make sure to invest the xtra couple bucks for the megs uni-grit sanpapers or the 2nd best choice is the 3m sandpapers...dont bother with other off brands of sandpaper... they are all junk....also i find better success with Optimum polishes after wetsanding as they have longer working times which tends to be needed to clear out wetsanding marks
 
Thanks, guys. I will try whatever polishes I end up getting and if they dont work, maybe I will give wetsanding a try. The vehicle is my work car, but it looks pretty good. Not sure I wan to ruin the finish trying to learn to wetsand.
 
Sorry to say that but nothing will help on this issue. It is called clearcoat checking which is the first visible sign of a complete clearcoat failure. As the damage goes through the entire clearcoat, no amount of wetsanding will improve this condition. It begins with little, microscopic dots which are starting to grow, like a little star. When the cracking lines meet, a bigger surface can/may delaminate at a later point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top