What is this? Oxidation in clear-coat or something worse?

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neat e34

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Hi all,

Long post but advice would be HUGELY appreciated.

After washing my car recently I noticed some white(ish), cloudy "stains" in the paint where the c-pillar meets the roof on both sides.
At first I thought it was oxidation but am now not so sure.

I have searched & read & the only suggestions are oxidation & clearcoat failure.
I have seen CC failure firsthand as well as in pics but have not seen anything that really matches my problem. Is oxidation in CC common?
I have only had the car a few months. It hasn't been waxed, etc in that time (laziness, weather & lack of shelter) so who knows when it was last protected...

Here are some pics (apologies for the very poor quality...)

View attachment 11079

View attachment 11080

View attachment 11081

View attachment 11082

View attachment 11083

View attachment 11084

View attachment 11085

View attachment 11086


The paint still feels smooth in these areas, no raised edges, etc.
All I have tried so far is some Megs Color-X (all I had) on a MF applicator, worked aggressively by hand. No change whatsoever...
Will get some heavier cut polish & try that but thought I would start asking opinions.

The car has been resprayed before (evident by small defects elsewhere on the body) & it's been suggested that this could possibly be terrible blending by a bodyshop?
I assume if this is the case it will be under the clear?

My main concern is I am ready to put in a big ($700ish) order with AG & am now wondering if I should be putting that money towards a respray instead?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks
 
neat e34 said:
The car has been resprayed before (evident by small defects elsewhere on the body) & it's been suggested that this could possibly be terrible blending by a bodyshop?
I assume if this is the case it will be under the clear?
Click to expand...

That looks like a blend line to me... the only other thing it could be is chemical staining but there's a pattern to it plus you're aware it's been resprayed.

If you abrade the area with something aggressive what you'll do is chase the line further and further towards the repair.


neat e34 said:
My main concern is I am ready to put in a big ($700ish) order with AG & am now wondering if I should be putting that money towards a respray instead?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks
Click to expand...

How much is the car worth to you?

A quality paint job is going to cost thousands, you can shop around and get some quotes and then decide if it's worth the investment.

:)
 
You might be able to buff some of that out, or at least make it look better, but you'd have to use a machine probably. I had something like this on a re-painted panel before and made it look better, but it's still there (just less noticeable).
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
That looks like a blend line to me... the only other thing it could be is chemical staining but there's a pattern to it plus you're aware it's been resprayed.

If you abrade the area with something aggressive what you'll do is chase the line further and further towards the repair.




How much is the car worth to you?

A quality paint job is going to cost thousands, you can shop around and get some quotes and then decide if it's worth the investment.

:)
Click to expand...


I concur!

This is also a prime example of why blending is not an approved repair process by many car manufactures.
 
OK, thanks a lot for the replies.
Not what I wanted to hear but at least now I have an idea what I'm up against!

Currently not wanting to spend the money for a respray.
Am doing up 2 other cars & this is meant to be my "run-around" (although I am starting to like it quite a bit).
Also the problem is not majorly noticeable (to most people) unless looking for it... (but please see below)
It's a shame because apart from this & a few other easy to fix problems it would clean up beautifully for a nearly 20 year old car (it's a 94' BMW E34 540i)

As far as getting it looking as good as possible without fresh paint, any suggestions?
I will be purchasing & using a DA polisher & the Poorboys range, SSR 3, 2.5 & 1 (sold as a package here in Oz) among other things.
Do I work on this area more, less or the same as rest of the car?

Mike, you mention heavy abrasion may cause more problems.
I assume I could still safely compound & polish this area for scratch & swirl removal?
By the way, great to have my first serious thread answered by you. :bowdown:
Have been hanging around here for quite a few months & have learned a lot from your posts :dblthumb2:

Bigez, did you do anything in particular to "mask" your problem or did polishing, etc as normal help?
Am actually worried that once I remove all the scratches & swirls & the clear-coat is a bit, um, "clearer" the problem will stand out even more! However I can't stand these swirls...
It has to be done!

& Glen, love the reference to cosmetics :laughing: SO true!
 
neat e34 said:
OK, thanks a lot for the replies.
Not what I wanted to hear but at least now I have an idea what I'm up against!
Click to expand...

It's never fun being the bearer of bad news...

I can't count how many time someone has joined the forum, shared a picture of their car and asked,

How to I remove oxidation?


Only to have to explain to them what they're seeing isn't oxidation, (something that is easily fixed), but clearcoat failure, something that is only fixed by repainting the panel(s) or the entire car.

Then because most people are asking about a car thats a few years old and not worth the investment to repaint... they feel bad.

Not fun, but that's how it goes... clear coats fail, single stage paint oxidize, I would take a single stage paint any day over a modern plastic paint finish. But that' just me...



neat e34 said:
Mike, you mention heavy abrasion may cause more problems.
I assume I could still safely compound & polish this area for scratch & swirl removal?
Click to expand...

Yes, just stick with medium cut and fine cut polishes and understand, the more you polish the blend line the more it's going to creep towards itself.

In a perfect world a painter would paint an entire panel to any hard body line or seam and not leave off in the middle of the panel.

neat e34 said:
By the way, great to have my first serious thread answered by you. :bowdown:

Have been hanging around here for quite a few months & have learned a lot from your posts :dblthumb2:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, I love working on forums... and it's important to me to be associated with a forum known for being friendly, professional and above all helpful.

When people come to AGO they get GREAT help from all our members, not simple one-liners or use the search button type replies... and we don't allow any of our members to talk down to others in a demeaning manner...

:xyxthumbs:
 
Try something thats very mild and lots of oils like M205 and it can/may hide the problem.

You can also try a glaze but it will be temporary and you will have to keep reapplying.

Try to stop looking at it LOL I have imperfections I refuse to look at anymore!
 
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