Possible clear coat failure?

Discussion in 'Compounds, Polishes, Paint Cleaners, and Glazes' started by P1et, Mar 29, 2008.

  1. P1et

    P1et Official DB Moderator

    I'm detailing a 2002 Discovery tomorrow, black. Never been polished, never been waxed. Paint is in very poor condition. I had a change to evaluate the paint today and I saw two spots on the hood that either look like very very bad bird shits etched into the paint, or clear coat failure.

    Since I'll need to use SIP on the paint (at least), what are your thoughts? Should I just be careful around those spots and perhaps go with a milder polish and SIP the rest?

    Thanks for the help.

    :thumb:
     
  2. Dave KG

    Dave KG Jedi Nuba

    Have you got a paint thickness gauge to measure the thickness around the damage marks?

    If its a clearcoated car, I'd take a mild polish on an applicator pad and polish the section by hand and see if it pulls pigment - if not, its likely a damaged area of paint as in etching. If it does, I would explain to the owner and stay well clear of the marks and the surrounding area, and be gentle on the whole bonnet incase the CC failure is representative of thin paint across the board.

    I'd be keen to get thickness readings if possible to see what kind of paint you are about to be dealing with...
     
  3. P1et

    P1et Official DB Moderator

    Excellent feedback Dave, thanks. I'll take that approach and "test" the suspicious areas first to see if I'll get paint on my pad.

    I don't have a paint thickness gauge, should be an investment I might want to look at. This vehicle is not that old, so I'd be surprised to see CC failure, but with the beating sun here in Texas combined with someone who probably gave it a Dawn wash for years, it would not surprise me.

    This vehicle looks like it was washed with a burlap sack full of walnuts...
     
  4. Dave KG

    Dave KG Jedi Nuba

    Yep, you do get some surpises even on newer cars - poor paint from the factory is no unknown... or during the initial dealer prep, it may have had heavy polishing in these areas to remove some pre-delivery damage, you just never know.

    I wouldn't be without my paint gauge these days - they are not 100% accurate, but as a guide to where you can polish and compound, and where you should just be gentle, they are superb :)
     
  5. Nica

    Nica Banned

    Bird poo is just bad news :shakehead: specially if it's left on the vehicle for a long time.

    Dave's feed back is supperb, can't really add much anything else..besides to be carefull.
     

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