Did I goof? Help Please!

Hi All,

I have a 2014 Mazda 3 with oxidation on the spoiler. Its painted plastic so I opted to go with a hand terry cloth pad and some Meg`s Scratch X which I had on hand. I worked it in with pretty firm pressure for a few minutes and it seemed to make the appearance worse, now theres some shiny exposed spots whereas it was less obvious and more dull/hazy before. After a bunch of years I`m still very much a newb and don`t know If I`ve cut too much and now the shiny spot is the bare paint or if this is recoverable.

Advice much appreciated!

MazdaPaint1.jpg

MazdaPaint2.jpg

MazdaPaint3.jpg
 
That paint is failed. Not uncommon on plastic parts. Back in the old old days they said it was the plasticizer in the paint on flexible urethane parts, I always thought it was that the plastic parts got hotter because of less thermal conductivity, Dr. G over at Optimum claimed it was the UV-inhibitors in the paint migrated into the plastic, but then they started putting UV-inhibitors into the plastic so it wouldn`t migrate out of the paint.

At any rate, you are going to need a repaint on that. Keep it waxed after.
 
Agree 100% with Setec Astronomy above ^^^^^^^^^^^^
The paint has failed and is going to continue to die, there is no recovery.. You can choose to get it repainted or perhaps find another one from another Mazda that is not damaged..
Please in the future be more gentle on plastic, painted parts, as there is never that much paint on them in the first place.. Use something more like a fine polish, keep it moist, and rub a small test spot, hopefully out of sight, first, and see how it does..
Sorry this had to happen to you..
Dan F
 
Thanks guys. I kinda feared as much. The plan is to actually trade in this car in the next few months so I`ll have to weigh wether is better to repaint or just sell as is.

The whole car is generally pretty dull and I`m thinking of detailing before trading in, kinda nervous now. Would I do more harm than good if all the paint is failing as well?
 
Thanks guys. I kinda feared as much. The plan is to actually trade in this car in the next few months so I`ll have to weigh wether is better to repaint or just sell as is.

The whole car is generally pretty dull and I`m thinking of detailing before trading in, kinda nervous now. Would I do more harm than good if all the paint is failing as well?

unexplained bacon --

It is always good to clean up a vehicle before selling, etc., it in my experiences..
If the rest of the paintwork looks like that plastic piece you showed us, then it will not really help much to try to make it better.

But if the rest of the paintwork looks not like that plastic piece, I would try to make it look better, but then that is what I do... :)

Try to use a product that is not anything like the product you used on the plastic spoiler. Something like an AIO (all in one) product might work nicely to get the paintwork to shine a little.

In my experiences with Detailing vehicles before selling for Clients, every one of the vehicles I Detailed, sold to the first person to look at it..

Good luck with your project !
Dan F
 
Since that is a spoiler, you could Plastidip it in flat black and it would look better. That would work as a short term solution.
 
Back
Top