Just what, exactly, is this?

N

noahabel

New member
Hi all, the name is Noah, and as usual, long time lurker, first time poster. I just got a 1998 Arctic Silver BMW M3 and was looking forward to my first full detail day, but thought I should address some critical issues before I get to the fun stuff. Besides a few poorly filled paint chips, I have a couple of (for lack of a better term) clear coat stains on the hood and roof of the car. On the Silver paint they look like discolorations or darkenings of the paint or clear coat.



(The car spent the last 5 years or so near the beach, perhaps it's related. )



What I'd like to know is 1)just what am I dealing with; and 2)just how am I going to solve the problem. My current arsenal is limited to a PC 7424, basic wool/yellow/white/grey pads and Menzerna IP and FP2, as well as a lot of Zaino products. I'm willing to invest in an *affordable* rotary (Vector 7, perhaps) and whatever compund(s) will be needed. I'm also dealing with a handful of light key-type scrathces, as well as some decent spiderwebs/swirls, which thankfully look fairly mild on the metallic silver paint, so a rotary may be in order no matter what.



Here's a camera-phone pic of the stain that makes it look a lot darker than it is, but should show some evidence of what I'm talking about.



Thanks for the help on this, and for the encyclopedia of knowledge I've already tapped via
search.gif




-Noah
 

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Hello,



I am a long time poster, short attention spanned lurker :chuckle:



By the picture it is hard to say for sure but it may be the beginnings of clear coat failure. See if you can get some better pics.



Anthony
 
Its hard to tell what type of damage you have to your clear from that picture . You may want a body shop to look at it or a Professional Detailer in your area.
 
hmm...sometimes motor oil that's left on the hood after an oil change can cause staining in the clear coat that looks similar to that. but of course there can be many causes, that's the first that came to my mind.
 
It seems as if my picture needs some improvement. Let's see how these do:



4911M3_Paint_008.jpg


You can see here how the gloss of the stain differentiates itself at acute angles.



4911M3_Paint_003.jpg


Here, the flash sort of ignites the stains, making them lighter rather than darker.



4911M3_Paint_006.jpg


4911M3_Paint_005.jpg


Without a flash, the spots are indeed darker.



Hope this helps illustrate my problem.



TIA.
 
I think I see a more pronounced spot in the middle making me believe thats touch up paint . Wipe across it with some urethane reducer see if it removes it then re-do the touch up with proper paint
 
I guess the pics are no good, as it's definitely not touch up. It's part of the clear coat, or some other level of the paint,and at certain angles is maybe 10% diferent in color as the rest of the car. But at more angles than that, it's a darkening of the paint, like a port-wine stain for my car.



Any other thoughts?
 
What have you already tried to correct it? PC & IP under a polishing pad would be a good place to start if you've done nothing yet.
 
If you can't "feel" anything on the paint, like a ring of residue or some type of uneveness in that area but instead it is just as smooth or feels just the same as the surrounding unaffected areas then it is something within the paint itself, most likely underneath the clear.



If you bought the car used it may have had refinish work done in those areas. Since you say it lived in the beach area for 5 years it may have to do with that as the beach atmosphere can be very corrosive. Take it to a competent body shop and ask them what it may be, I say it is underneath the clear but I have been wrong many times :)



Anthony
 
The spots feel the same at the surrounding paint - no raised or depressed edges. As far as I know, the hood was not retouched, but the rear driver's door was repainted, and the main spot I posted is just above that door. Though I assume the door was painted off the car, as there is overspray on the inside of the door but not the jam.



It appears as if it's something within the paint, not the clear. Anything I can do about it?
 
When a panel is repainted they usually keep them on the car and they paint also into the cars surrounding area so as to "blend" in the repainted area so it is less noticable. They usually blend up to a seam area in the painted metal work.



If it is under the clear, as within the pigmented paint then there is nothing that you can do, short of a repaint, to fix the blemish.



Anthony
 
Well damn, I figured as much. I'm going to hit with IP on a PC and see if anything happens to it. I'm guessing it won't.
 
Only repaint will fix it. If you do decide that you are OK with repainting that part of the car, you could try a wet sand, cut and buff to see if maybe you can uncover some covered paint maybe(dunno if that will work or not). I wouldn't!!!!! attempt that unless you ARE OK with repainting the area if it doesn't work out.



What part of LA are you in?
 
Pretty much Hollywood proper, Sunset & La Brea.



It doesn't bother me enough to neccesitate a repaint, not unless I was doing the area anyway. I'll hit it with something aggressive if the IP doesn't work.



Thanks for the help, guys.
 
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