Oxidation or CC failure

[Northstar01]

How do you identify paint as having oxidation or clear coat failure. I have a 88 Monte Carlo SS black that has either one. It's weird. It's only on the trunk, roof and exactly half of the hood. When you wash the car the paint and shine comes back as long as the surface is wet. Any ideas? I was going to try Meguiars 105 and 205 to see if i could get it to come back. I tried a rough compound and it did nothing. I know nothing about polishes,cleaners or waxes as you can probably tell. I know nothing about paint either. I need to learn though. Thanks beforehand for the replies.

 

[JaredPointer]

When you tried the compound, did you get any paint transfer on the cloth? Was the cloth/applicator turning the color of the car?

I would imagine that car (if it's the original paint) to be clear coat, as my folks had one of these back in that time frame and I believe it was a clear coat job from the factory. IF it's CC failure, there's not really much you can do to fix it outside of a respray.

Pictures would help us armchair car-washers help determine what it might be.