Who can answer this one???

ShootsHeScores!

ShootsHeScores!

New member
I was hired to detail a late model mercury cougar. The car was bought as a repaired vehicle that was previously totalled. It is a deep red/ burgandy color. The car had SEVERE oxidation on almost every panel of the car!

The steps I used were:
SSR2 w/polishing pad
PwC w/another polishing pad
EX-P w/finishing pad
Natty's by hand

The car looked 300% better when I was finished. According to the owner, the car sat in the garage for four days after I was finished with it, because they went on vacation. I got a call about 2-3 weeks later from the owner. She said there were milky waterspots on the car that couldn't be scrubbed off. I checked it out and sure as shit that's what it looked like. Today I went over there to try to remove the spots. SSR2 and PP (w/polishing pad)did not even come close to cutting it.

I know its not the product's fault because I've detailed my own car as well as my mother and father's vehicles long before I did the detail on the cougar. I'm trying to steer the owner in the right direction and come up with some answers. I've posted a few pics. If anyone can make sense of this it would be much appreciated.

Here is a pic of a 2x2 section before I finished the entire car to give you a before shot.
 
My only thought doesn't seem too logical since the vehicle looked so good right after you finished it, but....
Could the clearcoat be lifting from the basecoat? When clearcoat first starts to fail, it quite often looks like plastic wrap that is not comletely sticking to something. Gives a cloudy look, but I have never seen it spot like that. Is the whole car lke the picture? Is the problem isolated to the area of the repair to the car?

Charles
 
Looks like acid rain etching to me.


I have seen that after some people park under trees too.

What is the water like in your area? Could they have washed it, rinsed, then allow it to air dry? That could do it as well.

If that is indeed the case a rotary maybe needed to remove the etching(perhaps even wet sanding). It may also be permanent depending upon how deep it is.
 
they definitely look like water spots to me too...more like sprinkler water that dried in the sun...being a repaint it would be hard to really say, and being that it's a late model car which should never have had that severe oxidation in the first place ....I don't know that even a rotary will repair the paint and seeing the before pictures makes me think the paint was not fully cured before the original water spots and oxidation were induced..
 
I'm in agreement that they appear to be etched water spots!

Wow...that's pretty bad as well!
 
My take on it is... it's a single stage paint that was/is close to ready for re-paint. Those could be spots but I think more likely they're stains. If you re-wax the car, do they go away? Another question, if you squirt some glaze on the car, does the glaze leave a stain (or distinct color difference)??

If it goes away when the car is re-waxed, then return the first time it's washed, the paint is dead and will need to be waxed every time it's washed.

Without physically seeing the car though, it's hard to give a complete diagnosis :(
 
On the first picture I see some water spots that are exactly the same as milky spots on the last two pictures. As it was stated above it is definitely water spots, but they appeared before you detailed the car. The paint job performed on this vehicle needed some time to cure (bake), possibility that the paint company didn't do a good job on curing the paint. Result after sitting under sprinkles for prolonged period of time, is acidic like finish on the hood and other areas of the vehicle. Future actions that detailer can perform on this vehicle, will not take any result on the paint finish of this car.
 
This might be way off base, but they look like the type of stains that you get on woodwork if you put something wet on it (like a glass or coffee cup). What happens is the moisture gets underneath the waxed surface and leaves what looks like a milky white stain. It could be that moisture has gotten under the Natty's and is leaving the milky stains, just like on woodwork.

If this theory is correct, removing the wax with IPA should clear it up right away. When you re-wax, make certain that you get a thicker, more uniform coat of wax.

Like I said, it's a long shot.
 
What you have is WATER SPOT ETCHING which you did not cause the vehicle got a CHEAP paint job and the paint was not CURED properly. Refinish materials cures by air not heat
 
One thing that has not been mentioned- Is it possible that the stains were somehow caused by an automatic car wash? The time frame seems odd, they were gone 4 days but it is weeks later they call you? Could that have been caused by a wax process in an automatic car wash? The car sat in the garage for 4 days and then what?
 
I figured it would be too easy to blame it on the paint job immediately, which is why I thought I'd do some research by asking you guys. They could not be removed whatsoever. I had my pc on 6 and worked a small area for about ten minutes. It's like there is a protective seal over these newly formed spots. The spots are only on the horizontal areas of the car where water could sit. The verticle areas of the car still look great.

thanks for all the help guys.
 
ShootsHeScores! said:
I It's like there is a protective seal over these newly formed spots.
Click to expand...

I'll bet that's exactly what it is. Somehow the water has migrated under the clear coat. Just like the water on grandma's nice table going under the wax when you put a glass on it without using a coaster.

Would really like to know how this one turns out.
 
Doesn't silicone on paint work it's way into the paint pores and allow water and other nautie things into the paint? I know that spraypainters and panel shops HATE silicone effected paint. I'm told its impossible to remove the silicone chemically - respray is about all you can do. If you think it's water marks on the surface try a vinegar bath test on some effected areas and see if the calcium salts dissolve. You will then have to level out the etch.

Why on earth do people buy red cars if they aren't going to do the bloody work and look after them?!!
 
Has this poblem been resolved?
I have a MK3 astra in flame red. I always keep it well polished but outside as I only have garage space for my unfinished projects. This morning I noticed the paintwork has gone milky as in the picture above. There was heavy rain last night and my car was in the street. This morning there were large spots hich remain after a shampoo and t-cut. My paintwork is otherwise excellent and has not ben resprayed since the car was made in 1994.
If anyone can help I would realy apriciate it!!

Thanks
 
Doesn't look like Acid Rain - since I am the unfortunate expert on that. When you were done the first time you could not seen them right? They were not there??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top