Oxidation or clear failure

[gex]

The roof, trunk lid and hood are fading on one of my cars. I was painted 7 years ago with HOK paint. I took 1000 grit and wetsanded a small part yesterday, I went over it with clay and then wax. I had a 95 prelude that the paint was faded and I went over it with rubbing compound only to see it fade within a week. I dont want to waste my time if the paint is going to do the same thing on this car.





Thanks Jason

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

"HOK paint" isn't enough information for us to be sure.

For one, are you 100% sure the car had a clear coat? Is it possible that it was single stage?

Have you ever compounded or polished this car? If so, does it transfer maroon paint to your towels or pads?

Another point that should be addressed- 1,000 grit sandpaper is not something to be used unless you have the knowledge, skills, and tools to properly remove what it does to your finish. You need to follow 1,000 with either 1,500 or 2,000 grit, and probably then again with 2,500 or 3,000 grit. Then you want to compound that, and then polish- possibly (and likely) two steps of polish (medium and then fine).

As you can see, wet sanding is a fairly serious task. Also, claying and wax do not do anything to repair the damage that 1,000 grit sanding will put in the paint- you will need to follow that with a regimen similar to what I described above.

[gex]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

The paint is House of Kolor three stage base/kandy/clear. I have never polished this car before and from wetsanding the small area the water turned a milky color. What products would you recommend for compound and polish?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

The roof, trunk lid and hood are fading on one of my cars. I was painted 7 years ago with HOK paint. I took 1000 grit and wetsanded a small part yesterday,

The paint in the photos looks neglected, so it might be 7 years old but it looks like it hasn't had any attention over these 7 years?

Has it been parked in the sun quite a bit because it looks like the clear coat is starting to turn white from clear coat failure, not just oxidation.

The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive


Don't do any more sanding till you test the paint to see if it can be saved.

Go to Walmart or an auto parts store and pick up a bottle of Ultimate Compound. Rub this for about a minute to a section about a foot squared and then wipe off the residue and inspect.

If you can make one small spot smooth, shiny and most important, CLEAR then you can probably save the paint. If you can't create a clear, glossy finish to one small section then you won't be able to do the entire car and it could be the paint is suffering what we call clear coat failure which usually happens to paint that is exposed to the sun without regular care.

[gex]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

The car is always parked in the garage so it doesnt see much sun. The paint was perfect up untill about a year ago, the sides of the car are still glossy. I'll pickup a bottle of compound and post up some more pictures.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

The car is always parked in the garage so it doesn't see much sun. The paint was perfect up untill about a year ago, the sides of the car are still glossy. I'll pickup a bottle of compound and post up some more pictures.

Just do a small section, about 8" squarish or so... the goal here is to test the paint and see if it can be saved.

From the time the car was painted until you noticed the roof going bad, how was the paint cared for?

Clear coats are pretty resistant to oxidation unless they are neglected or washed with detergent washes like dish soap without any follow-up polishing or waxing with a quality product.

[gex]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

I was washed usually every other week. I think what happened was the place next to where I work media blasted a car outside. I noticed alot of dust getting on the car and just usually rinsed it off, till I could wash it. I'm guessing the sand or whatever got washed/rubbed into the paint?

BTW the small area I wetsanded is shiny and smooth, I also did a small part of the roof that you can see.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

BTW the small area I wetsanded is shiny and smooth, I also did a small part of the roof that you can see.

Hold off on any more wet-sanding, let's see if we can restore the clarity and gloss with UC first.

[gex]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

Mike I cannot find UC at any of the local Advance Auto stores, I'm going to order off the meguiars online store. Would UC be the best choice or one of the pro glaze/high cut products work better?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

Before ordering it online. Try your local Wal-Mart. They should carry the UC. I know mine does. I am not that far from you.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Oxidation or clear failure

Would UC be the best choice or one of the pro glaze/high cut products work better?

UC is the right category of product to try, M105 is similar except that it's more aggressive and can be used with a rotary buffer while UC is not formulated for or intended to be used with a rotary buffer.

If you're working by hand or with an orbital buffer or dual action polisher than Ultimate Compound is a great choice plus you can get it in a 16 ounce bottle while the smallest you can get M105 is in a quart and you would have to locate PBE store as regular auto parts stores don't carry a large selection of our Professional Line.

Check with Walmart and see if they have UC. By the way, you can use either one by hand or with an orbital or dual action buffer, so if you can't find the UC check with a PBE store for the M105.


How to locate Meguiar's Professional and Detailer products in your hometown