Soft Paint?

[rusty bumper]

Hi All,

A few weeks ago, I detailed a black '98 Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer Edition) for someone I know, but every time it gets wet, the area just under the water spot turns milky white looking.......(Sort of like when you leave a cold wet glass on a piece of furniture too long, and the condensation has left a water mark in the wood.)

The day that I was to detail the SUV, I noticed that the top areas had severe water spot etching. It was so bad that I told my wife that the hood looked like a piece mica!

I was thinking that the water stains were maybe due to washing the vehicle with hard water, but I'm not so sure now.

I worked about 20 to 22 hours trying to buff out the stains with a PC/W8006/DACP combo, and I managed removed about 90 percent of them IMO. After topping it with one coat of NXT, I was sure that there would be no more problems, but that has not been the case, as the owner has informed me about how milky the paint looks when it gets wet.

In all of my years of detailing, I've never experienced anything like this.

Regretfully, I only took "after" photos of the vehicle, and this is the only one I have now, until the next roll gets developed.

I guess this picture is not much help, but I thought that I would show it anyway....



This is the original factory paint, but could this be a problem associated with soft paint?

[rusty bumper]

Bump

[Superior Shine]

The paint is porous and moister is getting down into it. They should go away when it dries.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Superior Shine
The paint is porous and moister is getting down into it. They should go away when it dries.

You mean the water marks?

Is this a sign of soft paint? (It has clear coat paint)

[Ranger72]

I think he meant the milky looks will go away once dry. If it water spots super easy even with the protection of fresh wax, then the paint is super soft.

[rusty bumper]

Yes, the milky look goes away when the water dries up, but how can moisture even penetrate a wax such as NXT?

I mean, is that possible?

[Superior Shine]

It is a sign of porous paint.

Years ago I had no idea what it was. I tried to color sand and buff them out. Nothing worked until they dried and went away.

They would return next time we washed the vehicle.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Superior Shine
It is a sign of porous paint.

Years ago I had no idea what it was. I tried to color sand and buff them out. Nothing worked until they dried and went away.

They would return next time we washed the vehicle.

When you say "porous" paint, is that another term for soft paint?

Porous paint sounds like defective paint to me, but I'm just drawing straws here.

I wonder if Ford would be willing to repaint it?

[Superior Shine]

It has pores like a sponge.

[Mike Phillips]

Is this a clear coat finish?

Is this a factory finish?

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Is this a clear coat finish?

Is this a factory finish?

Yes, it's a clearcoated factory finish.

[prince_ramses]

Rusty Bumper,

Your problems and description are exactly what i'm facing. Whenever i wash my car, the white milky spots appear. When it dries, it dissapears.

So, i sent it to a detailer to get rid of it. He did the whole works on my car, No.85, No.83, No.80 and NXT. Despite the entire process, the white milky spots still appear whenever i wash my car.

Also, during the detailing process, there was a problem with the application of No.80. It would stick to my paint and was extremely difficult to buff off. The detailer said that my clearcoat was very soft and porous.

I posted my problem in the forum but did not find a solution, so i'm still stuck with this white spots and avoid No.80 for that particular car.

P.

[Mike Phillips]

Sounds like both of these problems are specific to the paint used on the car.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by prince_ramses
Rusty Bumper,

Your problems and description are exactly what i'm facing. Whenever i wash my car, the white milky spots appear. When it dries, it dissapears.

So, i sent it to a detailer to get rid of it. He did the whole works on my car, No.85, No.83, No.80 and NXT. Despite the entire process, the white milky spots still appear whenever i wash my car.

Also, during the detailing process, there was a problem with the application of No.80. It would stick to my paint and was extremely difficult to buff off. The detailer said that my clearcoat was very soft and porous.

I posted my problem in the forum but did not find a solution, so i'm still stuck with this white spots and avoid No.80 for that particular car.

P.

Thanks for your post P,

I used #80 on the finish as a followup to #83, but I had no problems removing it.

Is your paint factory applied clear coat?......And do you have problems with water spot etching?

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Sounds like both of these problems are specific to the paint used on the car.

I'm thinking the same thing, but I wonder how factory applied clear coated paint could turn out this way?

Any ideas?

I mean, would you ask for a repaint from Ford?