White haze in (under?) clear coat on newer car! How to fix?

[silvertiger]

I just noticed this hazing on my front bumper. My car is 14 months old, silver metallic, Kia Optima SX 2011. There are two horizontal diffuse areas on both sides of my front bumper, well below the midline of the car, in the same region on both sides. The car has not been repainted to my knowledge (I owned it since new), so it must be something that happened at the factory during the painting process. They look lighter, are diffuse, visible in sunlight (but not so much under overcast skies). It is almost like somebody touched the car with sunscreed on their hands. The car has been garaged, rarely sits outside. I did not splash anything on the paint, and I keep the car clean.

I took it to two bodyshops, one of the the local Kia dealer's shop. Both shops think that it is something under the clear coat, not in it. One said that it looks like the bumper was clear coated in a humid environment and that clouded the clear coat. The other shop was a collision repair shop associated with a Nissan dealer. That shop said that they see this issue on new Altimas that were painted in a humid environment. He suggested to heat the area with a hair dryer (this supposedly solved the issue with the affected Altimas). I tried that on three occasions, but again did not result in any change.
I have also tried rubbing the spots with Turtle Wax rubbing compound, but with no apparent result.

What would you suggest to try to fix this (well, other than repainting)? I saw a post that recommended to use Meguiar's Deep Crystal paint cleaner, followed by waxing. i somehow don't think that it will do anything, if the rubbing compound did not help... Admittedly, I did not rub for a long time, because there is an edge involved in those spots and I did not want to rub through the clear.

i have also posted this on the optimaforums. I could not post pics here but here is the URL if you want to check out the pictures taken of the left side of the bumper :http://www.optimaforums.com/forum/5-...my-bumper.html

Thank you in advance for any advice you may provide.

[rapport25]

Looks to me like a smart repair. Hard to tell from the pics. Maybe a few scratches previously that have been repainted.

Cars can get damaged prior to the point of sale.

I would be asking the dealer to sort it foc

[Joe Dragon]

Right. It's a warranty issue, take it to your dealer.

[Michael Stoops]

If you've got two body shops diagnosing this as the same issue, we're inclined to go with their assessment. If it's a faulty paint job, whether done at the factory or as a repair at the dealer, and this car was purchased new then it's a warranty paint issue that the dealer needs to fix. Further, if this really is a paint defect caused by spraying in a humid environment, then nothing you can pour out of a bottle is going to fix the issue. In these cases it's always best to let the dealer see it before you start experimenting with different things, and potentially causing any sort of damage on your own. Once that happens, the warranty is usually voided as it's easy to put blame on you for the problem.

[ffboy]

Take it back to the dealer. If you try to correct the problem (which I doubt will really solve it) and do something wrong and ruin it further, it may void the warranty and cost more in the long run. Just take it back there, ask if it can be re-done at no cost. I've done silly mistakes like that, and it's not a really nice feeling...

[silvertiger]

Thank you very much for your input, guys. I have taken pictures and sent it to the dealer which will forward it to Kia for a decision. Having interacted with them before, I am sure they will try to minimize the whole issue and claim that this blemish does not warrant repainting the bumper and I should just get used to/over it. Sad, but likely.

[ffboy]

Or maybe not, even with many negative things we've read about regarding dealers or some repair shops, there are still some who are quite nice to interact with. Who knows? You might even be pleasantly surprised with what they have to say. Just wait and see, nice things can happen.