C4 Roof Panel

[CDN88]

Hi everyone, Happy Saturday!

I don't post much and I hope this is the right place for this... The info on this forum has certainly helped the look of my (and my family's) cars. The advice from Mike and everyone else is usually spot-on and has certainly schooled an old school 'rubbing compound and wax' guy like me.

We're talking about a red 88 C4 that lives in a carport right on the coast in the BC Lower Mainland. The Megs Rx hate's it

Regardless, she's covered in the ugly months and receives regular attention during her driving months. She has her original paint that's still better than average and been maintaind over the years with the help of lots of products - mostly Megs.

I'm wondering if anyone has had any success in removing 'water spots' from a non-painted roof panel. Don't get me wrong, the roof panel shines up just as nice as the paint, but, looking across it I can see water spot 'etchings' that aren't showing up on the paint. I just can't seem to get rid them. I actually have the same problem on all the glass, especially the rear hatch, but it's not as noticable without the tinting.

I think these roof panels are made of Lexan and may actually be clear-coated. Over the years, I've tried a number of remedies from vinegar/water by hand to paint cleaners with a PC without much success. I've even tried Scatch-X by hand with negligible results. I'm hesitant to try anything much more agressive as any scratches or swirls induced may be extremely difficult to remove.

Any other C4 owners out there with the same problem? Anyone cured it?

Thanks everyone!
John

[Zet]

Hi there,

Which paint cleaners did you try with the PC?

I'm pretty sure you need to use something more agressive, which should be safe to try out on the glass.

#4 is often mentioned for polishing glass, and it is discussed in this thread: Glass Polishing... deep cleaning

Not too sure about the roof panels though, if they are actually clear coated, I think you would need to use something like #83.

[CDN88]

Besides all the usual glass cleaners and home recipes, for paint cleaners I've tried Meg's Body Scrub (now discontinued - it used to work great on old single stage paint jobs), 09, DC#1, and Scratch-X being the most agressive. There have been a couple of others borrowed from neighbors, but I don't recall exactly what they were. I've tried each by hand and with the PC with little result although, perhaps the PC, by definition, isn't agressive enough. I don't have access to, or experience with, a rotary so I'm not sure I'd want to try that anyway.

I just picked up some 83 for the kid's 'new to him' 89 T-Bird that did a great job on fairly neglected 17 yr old black paint after not getting much satisfaction out of the DC#1 with the PC. A couple more applications followed by some 03 and 26 and it's going to look great.

The glass polishing link sounds great for GLASS, but, from everything I've read, these roof panels are made from a ploycarbonate called Lexan and are likely clearcoated. Because of this, I've been hesitant to use a heavier 'compound' type cleaner.

I'll give the 83 a try by hand to see if that helps, but, if it doesn't, some 2, 1 or as a final attempt, 4, by hand may be the next step. That's just a lot of product $$$ to 'try' to see if it works... I don't really have a use for it beyond this.

[TH0001]

Are these the body colored roof panels or the glass like ones?

[CDN88]

This is the single targa panel. Non-painted / blue tint.

[TH0001]

Okay, I'm not sure if it is clearcoated at all. It may be laminated it however.... I would try Plexus first off and see how that does for you. If it comes down to it, you can try #83 via PC and see how that goes.

If that doesn't work, you can try #4 via rotary, but that will destroy any laminate.

[CDN88]

Hmmm... I've been thinking clearcoat as I've seen a couple of examples that seemed to be 'peeling', especially around the front edge. Other than the water spot etchings and a couple of rock dings in the metal frame, this one is still in great shape. If it's a lamination issue, I think I'm probably better off leaving it alone.

I'm in Canada and I've never seen Plexus around here. I googled it, and, like most on-line shopping for detailing supplies, they can't/won't ship outside of the US.

I'm going to give 83 a try by hand with passion and if that doesn't do it, well... I'm probably the only one that sees it anyway. I'll try to post some before and after pics, but I don't know if my poor old 3mp camera will pick up the problem.

Thanks for the help guys.