Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

[kev4bama]

Alright guys I need some help! I was using 80 by hand today with a microfiber towel. I was repairing a place on the front of my hood where a rock had taken a chip out. I was trying to get the touch up to my liking and was going over a quarter sized area many times with the 80 before cleaning with dawn and reapplying the touch up. When I finally got the touch up perfect I noticed underneath it a hazy looking area under the spot It actually seems to be a bit brighter than the rest of the paint but with the light from the side it looks hazy almost like there was some polish or nxt not removed. it still has reflection to the area and it is smooth to the touch but I am afraid I might have thinned out my clear in this area. Any thoughts I did not think that would really be possible with 80 by hand. I tried to take a pic but could not get one to turn out. I went over the haze under the touchup with some NXT 2.0 with no improvement. I would think because it does not feel any different and still has reflection that there is still clear there.

Thanks in Advance

Kevin

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

What are you working on?

The odds of going through clear with M80 by hand are probably on par with winning the lottery, that is, unless you clear was about 5 minutes from being done anyway.

Can you get pictures?

[kev4bama]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

I am working on an 2009 Scion XB. I tried to go over the area with some more 80 but it only got worse. I also tried to take some pictures but could not get them to come out. where you could see. I was bearing down in 1 spot pretty good but only because I thought there was no chance of hurting the clear by hand. The spot looks brighter that the rest of the paint

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

This isn't clear coat failure then.

Do you own any ScratchX? Get a clean, fresh Meguiar's foam Softbuf applicator pad and some ScratchX and put some passion behind it. Give that a try and see how it turns out. It should finish out a little better than the 80 did by hand.

Also, pictures are worth a thousand words...especially when it comes to diagnosing paint problems. If you can get some, it would help tremendously.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

What color is the basecoat and when you turn your applicator pad over do you see this color on it?

What are you using to apply M80?

Foam? Microfiber? Terrycloth?

Do you have ScratchX? If you don't see the color of the basecoat showing up on your applicator pad then you haven't gone through the clear coat and it could be you're rubbing too hard and this is hazing the paint?

Try using a foam applicator and ScratchX and go over the area firm but gently. Remember clear coats are scratch-sensitive, that is they will scratch easily you need to approach working on clear paints with care and caution.

[Megafast13]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

There is no chance that this is Clear coat failure lol

Probably just hazing from the M80. Which is surprising from Toyota paint IMO.

Try ScratchX via foam applicator.

But,

[kev4bama]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

I am seeing the basecoat color on my microfiber. I am using only microfiber to apply. I also tried a magic eraser and really started coming off. How could this be

[Kickin Griffin]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

I am seeing the basecoat color on my microfiber. I am using only microfiber to apply. I also tried a magic eraser and really started coming off. How could this be

If you are seeing the colourcoat colour coming through on your microfibre then it may well be failure of the clearcoat, though if only with #80 by hand it does seem highly unlikely... But the evidence is rather pointing towards it alas

Do you have any pictures of it first of all?

If you have access to a paint thickness gauge, either your own or someone local, it would be an idea to measure the thickness over the region and the surroudning areas and on other panels. Its not unknown for a car to have thin spots on it - repairs before you receive the car, carried out by dealer or even when the car came off the boat/train on which it was delivered. A surprising amount of damage happens to cars in transit, and a scratch for example may have been aggressively polished leaving your paint with a thin spot. It is was also soft paint, #80 would have been able to cut a little and this may have taken the coat away. You'd have to have been very unlucky here, but it may just be what has happened. My car has a similar thin spot where a dealer tried to correct a scratch on the boot before I bought it - readings as low as 50 - 60um, which is dangerously thin and I daren't polish that specific region with anything.

Post up pics if you can, will help us see what the damage looks like but if you are pulling pigment, the initial signs are not good.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

How could this be

Clear coat paints are thin?

At this point stop as more rubbing won't make it look more good.

On a brand new 2009 Scion XB, a person would have to rub quite a bit to go through the clear. Is it possible someone has worked on this before you and already removed some of the clear before you go to it?

It also could be that the color you're seeing is only from the rock chip area?

Go look at the paint very carefully. With most paint systems, the color coat is dull as it doesn't have gloss by itself it gets that from clear coat. IN most cases anywhere you rub through the clear coat you'll see dull colored paint.

Not much you can do now. Often times when people ask questions about fixing rock chips, if you read my replies I always post that a person can make it as complicated as they want or just dab on a little touch-up paint and move on with life. That's because sometimes, more and more work won't net you better and better results and in fact sometimes problems.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

Just to note, this isn't clearcoat failure, it's called rubbing through the clear coat.

Huge difference.

Clearcoat failure is when the clear layer of paint disintegrates and basically starts flaking off the car. This happens for a number of reasons but one of those reasons or factors is that it happens over time, not to a brand new car.

Pics here,

The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive


This is the beginning of clear coat failure, note how the paint is turning cloudy or hazy but it's not yet flaking off.




These 3 pictures show the last stage of clear coat failure, the clear coat has turned white and began to flake off. The car looks like it has a bad rash. This is not oxidation, but the extreme deterioration of the clear layer of paint over the color coat. There is nothing you can do to fix this problem except to repaint the car.

[Kickin Griffin]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

If it helps, this is a pic of "Strike through" of the clearcoat on an Agean Blue Peugeot 307 door... the region where the clear is "gone" is the light and less glossy patch, quite hard to make out in daylight:



The effects can be more clearly seen under a bright light as shown in the pictures below - strike through area on the left.

[kev4bama]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

the pictures above are what it looks like. It is only about dime sized on the lower front of the hood where it meets the grill. If I keep NXT on it all the time would it likely stay protected ? When you run your finger across it , it is still slick as glass. Mike it seems the clear must have been pretty thin for the 80 to go through it using it by hand.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

the pictures above are what it looks like. It is only about dime sized on the lower front of the hood where it meets the grill. If I keep NXT on it all the time would it likely stay protected ? When you run your finger across it , it is still slick as glass. Mike it seems the clear must have been pretty thin for the 80 to go through it using it by hand.

Paint flows out thiner on curves, hard to say because M80 by hand isn't that aggressive, in fact it gets most of it's aggressiveness by the pressure you exert.

For long term protection, clean the area and apply some clear touch up paint. do the best you can and when you're done... walk a way.

The other option is to pay to have a pro fix it.

Please don't think I'm not sympathetic as I am, I've rubbed through clears before, (that's how you learn how not to do something, that's by doing it)

[kev4bama]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

Thanks for the help guys, lesson learned. I guess the shotty touch up job would have been better huh. Damn Rock Should the paint on the rest of the hood be ok or will I have to worry about it? Like I said the area is still slick as glass and only about dime sized. I put some NXT 2.0 on it and I use the Ultimate Detailing Spray just about daily. I just wonder if the paint around that area will start failing?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clear Coat failure on a new car using 80 by hand??

Should the paint on the rest of the hood be ok or will I have to worry about it?

Do you mean the rest of the hood?

Or the clear paint surrounding the exposed color coat?

My best guess is for longevity you're going to want to apply some clear touch-up paint over the exposed basecoat paint to seal it.