Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

[ap41563]

I recently had some work done to my Altima and the body shop got clear coat over spray on my gauge cluster. I've used PasticX on it for about the past half hour and have found with some pressure and persistence the gauges look clear again and no longer have any haze to them. The car is only 2 months old and the gauges were clear before it went to them so I'm pretty sure it was clear coat that had gotten on it while the windows were down. I can't fault the body shop things happen. Like Mike said in his post I’d rather try to take care of it myself before I go back and complain.

When it came back from the body shop I noticed I also have some etching after it sat out that afternoon and got rained on and dried while I was at work before I could take care of it. I think most of the wax I had on the car had gotten stripped from it while the car was in the body shop for the month. I also have a clear bra on the car and I'm concerned because it has what appears to be acid rain etching on it as well. I have taken care of the paint with a clay bar, cleaner, polish, and wax and I looks great. I’m worried about the clear bra though. I've tried the PlasticX on it but it doesn't seem to do much good other than make it shiny. I can't figure out what to do in order to get etching removed from the clear bra, most of the forums talk about either haze on the film or etching on the paint. Any help would be appreciated.

[ap41563]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

I thought it may help to post a photo.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

Well, it is possible that it is very deep and that is why the PlastX is not getting it out.

I would suggest testing more abrasive products in an inconspicuous location and then go from there if you find something that works.

I am not totally sure where PlastX falls in the cut scale, but if I had to guess I would say it is fairly low...down around the original ScratchX.

Come Monday Mike Phillips should chime in and hopefully he will have some clear answers for you. Hang tight!

[Megafast13]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

I also suggest to try something more aggressive. M105 or M80 have worked well in clear plastic cleaning in my experience.

How exactly are you applying/using the product.

Passion Behind The Pad is the key for it to work. A little elbow grease and scrubbing is often needed for hard to remove things

Like Mark Said, Mike P. Will be here Monday, maybe he has an idea.

[ap41563]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

I did it by hand for about 15 minutes with a little extra force because I found that what was working best on the instrument cluster. After not seeing any results though I took a my orbital buffer to it. What you see in the photo is after I buffed on it for another 15 minutes. It's just plastic and if all else fails I can just replace it. But right now I need a moral victory.

[ap41563]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

Well I've worked on it for the past 2 days and I've gotten the following result:



I've clayed it, used a cleaner on it and put a coat of polish on it and wax and it manages to look worse. My dad was helping me and I'm afraid he put too much pressure on the buffer and now it just looks cloudy. Any one think I can still save it?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

I also have a clear bra on the car and I'm concerned because it has what appears to be acid rain etching on it as well.

I've tried the PlastX on it but it doesn't seem to do much good other than make it shiny. I can't figure out what to do in order to get etching removed from the clear bra, most of the forums talk about either haze on the film or etching on the paint.

Any help would be appreciated.

The plastic used to make clear bras is very flexible, it is this flexibility that makes it a difficult to remove defect out of it while leaving it looking good and also leaving it look clear.

I've read of people that machine cleaned and polished them using a DA Polisher and something very light as far as cut goes but don't remember the outcome.

Have you verified that the spots are definitely etchings or pits or holes in the plastic film and not any kind of residue formed onto the surface?

We don't really make a product specific to these kinds of films; we do have M10 Plastic Polish which is a non-abrasive pure polish for maintaining clear plastic surfaces and M17 Plastic Cleaner which is a light cleaner/polish that when used correctly can remove fine scratches in usually softer plastics and PlastX, which is aggressive enough to go after some severely neglected plastic surfaces.

Let me check into this and see if there's any new information available for working on these types of materials. Hold off on doing anything else for right now.

[ap41563]

Re: Clear Bra Acid Rain Etching

Have you verified that the spots are definitely etchings or pits or holes in the plastic film and not any kind of residue formed onto the surface?

I've looked at the Film and I cannot really tell if the spots are down in the film or on top of it. The spots are very smooth to the touch. I don't feel any resistance when running my hands over the spots. I have also used a clay bar on it thinking that if it was something bonded onto the film it would drag against the clay while I was sweeping it with the clay. It could be smooth now from the products I have used on it. I am just at a loss on the next step to take. I've had the film on 8 vehicles and never have one do this before. Thank you again for the advice.