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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.
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.
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