hazyness on 90 corvette hood?

[psuvette]

we have a 90 corvette that I've been givin some TLC. I've never used anything more than, I think, swirl remover #9 and maybe a wool pad.

Anyway, on one area of the hood right above the wheel, if you look at the hood in just the right light, it looks like the clearcoat is kind of hazy. you have to look at it at JUST the right angle in order to see it. Otherwise, it's nice and shiny.

Anyone know what this could be? Do you think that the clear is getting low in this area, or that maybe I burned through too much clearcoat? Honestly the rest of the car is ok except for some rain etching. I do think that it was like this when we got it though....so hopefully at least I didn't do it.

[Mike Phillips]

A better description of an area that has missing clear coat would be dull, but some might call it hazy...

If it looks like swirl scratches and that's what you mean by hazy, try re-polishing the area with a foam pad instead of a wool pad as the fibers that make up a wool pad instill hundreds of thousands of scratches we call buffer swirl.

Can you capture this using a digital camera?

[psuvette]

unfortunately the car isn't around here at the moment. the finish definitely looks very shiny and reflective. 99% of the time you can only notice it if you look at the area in a sharp angle. even then, it looks as though a cloudy substance has been imbedded in the paint

is it possible that the clear coat is just cloudy there?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by psuvette
is it possible that the clear coat is just cloudy there?

That's possible, but if it's the factory finish then I would say it's unlikely.

If it we're out in our garage right now, the first thing I would do would be to inspect it visually and through sense of touch, completely rule out any bonded contaminant issue and try to see visually what's going on.

Next a simple test would be to apply some ScratchX to a small are by hand using the techniques laid out in the ScratchX how-to article.

Then apply polish and then apply wax and then after the wax dries wipe it off and re-inspect. If these simple/safe procedures could make a small area look good, this would give us the confidence to duplicate this over the entire affected area or use a machine to re-polish the are using a foam pad a a cleaner/polishing like the M80 Speed Glaze.

If you can, try to capture this hazy area with the sun shining directly onto it like this,

[psuvette]

I will do that the next time I am home.

Thank you for your help. As I said though, it's hard to see. Could excessive heat have damaged the clearcoat?

I don't see how I could have damaged it though. I did use a rotary buffer on that area, but I did so on the rest of the car using the same product and technique, and it's fine (at least no worse off!).

[Mike Phillips]

Clear coats are heat-senstive and I have seen some clear coats get cloudy when overheated.

Doe the area you're referring to look like the area with the sun on it in the picture I inserted?

[psuvette]

not really..its not that noticeable at all. i hope i didn't burn up the clear

when you look at it straight on, it looks fine. if you look at it at an angle, it looks as if something is almost suspended in the paint, clouding it up. it's hard to say...i don't even think a picture would be able to pick it up, but i won't know until i try i guess!

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

What color is your car? Sometimes with metallic paint, the metal flake may not flow right when it was applied. As a result, too much flake may be in one spot creating a hazy look. This usually does not happen very often from the factory, but sometimes does if it has been repainted.

I also noticed that you used a wool pad with #9. I would avoid wool except for paint correction after wet sanding. It is possible that your clear coat is getting thin, creating a hazy look. Sometimes thin paint looks like it is almost a slight shade darker or lighter than the paint.

Hopefully you will be able to capture it with pictures. Try waiting until the sun is setting, and see if the sun's angle helps to get a better look at the spot.

Tim

[psuvette]

it's a steel blue metallic paint

[Tim Lingor]

Originally posted by psuvette
it's a steel blue metallic paint

Has the car or that area been repainted?

[Aurora40]

Originally posted by psuvette
I don't see how I could have damaged it though. I did use a rotary buffer on that area, but I did so on the rest of the car using the same product and technique, and it's fine (at least no worse off!).

Just FYI, but it's possible to damage/burn the paint in one area but not others. It's not like if you pick a bad combo, there's just a wide path of paint damage trailing the buffer. So it could be you burned a spot but the rest of the car is ok.

Originally posted by psuvette
it's a steel blue metallic paint

In this case, I must insist you take full pictures of the car. I love that color. If I had a second 'vette (have to have a red one), I'd want Steel Blue, Competition Yellow, or possibly the Charcoal Metallic. The newer Admiral and LeMans blues are pretty sweet too.

[psuvette]

no sir, it hasn't. at least to my knowledge.