Identifying Paint Imperfection

[richy]

I need help determining what this paint imperfection is and how to correct it. This is on the roof of a VW. It had been stored outdoors for 6 months. The mark seems to be under the clear. You cannot feel it with your finger; the paint is smooth. I tried SIP by hand..nothing. I tried DG 501 cleaner by hand..nothing. I believe it's a leaf that stayed on there for months and decomposed into the clear. The pattern of the imperfection looks like it could be from a leaf. I really have no idea what it is. Other than going at it by wet sanding a bit, I have no idea IF it can be corrected. Anyone else ever get anything like this? I thought I had seen damn near everything...maybe that's just at work

[Nica]

That looks interesting, hard to see from the picture what exactly it is but just by looking at the picture it almost looks like clear coat failure? Really hard to tell though.

Can't say I've come accross anything like that though. I'd be interested to hear what other members have to say about it though.

[richy]

Carlos..that was my initial thought too. The weird thing is the paint is as smooth as glass..doesn't make sense if it's clear coat failure. It looks to me like it's below the surface of the clear..but how the hell does THAT happen??? You would think a clearcoat issue would be able to be felt with the hand.

[Nica]

Yea I hear you richy, that is interesting. I wonder what ever was on the surface edtched through the clear coat and all the way down to the paint. You know, I was givin a little tool that magnifies the surface area of the vehicle. I don't know the name of the tool, but it works great because it really magnifies the imperfections on the surface of the vehicle and it actually helps you see how deep the scratches are.

I wonder if this might help you...I'll try and look for the name or even a link of the tool I'm talking about.

[richy]

Well..here's an update on that nasty stain in the paint. I detailed the car this weekend. I wet sanded the spot and then compounded with wool pad and Presta Ultra cutting creme. It removed 95% of the spot but the clear was getting thin so I stopped. Here's the end result:

[Nica]

Look very nice there rich, I don't know but I can't really see the imperfection any more...I see a faint mark but not sure if that is the picture or if it's the imperfection.

Well you can really tell the difference, looks good.

Thank you for sharing.