Paint defects diagnose

[paulsiu]

I have been closely examining the hood of my 2011 Subaru outback. As expected of a car this age, the paint appears to be in good shape, but as expected of a car this age, there are defects. There are for example a lot of chips. However, there are some additional issue that I am not familiar with:

Here's a picture

65097
The area seems rough. Some of the edge seemed a bit raised. I am wondering if sometime hit the hood and it's delaminating.

Second issue is that I notice what looks like puddles in the paint, but it's visible only if you look really close. I tried to get a picture, but it does not show up in the camera photo. I thought it may be water spots, but thought water spots would be white in color and not the same color as the paint.

What do you recommend to do for a car this old. I think it's still shiny but may be not as good as when it was new. Should I apply a finish polish like Griots Garage Perfecting Cream?

Paul

[Rsurfer]

Looks like the beginning of clear coat failure.

[paulsiu]

Looks like the beginning of clear coat failure.

Bummer, this mean it will have to be repainted?

Whatever it is, it cannot be clayed away.

Paul

[itsgn]

However, there are some additional issue that I am not familiar with: Here's a picture. I am wondering if sometime hit the hood and it's delaminating.
It looks more like tree sap (or some other kind of chemical) etching to me. The good news is, that if it's really that, the damage is contained only to that particular spot, and it won't spread from there. The bad news is, that even though it won't spread, if it really ate through your clear coat, there's still no way to fix or mask that defect. Other than putting a sticker over it, or having it repainted, that is.

[paulsiu]

I think it's more likely to be bird droppings. I notice that there are a lot of birds in my area since I am constantly cleaning off bird poop on my car, garage door and even window. This may also explain the puddle effect I notice. I may have washed off the poop but it etched somehow into the clearcoat.

Will try a polish in the affected area to see how deep it goes.

Paul

[Avgguy]

I have been closely examining the hood of my 2011 Subaru outback. As expected of a car this age, the paint appears to be in good shape, but as expected of a car this age, there are defects. There are for example a lot of chips. However, there are some additional issue that I am not familiar with:

Here's a picture

65097
The area seems rough. Some of the edge seemed a bit raised. I am wondering if sometime hit the hood and it's delaminating.

Second issue is that I notice what looks like puddles in the paint, but it's visible only if you look really close. I tried to get a picture, but it does not show up in the camera photo. I thought it may be water spots, but thought water spots would be white in color and not the same color as the paint.

What do you recommend to do for a car this old. I think it's still shiny but may be not as good as when it was new. Should I apply a finish polish like Griots Garage Perfecting Cream?

Paul

I detailed a Subaru a few months back and posted similar pics. Could not get spots off after trying every possible solution. Maybe I can find it and link it. Good luck. That paint is SO soft.


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[itsgn]

I think it's more likely to be bird droppings.
Might be, even though those usually take a different, splash-like shape, with smaller "arms" reaching out around the perimeter, and are generally less uniform in their appearance over the entirety of the affected surface. That said the real point is that it's some kind of local chemical etching, not the result of some physical impact or general degradation ("failure") of the clear coat. Well, at least that's my judgement based on the small photo.