Possible Clear Coat Damage

[kdhansen]

This my first post although I have been a lurker for a while. I have a 2007 Chevy Silverado with Blue Metallic paint. I bought the truck in 2006 so it is just under 2 years old. A few weeks ago something got etched into my paint. I am not sure if it was water, acid rain or some chemical. There were streaks all over the hood and the driver's door. I thought I might be able to polish them out so I bought a PC 7424, some Lake County Orange/Yellow pads and Menzerna Intensive Polish and 3M Perfect-It ll Rubbing Compound. I read through all the threads on the PC and was confident on using it. I started using the PC with the Orange pads with the Menzerna and eventually stepped up to using the Yellow pad with the Rubbing compound. The etching was quite deep but I was able to polish out most of the spots. However two spots - one on the hood and one on the door - took on a weird appearance. They had a lot of hazing and marring to them. They also have a milky white spots visible. I am wondering if I did some kind of damage to the paint or the clear coat. I thought I was using the Pc correctly. I didn't have any problems on other areas of the paint. I didn't use a finishing polish on either area because I was afraid of doing further damage. I rubbed a white terry cloth towel over the area and got paint on it from the spot. Do you think using the Menzerna Final Polish will correct the damage or am I looking at getting the areas repainted? I attached some pictures of the damage. Thanks in advance for any help!

[alamoautodetail]

Its funny you say this... I JUST used yellow pads with M105 today for first time on the PC and I was scared.. but i did notice the same thing you saw.. I believe the yellow pad cuts a great amount and when combined with a powerful compound does in fact leave small marks that need correcting by a follow-up polish. Someone will respond that knows significantly more then me. Good luck!

[budman3]

Hmm, this is a tough situation. I really don't want to say that you have gone through the clear coat but a yellow cutting pad + a rubbing compound is very very harsh, even with a PC. Etching is tough to deal with because most of the time it has etched to the bottom of the clear and even color coat, making it impossible to remove without sacrificing the clear coat. You have nothing to lose by using the Final Polish, if it clears it up, great. If not, the damage has already been done ...

[mixxer]

Ive actually seen this before with the 3m perfect it compound. Hit it with a finish pad and finish polish ,i think it might come out. Cant tell for sure because i cant enlarge photo but give it a try and repot back with new pics please.

[David Fermani]

It almost looks white like a paint burn or scarring of the clear? Better pictures would definately help.

[Matt S.]

Can't really see anything in those pictures, they're way out of focus.