Paint defects, need advise, pics

[S2K]

OK I think I got it now, Sorry for all the confusion before.
This is a black Honda S2000, there are white spots all over the hood and a little on the front fenders, not on rest of car, like it was driven into something. Any ideas on what they might be? I can feel them with a light drag on my fingernail like they are etched into the paint. Do you think I can get rid of them or at least lessen the look of them. I would like to clean this paint up, I'm not looking for perfection because I don't think that's possible, but I would be very happy just getting it a lot better, but I don't want to waste time and money if I can't. I could put that money towards a repaint.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/white_spots_4.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/white_spots_2.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/white_spots_3.jpg

There are also spots on the bumper that look like etching from bugs (I'm guessing)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/bumper.jpg

And this small panel by the decklid looks like the clearcoat is really pitted but I'm wondering if it can be fixed.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/deck_lid_panel.jpg

So if anyone can give me some input on whether I should try this or not it will be greatly appreciated. If so I'm ready to invest in a DA, pads, product and whatever else I need to make it better.
Thanks for looking.

[Jenn1270]

Welcome and are they rock chips?

[S2K]

Welcome and are they rock chips?

I don't think they are chips, I can just barely feel them with my fingernail, some you can't even feel. They look like they are in the paint. But I am no expert and don't know that much about paint so I guess maybe they could be. There is also something that looks like water spots or some kind of film all over the hood that is not on the rest of the car. I couldn't get it to show up in a pic. Makes me think something got sprayed on front of car and the spots are etchings and not chips.

[Dubbin1]

I agree with it being rock chips and that little piece by the deck lid needs to be resprayed.

[Shane731]

Wish you were closer - I'd love to come down and help you out.

Have you clayed the car? Try going over those white areas with a clay bar and see if that helps. It could be rock chips, but it kinda looks to me like crap from trees. Hard to tell from pictures. On the area that's faded, try some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on a microfiber applicator and see if that does anything.

[S2K]

I haven't clayed it yet but I did try some UC on a small part of the hood just to see if it would do anything to the film/water spot looking stuff and it did take it off but now the white spots where i did it look like they stand out more. I know it's hard to tell from the pics, I shot about 50 pics trying to get some decent ones but I kept just getting reflections and it was hard to see. It's hard to do anything right now because it's in the mid to upper 90's, so I might be waiting until Sept. to really get started. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can right now before I get started.
Thanks for your input, everything helps a newbie like me.

[satrianivia]

My wife has a black 04 honda civic and she has a couple of white spots on her car and from what I can tell hers seem to be type 2 bird crap etchings. I plan on taking close up pics and post when I can for help clariying it.

[satrianivia]

I agree with it being rock chips and that little piece by the deck lid needs to be resprayed.

:iagree: or etchings from bugs. dreaded love bugs always seem to get divorced by the front of my car and have left some similar markings on my wifes vehicle.

[KevinR]

You're in Savannah, right? Has the car always been there too?

It's hard to tell without looking at it in person, but it looks to me like tree sap made worse by the salty ocean air and extremely hard water. Mixing all of that with the coastal sun can really wreak havoc with a paint job.

The bumper damage is definitely from bugs. You can make it better through polishing, but it will never be perfect.

The panel near the decklid is showing sun damage. It's going to have to be resprayed.

Most car dealerships in bigger cities have guys who can do the touch up spraying at your location rather than requiring you to take it to a body shop. Check for the Paintless Dent Removal companies. They'll either have someone who does it or they can recommend someone who can.

However, I wouldn't worry about getting that piece fixed until you come to a conclusion on what to do with the white spots and bug remains. If it turns out that you're going to have to respray, they can take care of the piece by the decklid at the same time.

[KevinR]

For the white spots, I would start by claying the area to see if the clay will pull the contaminants from the paint.

If claying doesn't work you can try mixing a solution of 50% distilled water and 50% distilled white vinegar and apply that to the spots. If they are mineral based, the mixture may remove them or lessen them. Don't leave it on too long (a couple of minutes or so) and then rub them gently with a soft towel. Keep in mind that this will remove the wax from the paint so you will have to reapply wax.

If you are able to successfully remove or lessen the spots by either of the above methods, you will need to polish the entire panel to even out the finish. It's hard to tell you which level of abrasiveness you need without seeing the car in person. But a good rule of thumb is to start with the lesser aggressive compounds and work your way up from there. You want to use the least aggressive possible that still gives the results you want.

[S2K]

Thanks everyone for your input! After reading some other threads on here I'm really thinking this is rock chips/sandblasting or solvent pop. Probably not much I can do but just live with it until I can afford a whole or partial paint job. The rest of the car is in pretty good shape except for swirls and some scratches, which I think I can get out. I might try the vinegar just to see if it's mineral (it can't hurt) then get down to polishing and see how the rest comes out so I can assess how much I want to put into paint. Again Thanks everyone for the knowledge you are giving this newbie and I look forward to learning more and more!

[Mike Phillips]

This looks like missing paint specs with dried polish and wax residue in the crater where the paint is missing. If these are below surface defects then they are probably deep enough that machine polishing won't remove them because they will be too deep.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/white_spots_4.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/white_spots_3.jpg



In the above pictures, this looks like missing paint specs with dried polish and wax residue in the crater where the paint is missing. If these are below surface defects then they are probably deep enough that machine polishing won't remove them because they will be too deep.

If these are above surface bonded contaminants, that is some kind of white stuff bonded to the top surface then claying may remove them.





There are also spots on the bumper that look like etching from bugs (I'm guessing)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/bumper.jpg



The acids inside of bug splatter can and will eat all the way through your car's paint right down to the panel. Polishing won't help, it will only fill the etching with residue.



And this small panel by the decklid looks like the clearcoat is really pitted but I'm wondering if it can be fixed.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/deck_lid_panel.jpg



The only way to fix the above pitting or etching is to repaint, polishing removes paint, it doesn't add paint and what you have above in that picture is a lack of paint.


Cool car but might be time for a new paint job.

Have you ever paid for a new paint job?


:)

[Mike Phillips]

As for bug splatter, for anyone reading this, if you run into a storm of bugs on a road trip, it is vitally important that you remove the bug splatter as soon as possible because if you don't, your car's paint will be left with missing paint everywhere the splatter impacts the paint and it will actually remove paint in the pattern of the splatter...

That's why I added the below to the bottom of this article,

How-To: Diamondite Bug Eraser™ Waterless Bug Remover (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/diamondite/26358-how-diamondite-bug-eraser-waterless-bug-remover.html)



Note: If bug splatter remains on your car's finish long enough it will actually eat into and remove both the clear layer of paint and the basecoat layer of paint and the only way to fix this will be to apply touch-up paint, (hard to do all over the car), or have the area re-painted, or have the entire front clip repainted.

Bug Spatter can actually eat through and remove paint if left on too long...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/719/BugBGoneTest003.jpg

Warning
It's a lot less expensive to save your car's factory finish by removing the splatter as fast as you can and thus stop any damage before it's too late. If you live in an area where bugs are a problem or if you're taking a road trip where bug splatter will be a problem, prepare an Emergency Bug Removal Kit and pack it in your car.


:)




:)

[S2K]

Well that's kinda what I've been thinking Mike, but Thanks for responding. I've never paid for a paint job and would rather not but guess it might come to that. Think I'm going to clean it up best I can for now. The interior is virtually spotless and that's what I see most and the way it handles well who cares what it looks like, lol. But anyway Thanks everybody!!!

[Mike Phillips]

Think I'm going to clean it up best I can for now.




This is called,

"Taking a car's paint to it's maximum potential" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/27081-taking-car-s-paint-s-maximum-potential.html)


:xyxthumbs: