Need help with foggy looking paint...

[Mike McDonald]

Alright, this is my first post here. I joined for this specific issue I have been having for a few months now, and I've finally come to resolving it.

My paint looks foggy when you get close to it. After 4 hours cleaning my Explorer this past week, I really noticed it. I want to know what products I should get to resolve the issue so I can get that perfect look again.

The products I use when I give a fresh wax are Mothers pre-wax cleaner, Meguiars Deep Crystal Sealant topped with Meguiars NXT Generation Wax.

I also clay every time before I wax so I don't see clear coat contaminants being an issue... I will attach a photo of my front drivers panel, if you look towards the top you can see where it is foggy, that way you get an idea of what my issue is.


Thanks for the help!

[Phinox]

It is hard to tell from that picture (can you get a close up shot) but it looks like it could be the beggining of clear coat delamination.

[Mike McDonald]

Unfortunately I cannot get a close up... its 1am right now and I don't have a good light source on hand... To describe it I would say that there are patches of paint where it looks 'darker' and not as vibrant. My next day off will be spent 7am to dusk doing what I can to try and fix it. If it does turn out to be a clear coat issue, I plan on having the car re-painted after the winter time (its a used car that wasnt properly taken care of until I got at it) so it could wait.

[Phinox]

BTW Welcome to AG!!

[Mike McDonald]

Well, I resolved the issue. Here is what I did.

I did a coat of Megs ultimate compound followed by swirlx, followed by mothers sealant and caranuba wax. No more fogginess. I must say the results are astonishing. The shine is so much clearer and vivid.

Attached pics but they arent great since I took them with my blackberry.
From left to right: 1- shine after ult. compound and swirl x. 2- left, no compound, right side with. 3- shine before work on left side of hood.

[tuscarora dave]

I am glad you got the issue straightened out. Had I seen this thread earlier I would have said "sometimes if while claying you allow the clay to drag over a section with not enough lube on it, it tends to transfer clay to the panel that is very hard to wipe off or even clay off and if sealed over this could have caused the foggy look in that spot. But I guess it is a moot point now. Just fuel for thought I suppose.

[Dubbin1]

Well, I resolved the issue. Here is what I did.

I did a coat of Megs ultimate compound followed by swirlx

What do you mean by a coat of? You don't apply polishes like you do a wax.