Help, bad etching? Pic heavy

[volrus]

I'm getting frustrated with my 2008 Lexus ES 350 paint. It appears to be etched really bad or something and I don't know how to correct it at this point. Here is what I've tried so far.

1) Megs 205 with Orange LC pad - nothing
2) Megs 205 with Yellow LC pad - nothing
3) Megs 105 with Orange LC pad - nothing
4) Megs 105 with Yellow LC pad - still no luck!
5) Posting this thread and hoping you all can help.

Here is a series of pics from different areas of the car that show the marks I'm talking about. The smaller marks you see and the bird poop mark are smooth, can't catch them with my fingernail. The white marks where someone hit my rear bumper (and didn't bother to tell me) can mostly be caught by my fingernail but not all of it. I realize I can't do anything at all with the areas that are deep enough to catch my nail but I have not idea what the deal is with the rest of the areas.

[ihaveacamaro]

what machine and how hard are you pressing?

[VroomVroom]

Good questions above, and I'll add one - how long are you working? I'd expect you to see some results with the yellow pad and M105 - to include some light hazing from the aggressiveness of the combo.

I just detailed my wife's '07 this past weekend, and I can feel your pain on some of the bumper damage. Hard to say for sure from the pics, but I'm guessing you can at least minimize the effects with a concerted effort. Good luck...

[volrus]

Sorry, guess I left out some details. I'm using a Porter Cable (old version, not XP). Working the product until dust starts appearing. Machine set on 5 with varying degrees of pressure ranging from it barely turning to turning fast. It surprised me when the 105 didn't result any hazing like I've heard described. It was almost like I really didn't even need to follow it up with the 205. I have the spots like you see in the picture all over the car. Almost like it sat in some bad acid rain for too long or something.

[zmcgovern45]

Having the same paint as you... I will tell you what I had to do to remove some sever water spot etchings in my roof.

http://attentiontodetailingpeoria.com/users/166016/assets/blog_170031_1815422.jpg
^I bought the car used last July, and the previous owner had obviously not taken care of it. These water spots were bad! I also had no luck with M105 on Orange or Yellow (with my PC7424XP) in my original attempts to correct them.

http://attentiontodetailingpeoria.com/users/166016/assets/blog_170031_1815429.jpg
^I stepped it up to Surbuf Pads + M105 + HEAVY pressure and was able to make a great improvement.

http://attentiontodetailingpeoria.com/users/166016/assets/blog_170031_1815427.jpg
^I then followed that up with M205 + Black pad to eliminate any haze left by the aggressive compounding. Overall I was surprised at how aggressive I had to get with these etchings because the paint is otherwise pretty darn soft! Swirls were removed using M205 + Black Pads very easily. Anyway, you can see there are still a few of the deeper ones remaining, but for a DD, it is not worth it to chase those defects IMO.

http://attentiontodetailingpeoria.com/users/166016/assets/blog_170031_1815470.jpg
^Besides, you can't see them unless you're really looking for them... definitely an improvement.

**The metallic flake hides the DA haze very well, granted it was very minimal anyway since M105 finishes down very nicely, so if it doesn't catch your eye, then maybe you don't care to follow up with M205, but I would sure recommend it.

Best of luck!

[volrus]

Any other suggestions? Can anyone tell what those spots are and how they might have been caused?

[Rsurfer]

Any other suggestions? Can anyone tell what those spots are and how they might have been caused?

The bumper looks like scratches, but the 4th picture looks like clear coat failure.

[ihaveacamaro]

The bumper looks like scratches, but the 4th picture looks like clear coat failure.

:iagree:

Looks like cc failure due to bird bomb etching to me.

[supra90]

What can be done for clear coat failure? Does it always have to be re cleared?

[Evan.J]

What can be done for clear coat failure? Does it always have to be re cleared?

Yes in most cases. However if that's not capable ($$$) the sealing the area with a paint sealant would be another option.