Clear Coat Question for the pro’s

[bigmackmiller]

Finally giving my new truck the proper care it deserves and getting it protected for winter, going around with wolfgang Uber compound and a orange hex logic pad finding all these little spots, not sure if it’s over spray, clear starting to fail or something else? I can see them in areas that have not yet been polished so don’t believe it’s anything related to that, just wondering if it’s worth the effort to get more aggressive and try to remove them or if it is clear failure I already know that a respray is the only fix

[AZpolisher15]

Is that a re-paint?

[bigmackmiller]

Not to my knowledge, the good has been repainted and the bed sides were repaired, but this was on the top of the cab, almost thinking micro etching after looking at some pics, i can’t catch anything with my nail

[Eldorado2k]

Not to my knowledge, the good has been repainted and the bed sides were repaired, but this was on the top of the cab, almost thinking micro etching after looking at some pics, i can’t catch anything with my nail

How bad was it before you polished it?

[Eldorado2k]

Is it a GM truck? I don’t know if it’s just a GM thing, but I’ve noticed that they sometimes use a different kind of paint or different method of painting on the horizontal panels of some vehicles.. Whatever it is I’ve seen the roofs of some vehicles and sometimes even the hoods paint is of lower quality than the vertical panels as far as shine and clarity. It could also be due to the fact that the horizontal panels, especially the roof takes the most abuse over time. I think it could be a combination of both.

I’ve always wanted to know the correct answer as to why the paint on the hood could be different from the paint on the fender of a car.. Is it because the hood is made of a different kind metal and therefore couldn’t be painted the same way? The paint on my brothers Cadillac CTS was like that.. Fender shined like a mirror, the hood shined, but you couldn’t see reflections anywhere near like you could on the vertical panels of the car. It was completely different paint from the factory.

[Strong66]

My guess would be solvent pop, it could be wet sanded and polished out.

If it's factory clear, be cautious you don't have many mils to work with.

[itsgn]

To me it looks like the typical aforementioned solvent pop of a repainted surface. Did you measure paint thickness? If yes, what was it?

Similar defects can also sometimes arise when one is heavily overheating the paint while polishing it, without burning through it.

[Eldorado2k]

To me it looks like the typical aforementioned solvent pop of a repainted surface.

Similar defects can also sometimes arise when one is heavily overheating the paint while polishing it, without burning through it.

It may look like solvent pop of a repainted surface, but according to the information OP provided that’s not the case here because that panel has never been re painted.

And while similar defects may arise when overheating occurs during polishing, he said he can see these same defects in areas he has yet to polish...


So as far as his situation goes: Have a look at the factory paint on the hood of my 02’ Cadillac.



Now have a closer look...



Zoom in even closer and it looks alot like the factory paint in the OP.



Now look at the factory paint on the vertical panels of the same car. This paint is different. Compared to the paint they used on the horizontal panels this paint is perfect.



Does this somehow indicate that some panels on my car have been re painted? No, and I have no doubt about it. This is normal. Like I said earlier, my brothers Cadillac was the same way, I’ve also seen Mercedes Benz gray/silver factory paint look the same exact way on their horizontal panels. I wish I knew the reason why they do it...

Does it mean the horizontal panels don’t shine? Of course not.



It only looks like that under close examination. I could clearly see it as I was polishing my car.. Does it bother me? No not really, because there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s the way they chose to paint it from the factory, combined with many years of neglect by the previous owners.

[bigmackmiller]

Maybe it is a factory flaw then with the truck being from a similar era @ GM, and or clear coat etching from age. This truck is a 2001 Chevrolet 2500HD, to my knowledge the hood, and bedsides are the only repainted areas. I too am seeing this on the horizontal surfaces. The pic was taken on the roof of the truck, but it is apparent on curved body lines right under the driver side window as well that have a horizontal projection. Unfortunately I don't have a MIL gauge to see how much we have to work with that would allow me to wet sand the areas, but would consider purchasing one if you wouldn't mind recommending one. If the factory clear is thin to begin with I may only have to option of having it fixed at the body shop.

[Eldorado2k]

Maybe it is a factory flaw then with the truck being from a similar era @ GM, and or clear coat etching from age. This truck is a 2001 Chevrolet 2500HD. I too am seeing this on the horizontal surfaces.

I knew it.lol.