Help - My 2001 Asure Blue CL has developed a couple of small whitish splotches on the back end of the trunk. It is smooth to the touch and won't scratch off with fingernail - so not on top of paint. Looks like stain under the clear coat. They are about 1-2 inches and sort of bloches that almost look like faded but I can see clear coat shine over them. I am now worried more might appear. I used to use Zaino products but have not used for about a year and had dealer detail about 6 mos. ago. Also went of road trip and noticed after a neighborhood car wash where they used a power wand. But I suspect these were there before all of this.

I tried Zaino 5, 2 and 6 last night but made no difference at all. (I also posted this under wash and wax forum but thought might get more resps. on this forum - sorry for dup. post).

Thanks,
Rustito

 

One more thing - Car has never been garage kept - so exposed to weather in Washington DC area.
Rustitio

 

Here is a link to a close-up pic of the splotch. It is smooth to the touch but looks like specks of salt close up - like a cluster sort of:

http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/e...=AcuraSpot.jpg

Thanks for any help, Rustito

 

On the pic I just posted the smooth white areas are reflections of clouds!! It is the white specks that is the stain.
Rustito

 

This might post pic directly on forum - sorry just learning to post pics here!

 

Has no one else experienced this paint problem on an Acura that is 5 yrs. old? I can't imagine I am the only one with such a problem. I kept up with Zaino Bros. products until about a year ago.

Any help??
Rustito

 

have you tried some megs scratch X or similar products?

 

Has the car been repainted at one point? the clearcoat is not reflecting the cluods at all it looks hazzy. that could be the problem. something was not preped properly before painting and was under the clear. This will peave PINHOLES in the paint and looks like your pict.

 

I had some marks like that on my car. luckily i ran my car into another one and got it repainted lol. i couldnt get em off though.

 

No - Car not re-painted. The pic is just very very close-up using a Nikon zoom lens on digital SLR so I think paint looks distorted in pic - not pocked-up like in pic. But the white splotch looks about right - just very magnified. I just couldn't get a better pic in the sun. The actual body color is a deep blue also. Maybe I should try for a better pic.
Rustito

 

did you buy it new or used?

 

I am original owner - got it in August 2001. No accidents. Zaino said it appears to be paint breaking down under clear coat - it might not get worse since only a small spot. I will try to fix it and then protect. Rest of car looks fine - in fact when I use Zaino products it looks and feels mirror smooth (but I'm not a perfectionist, i.e., don't usually use clay). But you might not even notice this unless you look closely - spot is very small. Again, the pic is somewhat missleading because it is so magnified.

All this said, back in 2001 on this forum many people were complaining abt bad paint quality on the new 2001 CLs - even when new. That is when I first began to use Zaino products.
Rustito

 

It looks like the clear coat is failing. Spend some time on Meguiarsonline.com.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/thread/25700.aspx

search on clear coat and then display the whole thread on clear coat picture collection.

 

Thanks for the link to Meguiarsonline forum thread about clear coat failure. This is the correct diagnosis for my problem - but not the good news as far as fixing. But mine is very minimal - so far and hardly noticable - size of quarter and no rough or flaking but prognosis is not good once clear coat begins to fail - due to maybe exposure or not using protection products and then detailing by dealer helped it along I suspect. I called Mike Phillips who did the clear coat thread on meguiarsonline and he was very helpful. Also called Zaino. Both confirmed same issue.

My reason for sharing all this is mostly about what to do now so others with similiar problem can learn. My best course of action is to slow the progression if possible by using one of the good product systems around - I use Zaino and they have several new products out now. It might slowly get worse or might be held in check and not get worse. I did get small pigment using Meguiar's clear clat body scrub - which should NOT have happened unless clear coat was breaking down - so helped confirm diagnosis and won't use again. Since rest of car is not showing any signs of haze or dullness or splotches I can only hope most of car is not far advanced. So I plan to build up protection with Zaino system and keep it up. Car is 2001 with low miles and I still love car and color. Won't be worth painting if I can prevent further damage.

Thanks everyone for the help,
Rustito

Hope this helps others who suspect similar problems. I have learned so much this week on the forum and now have a direction and some hope of limiting further damage.