Rustito

Help - My Blue Acura 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. Car is several years old and not kept in garage - live in Washington DC area.

Below is a very close-up pic of problem area. The smooth looking white are reflections of clouds on picture - problem is what looks like salt speckles - but to the touch this is smooth and this pic is very close-up.



Thanks for any help,
Rustito

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

have you tried a clay bar?

you might get better info in the wash & wax section.

good luck.

Rustito

Hi - thanks for reply - I didn't use clay bar because it is not rough to the feel, i.e., not on top of clear coat. But I do use clay bar for service scratches. I did post to wash and wax earlier today and so far only one person has given reply. That is why I am trying same post to a couple of different forums - just on the off chance someone else has experienced this problem.

Rustito

alltrac

I have the same thing on my silver Suzuki Swift. Let me know if you find out what it is?

desper

Wow..

Is that from salt and sand over winter months and leaving on the surface?

Jesstzn

To me the rest of the surrounding paint looks like its got some form of acid rain damage by the texture in the pix. Those specks, have you tried moving a needle tip over them to see if they are small holes?

Rustito

Didn't try moving needle over specks. Ran my finger and fingernail to see if I felt any texture but totally smooth. The paint looks strange in the pic because it is very magnified - couldn't get good view without doing it that way due to sun. But actual color is deep blue and no visable pocks or marks except the white specks - but these too are very magnified. Actually the white doesn't look like specks without magnification. Looks sort of like a splotch.

Any idea what caused the white specks?
Rustito

Rustito

Well, I have learned from a few pros who looked at my car that it seems the trunk was maybe re-painted and/or the detailing done by Acura made my clear coat so thin that it is almost non-exsitent on the trunk area. I understand they use buffer machines that are hard on paint etc.

Has anyone else had their car detailed by Acura dealer and noticed a dulling of paint in any areas - ofcourse this took about 5 mos. - for awhile it looked great until I looked closely.

I plan to pursue this with the dealer where I had the car detailed - only place it was out of my sight and whether something happened to result in re-painting or the detailing process they use.

Rustito

type-s09

have you been putting wax on it? Did you have deep scratches on your trunk lid? I used to be a detailer at the local dealership...

Rustito

This is not meant to target Acura dealer but to understand what happened to the quality of paint on my 2001 CL. Well protected by Zaino (but not in garage) and never taken to car washes. So what went wrong with the back of my trunk as far as paint deteriozation - was it detailing process (as suggested by a local expert) or what happened. The rest of my car paint is in great shape.
Rustito

Rustito

No deep scratches. Not using wax but using Zaino Bros. products since I got the car new in 2001. Very pleased with Zaino system, however for past year or so I didn't use anything so I had dealer detail car when I had maintance. I assume they used wax - but after a couple of months I noticed dulling at turn from trunk top to trunk back side. Then a few weeks ago I noticed a white dulling under the clear coat. Cleaning with a product some blue paint came through - called expert and learned clear coat was thin and gone in that spot. Rest of car looks perfectly good. This is not good news but spot is so small won't get re-painted if I can protect with Zaino products and am careful not to rub spot.

Just very unhappy and wondering what caused this on a car carefully tended by hand using a good product. Understand 2001 not garage kept - but still should not have happened and why just in this one spot which people said was re-painted - which is was not as far as I know as only owner!!!
Rustito (not feeling too good about this)!!!

DaveD

Sounds like the clear coat is separating from the base color.
The only way to fix that is a re-paint job. Hopefully you are still under warranty.
This is not typical of Acura paint, but I'm guessing that's what it is.
Take it to the dealer ASAP. Those white spots will only get bigger and then start pealing. Sorry

Rustito

You are right - clear coat wore thin - think after had dealer detailing. Otherwise I did Zaino system myself. No - not under warranty - my car is a 2001 Acura CL. But - I am trying to understand how this issue might spread to the rest of the car since it has started. So, it seems isolated to trunk area and possibly caused by dealer detailing with harsh methods that wore clear coat off - actually got blue color on pad trying to fix spot. So clear coat is gone on that spot. So smal it is OK if doesn't get bigger. How do I prevent it from spreading?? I can get trunk re-painted if needed. But if can protect using Zaino bros. products would rather since it is a spot size of quarter. If clear coat is gone then does this spread to other areas not showing dullness??

rustitio

type-s09

well i have burned a car before..not knowing it had been wet sanded before...if your car has had paint work before that might mean the paintjob was thin and the buffer didnt know this...its hard to make some cars look good with out getting aggressive and being aggressive and thin paint definatly do not mix...but if it did burn through it needs to be repainted..if blue paint showed up on your towel its definatly burned...i would take this to the dealer but being so long ago i dont know if they will do anything about it...usually when a clear coat is about to burn it will turn hazy but it usually could be seen that day or in the next few days...the sunlight definatly doesnt help..

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Rustito- I agree- you should take it back to the dealer but why did you start another thread on this issue?

https://acurazine.com/forums/sports-talk-fantasy-leagues-38/university-southern-california-2004-national-champs-165529/

Rustito

Started new thread because it became a slightly different issue after I learned what the technical problem was with the paint. It then became no longer diagnose problem but where to go from here. Maybe I should have kept same thread but thought those who had seen it would not realize I had moved into a now phase of the problem (and would think I was still trying to figure out what it was)!!!

But you have a good point - Perhaps I should post the new stuff on old thread??

Rustito

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

taken care of

S power

That paint looks like a Maaco paint job with zero gloss. Too much orange peel to be oem paint. It will spread like a plague if what you describe is right , that its under the clear, and theres nothing you can do about it. Any bird shit land on that area?

JetJock

I had spots on my NBP TL. I tried everything to remove them, but nothing worked. One day, I got my hands on a jewelry loupe, so I looked carefully at the paint. The spots looked like craters in the moon, and turned out to be acid rain/sun damage. There was nothing I could do other than sell the car since the spots covered the roof, hood and trunk. The paint isn't as good as it used to be when it had lead...blame the tree huggers and EPA.

Rustito

Did the spots start as just a small smooth blotch? Mine is size of quarter. I'm not sure if it can be held at that or if it will spread. I am spending weekend doing a number of layers of Zaino in hopes of protecting the rest of the car and containing the problem. The rest of the car looks fine.

BTW - Not re-painted. Original 2001 paint on CL. After a layer of Zaino today it is already looking great - except small area. Here's hoping I can protect the rest of the car at least for another couple of years!

Rustito

JetJock

Sounds like your problem was caused by someone with a rotary buffer pressing too hard. My spots came from water/sun damage and covered all the flat surfaces on the car where the water beaded up. I also used Zaino....it's no help with acidic water on a sunny day. The beads that look so pretty just act like lenses in strong sunlight burning the paint.