Any ideas why SMR is removing paint

[imported_dickie]

I posted before about 3m SMR taking paint off the rear spoiler of my car (non-metallic red) when it was about a month old. Some people suggested no clear coat, but the manufacturer claims the car is clearcoated, and the spoiler is factory standard. It also looks the exact same colour and shade, and I have no reason to doubt them.



So does anyone have any theories on how the paint started coming off. It left a sort of a pinkish tinge on the 100% soft cotton polishing cloth I was using. So it wasn`t exactly like clumps of paint were coming off. Interestingly it did improve the swirl problem, and took out the major ones also.



To date I have 3 theories from different people :



1) No plastic primer used on spoiler. So paint just flakes off and will continue to do so ?



2) Spoiler was painted separate from car, and maybe there was a layer of some dead paint on it, which the smr removed ?



3) I used a fair bit of pressure when rubbing the SMR in. Maybe I broke through the clearcoat ?



Whichever is true, I won`t use the SMR again, but will use P21S GEPC tommorrow, followed by IHG.



thx

[2wheelsx2]

I think you forgot a 4th option:



The spoiler is a dealer added option and is not clearcoated. I know that has been the case for some cars I looked at, specifically red ones.



If you had broke through the clear, you`d be able to tell. Do a search and you will see some pictures of clearcoat which has been broken through. I think one was posted by theveed, and another by Huy.

[Jngrbrdman]

What about oxidation? Could that have been an issue? I frequently get paint color on my pads when cleaning red cars. They seem to oxidize quicker than the average bear. Red and Blue I think are the worse at that. How old is the car? If its more than 4 or 5 years old then Oxidation is very likely the culprit.

[imported_dickie]

Thanks for the tip.



Hmm...My paint looks nothing like those pictures. Relief....



If I have no spoiler clearcoat then, I can understand why the paint got on the cloth, and didn`t when I went at the rest of the car.



However, my spoiler paint matches the rest of the car exactly, and is a standard fitment for a Skoda Octavia vRS turbo. This lead me to believe the car was clearcoated. And if it is, then how did the paint get on ?





So is there a way to tell if there is a clearcoat on the spoiler ?

[imported_dickie]

The car was only 4 weeks old when I went at it with the SMR.

Came from the importer with a few swirl marks.



I am reluctant to go at it with SMR ever again.

Will use P21S GEPC tommorrow and see what that does.

If that removes paint, then I will be very worried.

[imported_Intermezzo]

It`s not uncommon for a factory spoiler to be non-clearcoated even while the rest of the car does have a clear. I know of two friends who purchased new vehicles last year that had the same situation with their rear spoilers (Lexus GS300 & Nissan Maxima).



The way to tell if a surface is clear-coated or not is pretty much the exact procedure you used on your spoiler......rub the area with an abrasive and see if you get any color on your applicator. I don`t think this is anything to get worried about. Just be sure to keep your spoiler well protected (or else it will fade & oxidize far quicker than the rest of your car) and you`ll be fine.

[Jngrbrdman]

If SMR took of the paint of a 4 week old car then I would have serious issues with the manufacturer. SMR shouldn`t be able to take the paint of a car that easily. I didn`t think that paint would be that soft.



SMR is nearly the end of the line as far as aggressive polishes. When you only have a few swirls then it is definatly safer to use something like #9 or GEPC.



You did this by hand? The paint came off while using SMR by hand?? Wow. I think you have warranty issues if you can take the paint of a car by hand using SMR. That is pretty tough to do. Unless I misread and you actually were using a rotary or something. My bad if so. You would have to have arms like a tree trunk to remove paint on a normal car using just your hands.

[imported_dickie]

Yep...did it by hand.



Do a lot of powerlifting, so maybe I was a wee bit too hard on the poor spoiler.



thanks for all the advice guys.

[HellrotCi]

but the manufacturer claims the car is clearcoated Did the manufacturer make this claim or did the dealership say this? Either way, of course they`re going to say it`s clearcoated, otherwise they`d be admitting to screwing up on the paint job for the spoiler. They`ll spend 15 minutes telling you everything is ok to keep from having to spend several hours and some money to fix a problem like this. If your polishing cloth became tinted the same color as your spoiler when you used SMR, there`s no way it`s clearcoated. Maybe the person who was responsible for painting the spoilers at the factory was having a bad day and missed applying the clearcoat on the spoiler that ended up on your car.



Here`s a simple test: Take a clean, white, cotton cloth and buff an area of the boot adjacent to the spoiler with 3M SMR. Then use another white cloth to buff off any residue. Look a your cloths, they shouldn`t have any tinting from the paint on them. Now repeat the process on the spoiler. If the cloths used to buff the spoiler don`t have any tinting you don`t have a problem. If they do have some tinting, well something isn`t right. :nixweiss

[imported_dickie]

Thanks for the suggestion.



I actually did that already.



Paint didn`t come off on boot.



Paint did come off on spoiler.



So it isn`t clear coated. And maybe that`s the way it`s supposed to be. It was actually the dealer that said it was clearcoated. In fact he didn`t know what a clearcoat was as first.



I`ll live with it, as taking off the spoiler for a respray scares me.



Of course if the GEPC takes off the paint, then that`s a different story.



Will let you guys know over the weekend how I get on.



thx

[HellrotCi]

Go on and get it repainted and don`t worry about the color not matching. Seeing as your car is new and with the paints used today, it will match 100% and you`ll never see any differences. You should try to get your dealership to pay for it. If you don`t get it refinished, the paint on the spoiler will fade at a faster rate than the rest of the car. Something like this would bug me to death until it was fixed, but then that`s just me. :D

[mrdetailer]

There is definitely a difference over time between conventional paint sections and clear coat. The prior owner had a fender bender in my red Mazda which they put a clear coat on. Rest is conventional. OK when you aren`t paying attention, but to us OCD types (obsessive car detailer) it`s blatent. Even if it will look slightly different after the clearcoat is applied, it will be better in the long run IMO. Clearcoats are much less subject to fading. When I bought the Mazda the Blaze Red was more of a Blaze Pink on the conventional areas. Not good.



And Yes, on a new vehicle without swirl marks SMR is definitely too abrasive.



GEPC might also take off paint on a conventional coat, but it is muuuuch more gentle than SMR. You will like the look when you use it as the glaze undercoat.

[imported_BretFraz]

Guys, GUYS, GUYS!!!!!



This situation is very very common. Plenty of cars have plastic body add-on`s that aren`t clearcoated. Hell, the entire nose piece, fender flares, side skirts, running boards, and rear bumper cover on my old `97 Infiniti QX4 wsn`t clearcoated. That`s the way it came from the factory! There was nothing "wrong" with it, it wasn`t a defect, I didn`t get a lemon, the dealer didn`t screw me..... it`s just the way the vehicle came. Just like your Skoda.



No one screwed up anything. Demanding your dealer repaint it will get you nowhere. It`s an unreasonable request unless you are willing to pay for it. The steel panels are clearcoated but the added on parts are not. Simple as that. If you don`t like the fact the add-on parts are not clearcoated then remove them, take them to a painter and have them clearcoated. Your other choice is to just live with it. It is what it is.

[HellrotCi]

This situation is very very common. Plenty of cars have plastic body add-on`s that aren`t clearcoated. That`s interesting. Do the manufacturers use a different type of paint on these add-on pieces so they do not require clearcoat? Maybe SP 325i could explain the process/materials used to paint these pieces.

[JAGOWNER1981]

I buffed fender flares on a mercedes ML500 and no paint came off (using SMR). I know black lexus vehicles are not clear coated.