Acid Rain Spots on New Car Finishes

[docker]

Any of you ever heard of a new car with acid rain drop stains in the paint, under the clear coat? My auto dealer is telling me that it is not uncommon for this to happen, and the only fix is to either wet sand it out or totally repaint.



In some other threads I`ve described problems I`ve had with Xzilon on my 05 Honda...well, the auto dealer is now telling me that the spots are not in the Xzilon, but in the paint, but I don`t believe him. This is a really long story (but interesting!) and I`ll pen the whole thing sometime in the near future, but in the meantime I need to find out how common it is for new cars to have rain drop stains in the paint under the clear coat.



BTW, the auto dealer is offering to repaint my honda for free. I really don`t like the idea of totally repainting or wetsanding my new 05. The spots are not visible in bright direct sun, but really jump out when you look at any surface in muted light with a bright reflection. I`ve been going round-and-round with the auto dealer on this since about week 2 after the bought the car.



Thanks!

[White95Max]

Uh, how the h*ll does the acid rain come in contact with the base coat without eating away the clear coat first?

I don`t understand how that could happen. I call BS on this one. Not that I`m surprised that the car dealer is throwing BS at you.

[travisdecpn]

Check this article that Mike Phillips wrote, http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=4891

[Setec Astronomy]

I`m sorry, but it`s perfectly feasible for there to be acid rain spotting on that car. I know from personal experience that early acid rain damage looks like it`s IN the paint, rather than on it. When my car was a few years old, I noticed a bunch of these spots that only appeared from the proper angle. When you looked at an oblique angle, the paint looked perfectly fine, the surface appeared perfectly unblemished. Only in the refractive layer of the clearcoat could you see any problem. Unfortunately, most dealers remove the protective coatings from new cars shortly after they receive them (if they had any to begin with), and if they sit on the lot for any length of time, acid rain spotting may occur. Here in the northeast, the problem is just endemic.

[wannafbody]

I have had major acid rain spotting on both my 94 Mustang and 2000TA. The Mustang was repainted under warranty and a harder clear was used. I never noticed any major acid rain spotting afterwards. IMO take a repaint if they are offering it.

[Matt M, PA]

I cannot see how acid rain spots occured under the clear. Sounds like someone speaking about things they are not familiar with.



I`m not familiar with Xzilon , but only from a quick google, see it to be some sort of sealant. Apparently not a very good one with what you are now describing.



The problem is, wetsanding will thin the clear...which is not good long term. Repainting, if done by a crappy shop...is worse.



I had some serious acid rain etching on my former Bronco. My local shop re-cleared the hood, and roof, eliminating the etching...yet maintaining the correct color match etc.