Acid Rain Damage Repair on Black Cars

I

imported_phareous

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I have acid rain etches on my car...especially on the hood and trunk. They are quite numerous and polishing doesn't seem to do much good.



I am thinking about taking each spot and sanding it down to the metal and putting in touch-up paint. I think with Langka I could get it smooth, and with it being a solid black car it might work fairly well.



Has anybody tried this approach and had success?
 
If they are numerous sanding each spot isn't the best method, it's time consuming and you won't get a uniform finish. Taking it down to bare metal in spots is not a good idea.



What polishing methods have you tried?



It typically takes a rotary buffer to correct this type of damage. The paint must be "cut" with the buffer and a compound, then a series of polishing steps with a rotary.
 
I tried Hi-Temp Extreme Cut then followed it with DACP...the spots didn't change although the paint around them looks good. I did all of this with a PC with a orange pad. I have some Diamond Cut on order as well as AIO but I don't know if those will help any. I thought about wet sanding but I don't want to spend the big bucks to get a decent paint thickness gauge.



I do have a rotary (Makita) but I've never used it and have no experience. I would be afraid of burning the paint, etc. although the good news is the spots are mostly limited to the hood and trunk so those are nice flat areas I could work on. From what I gather if it doesn't stay in one spot and it doesn't slip (and hit something), then it should be somewhat safe.
 
People so dont understand that you cant damage anything with a rotary. If you use speeds under 1500rpm unless you hold the rotary in the same place for like 45 seconds you cant burn the paint. Its just a myth I went from never useing a rotary to removeing swirls the day I bought it.
 
Then How the heck did I do this at a speed of less than 1500RPM's? I had the dial at between 2-3 which is between 900-1200RPM's I believe. I had it around 1050-1100 RPM's. One hope on a fender and this can happen......



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25153



Edges do heat up. I ran the rotary on my hand at 900RPM's. Heat build up was hotter than the PC set at 6.



I personally would not leave a rotary at 1500RPMS or so in one spot for many than 3 seconds.



Just so much room for error along with chances for buffer marks.
 
Well I guess I've always heard a rotary is better for getting out paint blemishes. What should I use? I got the yellow, white, and gray pads from CMA plus the stuff I mentioned earlier (DACP, Hi-Temp Extreme Cut, Hi-Temp Swirl Remover, Diamond Cut)
 
I burned the paint with the edge of the pad. As you can see two marks going down parallel to the car. The darker one is burned paint. The whitier spot is removed paint down to the ABS plastic I believe.



How bad is your acid rain damage? Is it in the clear? Is it in the color coat? Primer? Bare metal?
 
I had acid rain damage to the hood of a black Expedition. I tried to get it out with a mild compound and polish. It didn't work. My insurance company had a body shop wet sand and polish it. That didn't work either. The WHOLE hood had to be stripped to bare metal and then repainted. Acid rain is bad s--t, especially on black vehicles.



Good heavens, don't take each spot down to bare metal. You will have the "mess of all messes"! You'll either have to live with the etching and cover it as best you can or go for repainting the WHOLE hood and trunk.



Tom :cool:
 
Fr0zen said:
People so dont understand that you cant damage anything with a rotary. If you use speeds under 1500rpm unless you hold the rotary in the same place for like 45 seconds you cant burn the paint. Its just a myth I went from never useing a rotary to removeing swirls the day I bought it.
Click to expand...





This is so wrong I don't even know where to begin. You CAN, repeat CAN, damage paint with a rotary, even under 1500 RPM. Angle of pad, pad type and product selection, pressure applied to the machine are all critical. 1500 is the MAX you should be running on a clearcoat anyway, better operating speed is between 1000-1200 RPM.



Don't believe me? Take a 4 ply twisted wool pad and run it on your rotary at 1500 RPM with a compound. You won't like the results. :down
 
Does your insurance company cover acid rain? I wonder if that is something I should look into.



tguil said:
I had acid rain damage to the hood of a black Expedition. I tried to get it out with a mild compound and polish. It didn't work. My insurance company had a body shop wet sand and polish it. That didn't work either. The WHOLE hood had to be stripped to bare metal and then repainted. Acid rain is bad s--t, especially on black vehicles.
Click to expand...
 
My insurance company, State Farm, covered it under my comprehensive coverage. I was surprised. You might as well give it a shot.



Tom:cool:
 
Ok I don't have a decent magnifying glass but from what I can tell I have:



1. A few large spots that the paint is very rough with a rough texture...I can't tell how far down they go.

2. I have some very tiny knicks...some are down to the metal, some are white

3. A ton of tiny white dots around

4. A few obvious water spots...I can see these are into the clear coat but looks like they didn't go down to the paint

5. A few spots have halos...I guess that means the clear coat is gone?



I've attached some pics...these are kindof large so I appologize but if I size them down you won't see the detail



Hood (which I've polished with Hi-Temp Extreme Cut and DACP):

hood1.jpg


hood2.jpg


hood3.jpg


hood4.jpg




Trunk (I've done nothing here except wash and clay):

trunk1.jpg


trunk2.jpg


trunk3.jpg


trunk4.jpg
 
No, your clearcoat is probably not gone. The small halos come from ferrous metal particles embedded into the clearcoat. They begin to "bloom", rust essentially, and you will see that halo effect you have. A good claying should help correct that problem. :up
 
The particle very well could be below the film build, which means it won't totally be removed with clay. Clay will only remove the portion above the film build. This would require a liquid fallout remover. It's not something most people have, and it's typically used by professional shops. The Auto International ABC system is an example of this, I believe Pro-Wax makes a similar product.
 
I have the exact problem with my hood and hatchlid, and DACP/orange on a PC did not remove them. I do not have a clearcoat, and I'm just afraid that I will have to get the car repainted..



err.. ahem.. not that I don't want to get a repaint :)
 
Well I found out my insurance doesn't cover acid rain. Well my agent had no clue, nor did the claims people. But after reading my policy the 3rd time I find it in the fine print. I can't complain though...the rates are great.



So I guess my next step is to try the rotary buffer...and then if that doesn't work then one of these:



1. Denial :confused:

2. Depression :(

3. Repaint :rolleyes:

4. Buy New Car :D
 
I would try wet sanding a small section with 1200 or 1500 wet and dry then re-polish. I have had this problem in the past, only the spots were larger. If the damage is not too deep you will be able to remove it. It won't take a lot of sanding to remove it.



db
 
Thanks David. The first thing I am going to do is try the Makita rotary using Diamond Cut. I've never used a rotary but I've read up on it and I have the thermometer and the thickness gauge.



If that doesn't work I may try the wet sanding but I've have to do a lot more reading...the last thing I want to do is sand through the clear coat
 
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