Can't figure this one out...

[PorscheGuy997]

I have seen and detailed vehicles that had similar stain stripes from sitting outside all the time.



It did take a bit more than a foam pad on the rotary, though. I believe the combination that worked the best was M86 with a Solo wool pad.





The direction of the stripes is interesting. My guess would be that the car was driven through some nasty puddle or salt solution.



If you decide to tackle the staining, I suggest you get some Surbuf pads. They should easily handle the stains when combined with M105.

 

[Accumulator]

User Name- This has to be pretty frustrating! A long list of sorta-random thoughts follows:



[Note that I've never used DG151, know nothing at all about it..]



There's a good chance that the neglected paint is porous/full of micro fissures. I dunno if it'd still be oxidized after the DG151, but that really could be. It can be tricky to judge the true condition of white paint.



Oxidation/etc. will make it easy for contamination to do a number on the wax/etc.



If it *is* single stage, then the above stuff is even more likely. And most single stage white paint is *HARD*.



The stains look like the kind of [stuff] that's normal in the winter. If my above guesses are true, the contamination was simply able to eat into the 476S to a significant degree.



That sort of [stuff] is hard to clean off without mechanical agitation; the pressure-washer wasn't able to do the job and might've even driven the contamination deeper into the LSP/paint (that last bit might not be valid).



One coat of 476S might not offer sufficient protection for a vehicle that takes a lot of abuse/neglect, especially this time of year. The contamination common in your area (thinking about all the other issues you've had with LSP durability) sounds pretty nasty, and when it sits on a vehicle for a while it might do some damage pretty quickly.



The preceding is even more likely if the paint is oxidized and/or has a lot of the micro-fissures.



If you failed to completely buff off the DG151 and/or the 476S, that could lead to issues (again, thinking that this is a white vehicle, might be hard to see what's going on).



If I were in your shoes, I'd repolish it with M106/4" orange. I'd probably do another polishing with a milder product too. Examine the paint carefully, it should be very smooth at this point. Then do the DG151, buffing it off carefully. Then (if you have it) 845. Wait until the next day and apply 476S over the 845. Make absolutely sure you get all the product residue off.



Try to wash the car again in a week or so, no pressure-washer, just the best conventional wash you can do. With any luck it'll turn out OK and at that point I reapply the 476S.



If it still has similar problems you can probably blame it on compromised paint. But I've had vehicles with *REALLY* trashed paint that I was able to keep pretty nice even though I did have to do them more frequently than vehicles with better-condition paint.



In cases of compromised single stage, BigJimZ28 is spot-on, the Meguiar's Trade Secret Oils can be very beneficial. I might use #80 instead of the DG for that reason. IF it's *not* single stage, eh...either oughta work but I'd probably lean towards the #80 just because I know it.



E.g., this reminds me of the '87 Benz 300SE service loaner I became enamoured of. Real POS on its last legs (>250K miles) but I liked the old thing...I detailed it up and used 476S. I was shocked that it got terrible stains from tree leaves and that the 476S seemed to fail quite quickly. I had to redo it twice in the ~6 weeks I had it (total of *three* waxings with 476S). Best I could tell the trashed paint was the culprit. Sorta like your analogy of the shirt soaking up a wine stain.

 

[99tl]

Might be a stupid question.

Did you use a wash mitt at all? It sounds like you pressure washed and rinsed.



I use to take my white blazer to the self serve car wash in the winter. I would just soak and rinse to get the heavy stuff off. No wash mitt. It looked just like your picture. The wash mitt would take off all those stains.

 

[longdx]

Ok, here's an idea. Try Wesley's Bleach White on the car. Yes, I know it is for tires, but the bleaching action will dissipate the imbedded stains. Thouroughly wash afterwards, clay, and proceed with you polishing routine. I do believe that Honda whites of that vintage are indeed SS. I would suggest a glaze after polishing, prior to LSP.

I used Wesleys after exhausting all other options on a white Sprinter Van (they have a tendency to leave stains from water running down from the mirrors) and it worked like a champ. I rewashed afterwards, clayed, and proceeded with polishing.

 

[imported_weekendwarrior]

Here is what I would do.



USER NAME - if you cannot get DG501 anywhere around you, email me, and I'll send you some.



-Wash the car

-Clay the car

-Polish with DG501 on the PC with an orange LC pad (4" is fine if that's what you are used to using) - remove the 501 section by section as you go - treat it as a regular polish, and not an AIO. In this step, you are using the cutting action of the orange pad, and the extreme cleaning ability of DG501 to clear up the oxidation / contamination. Car should feel slick as snot after this, and you will be amazed at the gunk it pulls out of the paint.

-Repolish with DG501 on the PC with a white LC pad. Leave the residue on, until you have completed the whole car, and remove. In this step, you are refining from the previous step, and letting it cure for protection.

-This last step is optional. Top the DG501 with whatever you like.



As usual, PM me with any questions buddy.

 

[imported_User Name]

Wow! Lots of good info to try.



Just to clear one misconception up. I did try cleaning it with a mit and bucket and it does not come off. It *DOES* come off, rather easily with a polish but it seems after two weeks it will be stained again (differently) than the first time.



One thing that both Accumulator and WW said which is giving me thoughts is the last time I went over it, IT DID NOT FEEL SUPER SMOOTH (slick as snot as WW said). I remember claying then polishing, thinking, wow, this is really lousy paint because it just doesn't feel that smooth. I'm thinking I didn't polish it out well enough or smooth enough.

 

[nrengle]

Well since it's a Honda, the white comes in two flavors. Championship White, and Taffeta White. One is Single Stage and one is base coat clear coat. If I remember correctly the Taffeta White is the SS flavor. A good way to tell is go to some of the Honda Tuning sites, and look up info on the paint, and you'll get a better idea.

 

[gigondaz]

Well since it's a Honda, the white comes in two flavors. Championship White, and Taffeta White. One is Single Stage and one is base coat clear coat. If I remember correctly the Taffeta White is the SS flavor. A good way to tell is go to some of the Honda Tuning sites, and look up info on the paint, and you'll get a better idea.

I had the same problems on SS white finishes.

A friend wool-compounded, polished and waxed a badly neglected SS white and SS red. 1 week later, both looked like crap and badly stained.



If I am not mistaken, I hv read somewhere that SS shd never be aggresively compounded, or else, the upper-most "skin" will be damaged. The finish will certainly look good initially...but it starts to oxidise rapidly, and the colour turns dull very fast. When this happens, the rough surface becomes an irritating grime-trap. Therefore, on any SS paints, aggresive compounding shd never be used.



The above was mentioned somewhere before, and I am not 100% certain of its accuracy. But it's certainly food for thought.

 

[Accumulator]

..If I am not mistaken, I hv read somewhere that SS shd never be aggresively compounded, or else, the upper-most "skin" will be damaged. The finish will certainly look good initially...but it starts to oxidise rapidly, and the colour turns dull very fast. When this happens, the rough surface becomes an irritating grime-trap. Therefore, on any SS paints, aggresive compounding shd never be used..

That's true in some cases, with some single stage paints, but not always. This is a case where there are exceptions to every rule, but generally IME (over decades spent with cars having ss paint):



IME it's *much* more often true with enamels/urethanes/epoxies/etc. than with lacquers, and within the lacquer paints it's primarily only true with metallics (gee, guess how the owner of a ss metallic Jaguar knows that ).



And yeah, whenever you do serious correction on single-stage it pays to henceforth pamper that vehicle. I did some *really* serious work on my old Volvo wagon, cut through to primer in some places (ooops ). But I was able to keep it looking OK even though it was outside 24/7 just by redetailing it regularly and always keeping it well-LSPed. It held up great for years before I finally broke down and had it repainted for the benefit of its next owner (my niece-in-law).

 

[jDizzle]

to clear up any confusion... teffeta white is a single stage paint job. id think the same thing i read earlier in the thread that the paint is oxidized.. if not, id probably just seal it up with a nice sealant. ive heard good things about klasse (other than its difficulty of use)...ive personally had good results with 3m performance finish.. lasts a while.