Can't figure this one out...

I

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About two weeks ago I decided to do a quick job on my mother's terribly maintained White 2003 Honda Civic. I *think* it is a clear coat paint job but is definitely NOT metallic, rather a flat white.



As I said, the car is not well maintained. Drive through car washes, touchless, brushless, brushes... anything goes. When washed in the driveway, it's been washed (by my Dad) with DC Car Wash and a lambswool mit.



So, when I first look at the car I'm like "wow, what a mess, but nothing a good wash won't fix". Boy was I ever wrong. I washed the car and I realized the paint was stained. It's like the dirt was imbedded in the paint.



Since I was pressed for time and figured I would do a BIG job in the spring, I thought I'd do the following:



Wash

Clay

D151 with a G110 on a 4" LC White Pad

Collinite 476s



I opted for D151 because initially I did not think I was going to use any LSP and just use the D151. So, off I went.



The car came out AMAZING. Truly amazing. After I was done, I checked the car for beading and sheeting and the water was just running off like crazy. The next day we had a light rain and the beading was great. Sounds good, right?



Wrong. The D151 did a great job at removing all the stains, but I just went out and looked at her car and it was filthy, so I said to myself "lets see how the 476s is holding up and how easy the car will rinse".



I pulled out my Karcher PW 3.79m and hit it with GC Shampoo and a light rinse, followed by a high powered rinse. Guess what? The car is covered in stains that will NOT come out with simple washing.



They are NEW stains. How do I know? In the two weeks since I did the car, we've had two small snow storms and one rain storm. The stains are from the lines of water running accross the car. They are 100% new. I took some GC Shampoo and my LW mit and wanted to see if they would come out and some do, but most do not.



On top of that, there is virtually NO evidence of my LSP. In the two weeks since I did it, the car has NOT been touched by a car wash of any kind.



It's almost like her paint, is porous and absorbs the dirt and holds it. To make sure I wasn't crazy, I also rinsed my father's silver Lexus and my wife's silver Honda with the same power washer. All cars are exposed to the identical elements, ONLY the Lexus has NO LSP and the Honda has the same 476s on it.



So, what's up with this paint? I know there was protection on it when I first applied it (I saw it). Now, it's all gone and the car is stained. The only way to bring back the white is to bust out the DA and some M80, M205, or D151. It won't come fully clean unless I use a "paint cleaning" type product.



I don't want to have to do that EVERYTIME I wash the car, so I'm open to any and all suggestions
 
Without seeing the pics I'm leaning towards the paint being very oxidized by your descriptions. In which case you can sit there and clean it all you want and it's not going to make a difference. You're going to have to polish all the oxidation out first and then seal it back up. Post up some good pics if you can.
 
Jakerooni said:
Without seeing the pics I'm leaning towards the paint being very oxidized by your descriptions. In which case you can sit there and clean it all you want and it's not going to make a difference. You're going to have to polish all the oxidation out first and then seal it back up. Post up some good pics if you can.
Click to expand...



Jake,



I'll try and take some pics but here is the thing...



After I cleaned it the first time, the car looked fantastic. Super white, super clean, just fantastic. It's just that two weeks later, I'm back to where I was two weeks ago, just that the staining is new!



How can I tell if white is oxidized?
 
Sounds like the tha paint is oxidized and because it is white may have clear coat damage (or heavily oxidized ss). You may need to use glaze in between polishing and LSP.
 
I recall others mentioning that white Hondas of that era are SS. It sounds like really dry single stage that sorta "absorbs" dirt, I dunno what you can do about it. Hopefully those with more knowledge will chime in.
 
first things first



when you polished it did the pad turn white?



Yes = SS

No = CC



it sounds like is the oil/ect are only hidding the defects



try KAIO on a yellow pad

(IMO that como just eats oxidation)
 
Hood - Notice brown water stain lines. These do not come off with washing, only polishing.



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More pics:



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Door handle - Stain hard to see but slightly above handle.



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Random Pics:



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BigJimZ28 said:
first things first



when you polished it did the pad turn white?



Yes = SS

No = CC



it sounds like is the oil/ect are only hidding the defects



try KAIO on a yellow pad

(IMO that como just eats oxidation)
Click to expand...



When I did it the first time with D151, I was using a 4" WHITE LC pad, plus I wasn't really looking to see if it was CC or SS but I'm not sure I would have been able to notice on the white pad.



Maybe I'll try orange next time + some M80, M83 or M105.
 
User Name said:
When I did it the first time with D151, I was using a 4" WHITE LC pad, plus I wasn't really looking to see if it was CC or SS but I'm not sure I would have been able to notice on the white pad.



Maybe I'll try orange next time + some M80, M83 or M105.
Click to expand...



ok then you should see the color when you wash the pad:secret



also if it is SS there is something about the 83/80 combo that works well

I think it is the "trade secret oils" fead the paint or something:confused:
 
I'll check the pad next time I'm working on it, but should my approach be different if it is CC or SS?



My thought was to polish it where it looked white again, as opposed to Vanilla ripple. Once I cleaned it, I figured I'd seal it with the 476s to keep it from staining again.



So, the first time around, I had the car glowing white. Looked amazing. As I said, I waxed it with 476s, figuring that was it, car was good until the real job in the spring. No such luck.
 
I thought of one thing which *might* have had some affect on the LSP.



When I applied it the temp was probably around 48-50*F. Maybe it was too cold? However, if it didn't adhere to the paint, why did it bead/sheet?
 
No, after D151, it looked great. After the LSP (476s) it looked great. Two weeks later, it looks like the above pics, which is after I hit it with a power washer and went over it lightly with a lambswool mit and some GC shampoo.



It's like the paint soaks up dirt, if that makes any sense.
 
Well the next obvious question I have then is did she take it through a touchless carwash? They use harsh chemicals that really strip off any protection you might have put on.
 
When the weather warms up, I'm going to give it another crack. Here is what I'll do...



I'll be MUCH better about taking pics. I'll show you the before/after transformation, to assure you I'll get ALL the stains out. I'll put two coats of 476s on it (universally accepted as a durable product, right?).



Then, I'll let the car sit in the elements for two weeks. I will wash the car after two weeks and do nothing else.



My guess is, after the wash, you'll have stains. Different than the stains in this picture, but stains nevertheless.



I was trying to describe the stains to my mother and the best analogy I could come up with is that it is like the paint is soaking up the dirt, the same way I white shirt would soak up red wine.
 
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