polished to perfection but left susceptible to everything else

[Bizill]

HELLO. i have a black hard tonneau cover for the back of my 2001 silverado pickup truck. i'm thinking the seller sold it and the truck to me with a cheap, problematic paintjob on the cover that i wouldn't realize for a couple months after the sale. anyway, i used my rotary to buff with 3m compound and followed up with 3m glaze and then some cheap mother's wax. well, it looked immaculate when i was through. okay, enjoyed it for a week or two until it rained the first time. it looked like the rain just 'washed' away all my work and left major water stains and faded the black to some ugly grey-ish color.



so i tried polishing and waxing again. the polish part looks beautiful. but when i go to apply wax, it strips the black away and leaves a dull greyish finish like the water had done. so i left the cover off the truck but began to miss it. so i figured i'd just repaint it at some time but couldn't wait. decided once again to polish and try some klasse sealant instead of wax. so i polished it and it looked brand new. and this time i had black all over my pad. then i went to apply a layer of the klasse sg and BAAM! stripped it to the dull finish.



i went to two different paint shops and one guy estimated there never was a clear coat on top of the base black. and he suggested i either polish and the shoot some clear or just repaint it. i opted for the aft. but he as well as the other shop seemed dumbfounded because i took it in looking near-perfect.



i suppose i'm trying to ask a question here. and that being, does this sound like a no clearcoat issue? i find it weird i can polish it with 3m glaze to perfection that lasts until the second i wax it or water touches it. and is there anything anyone has heard of that can seal this tonneau up right, or just get the dang thing painted and move on with life?



thanks for hearing my question/rant.:sadpace:

 

[BigJimZ28]

would like to see some pictures but it sound like it is just SS paint

and you are not removing the oxitation(ugly grey-ish color)

and just hidding the problems with the glaze



also :

1) how good are you with the rotary?

2) did the pads turn black the first time?

3) did you use AIO before the SG?

4) now I don't know 3m stuff that well but don;'t you need a finner polish between

the compound and glaze?



5) :welcome

 

[Bizill]

'sorry so long for an update. been waiting to get my pictures from my ex\'s camera.\r\n\r\n1. i\'d say i\'ve done two cars to near-perfection in my time.\r\n2. yes, pad turned black\r\n3. i used 3m abrasive polish and tried AIO, but it \'lifted\' the polish to re-reveal the dull and oxidized finish. same with the SG.\r\n4. that is why i had the AIO.\r\n\r\nwhat i don\'t understand is how i can make it look near-perfect, until it gets wet with either water or a second/different polish or even wax. take a look at these pics. there are zig-zag lines from the last time i tried waxing this thing and poured cheap mother\'s liquid wax on paint surface vs on the applicator...\r\n\r\n

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\r\n\r\nthe rest of the truck was claybarred and AIO and SG. looks great!\r\n\r\n

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