Something caused by PC and Technique?

At the very end of September of this year, I bought a 2007 Mazda. Since that time, due to my work schedule, the car has been parked in the shade and driven less than 1,000 miles (basically, it is my garage queen without the garage). I am not certain if the damage pictured below was caused by my being a somewhat newbie, or if it was an existing problem with the paint. Looking forward to some guidance.

Arsenal/Process:
ONR Wash with MF Mitt and WW Towel Wipe Down
BF Poly Clay
PC 7424XP
LC Orange, White, Black, and Gold 6 inch and 4 inch pads
M105
M205
BFGEP
BFWD
ISA
BFMS

Everything was going well, and the horrible swirls left by the stealership were disappearing. Granted, not everything could be removed, but the hard water etchings, bird bomb etchings, scratches and scuffs were hardly visible. I switched to the 4 inch pads to work on the side mirrors and then do spot correction on the hood. A spot just like this one was not as easy:

166624_691704541963_57212420_37168604_2680123_n.jpg


So I went over it a few times (and made sure not to leave the PC in one spot) on speeds of 5 to 6. After pulling away the PC, I saw this:

162848_691708908213_57212420_37168670_6016153_n.jpg

:mad:


Ack! Is this something I caused? Only after claying the car and removing all the mess the dealership slapped on it, could those white spots be seen--there are some on the trunk lid as well. They seem to be the beginnings of CC failure. After the hassle with the dealership to get safe tires put on the car AND get the safety recall fixed, they made it pretty apparent that follow up on car purchases is not their strong suit. I've been brooding about this for a month, trying not to get too worked up about it and figure out my options, but it seems as though this is a lose-lose situation.

Here are some pictures of the successful portion of the car:

Before (front passenger side)
167786_691703753543_57212420_37168569_4150109_n.jpg



After (front passenger side)
M105/Orange, M205/White (had to do the underside of the door handle by hand later on)
164084_691703858333_57212420_37168572_308288_n.jpg



Overall, the hood looks amazing after getting the entire treatment. Before it was covered with hard water spots and swirls from the dealership.
165069_691703953143_57212420_37168577_6076510_n.jpg


Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
It looks like your CC is failing. It was probably being disguised by all the junk they put on it. Contact the dealership and see if perhaps your paint might still be under warranty.
 
:iagree:. It definitely looks like CC failure. The dealer should make good on it, although they will give you a hard time about it. Be firm, and don't back down. I remember many years ago, long before I got into detailing, I bought a black Toyota Avalon. I picked up the car at night after work, and looked it over. It seemed okay. The next day, when I saw the car in the sunlight, the entire car was nothing but swirls. Now, these were not dealer induced swirls, but clearly was an issue with how the car was painted. I brought it in to the dealer to have a look at it, and the load of BS they tried to hand me was laughable. They tried to tell me that this is the way that all of their black cars look, due to the way the paint was applied, and there was nothing wrong with it. I demanded to speak to someone from Toyota, and not just the GM at the dealer. The Toyota guy came in the next week, and he also didn't want to do anything about it.

To make a long story short, I didn't back down, and the eventually took care of the problem.
 
It certinaly looks like CC failuer...

But since you bought it used, you're SOL, unless there's a warranty item that specifically covers the paint.
 
I would like to take a paint thickness gauge to that damaged area. I would be interested in seeing if there is some body filler there, that hadn't bonded well to the car, then the PC possibly caused it to twist and crack the paint/clear.

Just a theory
 
You did not cause that problem, that is clear coat failure, and it almost look like it was caused by having a bird bomb sit on the car for a VERY long time (or multiple bombs in the same spot).

Has the area in question been repainted?
 
Given that it's only a small spot and not the majority of the panel, I'd have to agree with Todd on it being from a bird bomb or something that sat on the paint. Not sure warranty would cover that either as they could argue it's from neglect. :(

Worth a try though.


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I would also say bird bomb. I know of a car that was parked in the same spot every day at his work for years with the hood under some wires. The wires had birds on them every day. The car had the same exact thing on the hood in several places. Every other part of the paint was fine, other than that the owner thought putting mothers cleaner / polish on once a year and nothing else done to it was really taking care of it.
 
Thanks for the advice, guys.

I took it to the dealership and the service manager heard me out. He brought out the body shop manager, who confirmed it was CC failure, and they took pictures of the spots on the hood and trunk and sent them to Mazda to see what Mazda suggested.

They've offered to do a "partial repaint" for the hood and trunk lid. I need to verify that they will be removing the clear completely on those panels, and will respray it (rather than feathering it). And hopefully, I can convince them not to "detail" the car for me.
 
Try to push for a full repaint of the affected areas. One, the unpainted side may end failing in the future and two, the blend lines might become visible or pronounced after polishing. The blend lines might drive you crazy and you might end up kicking yourself for not asking for a full repaint of the areas.
 
ZX2M3 said:
Thanks for the advice, guys.

I took it to the dealership and the service manager heard me out. He brought out the body shop manager, who confirmed it was CC failure, and they took pictures of the spots on the hood and trunk and sent them to Mazda to see what Mazda suggested.

They've offered to do a "partial repaint" for the hood and trunk lid. I need to verify that they will be removing the clear completely on those panels, and will respray it (rather than feathering it). And hopefully, I can convince them not to "detail" the car for me.
Click to expand...

Sounds like they are doing the right thing so far. I have heard of people having nightmares when dealing with Mazda (although this could be isolated incidents). Please keep us in the loop!
 
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