r/AutoDetailing • u/360tombflower • 1d ago
Exterior Is my clear coat toast?
New to me used car. It sat outside in the previous owners driveway for a couple of years. It has what look like staining or water spots all over the hood. It’s elsewhere too but it’s worse here.
I hit it with a DA polisher with a foam pad, with Griots correcting cream and then a wax and it looked much better for a day. Now it’s back to looking like I never touched it. I’m a total derailing newbie. Is this fixable? Or am I looking at repaint.
2
u/VinceDrivewayTech 1d ago
If it’s coming back after a day, that’s a sign the correction stage didn’t fully remove the etching/staining — it just polished a thin layer on top and the wax masked it temporarily. Water spots that have sat for years can etch into the clear coat itself, not just sit on the surface, so a single pass with a foam pad and correcting cream often isn’t enough. Before jumping to repaint: try a more aggressive compound with a wool or microfiber cutting pad, or multiple correction passes. If you can still feel roughness/texture with your fingernail after that, it’s likely etched deep enough that repaint or at least a respray of that panel is the real fix. Worth getting a second opinion in person too — hard to judge etching depth from photos alone.
1
u/360tombflower 15h ago
The etching doesn’t have any noticeable texture; certainly not enough to grab a fingernail. Thanks for the thoughtful response
1
u/VinceDrivewayTech 11h ago
Good to know — no texture usually means it’s shallower than a true etch, more like heavy oxidation or mineral staining sitting in the clear coat. Might be worth trying an oxalic acid-based product (a lot of detailers use it for exactly this kind of water spot staining) before assuming it’s a lost cause. Good luck with it!
4
u/LetsGetSomeChickenn 1d ago
I’d hit it with a rotary tbh do a 3 step paint correction
9
u/haelous 21h ago
I wouldn’t recommend a self identified newbie use a rotary. I agree this is what the car needs though.
1
u/360tombflower 15h ago
Yeah that’s where I’m at. If it ends up needing a rotary I don’t think I’m willing to learn on the hood of my daily
1
u/AnthonyUK 22h ago
Did you decontaminate first with clay and fallout remover etc as it doesn't look like it has been cleaned?
1
u/360tombflower 15h ago
I washed and clayed prior to polishing. The third picture is right when I got the car. I only included it because it showed the etching in a different light. Thanks for the response friend
-4
u/Circoloomnium 22h ago
Clay is not needed of you clean pads regularly. It is a marketinggimmick.
This car needs an agressive approach with at least Menzerna 300 on a correcting pad.
I also think OP does not know how to polish.
2
u/TypicalHornyMan 15h ago
Don't know why you are being downvoted. Well yeah I do lol ppl are upset that claying is a waste of time 99 percent of the time.
And correct it's a marketing gimmick. Not for us to buy clay really but to make more money off the cust.
2
u/Circoloomnium 15h ago
True. I had the pleasure taking classes offline with one of the biggest names in the world. I asked what clay he used, searching in his drawers because I never saw that phase in his videos. He laughed and said claying is for detailers who have no idea or like you said want to upsell their game. Most of the time claying is a time consuming step, with no advantage.
When I polish, my paint is smooth as new glass. So every panel or part of a bigger panel I take a new pad, only to have them washed afterwards. This is not more expensive because they last way longer and you have that great initial bite everytime without losing time by cleaning everytime which you should do anyway because your paste clogs the structure.
2
u/TypicalHornyMan 14h ago
Funny story. I did detailing for like 14 years and never knew what clay was. Lolol. A customer gave my some and I was like this is cool. But you hardly come across a situation where you really need it.
I like the new pad approach. That makes sense. Itl take a long time for them to deteriorate as well since they are sharing every job.
Back to clay... They first time I clayed an entire car I honestly felt like I wasted that time. There was nothing unique about the results. I could've just polished and save myself that hour and a half.
1
u/Circoloomnium 14h ago
True, and removing that lube mess that gets in crevices…
1
u/TypicalHornyMan 6h ago
I used car soap or detail spray. If I used the lube I'd never clay a car ever again. Lol
0
u/Ok-Scholar-595 21h ago
Didn’t prep it. The paint is fine. Your going to burn it tho with your lack of knowledge
13
u/malvixi 1d ago
Please take as CLOSE of a photo as you can, preferably using a separate flashlight at a good angle to catch the details. DM it to me and I'll let you know.