Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Detailing Noob

  1. #1

    Detailing Noob

    Ok, hopefully someone can set me straight because I’m not exactly sure what I did wrong.
    I’ve been experimenting with detailing for the first time. I used a dual-action polisher with some Chemical Guys scratch and swirl remover on the roof to get what I thought was some oxidation. It worked great on the trunk lid, but it left these white areas on the roof. Confession: I did this in the sun. So could this be polish residue that dried to quickly? Or did I somehow make it through the paint and cause damage? I’ve tried more polishing, regular washing, and rubbing alcohol to remove it but the spots won’t go away.
    Advice?




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Location
    SF Bay, CA
    Posts
    1,266
    To me it looks like very heavy oxidation, or the start of clear-coat failure. How did it look before you started polishing, and did the trunk lid look the same? You may be able to get it out by spending a bit more time polishing. But given you said you wiped it down with alcohol, all the remaining polishing residue should've been removed.
    2004 BMW 330CI ZHP (well, technically ZAM)


  3. #3
    It looks like the clear coat is damaged. If a compound/polish won't restore the finish then you will have to take this car to a professional body shop and have them assess the actual condition of the paint and course of action to restore the finish on your roof panel.

    When doing detailing, I never detail in direct sunlight. I see you have a garage. I would suggest going forward you use your garage to detail your car.

    Good luck finding out what you need to do.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Socal
    Posts
    1,739
    Agreed with everyone else. It looks like clearcoat failure to me. You said that this was already on the roof when you started?

  5. #5
    Thanks for the input everyone. The truck lid didn't have any of this "cloudiness", it just had a lot of swirl marks which I was able to improve. The roof did have a bit of this cloudiness before I started. I don't have a great Before photo so it's hard to say if it got any worse because of my work, but I don't think it improved.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 10
    Last Post: 06-30-2016, 04:06 PM
  2. nooB here...
    By idreamofbimmers in forum New Members (or older members who have not introduced themselves)
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 08-03-2011, 06:05 PM
  3. Conversation Between Noob and ZHP Vet
    By echo46 in forum General -- ZHP Related
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 07-18-2011, 04:01 PM
  4. noob
    By 330i ZHP in forum New Members (or older members who have not introduced themselves)
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 07-02-2011, 05:59 AM
  5. Noob to the community...
    By CERF04ZHP in forum New Members (or older members who have not introduced themselves)
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 03-08-2011, 04:12 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •