I hope I've come to the right forum where some of you may know about body work and paint, since I could not find a forum specifically on detailing. I am having a major problem with my paint, I hope someone can tell me what it is and how to fix it. The paint on the roof, top of my spoiler and on the entire hood has completely lost its shine. My brother wrote on my hood over a year ago with his finger when my car was dirty and if you look closely you can still see what he wrote. I've washed it several times, even scrubbing as hard as I can, and it doesn't work. The only time you can't tell how bad it looks is when it's wet. I tried waxing a small spot to see if that would fix it and it just made it worse. It almost looks like black primer. I have no idea what caused this. I've always frequently washed my car. I recently moved to a very humid climate (Florida) and that is when the problem started. Almost every morning my car is covered in condensation from the humidity. I wonder if this has something to do with it, but if so why only my car and not any others? I've also wondered if living on a river (parking 150 feet or so from the water) has somehow damaged the paint, but there are other cars parked closer to the water than mine is and their paint jobs are fine. Does my car being black make it more sensitive the river water and/or humidity? Or does it have nothing to do with either of those elements? If anyone reading this knows what this is and why it has happened, please help me. I really hope there is some kind of product I can buy that will fix it. I still have my factory warranty, so if it is a defect and it needs to re-painted, is this the sort of thing warranties will usually cover? This is the first warranty I've ever had on a car and I have no idea how they work and what all they do and don't cover. This car is my baby and I'm still paying for it so this really pisses me off. Please help!!!!!

 

Well first, a forum for detailing would be autopia.org.

Without pictures, I'm going to assume it's oxidation. You're in luck because it's quite easy to take care of really.

Here's a picture, to get started, of clean paint versus severely oxidized paint:


From your description the paint doesn't sound like it's that bad, especially if it's only in spots. I'd go out and buy some Meguiars ColorX. You can get it just about anywhere--it's a black bottle. Apply it with a terry cloth towel in linear motions. Work it into the paint longer then you would a wax (this really isn't a wax, mild protection is in it, so, letting it haze will do nothing).

Now, this should take care of it (my friend used this on his early 80s supra, black, and he said it took care of the oxidation very well).

I would wax it after. I would keep it well wax. Infact, I'd go so far as to do a full detail on it twice a car.

http://www.300cforums.com/showthread.php?t=1154

I did a nice write up on another forum.

 

Thanks. I'll get some of that stuff you mentioned and try it out. The picture you posted is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Thanks again, I really appreciate your help!

 

take it back to acura, sounds like a paint defect, too early to happen on a 00 or you can try and wash your car at least 1nce a year.

 

Most automotive finish warranties only cover rust preforation of a panel and not the finish condition. Taking care of the paint is left up to the owner.