Spots|Clearcoat, HELP
 

Hey everyone, I have been having some problems getting spots off my car. Well, I have been mislead for some reason and thought that these were water spots, but now I have a feeling that these unkown spots, which I now call them, are under the clearcoat of my brand new Civic. These spots are on the hood, roof, and trunk of my car. By the way, I have a Eternal Blue Pearl paint job on my 2k1 Civic EX so you can see how easy these spots can be seen. Well the reason I think this is because when I first got my car, I didn't really notice the paint job that much, and I washed the car and waxed it in circular motions which promotes scratches in the clearcoat. Well, I now can see that these scratches go over the actual spots. If you look at the spots hard enough, you can kinda tell that they are not at the surface either. I have tried the meguiars paint cleaner, clay bar, etc and none of these worked at all, and from what I hear, these products work well on getting oxidation off the paint surface. So what do you all think of my situation here? If this is the case, then these spots have been under my clearcoat since I got my civic, so do you all think that the dealership should be held responsible and should correct the problem by taking off the clearcoat, removing the spots, and adding a new clearcoat on it? I would really appreciate your help, thanks!

I would try everything and anything (most) before I would let anyone repaint my car.

DAMN i really never noticed where the spots are on my car
i have a eternal blue also and i always thought that the spots were water spots
but now i know it;s most likely not
sH#$ i might take it to the dealer and have them repaint it or something

hey, im from houston also, did you get your Civic from Gillman Honda at Bellaire and Fondren?

Before you go through drstic measures like getting the car repainted, you might try to detail the paint. If you do not have the time or place to clean and wax your car i would recommend bringing the car to a professional detailer, see if he can wet sand and polish the car to remove the spots. First ask him if he can remove the spots. If you want to try to clean the car your self, here is a list of products you will need.

Clean Wax Applicators: Make sure you use one applicator for each product you are using. Do not ever mix applicators because this will cause a chemical reaction on the paint that is a pain in the azz to remove.

Clean Terry Cloth towels
The Clay Bar made by mothers, Meguires, or 3M
A quality car wash by meguires, or mothers or anything else that you can find.
Meguires #7 glaze
Meguires Gold Liquid wax

Steps:
Wash the car once with soap and a clean wash mitt.
Hose the car down
Re soap the car and go over the whole car with the clay bar system-Make sure you take extra care of the places where the water spots are.
Hose the car down
Re wash the car with soap and a clean wash mitt
Hose the car off
Dry the car with a chamois or lint free towel
Apply the glaze using a back and forth motion to the entire car. Rub it in good over the parts of the car that are affected with spots.
Let it dry for 30 minutes in a shaded area
Wipe the glaze off with a clean dry terry towel
It might smere but do not worry because the wax will remove this.
Then apply the meguires gold wax to the entire car in a back and forth motion
Let it dry for a few minutes and then wipe it off in the same back and forth motion
NEVER USE CIRCULAR MOTIONS!!!
If this doesnt work then I would try having a professional wet sand the surface, and if that doesnt work the car probably needs to be repainted...
GOOD LUCK!!!

I have tried all of that except the glaze. I clayed my car and tried using the meguiars paint cleaner, polish, and wax and they are still in the paint, none of the spots had some off. I don't see why I can't just bring it to my honda dealership. I mean, if the spots are under the clear coat, then they should fix the problem themselves, since I sure didn't cause those spots.

Well if you tried all that then I would bring it back to the dealer.

ok, thanks for you help, I know these spots are under the clearcoat, so they will fix it then I guess!

I have one of those spots, too.. I still need to take it to the dealer. When I bought the car, they had me look it over for stuff like that. I found one on the front bumper and they told me that I could take it to any dealer and they will fix it. I don't know if they're going to replace the bumper or if they'll just repaint.

Better known as orange peeling. This usually happens to the clearcoat itself. Not much to do except sand off the clearcoat and have it reapplied. Guessing around $400. Hope everything works out for you.

Randy

I would have a dealer repaint it because they will never get it to look as good as the factory paint job. You WILL find flaws in it, worse than they are already

my dealer offered a paint protection system that they guarantee that if i get oxidation or anything then they will paint and fix whatever is wrong. i have a white car and just got it in january and can already see spots that wax doesn't remove. so at least i can hopefully get a free paint job and full detail when i get my first oil change.

Hey how big are the spots? And what do they look like? B/c my girls car had these spots that looked like tennis balls hit it and i took it in and they said that it was dirt under the clear coat.

It doesn't matter anymore, I posted this message along time ago. My car has been repainted since.