Newbie with a question about oxidation

[montster2000]

I am new to dc, I just washed my wifes car.A silver 99 Ford Escort ZX2. I washed with gold class car wash, I clayed then I polished with Meguiars #3 glaze (with my new pc7336) wiping the excess with a mf towel I noticed Lighter patches of paint, thinking it was still oxidized I polished more no change. I waxed with gold class paste. I then noticed if I took off my polarized sunglasses I didnt see it anymore. just nice shiny paint. Is this repair from a wreck or could it be oxidation under the clear coat. I am a little feaked

[Jngrbrdman]

Oxidation doesn't happen under the clear coat. It could be damage or areas that were repainted. Polarized glasses are a good way to spot that kind of thing. When all the paint is clean then it becomes easy to see where body panels don't match exactly due to paint fading and then repainting using only the factory paint code and not an exact paint match.

[Bell]

Not only does it not oxidize under a clear coat but it doesn't oxidize on top of a clear coat either. Most likely some paint repair or could be some paint overspray. If the area is slick then most likely a paint repair.

[montster2000]

thank you everyone for the quick response. This is the strangest thing, the car was a gift to my wife by her father in 2001, and it came with a clean carfax. The dealer said when the car didnt sell in 2000 they turned it into a dealer parts car. It must of been wrecked repaired and sold to my father-in-law. sad bad dealer :angry

[Jngrbrdman]

Not all damage gets reported to carfax. If I drop a tree on my car and take it to get it fixed it won't show up on a carfax unless an insurance claim is made on it. My integra had the trunk smashed in and the rear bumper wiped out and there was nothing in carfax about it ever. I don't know that I would trust a clean carfax report. Its very possible that its not telling the whole story.

[infoman1]

Originally Posted by Bell

Not only does it not oxidize under a clear coat but it doesn't oxidize on top of a clear coat either. Most likely some paint repair or could be some paint overspray. If the area is slick then most likely a paint repair.

Thanks for the info. So basically all those polishes, clay bars, and other products are simply treating and addressing the very top clearcoat finish. Not the basecoat paint like back in the day of old acrylic laquers. Since a clearcoat finish is baked on, hard, and not "porus" you are basically restoring and removing scratches, swirls, etc. from the clearcoat. The basecoat paint should never deteriorate under a clear. How can so many achieve so many different results when the majority of these products are applied to clearcoat top coats?

[Bell]

Originally Posted by infoman1

Thanks for the info. So basically all those polishes, clay bars, and other products are simply treating and addressing the very top clearcoat finish. Not the basecoat paint like back in the day of old acrylic laquers. Since a clearcoat finish is baked on, hard, and not "porus" you are basically restoring and removing scratches, swirls, etc. from the clearcoat. The basecoat paint should never deteriorate under a clear. How can so many achieve so many different results when the majority of these products are applied to clearcoat top coats?

Yeah that about sums it up. You are only working on the clear coat so having a garage full of products for steps 1 through 20 does not do you any good, but it sure makes for a neat picture and impresses newbies.

Many people get different results, even with the same product, because the application process may be different. One person may use something like Poorboys 2.5 with a PC on a dark car trying to remove some marring. It comes out nice but then another person uses a high speed rotary with the same product and the finish comes out 100% better than the PC finish. This is because certain products are designed for specific application methods and this is why results may vary from person to person, product to product.

So if you are looking to get your paint back into shape you may need to get it clayed, polished with a mild abrasive clear coat safe polish, it may then need a second polishing process, and it should then be ready for your final wax or sealer.