Patient #2 - need help with perscription

[MitsukiGT]

Patient - Black 2007 GMC Sierra

 

I got it new in Apreil of 2007 and paid (didn't know any better back then) the dealer for their paint protection when new. I now have 5K miles on it, so it isn't driven much and never in snow or salt.

 

I haven't washed it much and even when in the garage it had rain water and who know what on it.

 

I got around to washing it and have clayed the hood. The more I clayed the more I got depressed with my findings. With a truck driven so little I figured it would be in great shape.

 

Anyway, there is allot of crap that might be sap that I can't get off, even with APC. Then allot of other spots that I tried APC on as well. I tried to take good pictures of my findings, but it was tough to get them in view as the truck is soooooo shiny with just claybar.

 

Looking at the pictures can these be fixed with just the PC? SHould I start with the Yellow pad? What should I do?

 

 

 

[MitsukiGT]

LOL, that bad eh?

 

Basically I just want to know if the PC can get this stuff out before I waste my time and clearcoat trying.

[Team Adam's]

hard to say from the pics, but those look to be some pretty hard sap deposits.

 

what you can try is some isopropyl alcohol, spray it on let it sit for a few seconds then wipe away. I would also immediately spray that area down with detail spray afterwards and wipe again to get any residual alcohol off the paint.

 

if that won't dissolve the sap then I'm at a loss for what else to try. Definitely want to get it off before buffing, if you buff over it and it does come loose it would be like having a little stone wedged in your pad and you'd just destroy your paint.

[MitsukiGT]

if that won't dissolve the sap then I'm at a loss for what else to try. Definitely want to get it off before buffing, if you buff over it and it does come loose it would be like having a little stone wedged in your pad and you'd just destroy your paint.

 

Good to know, I had some crap on my car that never came off even after buffing. I won't be making that mistake again, guess I got lucky the first time they didn't come off.

 

Is this the stuff?

 

http://www.walgreens.com/store/store/product/product_details.jsp?id=prod19093&CATID=310470&skuid=sku319093&V=G&ec=frgl_500280&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku319093

 

Seems they have several variants of it.

Edited September 16, 2009 by MitsukiGT

[Team Adam's]

Good to know, I had some crap on my car that never came off even after buffing. I won't be making that mistake again, guess I got lucky the first time they didn't come off.

 

Is this the stuff?

 

http://www.walgreens.com/store/store/product/product_details.jsp?id=prod19093&CATID=310470&skuid=sku319093&V=G&ec=frgl_500280&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku319093

 

Seems they have several variants of it.

 

That would be the stuff, start at a 1:1 dilution with water, and work up as needed to the strength that will break it down. No sense in risking use at full strength if 50% strength will do.

[MitsukiGT]

lol, too late. Already tried it without dilluting. Didn't make any difference at all.

 

I picked up this bug\tar\sap remover by turtle wax and i'll try it tomorrow.

[Stan DaMann]

I remember a posting of a member recommending Goo-Be-Gone doing the job for sap and fried-on-the-paint bird droppings.

 

You may want to do a search for that....

[jjwvette]

I'd try some 3M gereral purpose cleaner:D

[Junkman2008]

The first thing you should do is try claying. I can't tell by the pictures but if you are missing paint, only paint will fix the problem. Last of all, refrain from using the yellow pad if at all possible. It creates damage that is the hardest to fix. If the orange pad will work, use it instead. Always start with the least aggressive method first, and then work toward a more aggressive method.

[MitsukiGT]

Those pictures were taken AFTER claying. Still lots of stuff not coming off :-(

[Junkman2008]

Hard to say without actually seeing it myself. To bad you're not closer.

[MitsukiGT]

Hard to say without actually seeing it myself. To bad you're not closer.

 

I wish I was too:( I can't believe how bad this paint is for a 3 year old vehicle with 5K.

 

I found 4-5 spots where it almost looks like the clear is cracking. Is that even possible? Or just stuff on top. I can't get the camera to focus that close because of the reflections.

 

Then there are hundreds (i might be exaggerating, some might be on top) of spots that look like something is UNDER the paint. Like maybe sand or something was on the primer when painted.

 

Then another spot where it looks like someone pushed an pencil eraser into the paint as it was drying, definitely under the clear coat.

 

Few spots were it looks like something is etched into the paint, I can feel it, but can't get it out.

 

To think I custom ordered this truck and it took 4 months to come in. Looks like they rushed the paint to me. It is also orange peeled pretty bad.

 

Maybe I can find a video camera, about the only way I can think for you to see these spots. I might just take it to a paint shop and see if they can tell me if it is crap on the clear or actual damage.

 

With all this crap on the paint I have been 8 hours claying and only got the front (cab\front bumper\hood) done.

 

Thanks

Edited September 17, 2009 by MitsukiGT

[Team Adam's]

Well if you have "cracks" in the clear you definitely are seeing the beginning stages of clear coat failure. As for all the other problems... you might be right... this truck might have been painted on a Friday close to quitin' time before the bailout was announced

[MitsukiGT]

would clear coat failure be under warranty? should I bother taking it to the dealer?

[Toms94]

I can't answer your question about the clearcoat under warranty, but I can say that I was not very impressed with the paint job on that new Chevy Colorado that I worked on a few weeks back. It had all sorts of cr@p under the clear, just like you describe. I thought that it looked like it had been repainted, but now I wonder if it is just crappy workmanship.

[MitsukiGT]

I'm not sure. I had the truck almost 3 years and this is the first I ever really looked at the paint. Paint looked OK after I washed it, but once clayed it was hideous.

 

I wonder what they do when they put on that $500 protective finish when you buy the vehicle new. After claying the paint has ridiculous swirls. And trust me, ALL these swirls were not from me, maybe some, but I used touchless car washes and dried it by going down the freeway.

 

I'm not sure what I'll do right now, 10 feet away it looks new, 90% of flaws are on hood and roof. Haven't checked the bed and topper yet.

 

Sad part is this truck has sit in a garage at least 80% of its life, probably more with only 5K miles, never driven in salt or snow.

 

Paint on my 2002 TB, which sat out EVERY day of its life is in better condition as far as clear coat and bumps. Obviously it has tons of swirls. And it only gets washed in an automated wash like 2-3 times a year, driven all winter, every winter.

 

Hopefully I can finish claying tonight and PC the good tomorrow. I can't wait to see if that crap comes out with the PC, I got my fingers crossed.

[Junkman2008]

... I wonder what they do when they put on that $500 protective finish when you buy the vehicle new...

 

That crap is a total rip off! Don't ever fall for that. They don't do anything but have the detail guys put some Nu-Finish or equally crappy wax on it and send it out the door. Total waste of money.

[MitsukiGT]

That crap is a total rip off! Don't ever fall for that. They don't do anything but have the detail guys put some Nu-Finish or equally crappy wax on it and send it out the door. Total waste of money.

 

I didn't know any better back then and the salesman was really good at his job. I almost fell for it again with the G8, I didn't do it as I spent everything I had at the time to get the car.

 

The guys at the Grrr8 forum are who turned me onto detailing, seeing all those nice rides and everyone talking about Adam's products.

 

I always hated swirls, which is why I was so scared to wash my vehicles with anything but the touchless car wash.

 

Oh well, lessen learned:o

[Junkman2008]

You do know the pitfall of going touchless, right?

[MitsukiGT]

You do know the pitfall of going touchless, right?

 

Of course not:willy:

 

Please enlighten me:bow:

 

LOL, we need a noob checklist or something that might be common knowledge to detail guys, but mysteries you noobs like me;)

[Team Adam's]

I'm not sure. I had the truck almost 3 years and this is the first I ever really looked at the paint. Paint looked OK after I washed it, but once clayed it was hideous.

 

I wonder what they do when they put on that $500 protective finish when you buy the vehicle new. After claying the paint has ridiculous swirls. And trust me, ALL these swirls were not from me, maybe some, but I used touchless car washes and dried it by going down the freeway.

 

I'm not sure what I'll do right now, 10 feet away it looks new, 90% of flaws are on hood and roof. Haven't checked the bed and topper yet.

 

Sad part is this truck has sit in a garage at least 80% of its life, probably more with only 5K miles, never driven in salt or snow.

 

Paint on my 2002 TB, which sat out EVERY day of its life is in better condition as far as clear coat and bumps. Obviously it has tons of swirls. And it only gets washed in an automated wash like 2-3 times a year, driven all winter, every winter.

 

Hopefully I can finish claying tonight and PC the good tomorrow. I can't wait to see if that crap comes out with the PC, I got my fingers crossed.

 

 

well... clear coat failure is a touchy thing and will really depend on what kind of dealer you have. Some are really helpful with this type of thing and will warranty a bad paint job, others will put the burden of proof on you to show them that it was the paints failure instead of your fault be it via wash or lack there of. Trying to prove you didn't do anything wrong to your finish in the last three years would be difficult.

 

In any event it never hurts to ask... worst they can say is "No".

[Superdutytd]

It seems like with a car that was garage kept and had 5k miles on it the paint would have barely anything on it and wouldn't have any contaminants on it. Clearcoat failure on a car that new seems weird to me though?

[Junkman2008]

Of course not:willy:

 

Please enlighten me:bow:

 

LOL, we need a noob checklist or something that might be common knowledge to detail guys, but mysteries you noobs like me;)

 

Here's the truth with touchless.

 

First off, all the high pressure washing in the world is not going to remove that film of dirt that is attached to your paint. You have to touch the paint in order to get that off the car. Once your car exits the car wash, it still has that film of grim all over it. At the end of the wash, there will be guys using towels that contain all the dirt and grime from a bunch of cars that came through before you. Also, take into consideration how poor the quality of those towels are. Add the dirt and grime from the previous cars, plus the dirt and grime still on your car coupled with those hard as hell, cheap quality towels that they are about to use on your car (which are full of dirt and grime), and you have just created the "perfect swirl storm."

 

Touchless car washes where folks are waiting to dry the car off are the worse thing that you can do to your finish. The only thing worse is using those brushes at the self washes. Those things are a "perfect swirl typhoon!"

 

[MitsukiGT]

The touchless car wash here is just at a Meijer (Like a Super Walmart). So no people hand drying. I thought you were going to say something about how harsh the chemicals need to be to remove dirt without agitation.

 

I ALMOST got the truck all clayed. I envy those that can do it in an hour. I'm at about 7 hours just claying this beast. I'm making the assumption that those who claim to clay so fast have done the car before and it wsan't the first time the car had been clayed.

 

I'll use the turtle wax goop stuff on some of the larger spots and see what the PC can clean up. If it cleans up OK then I'll forget about taking it to the dealer. I assume as long as I keep wax on it the clearcoat won't crak anymore?

 

Can I PC over the 4x4 sticker on the bed of the truck? It's such an odd shap it will be a pain to mask over.

 

How do you handle chips? Unfortunately I have found several, don't ask me how but there are 3 chips on the roof and a few on the hard topper.

 

Can I PC the plastic rails (not sure what they are called) on the doors? They are the strips about mid-door about 4 inches wide.

Edited September 18, 2009 by MitsukiGT