Ceramic coating high spots?

R

ReaperHWK06

Member
I have a 2022 challenger I bought brand new and had it ceramic coated immediately after delivery with the expel 4 yr.

This car came factory with vinyl stripes and the coated the car and the stripes. Came out well.

Today I removed a vinyl stripe on the rear bumper to replace it, I notice that there is a line all the way around the stripes on the car. This car is only 4 years old and ceramic coated I can’t think this is paint fading.

To me it looks like the ceramic coating when applied was build up on the stripe edges and made a high spot all the way around. Here is a picture. Any thought on how to remove?
 
ReaperHWK06 said:
I have a 2022 challenger I bought brand new and had it ceramic coated immediately after delivery with the expel 4 yr.

This car came factory with vinyl stripes and the coated the car and the stripes. Came out well.

Today I removed a vinyl stripe on the rear bumper to replace it, I notice that there is a line all the way around the stripes on the car. This car is only 4 years old and ceramic coated I can’t think this is paint fading.

To me it looks like the ceramic coating when applied was build up on the stripe edges and made a high spot all the way around. Here is a picture. Any thought on how to remove?
Click to expand...
The picture did not make it... I don't see it...

Who applied the coating??? .

If a coating was applied toward the vinyl stripe edges, of course, there will be an outline where the coating ended,.

When I coat vehicles that have, say, a clear bra, etc., over the front end, I Always apply from the Back of the clear bra, etc., and go forward toward the rest of the paint, so there will be Less material all around the clear bra edge....

And then I Always wash, dry, etc., the vehicle from the Back of the clear bra, etc., , past the front Edges of the clear bra, so I don't push Anything toward those edges....

If what You have is really a lot of coating material, and it's very noticeable,, when you put the stripe up next to it, you have to decide if you want to remove that coating edge, or leave it alone...

I would take the smallest foam pad I have, and with a little very fine finishing polish, very carefully, take those coating edges down, or
perhaps, there are chemicals that can do it faster and easier, using something really small like a Q-tip....
Stokdgs
 
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Stokdgs said:
The picture did not make it... I don't see it...

Who applied the coating??? .

If a coating was applied toward the vinyl stripe edges, of course, there will be an outline where the coating ended,.

When I coat vehicles that have, say, a clear bra, etc., over the front end, I Always apply from the Back of the clear bra, etc., and go forward toward the rest of the paint, so there will be Less material all around the clear bra edge....

And then I Always wash, dry, etc., the vehicle from the Back of the clear bra, etc., , past the front Edges of the clear bra, so I don't push Anything toward those edges....

If what You have is really a lot of coating material, and it's very noticeable,, when you put the stripe up next to it, you have to decide if you want to remove that coating edge, or leave it alone...

I would take the smallest foam pad I have, and with a little very fine finishing polish, very carefully, take those coating edges down, or
perhaps, there are chemicals that can do it faster and easier, using something really small like a Q-tip....
Stokdgs
Click to expand...

This forum is wacky it keeps saying my picture file is to large even though I took it with my iPhone and all other forums I can post pictures up from my phone?

I’ll keep trying.

The coating was pro applied, it was XPEL 4yr coating.

I want to strip it all off and apply a new stripe becuase the car is getting 100% recoated next year so I don’t care about preserving it.

I already tried clay bar, diluted alcohol, a green pad with compound, and it didn’t remove it. I’m new to buffing so I didn’t go too hard or long because I don’t want to burn the clear. I also took some 3000 grit wet sandpaper and just rubbed one spot 3-4 passes and the paint got hazy but the line was still there. I then buffed and polished it out so the paint looked shiny again but I’m at a loss now.

Thinking I’ll go to the shop and maybe they can get this out; I def did not go aggressive at all.
 
ReaperHWK06 said:
This forum is wacky it keeps saying my picture file is to large even though I took it with my iPhone and all other forums I can post pictures up from my phone?
Click to expand...
You have to resize the pictures here; I usually size them down to 768 pixels wide.

ReaperHWK06 said:
I already tried clay bar, diluted alcohol, a green pad with compound, and it didn’t remove it. I’m new to buffing so I didn’t go too hard or long because I don’t want to burn the clear. I also took some 3000 grit wet sandpaper and just rubbed one spot 3-4 passes and the paint got hazy but the line was still there. I then buffed and polished it out so the paint looked shiny again but I’m at a loss now.
Click to expand...
What kind of green pad? What compound? What machine?
 
It almost looks like even with my “buffing” I couldnt take off the coating on the paint next to it as it’s got a hazy finish. It’s probably just me with lack of experience.

I think I’m done messing with this I’ll bring it to the detail shop.
 
So the stripe was on the bottom of that picture? And that raised section is not a where a body line is? Where on the car is this? What is that textured area on the right of the picture?
 
This forum doesn’t allow me to post normal size pictures. The answer is yes the stripe was on the bottom below the “edge” on the paint. I can’t feel an edge with my finger. The right side texture is past of the rear bumper trim. This is a pic of the rear of my car, I removed that stripe on the right.
IMG_2568.jpeg
 
So in the first picture you posted, the textured strip on the right is bumper trim, the part on the left bottom is what was under the stripe, and the part on the top is what you perceive to be coating "high spot"? Because that's not at all what it looks like to me. I'm not sure what magnification level that is, but the paint under the stripe looks fine, and unless I'm seeing some reflection of something else in the paint, there is way too much texture to that for it to be caused by coating.

Paint coating is microns thick, if it was a premium pro coating it might be 6 microns. That looks like paint, to me. I mean the clearcoat, I don't know what the process is at the factory, maybe they put the stripes on before the clear was completely set, maybe the car was touched up at some point. In most states if transit or lot damage is below a certain dollar threshold, they can do a repair and still sell it as a new car.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
So in the first picture you posted, the textured strip on the right is bumper trim, the part on the left bottom is what was under the stripe, and the part on the top is what you perceive to be coating "high spot"? Because that's not at all what it looks like to me. I'm not sure what magnification level that is, but the paint under the stripe looks fine, and unless I'm seeing some reflection of something else in the paint, there is way too much texture to that for it to be caused by coating.

Paint coating is microns thick, if it was a premium pro coating it might be 6 microns. That looks like paint, to me. I mean the clearcoat, I don't know what the process is at the factory, maybe they put the stripes on before the clear was completely set, maybe the car was touched up at some point. In most states if transit or lot damage is below a certain dollar threshold, they can do a repair and still sell it as a new car.
Click to expand...

This car was bought brand new by me and the stripes are installed after the paint is cured 100%. But I see your point. The paint that wasn’t covered looks like shit. Maybe the shop can compound it so it matches.

Whatever it is it’s beyond my DIY ability unless I goes balls to the wall and start sanding it with 1000 grit wet sand but not worth the risk. I have some other things I want to get done on the car so off to the shop it goes. I’ll update with that they say/do.

Worse case(which I really don’t want to do) is I’ll take the bumper off and have it re-sprayed. Shame to do on a 2022 that was ceramic coated since day 1.

Thanks for the inputs.
 
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I'm just saying that it looks more like a paint defect than a coating defect. I understand you bought the car new, I'm trying to explain that a new car can have repainted portions, they will sometimes have something at the factory that doesn't come out right and they fix it there, and dealers are notorious for fixing transit/lot damage and not disclosing it, that's why I believe the federal lemon laws were revised to put a dollar threshold on what could be repaired and still sell it as a new car.

I've had it happen to me, I was expecting a new car to be delivered so I drove by the dealer one night after work (they were closed) and saw the car through the garage door window--with the hood all dented in. I was there first thing in the morning to look at it and they explained it wasn't chained down tight enough on the carrier and it bounced and hit the structure above it. "No problem, we'll just get a new hood", and I told them the hell you will, you'll order me a new car with factory paint on the hood. I'm 100% sure if I had just waited for them to tell me the car was in, they would have done just that and never told me (this was a long time ago before the laws were changed).
 
I'm finding this discussion interesting.

Short take: What Setec Astronomy said. It really does appear that the decals/their installation/the length of time they've been on there/etc. somehow messed up the paint, and I've had quite a few new vehicles with undisclosed "post-production paintwork".

ReaperHWK06- Welcome to Autopia! Sorry you have to deal with this, hope the shop can sort it out for you. I'm just glad you didn't try to wetsand it, and that's very likely to just make things worse.

Sorry I don't have any suggestions, but I do hope you'll post back about what's determined the problem and how it was corrected.
 
Wish you had come here first before using M105 compound....

Wherever you go, make Sure, the Detailer has his own Paint Thickness Gauge, and it is not a cheap one, that cannot be calibrated...

You want to Know how many microns of material you have left on all those areas, compared to the paint that has not been compounded,

The purpose of measuring thickness is to insure you take As Little Material Off As Possible, to achieve the desired paint clarity/gloss....
Good luck with this..... :)
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I've had it happen to me, I was expecting a new car to be delivered so I drove by the dealer one night after work (they were closed) and saw the car through the garage door window--with the hood all dented in. I was there first thing in the morning to look at it and they explained it wasn't chained down tight enough on the carrier and it bounced and hit the structure above it. "No problem, we'll just get a new hood", and I told them the hell you will, you'll order me a new car with factory paint on the hood. I'm 100% sure if I had just waited for them to tell me the car was in, they would have done just that and never told me (this was a long time ago before the laws were changed).
Click to expand...
Was it a76 or 77 El Camino by chance ??

OP. These stripes you are seeing have nothing to do with ceramic coating
Those vinyl stripes somehow etch into the clear. You might try sanding with 2000 or just slap another decal on there

Good luck 🍀
 
ReaperHWK06 said:
This car was bought brand new by me and the stripes are installed after the paint is cured 100%. But I see your point. The paint that wasn’t covered looks like shit. Maybe the shop can compound it so it matches.

Whatever it is it’s beyond my DIY ability unless I goes balls to the wall and start sanding it with 1000 grit wet sand but not worth the risk. I have some other things I want to get done on the car so off to the shop it goes. I’ll update with that they say/do.

Worse case(which I really don’t want to do) is I’ll take the bumper off and have it re-sprayed. Shame to do on a 2022 that was ceramic coated since day 1.

Thanks for the inputs.
Click to expand...
Whenever you use sandpaper on a vehicle, please make sure to use a rubber Block to hold the sandpaper, and do it with a little water running over the work, as you do it... You will find this type of sanding block at a automotive paint shop, etc...

You want the sanding to be Flat across the paintwork...

How do you know when you have sanded the area all evenly and Flat ?

You first spray a little lacquer based black paint - Lightly - over the area, so all you see is mostly black dots across the paint..
This is your Guide Coat...

When you then Wet Sand the paint with guide coat - using a rubber block- to hold the paper, and the little water dribbling across the area, you will see the GuideCoat going away...

If you do this Evenly, you will now have evenly sanded, flat paintwork, that is now ready for compounding, polishing......

As for the rest of the paint looking bad ? Did you go back to the "professional" and show it to him???? Was this his fault???
 
Went to 2 shops. Both looked at it and said the paint that was not covered by the stripes was UV damaged and oxidized. They both said they feel very confident they can get it looking good with a good paint correction. They said they don’t want to guarantee anything but they have fixed worse. They didn’t mention anything about paint thickness concerns and didn’t seemed concerned. The bumper is plastic so I don’t think a gauge would work anyway? Looks like they will just give it a heavy cut and polish. If they get it done just means I am way to light with polishing and don’t know what the F I’m doing lol.

I booked the correction for next week; we’ll see how it goes.

Crazy that even a ceramic coated vehicle from brand new less than 4yrs old would have ghost stripes. That’s what they called the lines ghost striping in the clear.

I’m done with vinyl I’m getting the whole car paint corrected and then PPF and ceramic coat. Just leaving it naked black with no decals.

This car was stored in the winter but during the summer it was my daily and parked outside at work. That was enough I guess for the damage.
 
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