Look what cheap detailing products did to my daily driver's paint! How do I fix this?

DeuceRooster · #1 11-14-2011, 11:28 AM

Let me first say that I have always used quality detailing products like Pinnacle or P21S. But of course we all make a mistake sometime in life right? Hah.

I bought a 2011 Toyota Tacoma (new) back in June to serve as my daily driver. About a month into owning it I decided to wax the truck and shine it up a bit. Went to my garage only to find that my normal P21S wax container was near empty. I had a jar of Turtle Wax

ICE Paste Wax sitting on my shelf I'd received at Christmas along with some Lucas Slick Mist detailing spray.

I figured it couldn't be that bad so I washed the truck with Dawn (didn't clay or pre-clean otherwise) then dried it good and applied the wax. Everything went smooth. After wiping off the wax I then wiped down the truck with the Lucas Slick Mist detail spray. Truck looked great!

Fast forward about a month later a discolored spot pops up on the hood. Then a few weeks later one on the driver's door. Then another on the hood! I hand washed the truck and the spots are still there. They look very similar to the way paint reacts when it gets exposed to direct engine heat or something.

I tried to snap a few pics, hard to capture really. The spots don't really feel any different to touch then the rest of the paint and when it rains water still seems to bead overtop of them in the same pattern as the rest of the truck.

Was this caused by a chemical reaction between two products? Bad wax? Or.....? Any ideas? I need to know a safe way to remove them the truck only has 4,000 miles on it so I don't want to risk ruining the paint.

I've been wanting to pick up a PC 7424 anyways, so could someone recommend what I would need to get this taken care of? Sorry for the long post, all help is much appreciated!

Damon@tirerack · #2 11-14-2011, 02:28 PM

Have you tried a wipedown with alcohol and water? Aside from that my next step would be to hand rub with something OTC like Scratch-Out and see what happens. Otherwise, see a pro.

TimAD · #3 11-14-2011, 04:22 PM

That's interesting. I've never seen something like that, they almost look like oxidation but on such a new truck i highly doubt it. Are those spots textured? Is there any discrepancy in the surface texture compared to the paint that is spot free?

Barrister · #4 11-14-2011, 04:35 PM

Burned the paint by pressing too hard with a buffer.

They should pay for the damage.

DeuceRooster · #5 11-14-2011, 05:02 PM

Quick update guys. I went and bought some 91% rubbing alcohol and applied it to the spots and they came right off! I spoke to a person at a local bodyshop and he asked me what I used to dry the truck with before I waxed it and I told him an Absorber.

He said that was the problem! It seems that silicone is used in the process of making them and even though the Absorber was brand new (and I washed it with hot water and no soap before using it) it still had traces of silicone. So when I waxed the truck the silicone became trapped underneath the wax. He said I should be drying only with 100% cotton towels.

So I am going to wipe the entire truck down with this alcohol and that should solve the problem hopefully.

Thanks again to everyone for your input though. Hope this helps someone in the future.

Auto Concierge · #6 11-15-2011, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeuceRooster »

Quick update guys. I went and bought some 91% rubbing alcohol and applied it to the spots and they came right off! I spoke to a person at a local bodyshop and he asked me what I used to dry the truck with before I waxed it and I told him an Absorber.

He said that was the problem! It seems that silicone is used in the process of making them and even though the Absorber was brand new (and I washed it with hot water and no soap before using it) it still had traces of silicone. So when I waxed the truck the silicone became trapped underneath the wax. He said I should be drying only with 100% cotton towels.

So I am going to wipe the entire truck down with this alcohol and that should solve the problem hopefully.

Thanks again to everyone for your input though. Hope this helps someone in the future.

As Tim nailed on your first issue glad that was resolved, as for the cotton towels..........you WILL marr the finish drying with those, utilize a large dedicated microfiber towel and Phil the site sponsor here (Detailers Domain) sells the proper towels to use along with a whole wash kit if you want all the right gear to do the job right.

I actually use a electric leaf blower then follow with the microfiber drying towel.