A vehicle’s paint is a lot more durable than what it’s been given credit. We beat our cars up! Our cars get rained on, constantly exposed to the natural elements (especially if you’re in Land Park, Downtown Sacramento or East Sac), driven through the dreadful car wash scrubbers, getting dinged at the grocery store or left to dry in the sun it’s whole life. But miraculously, most paint jobs hold up, maybe that’s because the engine fails first.
But paint jobs are not indestructible. They can and will fail overtime if not properly maintained. Paint imperfections are unavoidable, and unfortunately sometimes irreparable, but there’s always a glimpse of hope if you catch clear coat failure in time.
Oxidation: When clear coats begin to fail, often the first signs are loss of clarity, haziness, or cloudy looking paint. What was once shiny with a reflection is now dull. This is often caused by lack of maintenance, specifically claybar treatment. Paint is porous (think pores in your skin), there are tiny pores in the car’s paint and microscopic debris can build up in these pores overtime, causing the erosion of the clear coat and eventually the oxidation mentioned above. Claybar pulls these contaminants out of the paint, much like the nasal strips do for blackheads (too graphic, i know!)
Once oxidation begins to turn cloudy white or brown, or starts to peel off in chips, it is beyond repair. You may be able to sand the rough areas and buff out some shine, but it typically will not last.
Deep imperfections: Once an imperfection (scratch or etching) goes through all the layers of clear coat and into the pigmented paint or primer layer, the defect is irreparable. There are times where these can be minimalized, however if it requires some wet sanding/and or heavy compounding, the area will be made vulnerable for any future situations.
Other than scratches, deep imperfections can be caused by etching of the paint. If a goblet of sap lands on your paint, it will begin to “eat” away, or erode the paint, and if this is left unattended for longer than a couple months, the sap will eat all the way through the paint. Bird droppings can also have the same effect. When you see sap or bird poop on your ride, get it off immediately.
Light Imperfections: These can be labeled as swirls, light water spots, light etchings and the like. These are called “above surface imperfections” and can usually be removed with a single step polish. With regard to water spots, or calcium buildup, these also etch the paint deeper as time goes on and need to be dealt with immediately.
If you’re having paint issues with your car in sacramento, and looking for a mobile detailer in Sacramento to come evaluate or repair your paint, make sure to ask the right questions to get the detailer that is right for you. If you are not looking for a mobile auto detailing service and prefer to have the car in a professional shop in Sacramento for the auto detailing service, this could be a better option.
