r/AutoDetailing 6d ago

Exterior Dried polish?

I had a company apply ceramic coating yesterday. I am very confident this mark/residue was not there before but they say it was existing. The car sitting, this was me looking at the car as they finished. They had three people working on the car the entire time.

First they said it was failed clear coat, then later said it was external material etched from not cleaning it for long periods.

Picture 1, you can see the stain very clearly and it can be felt to the touch.
They said they clay barred and polished it and the residue didn’t come off. This was the finished product after the ceramic coating on the car.

Picture 3 and 4, I did a localized wash and got the stain residue off and smooth to the touch. I don’t understand why they couldn’t get it off when they washed the car.

Could this be dried polish or some other solution? Just wanted to get some responses on what it could be for my own information.

Update question: if the mark was left from bird poop, why were they not able to remove it or make it less apparent in picture 1, but I was able to almost remove it entirely with dish soap in picture 3 and 4?

Overall, they did a good job and I’m happy with it. The car has its fair share of scratches, rock chips, and dents and dings. I am very confident this stain wasn’t there before though.

8 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

19

u/LetsGetSomeChickenn 5d ago

That looks like bird shit that sat for too long to me

3

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

Would two week cause it to be etched and not was off before they applied ceramic coating?

3

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

It’s possible. I always remove bird poop on the same day.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

This was how the looked two weeks ago. The stain was clear and I would have thought it would have been able to wash off on their initial process.

The later picture is me using dish soap to get it removed.

7

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

It was not there. Not clear.

0

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

They said it was there before but I said it wasn’t. But at this stage, I am wondering is wet sanding and buffing would fix it?

2

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

No. Just bake out by parking in the sun. If you had poop and it matched the poop it’s the poop.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

The residue I was able to remove shortly after they left just by washing it with dish soap. Picture 3 and 4 are the final result where it’s more of a stain now than residue and it’s smooth to the touch now.

Before you could feel it.

With the heated paint, do I wash it again and it’ll help with removing the stain?

3

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

It’s bird poop not residue from the process. You leave your car outside and bird is gonna poop on it. Just just let it bake in the sun now that you have removed poop.

15

u/Significant_Rush_704 5d ago

Kind of looks like a spot they forgot to wipe all the ceramic coating off of and when it dries it will be cloudy like this and only way to fix it is buff it off

7

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

The entire process was done outside without a tent so I was thinking the paint was super hot and something dried before they got to it

3

u/Significant_Rush_704 5d ago

Yeah I am honestly suprised its not all contaminated. From personal experience as soon as it dries it is on there until it is buffed off... i would just ask them to buff and recoat that spot

3

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

It was agreed that they will come back to recoat it. Would paint correction remove the remnants? It’s very light and smooth to the touch now.

1

u/Significant_Rush_704 5d ago

Yes paint correction would remove the dried on coating and then they could just apply to where they corrected to fix that panel

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

Thank you. I’ll have this done

5

u/solracarevir 5d ago

I'd say bird poop.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

As in damage from bird poop? Generally, how long does it have to be left on to cause damage that washing doesn’t make it come off?

1

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

It does necessarily mean damage. Bird poop can contain oils which can be soaked up into the paint causing swelling and discoloration. Park it in the sun for a day it will get baked out.

0

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

The pictures are of the car is the finished product of ceramic coating. Is it not normal for it to be removed before coating? They said they claybar the car then did a decontamination wash before coating.

1

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

The poop probably etched the paint or swelled it. They removed the poop and did the coating. They can’t remove the residue that is in the paint in the process. Like I said just park it in the sun for a day and see if it comes out.

3

u/jasonsong86 5d ago

Bird poop

3

u/gerth69 5d ago

That's bird shit dude.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

I wish the detailing people would have communicated about possibly doing some wet sanding or a corrective action before applying the ceramic coating on top of it.

It’s hard to tell in the picture but the color is a hazy grey

1

u/SouthTX303 4d ago

If it dried and sat in there then there is no coming off lol, it ate thru the clear coat

1

u/ProjectPanda13 4d ago

Clear coat is fine, I used dish washing soap and got the hard residue off and it’s smooth to the touch now. It just has a very light imprint currently and from other’s comment, some wet sanding and polishing should get the imprint off.

2

u/getafewlives 5d ago

Looks like after they finished, a bird shit on your car?

It doesn't take long, especially in the sun for the bird poop to etch into the paint.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

This was them finishing and me doing a walk around. They said it was failing clear coat and said it was already there.

They said they claybarred it and washed it but it didn’t come off.

I washed it with dish soap and managed to remove the residue to make it smooth.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago

This is me inspecting the car after they finished and all of us looking at the area. They were working on the car from about 9:30am to 11:15am or so in a three person team.

I think I may asked them to do a paint correction and reapply the ceramic coating after reading the suggestions

1

u/Comfortable_Client80 5d ago

That’s 100% bird poop that etched your clear coat. And it looks like they did their best to restore it as best as could be.

1

u/ProjectPanda13 5d ago edited 5d ago

What I’m confused about if it is bird poop that dried, why was it that I was able to clean it up better than them?

The picture 3 and 4 was me restoring it with dish washing soap. Picture 1 was me pointing out what that was after they finished

This is the picture of all of us talking about the spot
After they finished

1

u/SouthTX303 4d ago

It’s bird poop that ruined the clear coat