Has anyone else had an issue with the paint quality on their Cayenne's?

I feel that the paint on it is extremely sensitive and that the clear coat isn't that thick. My comparison, the clear coat on my M3 is still great and I can polish the crap out of it and would still look new. The one caveat is that my M3 is silver so swirls hide better on a light colored car.

So on the Cayenne I was cleaning some bird poop last night and there was a stubborn one on the passenger door. Normally if its a flat surface I just leave it in a small "pool" of water until it dissolves enough. However I can't do that with the door. So I was trying to wipe it off....looks like I wiped too hard (microfiber towel) as it looks like the clear coat was damaged and maybe even some of the paint . I can see white-ish swirl marks and some paint degradation.

So a few questions:

(1) Is the paint / clear coat on 958 super thin and why?!?!? I feel like I have to wipe bird poop off immediately or it'll eat the paint/clear coat.

and

(2) How do I buff / polish this out? What brand of wax/polish/etc should I use (need recommendations) to fix this?

 

Being someone who owns an auto body shop, all the cars now a days are painted with a water base paint but they still have a hardened clear coat on the outside. You could create swirl marks with a microfiber towel but just because it may appear dull doesn't necessarily mean the paint is degraded.

In your signature it shows you have a black cayenne right? Unless there was black marks on your microfiber towel then the clear coat is still intact on your car.

In a case like that I wouldn't be too quick to blame it on the paint as all the clear coats are pretty much the same, they just vary in brand and in the thickness that it's applied at. I would take an orbital DA sander with a foam pad and polish it out. But if you have never done this before... I would bring it to a body shop and they can easily.. very easily do this for you in a flash. What you don't want to do is burn the clear coat which will easily burn with a power tool and then you'll be really screwed heh.

But if it isn't as bad as you make it sound, then just go to your local auto store, take a new microfiber towel and buy a polishing compound and polish it out by hand.

Wax is to protect the clear coat and make it easier to take bird poop off the car. So sorry to hear about your swirl marks but after you get it polished out, make sure you wax the entire car to maintain the clear coat finish and make it easier to take any dirt, bird poop, junk off the car in the future.

Larry

 

Unless you press really really hard with your nails over the microfiber towel, is that even possible? I personally do an inspection in daily basis around the car for something like that. BTW, I would just put a wetted paper towel (kitchen towel) over the poop instead of doing what you did. I find it much easier to clean that way (and plus, it absorbs so much without degrading into bits). Then, I just polish afterwards. No "visible" swirls, scratches, etc.

 

That's an awesome tip for a lot of people, the wetted paper towel to let it sit there.

I think his swirl marks that the original poster mentioned came from the actual hardened bird poop that was pressed against the clear coat as he was wiping it off and around.. it's very easy to get pieces of it stuck on the cloth and using a good amount of force to get the rest off yet your scratching the clear coat at the same time.

Larry

 

As long as you don't let the wetted towel to dry and stuck onto the paint, it works!

 

Ok so it isn't as bad as I probably made it sound but to me it's still bad . Anyway any recommendations on brand of polishing compound? Interested to hear from the group to see how I can fix up the CS as best as I can.

Thanks.

 

@Enilder:the paper towel is a simple and brilliant idea
@Arii:The HP washer is the way to go,no swirls that way..gonna have to try that
@Bruinxman: you could try a random orbital polisher/buffer along with some Mother's California gold Carnauba wax
Btw,I know this little body shop here that does amazing work..just had my entire hood repainted and it looks better than before(about 800$)
Talked a bit with them and found out to my dismay that the various body panels and trim pieces seem to be held on in the cheapest way possible(clips,screws,fasteners..)..and can thus easily come out of alignment

 

Do not touch a black car with rubbing compound!
You may think you will make it look better, then later on you will see swirl marks. It happens to every black car.
Paper towels with rubbing compound and microfiber. Super duty, medium, or even something as mild as cleaner wax. I once paid a pro detailer to buff swirls out my black suv once, it looked so bad after a few weeks I traded it in.
My wife loves black and can't live with the swirls. After many black cars she finally bought a silver one. She hasn't complained about swirls since.
I don't know exactly which is the best for black. 10 years ago it was 3M perfect it 3 followed by a dark machine glave applied a 2500 RPM with a closed foam (black) pad. I don't know if Trizact caught on. 3M was trying to get painters to DA a black car with 2500 dry followed up with a new glaze, but I haven't been involved as much as I used to. I do know that a lot of body shops think they know what they are doing, they swap rubbing compound swirls with finer machine glaze swirls with a much tighter swirls pattern which show up a month later, and only in the sun. I'd trust a bodyshop over a detailer, and not just any bodyshop either.

My older generation has great clearcoat. 5 years of soft touch drive though car washes and zero swirls in my meteor grey paint.

 

Ok here is an update. Maybe the lighting was poor or maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed initially but it looks like the "white-ish" scratches are gone/hidden after I used some meguiars wax that I had lying around. I did look it after I waxed on a very sunny day so maybe its still there just less obvious. I just don't want it to be noticeable.

 

I took no chances with the paint work and had the car crystal sealed, its a process from japan, they spray another coat of silica crystal over the car ( like liquid glass ), its done in a spray booth then they put car in an oven to bake.

The shine from the car is fantastic, the process is not cheap at a few thousand dollars, but the results are great and no need to wax the car, just wash and your done, comes with a 7 year guarantee, prevents scratches stone chips and protects the paint.

 

That's awesome! Is there a specific name for this process or procedure? Cant' send the car to japan but.. I'm sure or hope there's a place I can do this here in the USA! If not maybe I can start it up from my auto body shop and offer it.. but that sounds .. very appealing!

Larry

 

This is the website, its in Thai but you will get the idea.

http://www.crystalsealed.com/index2.html

Its big business here as there is over 200% tax on import cars, people make sure there cars paint work stands up to UV, stone ships and whatever the road throws at it.

I have added some pics of the car after its coating, no need to wax now just a wash and its back to its shine.

 

I had some swirl marks on my dark blue hood after trying to clean off some bird poops as well. Now I learn from my buddy to use Meguiar quick detailer spray and microfiber cloth to clean bird poops. That stuff will get rid of the poops and leave surface slippery, kinda like liquid wax. Between the Quick Detailer spray and daily dusting with California duster, car wash will not be needed as frequent (unless it rains).

My car came with a sealant coat from the dealer called "Cilajet" which has a 5 years warranty. Sounds like it's a similar product as the Crystal Seal, except this is available in the states. The dealer charged over $1K for it but it was negotiated into the vehicle sale price, supposedly the actual cost is much less. I am not sure how good it is in the long term, as I only had my car for few months. But so far it's still looking great.

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention
It's a bit late for me now,but will consider it for my next car..
Your flawless CT looks gorgeous