Back from ceramic coat plus new trunk spoiler

[Shubacca]

I feel guilty that I don't have a garage for this beautiful car so I figured that paint correction, minimal front PPF and a mid-level ceramic would go a long way for preserving it.

The Tanzanite really looks good under the ceramic, but the biggest downside of this grand scheme is that the white residue from the coating filled in some rock chips (actually a lot more than I expected to see...) on the hood. These knuckleheads also applied the hood's portion of the PPF OVERTOP of the white residue-filled rock chips. Now there are permanent white specks that are basically laminated onto the car. I began going down significant rabbit holes to figure out the best way to remove this residue (from the unlaminated chips) and was pretty dissatisfied with the results of my searching. Consensus across most major forums was to use isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip or cotton ball and clean them out. [No pictures of the white residue/chips - sorry]

My plan for now is to take the car back tomorrow, be nice, and mention the white residue in the rock chips and how it was entombed under the PPF - see what their offer/solution is. Ideally they remove the affected area, clean the residue and recover the last 3" of the hood at no-cost.

Additionally I removed a factory Tanzanite-matched trunk lip for an ECS carbon fiber spoiler. Great price and great quality from what I can tell. Came with enough 3M adhesive tape already installed. I like that it has a GTS style aggressiveness to it but isn't massive or obtrusive.

If anyone has any advice for the residue removal, assuming the shop doesn't help out or for future reference, I'm all ears!

[EricP3]

I just had this exact same thing minus the PPF. I had minor paint correction and ceramic done and now the rock chips on my hood are much more visible as white specs. I haven't looked into a fix so I am curious to see what they tell you.

[Shubacca]

Well, I'm not sure I believe what they told me entirely...

He did say that the paint was actually in fairly rough shape and showed me pictures and videos of them doing the paint correction. When the owner of the place addressed the white filled chips, he said that what I'm seeing is actually the primer under the paint. That's the part I don't buy. He said the ceramic is clear. Yes, I understand that is dries clear, but has a white haze to it when it's applied.

The reason I don't believe him (or thing that he's bs-ing me) is because his guys that did the job were not careful when the did the roof (I have a sunroof) and there is ceramic on the gasket that surrounds the glass - white residue. Looks like when you get wax on weather stripping.

Instead of cleaning that off for me, he said I could use a toothbrush with any degreaser to clean it off. Well, I went home and tried that - nope. The ceramic on the roof gasket is not coming off easily, assuming that's what it is. Looking at it up close actually makes me second guess whether it's previous damage from lazy waxing/polishing or just wear and tear...?

[fiveohwblow]

The toothbrush is a good call, however, I usually utilize rubbing alcohol. Give that a go.

[rmanm4]

Ceramic is hard to get off, even with alcohol. The only way I am able to get it off is using a cutting compound either by hand or orbital. spray and wipe does not work if its a fresh coat of ceramic.

The detailer was not careful and was rushing the job. Its not hard to avoid gaskets. I've ceramic all my cars and i get a few spots on glass when not careful. You can rub all the alcohol on the glass and it wont come off, just have to wait it out!

You can try a very fine cutting compound on a toothbrush and see how it goes. Try it on a small area to test first!

[Shubacca]

Originally Posted by rmanm4

Ceramic is hard to get off, even with alcohol. The only way I am able to get it off is using a cutting compound either by hand or orbital. Pray and wipe does not work if its a fresh coat of ceramic.

The detailer was not careful and was rushing the job. Its not hard to avoid gaskets. I've ceramic all my cars and i get a few spots on glass when not careful. You can rub all the alcohol on the glass and it wont come off, just have to wait it out!

You can try a very fine cutting compound on a toothbrush and see how it goes. Try it on a small area to test first!

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try a little later today. Don't own any cutting compound so I'll need to pick some of that up first.

[rmanm4]

Originally Posted by Shubacca

Well, I'm not sure I believe what they told me entirely...

He did say that the paint was actually in fairly rough shape and showed me pictures and videos of them doing the paint correction. When the owner of the place addressed the white filled chips, he said that what I'm seeing is actually the primer under the paint. That's the part I don't buy. He said the ceramic is clear. Yes, I understand that is dries clear, but has a white haze to it when it's applied.

The reason I don't believe him (or thing that he's bs-ing me) is because his guys that did the job were not careful when the did the roof (I have a sunroof) and there is ceramic on the gasket that surrounds the glass - white residue. Looks like when you get wax on weather stripping.

Instead of cleaning that off for me, he said I could use a toothbrush with any degreaser to clean it off. Well, I went home and tried that - nope. The ceramic on the roof gasket is not coming off easily, assuming that's what it is. Looking at it up close actually makes me second guess whether it's previous damage from lazy waxing/polishing or just wear and tear...?

Also from those pics it looks like you have water spots. Ceramic coating wont allow water marks to stain your clear coat. If it does not wipe away, they did not coat that area. Water marks are really hard to deal with once they etch themselves into your clear coat. You have to sand down (cutting compound with hand or orbital) the clear coat to get rid of them then seal with ceramic. If that wasnt done right, I would go back and have them fix it or get a refund!

[Shubacca]

Originally Posted by rmanm4

Also from those pics it looks like you have water spots. Ceramic coating wont allow water marks to stain your clear coat. If it does not wipe away, they did not coat that area. Water marks are really hard to deal with once they etch themselves into your clear coat. You have to sand down (cutting compound with hand or orbital) the clear coat to get rid of them then seal with ceramic. If that wasnt done right, I would go back and have them fix it or get a refund!

Just checked, the water marks are just from very hard water that was left to sun-dry. Rookie mistake. Cleans off with medium effort.

Also, tried the isopropyl alcohol on a tooth brush and cotton ball; no dice. I'm actually starting to think some of the marks are an abrasion from something. Bottom line, I don't think they are coming out. And the car is so new to me, I don't remember whether they were there before the ceramic coating. Good chance if they were there previously, the dealer I bought from was able to cover them up. So, I think that's what I'll try to do. Guess I'll start searching for something to recolor the sunroof seal all black.

As far as the white residue in the paint chips and under the PPF, I'll take a q-tip and some isopropyl and try and get it out of a few when it's not 106* outside.