Bird**** or not paint is terrible.
I have complained on other threads about this problem.

 

bird **** is horrible on dark colored cars, worse than that, bee **** is by far THE WORST on yellow cars...i have tons of spots that i got over the weekend and every single one of them are litterally pulling the paint right off it. And since the yellow doesn't have a clearcoat on it, it looks like almost dried latex flaking off while i wash. totally sucks. went in to the dealership with hopes for a respray and they give me touch up..

i'm in canada, so if anyone knows of how to beat the dealer, let me know

 

Back in the day, Dad applied 2-3 coatings of a product called "Liquid Glass" to the old 1985 Dodge Lancer (Lancers go way back in the family!). That car never saw another bit of wax on it other than those few coats. The car was parked under a Walnut tree, which drips black OOZE, not to mention bird crap all year round. When they traded it in, the dealership commented on "how nice the paint still looked."

I'm convinced the Liquid Glass did the trick. It's method was to "coat" paint with a semi-hardened clear polish and kept getting thicker and thicker with each application, eventually filling the porous surface of a painted finish.

If the clear-coat on these cars is as bad as it sounds, perhaps it's time to pull the old Liquid Glass out and give it a shot...

 

Liquid Glass worked pretty well probably because it's a sealant (not carnauba) as well as zaino and klasse....

 

Btw- Just talked to my body-shop friend and asked him why some of the paint was clearcoated, and some wasn't. Even he doesn't know why for sure, and he has been doing custom work for the last 20 years. He wondered if it had to do with certain colors of paint not bonding correctly with clear coat , color saturation issues, drying time factors of certain paint colors, or maybe just cost factors ???

Interestingly he did say that the Dodge Stealth red had no clearcoat(bet that holds true for 3000gt, and DSM cars as well?), and that he is doing work on an older mid 90's red viper...no clearcoat either. Same with many red Vw's that he has worked on over the years.

Just an Fyi....we are not alone.

N10S

 

The dealer repainted my entire car after it got some sort of spots on it the night I drove it home. I still think it was the black crap they put on the tires to make the wheels like shiny. They tried EVERYTHING to get it off the paint, but it went down to the metal. I think the clearcoat on the factory cars is non-existant. I Zaino'd the car after I got it back with the new paint job. Looks AWESOME now ;-)

 

This crappy paint has me really depressed. My wife and I bought a Black Mazda 6s 3 months before buying my black EVO. She now has 10,000 miles and I've got 5,000 miles. Her car looks awesome. The black is still in perfect condition without a swirl in sight, while mine looks like a 2-3 year old car because of all the swirls.

I even spent 4hours last week doing the Meguars 1-2-2-3 (wax strip, 2 pollish, and 1 wax) to remove the swirls and they've already returned.

Personally I don't think I can recommend this car to anyone anymore. Sure it drive fantastic but in a year or two it's going to look like sh*t. If you pick a color it fades, pick white and it stains, pick black and it swirls. This is by far the worst paint I've ever had.

Even my $12,000 Saturn had better paint. After owning it for 7 years it never looked this bad. This just pisses me off.

I used to be so proud that I had an EVO and now I wish I had waited. Thanks Mitsubishi for skimping on the paint to shave off a few pounds in weight.
If anyone has any recommendations of how I can clear up my swirls, without a new paint job, I'm all ears.

 

first of all, by doing the Meg's 1-2-3 system, did you get most if not all the swirls removed...basically, were you satisfied with the results afterwards?

2nd, what is your washing technique?...what materials do you use to wash the car?...what do you use to dry the car with?...

 

I got most of the swirls out with the 1-2-3 system. I was pretty satisfied but it was a lot of work. Not something I'm willing to do on a regular basis.

I wash the car with Meguars car wash and a washing mit. After it's washed I dry it with a shamoi (sp?). I was thinking of trying a microfiber towel next time, I've heard good things about those.

Today I'm having the car detailed by a professional. Gonna see how that turns out. If it's good I may have that done each month along with my occasional washes.

 

well it sounds like you know what to do regarding the repairs of your paint job...i.e. you can remove the swirls etc...

what it seems like you need to do is work on the maintenance of the paint...Megs Gold Class car wash is excellent...the wash mitt that you should be using should either be a) 100% lambswool wash mitt (you can check to see if it is really 100% by checking the inside to see if it is really leather) b)100% COTTON wash mitt...my favorite brands for any of these 2 choices is VIKING...

if you can, try washing in the shade (i wash in my garage...yeah, i get funny looks from my neighbors but my car always looks freshly detailed) to prevent the sun from drying the water to fast on the surface...

start with the wheels first with something other than your wash mitt unless you got 2 of them (i.e. car sponge)...rinse...then start on the body...i rinse after every panel...remember, you do NOT need to scrub...i'm not gonna get too much into detail because i'm sure this is stuff you already know...

drying...i use ONLY microfiber towels...that is the only thing that touches my car other than the washmitt...they are pretty much the best thing next to sliced bread...you can find some at retail stores or online...even ebay...

get rid of that chamois (or just use it on the windows)...there is no pile in the chamois to hold any types of particles on the surface
unlike a microfiber towel...

after every car wash also use a decent quick detail spray wiped down with another microfiber towel...some very good one's found retail are Meguiar's QD spray and Mother's Showtime (my retail favorite)...this will maintain you paint gloss/reflectivity as well as slickness...

well, that's in a nutshell, a very good way to maintain the looks of your car after you do your Meg's 123 or any system you choose...since you are getting your car done by a pro, you may not have to return to him if you maintain your vehicle's paint...

just remember that you black vehicle is a ***** to keep clean and swirls for ANY daily driver is inevitable...

hope this helps...

 

Thanks EVOwhat. I got the car back from the detailer and it looks wonderful!!! I take back everything I said...it's all my fault that the car has swirls. I must be a car wash retard.

I had thoughts that the chamois might be the culprit on the swirls. I'm going to pick up some microfiber towels today for inbetween when I take this guy my car for full wash, wax, and interior detail.

I am a changed man now that the car look great again.

 

just remember that it's 10% product and 90% technique to achieve a sweet *** finish...

good luck maintaining...

BTW...i know that this is an EVO msg board but i just wanted to share a few pics showing what proper paint maintenance can do...i did my buddy's car in february AFTER our chicago winters...
i tried to take the pictures with direct sunlight over me to show detail...anybody can have a nice looking car in the shade...

 

Remember that swirl marks are where you put them, in other words, you did it

I use an Absorber towel to dry all my vehicles (you can find them at any auto parts store for about 10 bucks) they are better than a Chamois and don't wear out (or leave lint) like microfiber towels. For the polish and waxing I use Meguiar's sponges to apply and then clean Made in the USA cotton terry cloth towels to buff.

When you are washing, drying and waxing try to use long STRAIGHT or arching strokes instead of circles; this will cut down on swirl marks. I too use the Meguiar's 3 step process and always get great results. Good luck!

 

Man, I love M5's!! Nice job on the finish.

Btw- Looks like the prisoner that made that license plate was on acid!!

N10S

 

...thanks N10S...as much as i enjoy speed, i also enjoy a vehicle that looks just as new as the day it was bought... just another hobby of mine...