Clear Bra 'stains' paint

supunna_picta

I just came back from a place that was reinstalling a clear bra on my car's hood (poor 1st time install), when they pulled it off they noticed some sort of discoloration. It is about a 6 inch line that looks like a brush stroke in one direction, and then lower down on the hood (front corner) some speckles of discoloration like splash dots.

The discoloration most closely resembles a stain as it is smooth and flush and light polishing had no impact to remove it. It is a slightly darker red than the OEM paint and is visible from most viewing angles but not all.

Best I can figure is that some chemical was dropped onto the paint and then the clear bra installed over it and 'cured' for the duration I had it on there. It was not visible with the clear bra on, only after it was removed, so it might have occurred after the fact. Car was basically flawless paint (just over 1k mi at time of install) before original install.

Anyone have any ideas what it could be from? Waiting on 3M to respond as it is under warranty, or the shop says they will rectify the situation.

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2011 Touring/Sport/6mt | winter: 2009 WRX

AdamsPolishes

Whats more likely is that the paint everywhere that WASN'T protected by the clear bra is different. UV fade, swirls, scratches, wear and tear... all the problems of owning a car and driving it have been subjected to the entire car EXCEPT for the places where the clear bra was. Similar thing happens if you de-badge a vehicle after a few years. The places that were covered by the badge look to be a different color than the rest of the paint b/c they haven't been subjected to the same 'abuse'

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TreeSemdyZee

Sounds like a Clear Bra problem to me.
I used a regular bra on a car I had about 20 years ago (when everybody had 'em) and it did the same thing to the paint. When I took it off, it look like the paint was "wet". White "puffy-looking" areas and some speckles also. That was moisture damage.

Kind of makes me wonder about your first install and what kind of liquid they used to lay it down and if they squeegeed it well enough.

Hope you have a good outcome.

supunna_picta

I'll have to post a picture tomorrow. The clear bra was only on for about 45 days or so and the car was garaged for the majority of that - it maybe saw 5 full days outside in the sun since I've been working a lot and unable to drive it. The car only has 2300 miles on it, always garaged so it is definitely more of a chemical reaction from the clear bra vs. UV fading but who knows. Right now it's being pitched about as either a Nissan paint flaw, a 3M product flaw or install flaw... The shop (Intrigue Detail) said they would make right on it regardless of the cause and they have been up front and customer centric so far.

I have also seen some other posts about paint flaws from the factory that sound similar but without seeing the actual cars that reported it, it's hard to tell if it's the same issue or not.

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2011 Touring/Sport/6mt | winter: 2009 WRX

kenchan

could that be the soapy solution they used for the install? if so you can wash and lightly polish it out, and reapply the clearbra.

Spec Jay

i know the solid reds have been having quite a few issues with discoloration

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supunna_picta

End result was Nissan will cover it under warranty work as a factory defect.

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2011 Touring/Sport/6mt | winter: 2009 WRX

sboden

Excellent! except for the fact it has to be fixed but it could have turned out worse.

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09 Monterey Blue 370Z Sport/Tour, Takeda Shorties, Blk Nismo Wheels, Blk Painted Top/Exhaust cut out, Invidia Gemini CBE, Southbend Stage 2 clutch, Lite weight flywheel, Zspeed HD CSC, flat black headlights. Previously owned 03 G35 Coupe 6MT and Volvo C30 R Design.

supunna_picta

It definitely is a paint issue from Nissan, there are additional spots now showing up on the hood in other areas not related to the clear bra. The shop I took it to spot painted the flawed sections that were showing at the time but now discoloration is showing up elsewhere. The car is garaged and I haven't even had a chance to wash it due to painting and new clear bra so it's just aging that is causing the problem, and short time aging at that. This is going to suck if it hits the entire car over time. I really am not interested in a repaint.

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2011 Touring/Sport/6mt | winter: 2009 WRX