Battery Acid

aardvaak

forgotmyname wrote: »

As mentioned it looks like something splashed onto it rather than something thats taken the paint away.

Tar or paint splashed onto it. Feel it and see if its a dip or a lump, the photo's make it appear like a lump.

There is no dip or lump I took it along to the local bodyshop and they confirmed the surface is perfectly level and smooth - they were baffled too.

shaun_from_Africa

aardvaak wrote: »

There is no dip or lump I took it along to the local bodyshop and they confirmed the surface is perfectly level and smooth - they were baffled too.

How old is the car? and has the panel in question ever been resprayed? and did the marks show up suddenly or could they have been there for a while and getting worse but you've only just noticed them?

As the surface is perfectly level and smooth I was wondering if the problem could be coming from the inside rather than the outside.
Maybe there was some contaminant on the panel before the paint was applied and it's only just affecting the topcoat now.

aardvaak

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

How old is the car? and has the panel in question ever been resprayed? and did the marks show up suddenly or could they have been there for a while and getting worse but you've only just noticed them?

As the surface is perfectly level and smooth I was wondering if the problem could be coming from the inside rather than the outside.
Maybe there was some contaminant on the panel before the paint was applied and it's only just affecting the topcoat now.

The car is a 2009 I have had since new so I can say it has never had any body repairs or respraying.

I took it to a accident repair centre who at first said it was possibly a paint bleed but then ruled it out - one of them got a magnifier and thought they could see metallic paint under the stain. They are now totally baffled and have never seen before.
I today tried some white spirit but that didn't work.

aardvaak

Can I now rule out battery acid as the cause?

Strider590

I would say something splashed up off the road, or somebody was using paint near to where it's been parked.

I suggested Xylene in an earlier post, this is basically hammerite thinners, but hard to get hold of.

You could try acetone or nail polish remover, as this should be safe on most cars produced in the last few decades and it's easy to get hold of.

Before you do this though, I would take a flat blade screwdriver, place the head in the middle of the splash, push down onto the paint and across VERY slowly (and only to move 1-2mm) to see if whatever it is just flakes off. Sometimes stuff like this just pops off when introduced to a little force.

aardvaak

Strider590 wrote: »

I would say something splashed up off the road, or somebody was using paint near to where it's been parked.

I suggested Xylene in an earlier post, this is basically hammerite thinners, but hard to get hold of.

You could try acetone or nail polish remover, as this should be safe on most cars produced in the last few decades and it's easy to get hold of.

Before you do this though, I would take a flat blade screwdriver, place the head in the middle of the splash, push down onto the paint and across VERY slowly (and only to move 1-2mm) to see if whatever it is just flakes off. Sometimes stuff like this just pops off when introduced to a little force.

Thank you for your post I or at least the repair centre have already tried to scrap it with no success as it feels perfectly level and smooth.
I will try the thinners or remover - I did try white spirit but that did'nt work

fat-pudding

aardvaak wrote: »

The car is a 2009 I have had since new so I can say it has never had any body repairs or respraying.

It's not uncommon for a brand new car to have been to the body shop before it's sold due to damage in transit.

aardvaak

fat-pudding wrote: »

It's not uncommon for a brand new car to have been to the body shop before it's sold due to damage in transit.

I suspect that is aways a possibility and I would never of known.

The only thing is that at the repair centre they put their tester on the paint to check the thickness of the paint and they confirmed it had'nt been resprayed