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Weird Spot Near Door Jams

mk7.5owner

New member
Location
US
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GTI
Does anyone have any idea what this could possibly be? Its also on the passenger side but is more present on the driver side. Its like a weird haze or film over the paint. I tried wiping it off with some quick detailer with zero luck. Think I need to polish it out.
 

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mk7.5owner

New member
Location
US
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GTI
Was it bare clearcoat or did you have any wax, sealant, or ceramic?
I havent put any ceramic or sealent on it but i do use wax. Planning on buying some wolfgang sealent and doing a clay bar treatment soon. Just want to figure out how to remove those stains before i seal the paint.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
I havent put any ceramic or sealent on it but i do use wax. Planning on buying some wolfgang sealent and doing a clay bar treatment soon. Just want to figure out how to remove those stains before i seal the paint.
I think you're on the right path... Clay well (I recommend speed clay to people - worth the cost) and then hit with light to medium polish if it's deep in the clear. It should come out.
 

mk7.5owner

New member
Location
US
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GTI
I think you're on the right path... Clay well (I recommend speed clay to people - worth the cost) and then hit with light to medium polish if it's deep in the clear. It should come out.
Okay I appreciate it. Ill give that a go and see how it works.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Also our ink blue car sometimes will look stained and etched if we don't dry it off fast enough. If I don't wipe it up immediately, it will etch into the ceramic for a few days and then lift on its own. It has never looked as bad as what you've got there, but it does have that same sort of grimey appearance. Seems to always just go away
 

mk7.5owner

New member
Location
US
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GTI
Also our ink blue car sometimes will look stained and etched if we don't dry it off fast enough. If I don't wipe it up immediately, it will etch into the ceramic for a few days and then lift on its own. It has never looked as bad as what you've got there, but it does have that same sort of grimey appearance. Seems to always just go away
What sealent would you recommend? I’m looking at Collinite and Wolfgang. Also do you think a paint correction is necessary before you apply a sealant?The car only has 5,000 miles and the paint is in good condition. Was just going to do a thorough exterior wash with a clay bar then apply the sealant.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
What sealent would you recommend? I’m looking at Collinite and Wolfgang. Also do you think a paint correction is necessary before you apply a sealant?The car only has 5,000 miles and the paint is in good condition. Was just going to do a thorough exterior wash with a clay bar then apply the sealant.
I don't have experience with either one of those.

I've used a large variety of sealants, ceramics, and waxes. Generally they all work about the same, but some hold up a bit better than others. I really like the easy apply 1 year sealants like nufinish, Adam's butter, optiseal, and others. They're all basically tier 1 ceramic coats, but not quite as "hard" as the upper tier of ceramic coatings. They're cheaper and easier to apply though, and don't require days of downtime like some ceramics that have long "cure" periods. When it comes to sealants, don't use a lot, pick one that doesn't have too strong of a scent (to protect your lungs), and if you're having a hard time buffing it out you're using way too much.

It's more about age than mileage for the clearcoat. I had a brand new car from the dealer that I specifically requested they didn't wash, didn't touch, and didn't microfiber a thing and it still needed paint correction. At 5k miles, it's really your choice how much correction you do. The more you correct, the less clearcoat you have, so it's always a question of "what's the least damage you can do until you're happy?" With age the clearcoat oxidizes naturally to air exposure and will get "hazy" on its own, even with no water exposure. It's amazing how much a super light polish does! It's just time consuming.
 

bentin

Autocross Champion
Location
Austin, TX
Car(s)
23 Golf R - 3 Pedals
That looks like cosmoline runoff. Try a degreaser like Simple Green or better, Iron X. You could probably clay it away too, but that's more work.

Yes, a paint correction is critical before sealant, as you'll just be sealing in any imperfections. And factory paint is generally in terrible shape, so 5k miles isn't a good indicator. A full decontamination like Iron X, clay bar and proper multi stage polish should be done first. Wolfgang is pretty easy to work with, I like it.
 
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