Paint issues -- How to fix?

[sCeRaXn]

Well, to make a long story short, my B5S4 has been parked in a carport since November. The carport is closed in on three sides, and i had the car backed in to where the front was facing out towards the open side. Since there was still a good ten feet between the front of the car and the end of the carport i didnt think much would get on it, but i was wrong. Ive gone out there once a month to crank it and let it run for a while and i noticed there was a good coat of dust and pollen on it, but i didnt think much of it. Finally had some free time yesterday so i pulled it out to wash it and immediately noticed the paint on the hood and the portion of the roof closest to the windshield was faded badly. I thought it was just dirty, but washing it did absolutely nothing. My question is; What caused this and how do i fix it? Would a normal clay and wax fix the issue or will it need a pros touch? It almost looks like its faded from the sun, but it only gets maybe an hour of direct sunlight each day so thats not likely. It was washed and waxed a few months before i parked it if that matters.

Heres the only decent pics i could get. The hood is a lot worse than the roof, but i couldnt get a good pic of it. In these pics you can see the faded paint on the right and the decent( but pollen covered lol) paint on the left.





Thanks in advance.

[helix139]

Looks like oxidation. If you have access to a DA, you'll probably need to polish and/or compound to remove.

[sCeRaXn]

DA = Dual Action polisher? Ive never done any kind of paint correction or anything like that so i dont know much about this kind of thing. Ive clayed and waxed cars by hand on many occasions though. Could i do this by hand or is it something that ill need a DA for?

[helix139]

DA = Dual Action polisher? Ive never done any kind of paint correction or anything like that so i dont know much about this kind of thing. Ive clayed and waxed cars by hand on many occasions though. Could i do this by hand or is it something that ill need a DA for?

Yes, DA = dual action polisher. You could try to clear that up by hand with some compound, but given the hard clearcoat on Audis you would be much better served by tackling it with a polisher.

[TOGWT]

You could try a chemical paint cleaner (Klasse AIO) but as stated Audi paint is usually very dense (hard) so a machine polisher will help

[VroomVroom]

At first glance, that looks more like some sort of nasty residue than oxidation to my eyes. Oxidation that bad takes either many months, or serious exposure to something like nitric acid, to develop. How does it feel to the touch? If it's sticky, that should give you an idea that it's on the surface, as opposed to the clear or color coats breaking down. By all means, try a clay bar, or something like Meguiar's Scratch-X, which can be found at any parts store.

[sCeRaXn]

Thanks for all the help fellas. Im going to try to tackle this on Saturday and im trying to line up a DA before then. If not then ill just try a little bit by hand and see how it goes. If its not working out and i cant get my hands on a DA i might just pay someone local to do it.

What kind of pads and compounds should i try at first if im doing it by hand? Ive already got clay and detailers spray as well as everything needed for a proper wash and wax, but when it comes to compounds and pads for polishing out stuff like this im totally lost lol

VroomVroom to answer your question its definitely not any kind of sap or residue. It feels almost rough to the touch. Actually rough is a bad way to explain it, it just doesnt feel quite as smooth as the paint thats still in good condition. The only sticky part was where my auto dimming mirror puked all of its liquid onto my drivers side door

[Epa7]

At first glance, that looks more like some sort of nasty residue than oxidation to my eyes. Oxidation that bad takes either many months, or serious exposure to something like nitric acid, to develop. How does it feel to the touch? If it's sticky, that should give you an idea that it's on the surface, as opposed to the clear or color coats breaking down. By all means, try a clay bar, or something like Meguiar's Scratch-X, which can be found at any parts store.

+1 looks like goop on the paint to me, not oxidation given the time and exposure. Definitely start with clay and see what happens before diving into correction.