So after a winter of having my car sit and get snowed on under a car cover, my CF hood seems to have taken a beating. The Clear on it seems to have been damaged somehow. However, the finish still feels smooth and when the hood is wet, it looks good as new. Before I refinish it, I figured I would simply try to buff it. What kind of compound/ fluid should i use to buff the hood with? I'll post pics up later today when I get home from work so you can hopefully see what I'm talking about. Thanks!

*EDIT*

Here are the pics! Let me know if you guys think I'll be wasting my time buffing it or if I should just re-finish it.





Modified by freakyjason at 3:35 PM 7/7/2009
Modified by freakyjason at 4:14 PM 7/7/2009

Does anyone know how this might have happened so i can try to avoid it in the future?

Ouch.

If it was me, I'd start with a good cleaning and clay baring. From there, a light polish could help. Do you have a porter cable or other polisher/buffer?

Clay baring? I dont have a clue what that is! I dont have a porter cable (nor do I know what it is) and was going to try simply using a buffing wheel on my drill with some rubbing compound. Tell me more about this clay baring thing though.

You may want to call a local bodyshop then.

Claybaring removes impurities off the clear. Without doing that, when you start to polish, all those tiny bits of dirt that would have stuck in the claybar become tiny abrasive clear coat scratchers.

Polishing with a drill, gosh...this is dangerous, but do-able in the correct hands. You also need to know about polishing pads and compounds. This is why I recommend a local body/paint shop.

Yeah, perhaps I should get it professionally done seeing as I have no clue about body work. I have no money for that whatsoever right now though so I'll continue to do some research. Have you ever heard of using peanut butter to remove oxidation? I'm skeptical, but I know people who swear by it for some reason.