You may recall that, for whatever reason, my little Nissan Pao has proven to be some sort of venison magnet, since I managed to smack into a deer less than a year after I got the car back after hittingĀ anotherĀ deer. I’m done smacking into deer! It’s just no fun for any of the mammals involved, and it’s not as cool as those teens that live in the forest say it is. Enough. Anyway, I was told my Pao was ready to be picked up, but when I went out there I noticed something subtle and strange. That discolored area I’ve traced there. What would cause it? Is this the face of some messiah or famous parent who never boned, or some chemical something?
Here’s another image of the discolored area, enhanced with computer magic to make the affected area pop more:
See that strange splotch that looks a bit like an island nation from the map at the front of some fantasy novel? I also sampled the colors from the discolored area and the surrounding paint to compare, taking as much care as I could to find sample points that were roughly in the same shadow/reflectivity areas:
It’s so odd! My bodyshop person was surprised as hell, noting that it wasn’t like that when he parked the car over the weekend, and I believe him, both because he’s an honest man and because I swung by and saw the car on Sunday or was it Saturday? Anyway, I saw no splotch:
The hood and fender are fiberglass, and I think the color is a good match to the original, even if it does make the other, faded fender stand out a bit. You know what, though? I don’t really care. This car is a patchwork of slightly differently-colored panels as it is. It’s part of the charm.
Still, the bodyshop is going to fix it because they’re not going to let something with an obvious flaw like that out on the road. I’m more curious aboutĀ whatĀ could have caused it? It must be some chemical reaction, right? I haven’t worked enough with painted fiberglass to know.
Unless it is a vision sent by some god or other; in that case, should I just leave it? Can I still drive it if it’s become the conduit for some deity to communicate with humanity? Would I need special plates?
The guy in the paint shop started working on some kickass flames before realizing this isnāt the fender of a ā39 Ford.
I say leave it. The Pao is like you, a patch work of parts that somehow functions š
If it is flaw that can break, that is a different story.
May get personized plates? “Oh Deer”, “Deer x-ing” or the like?
VEN150N
Currently on a black 2016 Land Rover Discovery somewhere in the UK!
I agree that it is likely a chemical reaction of some sort. It’s possible the gel coat is failing and causing porosity and and improper seal between the paint and substrate. However, additional sealer should have been sprayed prior to paint. It’s also possible that the organic matter or cleaner used to clean said organic matter leeched into the panel and was not properly encapsulated. Either way, the panel may not have been properly sealed and primed.
Upon further thought, it’s likely a reaction to cleaning agents used on the panel to get the organic matter off.
It happens, even to the best shops and technicians.
Was there blood there that perhaps was not as thoroughly cleaned as they had thought? It certainly looks like some sort of contaminant under the paint could have bonded with the paint.
If it is the mark of a minor deity, you shouldn’t need special plates, but you might be eligible for some sort of reduced rate registration due to its status as a mobile religious shrine.
There’s a special form at the NC DMV for ‘deity conduit’. You’ll need to make an appointment at your local DMV office and bring said deity along to corroborate. Make sure to get the green form, the yellow one is for ‘Diddy conduit’
Smart of you to photograph it such that your reflection wasn’t in the splotch. Take care that you not place yourself in the splotch, lest the splotch place itself in you.
Iām sorry to inform you that is the Mark of The Beast. It happens all the time, small JDM car hits a large land mammal. You bring it to the body shop, and youāre not expecting the body shop to trade your cars soul for access to JDM body parts. But, here we are. Canāt trust those body shops, bunch of Satanist. Youāre really going to need a priest. Depending on insurance you might be covered. Got to see if demonic possession is covered under incidentals.
The Pao has become a Were-ungulate. At night, it will transform into the beast and dart into roadways from adjacent blind tree lines.
Happened to my friends Honda Beat! Guy hits a deer, brings it to Meineke. Next thing you know, terrorizing our small Maine town. So, I go to my friend Stephan, been around here awhile, and Iām like āYou see anything like this?ā. And he tells me, back in ā83 they had something similar. Had to get a bulldozer and just a huge ordeal. But he says āBub, why donāt try a Priest first.ā So we get this old Irish guy, and he gets out to the back forty. We find the Beat out there standing in a bog. Priest puts on some waders and heads out there. Does the exorcism right then and there. Yessir, that Beat been fine ever since.
Was the fender repaired? Replaced? It looks like it could be something with the fiberglass gel coat. Perhaps it’s gone porous.
Might check to make sure the paint didn’t come from the same shop as your old aorta.
Wow! That’s a real inside (Jason’s body) joke, right there.
Maybe you shouldn’t have named your Pao Gorbachev!
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this deer!”
It’s clearly a map of Autopia. Duh.
COTD
Yeah, and as per the rules for nomenclature in fantasy novels where you just rearrange names based on alphabetical order, the protagonist would be Ajnos Chiknorsty in an Ainnss Aop wending his way through the mountains of Autopia.
It looks like a map of Lake Tahoe.
Well, I think that settles it. Autopia is clearly located in Lake Tahoe. Let’s all go lay claim to it.
Scar tissue forming. Keep it slathered in vaseline for a few months.
Alien probe hit your Pao!
At least it wasn’t a Ford Probe!
Looks like ruminant remnant. Luminol and a UV light will show if itās Bambi brains and blood.
So, you cleared up the insurance problem? Or is this a “the-less-said-the-better” kind of situation?
It looks, to me, like a thin spot in the paint. Sometimes things like that will show up as the paint cures, and sometimes the lot boy that details it the morning its to be picked up buffs it ever so slightly too much. I’ve seen both happen, and I’ve caused both as well, sometimes you don’t know how much pressure you’re puttin on a buffer in a spot because the body has high points, or it looked perfect as you sprayed it on but you missed just that tiniest bit of overlap on your fan. Not a hard fix, but it does take time.
That’s the mark of the deer. It shows which deer hit your car so when the next deer comes along, and see it, it knows who damaged it first. It’s kind of like marking off air planes and tanks in WWII except it’s on the car the deer destroyed and not on the deer itself.
Should totally get victory marks on the front fender for each deer the Pao has survived.
I don’t believe that would have been caused by something being splashed on it. The affected area is close to vertical and I think anything flung on it would have run down the fender, making drip tracks.
I’m wondering if the underlying fiberglass patch wasn’t completely cured/stable before the sanding and painting began, and the surface reacted to the primer and paint.
“Looks like Homer Simpson dropping a deuce in the woods while biting his hand, a la Lenny from Laverne and Shirley, Dr. Rorschach.”
And now I can’t unsee that.
Battery chainsaw debris. Has to be.
You may be closer than you think on this one. Good call.
If it matches the pattern on your toast this morning, I’d be afraid. Very afraid.
It looks like the start of delamination. Like the clear is starting to lift.
Your clearcoat is failing already.
Curiouser and curiouser!
That color in the affected area? That is what draws the deer toward your little Pao, inexorably guiding them to run right in front of you at the last moment. Get it fixed lest you have another deer incident.