Paint Maintenance for Europa blue S6

[Brian Pleet <brian.pleet@ns.sympatico.ca>]

I've owned a 90 90Q20V since new. The paint is red, and after 8 years is
still pristine thanks to lots of elbow grease applying Meguires 3-step
wax. After 112k km, my wife is now driving the car and won't give it up.
Every service visit to the local dealer solicits at least one offer to
buy.

A year ago I bought a 95.5 S6 in Europa blue. This car had been driven
by the dealer owner for 12 months and was meticulously maintained.
Maintaining the paint has been horific!

First, the neighbours cat decided she liked to sit on the hood.
Unfortunately, this cat was not declawed and something scared it off
with 3 sets of claw marks as a reminder. Then someone in the parking lot
decided that their perogitive was to swing open their door at full
velocity. Oops! A tidy $500 repaired the ding and the paint. Most
recently, the office painters tried to save the time of asking people to
move their vehicles from the vicinity. Oops, the car just came back from
the detailers with a cleaning and wax job.

Side by side the 90Q, this car looks sad. Even after a complete 3 step
wax job (3 hours of work), the paint shows swirl marks in the sun. Most
recently (after the cleaning/wax) the front hood looks like it has
developed eczema, with blotches under the shine of the recent wax.

Help! I am not sure if the issue is topcoat related, if the underlying
paint has been damaged, or if I should just let it get real dirty so
that nobody knows.  Love the car. Appreciate any suggestions.


Brian Pleet
90 90Q20V 112k km
95.5 S6 40k km