Thanks for all the replies guys.

This is terrible news. The car is only worth about $10k AUD and a full respray is probably going to run $5-6k....

Clutching at the straws.... if it's a gas from the plastic that has penetrated the clear coat (which is hard concept to grasp... given both the plastic sheet and the paint is seen as "solids" to non-professionals like me), is there a way to "lift" this gas out somehow? I am thinking like leaving alcohol rub on it, or leaving "rice" on the surface (kinda like how rice lifts moisture from water damaged PC boards)?

Really clutching at the straws, as you can tell. LOL

If it is migratory plasticizers there is nothing to lift. They have "migrated" from the plastic sheeting "into" your coating. I can't really comment on the gas aspects but would still suspect that there is no "opening" of the coating which is going to allow things to go back the way they were.....

I just had the same problem on a freshly painted car. I did a quick search, and supposedly Meguires Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish will fix it.

https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showt ... astic-Tarp

I'll try it later today and report back. Fingers crossed.

Pizo wrote:I just had the same problem on a freshly painted car. I did a quick search, and supposedly Meguires Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish will fix it.

https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showt ... astic-Tarp

I'll try it later today and report back. Fingers crossed.

It worked! The Meguires Ultimate Compound, followed by the Mequires Ultimate Polish removed the marks the plastic left on the new paint (I just painted it last week). Unfortunately, I just wet sanded through the flow coat (trying to remove a fisheye), and now have another problem.