Noticed this while waxing. The paint is just gone. Nothing scraped it off. The edges are perfectly smooth. Better than sanded smooth. There is also an area where the paint hasn't completely gone, as if the paint is just melting away. The odd thing is it still feels like there is clear there. Unlike the chips near by, there are no jagged edges, you couldn't locate the area by feel alone. The bare part feels just like the painted area. You can't catch a fingernail. Any idea how this could have happened?

 

Body lines and creases will always have the least amount of paint. That spot is what it looks like when someone has removed the clear and base during a polishing process.

 

that looks like something burned thru the paint did you use a machine or have it detailed somewhere?

 

What's the history of the vehicle ?, looks like a bad wet sanding job or someone used an improper polishing machine / materials /procedure.

 

Unfathomable.

I did do some work on the hood, orange pad/SIP. All I did to the entire rest of the car was MicroPolish and blue pad. I wasn't even trying to work this area, just polish a bit since I'd washed with soap to remove wax. This is a Flex machine, blue detailers domain pad and MicroPolish. Very little time or pressure. This isn't my first rodeo either. How in the world did I manage that? The fender and trunk creases get much more "work" than that spot, they're great.

 

I've had the vehicle since 7500 miles. 70k now. All detail work has been done by me, flawlessly, for years. I could understand after a number of polish jobs the hard worked areas losing paint in this manner, but, I've never worked that area very hard.

 

If it is as you say(can't really feel it), then it was burnt through as others have said. Unlikely, but perhaps that area had a thin base coat from factory?

 

So I'm looking at painting. Does anyone know how bad the J's type fenders are for increasing the amount chipping done by road debris? So much of the tire is exposed. If I'm going to have paint, I may replace the fenders, just no if it's going to cause more damage to the rest of the car.

 

You could put some 3m clear bra on the fender behind the tire.

 

definitely looks like paint burn, edges such as those are very susceptible to burn. It was probably just a culmination of past polishing that all it took was a quick pass. Honda paint is very soft.