The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

[Explicit Details]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Here's a clearcoat failure nightmare I can almost bet nobody has seen before. This is a 2 month old paint job that I was "hired" to wet sand and buff for a friend. What you see in my hand in the picture is the actual clearcoat that was on the door, which peeled off like a bad sunburn. The paint wet sanded and buffed like normal, but when I peeled off a piece of blue painter's tape that I had protecting an area on the door, it peeled the clear off with it and it just kept going. The whole entire truck did this, not just the door, I was just flabbergasted, I've never seen anything like that before. It was determined that the cause was a paint additive the owner added to the paint that he shouldn't have. Definitely not your normal clearcoat failure, but I thought you all might find it interesting .

[davidwillson]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Had some fun with my new macro lense.



You can see the tiny cracks in the clear. This is basically a different form of clearcoat failure.

...pollen is sticking to everything, too...

Add me to the group that never knew about high engine temps adding to hood clear coat failure. Very interesting.

[Spidey]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

So is this issue isolated to the Honda hoods due to heat or is the issue throughout the car? I didn't see the answer in that thread.

it is isolated(from what i know) to the hood and fenders.. basically the metal parts that are most exposed to the sun? i am not sure if it is due to the engine or not, if it were, the fenders shouldnt be affected... it could be the painting process for theose 2 parts during assembly that cause those areas... there are areas such as the roof and trunk that people have complained abotu the clear coat cracking and flaking off.. esp for the fiji blue colour on the civic.. http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/detai...nt-fading.html

my roof and trunk lid shows signs of clear coat cracking while my hood shows crows feet..... in the midst of getting honda to see if they will cover it under goodwill warranty

[AWD_Junkie]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

early to mid 90's GM vehicles, especially white pick ups are notorious for paint failure, Hondas also. Both I know from experience. Honda i'm not sure why but I know GM used some really bad paint in the 90's.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

early to mid 90's GM vehicles, especially white pick ups are notorious for paint failure, Hondas also. Both I know from experience. Honda i'm not sure why but I know GM used some really bad paint in the 90's.

Early to mid '90s GM and Ford vehicles had issues with not just clear coat failure but a lack of bond between the color coat and primer. The color coat would literally flake off the primer (and obviously take the clear along with it!) but that is a completely different dynamic than the sort of clear coat failure shown in the pictures of this thread. While clear coat failure can be caused by problems arising in the manufacturing process, it can also be caused by heavy UV exposure, damaging the clear in some way (buffing almost completely through, scratching through it, etc) or just flat out neglect. But the flaking color coat exhibited by those '90s GM and Ford vehicles was all down to manufacturing issues.

On the GM cars if it happened early enough you could make a warranty claim and get the car repainted. If it didn't show up until much later, you were pretty much out of luck - which is exactly what happened on my wife's '92 Camaro RS. Our next door neighbor had a white '94 Ford Explorer with the exact same issue. We both had the cars repainted at the same body shop and the owner said he sees this all the time with those cars.

[RJ Thoms]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

I've got a stupid question sort of relating to this topic.

If you have had clearcote failure and the clear is completely gone but the base coat is still fine (just oxidized), can you buff and polish and protect the basecoat for a better finish ?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

I've got a stupid question sort of relating to this topic.

If you have had clearcote failure and the clear is completely gone but the base coat is still fine (just oxidized), can you buff and polish and protect the basecoat for a better finish ?

Yes and no.

If you do this you may see a nice bump in gloss on the color coat, but it won't last long at all. The color coat in a base/clear system is not designed to be glossy - all of the gloss is in the clear. So trying to maintain even a moderate level of gloss is going to be an exercise in frustration.

[rusty bumper]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Yes and no.

If you do this you may see a nice bump in gloss on the color coat, but it won't last long at all. The color coat in a base/clear system is not designed to be glossy - all of the gloss is in the clear. So trying to maintain even a moderate level of gloss is going to be an exercise in frustration.

Not to mention the base coat is very soft, too.

[Stephan Nijinsky]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

so how can i best prevent cc failure my dark blue Volvo is out side near the beach 24 hours a day ?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Wash it regularly, and wax it regularly with a good synthetic product like NXT or Ultimate Wax. That is really about the best you can do. Keep in mind, though, that if there was some sort of an issue with the paint at the factory (rare, but it has been known to happen) the clear could be destined for failure no matter what you do. That isn't said to scare you or anyone, it's just something that can happen in rare cases.

Remember, the clear coat has a good amount of UV screeners in it to protect the paint finish, and any wax or sealant you apply is a sacrificial barrier that breaks down over time. That's why keeping a good coat of wax/sealant on is important - once or twice a year is not sufficient. Even so, waxing regularly is still not a guarantee against clear coat failure.

[Murr1525]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Perhaps a polishing step could be more helpful as well in that situation.

[Jossy92]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Murr, Here is a stupid follow-up question:

I have a similar problem, so, since I also have a "soft" color coat, I will use M7 (no abrasives) as the polish? Or, use the minimum abrasive to get the desired gloss?
Then the synthetic.

Had to ask, rather than gamble. [Still learning what I don't know.]

[Albert87]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

And for this people i have given my VW Mk3 the Sound Dampening/isolation liner under the hood from the diesel line!

Park it so it will be out of the sun most of the day!
never drive insane that will increase engine temps!

And lots of Nxt 2.0 wax with on top afther 24hours Gold glass Plus

but admin/anyone!
is sometimes Clearcoat failure caused due to bad painting? let say a repaint of a year of 5 ago? in combination of even worse maintenance!

Greetings Albert
from holland!

[Albert87]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Yes and no.

If you do this you may see a nice bump in gloss on the color coat, but it won't last long at all. The color coat in a base/clear system is not designed to be glossy - all of the gloss is in the clear. So trying to maintain even a moderate level of gloss is going to be an exercise in frustration.

Ehhh.. can i add something to that!
mine 95 VW mk3 has LP3G flashred SSpaint! my passenger door has lost it CC on the top part at the window!(was resprayed in 02)
i polished it with Ultimate compound and its still glossy for 1 year now!
but i do wax my car every month nxt 2.0 2nd layer is goldclass plus(for the fun)
use Ultimate wash n wax and when dry i go over it with Ultimate quickdetailer!

Many people on the meetings don't even see that the cc is gone there!
just my words on that! but i do agree that on larger surfaces it a pain the $ss to keep it glossy !

just some words on this matter

[waterxyro]

Re: The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

Can anyone tell me whether this is a case of oxidation or clear coat failure?





If the images weren't uploaded properly, see the direct links below:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5605445260_d18994418f_m.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5605445258_babaca36d3_m.jpg

More detail: there are a lot of tiny white circles in clusters, very rough to the touch and can't be chipped off when I use my fingers. Please let me know whether this is a case of oxidation or clear coat failure.

Thanks in advance.