Touching up paint issue - pictures inside

[akursey09]

Hey everyone, first post here! I bought a 2011 hyundai sonata SE about 2 weeks ago, it must have been a lease - 40,000 miles. I've washed, waxed, and detailed everything to the best of my ability, and I'm pretty happy with the overall results.

However, there are these paint problems that I've never seen before, and I'm not sure how to handle them. They're mostly in the normal places (front bumper, hood, mirror), but there are some in weird places like on the support columns for the cabin and on the roof. There are also a lot of them - probably about 30 in all around the car. They all have a common theme - a small chip down to red (a few down to the primer), with the clear coat kind of separating around them in a circle extending about a 2mm-4mm radius. My hypothesis is that the previous driver got paint chips in his clear coat, never dealt with them, maybe lived in a hot area, and they got worse over time.

What I don't know how to handle is where to put the touch-up paint/clear coat. Should I cover the entire radius of the problem area, or just the place where the clear coat is damaged? I feel like either way is going to look a bit weird. I've also heard of people suggesting ripping away the clear coat that is bubbled up with masking tape. I'm looking for both cosmetic improvement and sealing to prevent further damage.

I can get more pictures if there are any questions about the paint damage.

For some reason my pictures are upside down - hence the tree in the lower corner of the mirror picture. The other picture is of the front bumper - the headlight should be on the top, not the bottom of the picture. Also, sorry about the size...I'm just pretty bad at photo hosting as a whole, I suppose

Thanks!

[Detailing by M]

Re: Touching up paint issue - pictures inside

cheapest solution is to use touch up paint.
But that might not stop the clear coat from separating from the base coat.
Because these weren't dealt with when they happened the CC started to peel away from the Base coat of paint. Now if that bond between the CC and the BC isn't broken yet by the exposer then you shouldn't have any more CC failure and you'll be left with paint blobs you'll have to sand and buff out.
The better way to fix these is by using Dr. Color Chip. Get the road rash kit and you'll be amazed at the results.

[akursey09]

Re: Touching up paint issue - pictures inside

I've looked at Dr. Color Chip - my issue/fear is that all of my chips will look like nipples, i.e. chip corrected, but clear coat still separated...should I remove as much clear coat as I can from around the chips? Is there a way to get the clear coat to reattach?

[Detailing by M]

Re: Touching up paint issue - pictures inside

DCC doesn't leave blobs, touch up paint does.
You have chips all the way to the primer as you stated.
Any form of CC failure/damage can't be corrected. You can only put paint on it in the form of DCC, touch up paint or a compleat re-paint.
Your dealing with a chemical bonding issue and there is nothing none of use can do about it.

[tguil]

Re: Touching up paint issue - pictures inside

I've looked at Dr. Color Chip - my issue/fear is that all of my chips will look like nipples, i.e. chip corrected, but clear coat still separated...should I remove as much clear coat as I can from around the chips? Is there a way to get the clear coat to reattach?

You are dealing with problems that may not be all that repairable without a repaint. Don't remove any more clear coat and no, you cannot reattach clear coat. I have never used Dr. Color Chip. I do my touch ups using regular paint. I have used this technique for my touch ups. It might work for you.http://guidetodetailing.com/how-to-r...eep-scratches/ Do the color touch up and then extend the clear coat and then sand and polish. Might work if you are very patient

Do an Opti-Coat Google search. Maybe the folks who use Opti-Coat might have some suggestions.

Tom