Can you manually repair a small section of failed clearcoat?

[evomacky]

I was just curious. My gf's 95 camry has a small section where the clearcoat has already failed. Is there any way to sand the white/failed section to level it out and then spray some aerosol clearcoat on it, and maybe re-sand and buff/polish? we were just thinking of doing an experiment, but not sure how doable or realistic this would be. we're not expecting to make it look like factory, but its just to maybe prevent the clear from tearing off.

Any help, tips or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[scapegoat]

Re: Can you manually repair a small section of failed clearcoat?

No is the answer , After you sand the clear . You must spray the base coat ( color ) before applying clear coat . Also you can't spot the clear coat You have to spray the complete panel .

[evomacky]

Re: Can you manually repair a small section of failed clearcoat?

thats what I figured. if anything, we dont really care how it will look, just to kind of *plug* the hole on the clear so it doesnt get worse.

[Poki]

Re: Can you manually repair a small section of failed clearcoat?

It can be done. I had some clear coat failing on my 02 Saturn and a mobile body team sanded it and sprayed it, good as new. This same team has repaired failing clear coat on dozens of RVs in our resort in southern California. If the damage goes beyond the clear coat they repaint then clear coat. But often the problem is caught soon enough and only the clear coat needs correcting

[evomacky]

Re: Can you manually repair a small section of failed clearcoat?

Thanks. I'll give it a shot this weekend and post my results here.

[evomacky]

Re: Can you manually repair a small section of failed clearcoat?

So I was able to do it, and it came out like what I had expected - the "hole" on the clear is still there, but now it looks like the section where the clearcoat failed now has a glossy coat over it, as if someone put clear packing tape over the damage. That was pretty much what I had expected and set out to do - prevent the clearcoat from deteriorating further. plus she didn't care how it looked (honestly I was able to blend the edges of the new layer of clear which looked good for what it is), and she was only concerned with it getting worse.
I'll work on the rest of the failures on her roof and post the pics when Im done. overall, there was a set expectation, a clear goal of what we wanted to achieve, and it panned out. i wasnt expecting to blend the new clear with the old (it was a 20 year old car), but in doing so, at least (we hope) the rest of the clear stays as is and the damaged areas wont get worse.