Peeling clearcoat ideas?

[Mr_Good_Kat]

I would sand the white areas down with some 2000 grit paper. Just be careful that you dont go through the base coat. Otherwise, it needs to be repainted. There is no way around that. Not trying to rag on you, just don't want to see someone waste a bunch of time and not get results.

[Rdubs]

Originally Posted by Mr_Good_Kat

I would sand the white areas down with some 2000 grit paper. Just be careful that you dont go through the base coat. Otherwise, it needs to be repainted. There is no way around that. Not trying to rag on you, just don't want to see someone waste a bunch of time and not get results.

Update...I couldn't find any 2000 so I bought 1500. Tried to wetsand some areas on where the clearcoat was peeling off. It helped a little on the CC but even without putting a lot of pressure I saw the base coat in one area start to lighten in color so I stopped. I guess it's going to be impossible to sand the CC flaking parts off.

I would try tht idea using the wool pad along with the 3M Super Duty rubbing compound, but I can't find either one near me, and I just have a feeling that anything strong enough to get the CC flaking part to come up would also go through the base coat next to it. Unless anyone thinks that a wool pad with rubbing compound wouldn't hurt the base coat when trying to take off the white part where the CC is coming off, I'm going to have to just rattle can it. Autozone sells Duplicolor spray, if I can find a color match maybe that will work.

[bucket]

You're only option is re-paint (shop or rattle can, however you choose). The clearcoat is gone in some places and no amount of buffing will bring it back. Even if you were able to polish the basecoat into something presentable, it would only last for maybe two months because there's nothing to protect it from UV rays (thats the job of the clearcoat).

If you did want to repaint it, you don't have to go down to the bare metal to do so. Most primers can be laid over other paints so long as the paint clean, already bonded well to the bare metal below (i.e. not peeling off), and scuffed up enough to allow the primer to 'grip' on to it. Scotch brite pads work well for that.

If it were me, I'd scuff the whole car. For the spots that needed it (paint flaking off, rock chips, rusted areas) I'd go down to bare metal and feather out the edges.
Then I would primer the entire car with a high build primer and block sand that. Then shoot with a dupli-color lacquer.

I've used this from Duplicolor on two cars and it worked good. Kind of idiot-proof. It's a ready-to-shoot lacquer that sprays out of pretty much any gun. I've used these cheap suction feed guns and gravity feed guns to do the job.

Even has a demo video:
e/Learning :: Paint Shop

And heres someone's review of it:
Painting with Dupli-Color Paint Shop - Tampa Racing


The best part is theres no re-coat window. So two years down the road, you could scuff the car again and lay down another layer of clear (if it needed it). Then wetsand and buff to a smooth Autopian finish. And you could repeat everytime you felt the paint was too thin from buffing/polishing and needed more clear.

[Infraggable Kru]

Originally Posted by Rdubs

Hi all,
Well I spent some time with it today and tried some different things. No sanding yet because want to only do that as a last resort, and only once I've resigned myself to having to repaint it.
I first tried some of that Meguair's Ultimate Compound and it really wasn't that ultimate. It definitely made it look better than it was, both on the base coat parts and the parts where clearcost was still on, but I wanted to try different things. I tried some old Deep Crystal paint cleaner I had left over and that was kind of eh too. Then I found some 3M Rubbing Compound (Perfect-It II) and that was great. It brought the parts where the CC was still on almost back to a mirror shine, and the base coat parts seemed to come back to life.

The only issue is the transition - those white areas in the photo where the CC is starting to come up but hasn't flaked off yet. What I'd like to do is remove that white transition area so I get a clean break between base coat and clear coat, and then spray on a new coat of CC over everything. Any ideas on how to try to get that white transition area to go away?

wow you just can't help some people

we gave you the right advice, and you still decide to go out and try products we've told you don't work

Everyone, even the people in MR2OC have been telling you this, are you that dense that it doesn't make sense ?

You can't fix or polish clear coat failure

[bufferbarry]

holy ****. thats impressive for spray paint. damn!

[Rdubs]

Originally Posted by Infraggable Kru

wow you just can't help some people

we gave you the right advice, and you still decide to go out and try products we've told you don't work

Everyone, even the people in MR2OC have been telling you this, are you that dense that it doesn't make sense ?

You can't fix or polish clear coat failure

Wow, good job Kru. Now if only you could read, your sharp wit would be an asset to you instead of making you look foolish in front of everyone reading this. You say "You can't fix or polish clear coat failure" as if that was this thread's intent. The intent of my post was to see what might be tried before painting over it to make it look less terrible. It's clear that the only way to FIX CC damage is repainting, but maybe it was this line in my original post that you're either unable or unwilling to read: "I'm just trying to get it to look more even". As in, not trying to fix it. Talk about dense.

FYI in the future - after learning how to follow a thread a little better - you may want to be less insulting with your comments. You also managed to insult Setec, wfedwar, GoudyL, David F, wannafbody, Mr Good Kat and a few people on the MR2OC forum - i.e., the other forum members who, unlike you, understood what was going on and offered ideas to try to make it look less bad short of the fallback of repainting.

Bucket thanks for the excellent layout, I'll give it a shot.

[Infraggable Kru]

Originally Posted by Rdubs

The intent of my post was to see what might be tried before painting over it to make it look less terrible.

OH I apologize I didn't realize your intent was to spend money on solutions that won't work, instead of saving your money in order to do it correctly.

Should I hold your hand and tell you that everything is going to be OK. If you don't want honest answers, then you're in the wrong place.

Your original post shows just how ignorant you are. You actually thought ( or still think) that you can simply remove the old clearcoat without damaging the base coat.

I was going to offer you advice on the best way to rattle can your car, but you can get lost now.

Let's just move on. Admit that you just weren't that informed, and drop the issue.

[Rdubs]

Originally Posted by Infraggable Kru

OH I apologize I didn't realize your intent was to spend money on solutions that won't work, instead of saving your money in order to do it correctly.

Wow this is amazing, you just don't get it. Let me try to lay out the decision tree for you:

Option 1 (try to sand): Effort: Low. Potential payoff: High.
Option 2 (repaint): Effort: High. Potential payoff: High.

So given those two options, by your logic, you choose #2 first. Brilliant.

I can't spell it out any easier than that for you. Yes I spent $10 to have a small chance to avoid re-painting. I got over it. Please do the same.

Your comment about being ignorant, again you just insulted the nice group of people who proposed different ideas. I swear you either can't, didn't or don't read...please read what I wrote in the paragraph that begins with "FYI".

I'd say quit while you're ahead, but with coming across the manner in which you did, you never had that option.



I think it's safe to say this post has devolved. Thank you to everyone who offered different approaches on trying to work with the busted CC, it was a great learning experience.