Peeling clearcoat ideas?

Rdubs · 06-27-09, 01:42

Hi all,
A couple months ago I bought a 1994 Toyota MR2 and now have some time to turn my attention to trying to make the car look a little better. It looks like the clearcoat is coming off. Where it is has turned white you can feel the roughness. I'm not a paint expert but I think that's what it is.

Anyone know of any low-cost approaches to try and make it look better? I don't mind sanding or tons of manual labor (it's a project car), but I don't have the money for a new paint job, even a cheap one. I'm wondering maybe some sandpaper on what's left of the clearcoat and then try some polish or rubbing compound to even it out. I'm not trying to get it look like new paint again, I'm just trying to get it to look more even.

The pictures below, the car needs a wash, all those little round spots are dirt that washes off.

Any ideas to try would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
'Dubs

Flashtime · 06-27-09, 07:52

It needs to be refinished. Nothing else will help.

Join: Auto body and car paint tips, techniques, and information

The answer will be the same; needs paint. But you can learn to prep it yourself.

GoudyL · 06-27-09, 08:48

The clearcoat is failing you need new paint. However as an absolute last stop gap, (haven't tried this myself) you could try spraying on some Duplicolor Topcoat, to create a clear layer over the basecoat.

Xtreme-Klean · 06-27-09, 10:23

See this link.... You need to go down about 4 postings
VWvortex Forums: about the 50 dollar paint job

Very low budget and it may just workout.

Actually, if you do proceed please post some photos and docuements. We all would like to know how it came out.

Rdubs · 06-28-09, 07:19

Is there a way to sand down the remaining clearcoat to get the paint to be even? I'm thinking from there I can either add on a new clearcoat or it will serve as a good base to try something like that $50 job. I've heard that maybe a 1000 grit wet sandpaper would work....any thoughts?

By the way, this is stupid but so am I....how can I tell which part of the paint still has the clearcoat on vs. the part where the clearcoat has already come off? It's easy to see where the transition is but telling which side hasn't come off yet and which side already came off, I am a dee-dee-dee.

Setec Astronomy · 06-28-09, 07:25

it's hard to tell from those pictures, but the exposed basecoat should be more dull and rough than the clearcoat...the problem is when a car is that bad...the clearcoat is pretty dull and rough. It looks to me that the center of the hood close to the base of the windshield is the patch that the clear is gone, there seems to be some gloss on the headlight covers and in that area.

PS I don't know that sanding is really going to do anything for you, if you are going to do it, try a small spot first. Also I think 1000 is a bit aggressive...if it was good paint that you were trying to level out a defect you *might* start with that but you'd finish with something finer.

wfedwar · 06-28-09, 07:39

I have had some luck in the past with flaking off clear coat by just wet sanding (lightly) and then polishing. It's far from perfect, but less noticable. The problem is that I was doign this to an area that was repainted, and I think I had another layer of clear underneath what flaked off. The base coat is usually soft and very thin. If you sand on that, you're very likely to cut straight into primer, which will look even worse. You can try a small test spot with the sanding/polishing and see what you get. It may be best to use a paint cleaner, like KAIO or similar, with an RO polisher. That might go ahead and finish chipping off the loose clear that appears as white right now, and it would probably not disturb the base coat if it is completely exposed.

Thats Fresh · 06-28-09, 03:04

repaint. the best option for the owner.

wfedwar · 06-28-09, 03:25

He is the owner. As a last resort, try TW Ice liquid. It's super oily and soaks into chipping paint like that. It won't last long, but it can hid failed CC.

GoudyL · 06-28-09, 06:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by wfedwar

He is the owner. As a last resort, try TW Ice liquid. It's super oily and soaks into chipping paint like that. It won't last long, but it can hide failed CC.

Hmmm, interesting idea. Funny, because Turtle Wax says that ICE is ment for new finishes in good condition only. Another benefit would be, that the TW Ice liquid has no abrasives what so ever, so it will be very safe on the fragile very thin basecoat layer.

The Ice will last quite a long time if you renew it with the Ice QD regularly.

Rdubs · 06-28-09, 07:46

I bought some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and am thinking about trying to sand down the clearcoat to get it all even with the base, and then spray on a clearcoat. The only thing I'm worried about is the transition areas where the clearcoat has started to detach (the white areas); I'm afraid the sandpaper will sand the base coat down when what I'm aiming for are the areas of flaking off CC.

I also bought some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to try and see if that does anything, but not sure if I can use it on the base coat. Base coat's looking kind of dull.

GoudyL · 06-28-09, 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdubs

I bought some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and am thinking about trying to sand down the clearcoat to get it all even with the base, and then spray on a clearcoat. The only thing I'm worried about is the transition areas where the clearcoat has started to detach (the white areas); I'm afraid the sandpaper will sand the base coat down when what I'm aiming for are the areas of flaking off CC.

I also bought some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to try and see if that does anything, but not sure if I can use it on the base coat. Base coat's looking kind of dull.

IMHO you have two paths.

1.) Get it down to bare metal, and then repaint the panel using spray paints. This will probably result in the best outcome but require the most work.

2.) Try to prep the panel in some way, and then apply a new layer of clear coat on top of it.

IMHO 1000 grit is too rough. and I'd just run the megs ultimate compound gently, over the white flakey area's to polish away (reduce) any loose clear coat. Any clear coat that remains stuck, I would leave on.

Then I'd do the entire panel with some KIT scratch out (or any other fine polish) to make it smooth and clean, giving the spray'ed on clear coat something nice to grip onto.