Major paint defect/lifting on factory aluminum hood.

[SayNoToPistons]

I have an on going problem with my RX-8`s paint on its factory aluminum hood. Keep in mind that I do not have a garage and the hood is completely OEM including the paint (Velocity Red Mica). My RX-8 is an early build of 2004, and it is not a known issue for other RX-8`s. I am aware that the aluminum layers of the hood is friction joined, and as far as I know, there is no corrosion on the alloy itself. The problem looks like it is developing from the foundation of the seems, where adhesive on the aluminum is applied prior to primer and paint. The problem does not exist on any of the steel panels of the body. The paint is perfectly fine for the aluminum doors as well, which has the same manufacturing process. Under the hood is regularly cleansed and dried every time.



This shouldn`t have any relation to the Ford Flat Rock Michigan plant`s known defects for the old Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute either.



From the pictures posted, you can tell where the bubbling initiates. Exactly on the adhesive of the seems underlying the hood. In some areas, the bubbling has spread to the top (exterior) of the hood. Cracks have formed, so I cleanse the area with rubbing alcohol and tried my best to fill the cracks with touch up. I hope the touch up fills the cracks within the bubbles, so water does not get in, thus not allowing it to expand and contract based on temperature changes (especially summer and winter).



Any suggestions as to what to do for a band-aide fix? I got a quote to repaint the hood along and it was quite significant given the multistage mica paint. That also means that it is unlikely to match perfectly, unless I pay to have the bumper and fenders blended as well. I am not financially ready to do that, and I certainly hope there`s a way to temporarily stop the spreading for the next year or two. I have been on the search for a matching mint OEM VRM color hood for the past two months without much success.



Please excuse the dirt . It hasn`t been washed for a week or so and we`ve had construction going on down the street. Yes, the underhood is due for a wash also!



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IMAG1554 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saynotopistons/9381040776/) by SayNoToPistons (http://www.flickr.com/people/saynotopistons/), on Flickr

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IMAG1555 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saynotopistons/9381040950/) by SayNoToPistons (http://www.flickr.com/people/saynotopistons/), on Flickr

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IMAG1549 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saynotopistons/9378254619/) by SayNoToPistons (http://www.flickr.com/people/saynotopistons/), on Flickr

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[Ron Ketcham]

Looks like a lot of refinish work has been done on the car.

Escapes and Tributes were not built in Flat Rock, but at Claymoco outside of KC.

There is no cheap fix for this concern.

[SayNoToPistons]

You`re right, it is Claycomo in Missouri.



Original paint, has never been refinished. Only area of touch up is the bubble with the touch up paint.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Wonder if it`s anything similar to the issue Ford had dealing with corrosion under the paint on aluminum panels due to contamination? They had a TSB for it at one time:



http://www.ppg.com/coatings/refinish/en/oem/manuals/Documents/ford_info_aluminumPanelsCorrosionTip_tsb062515.pdf

[SayNoToPistons]

Perhaps. It only appears where there is some sort of adhesive coating on the edge seams of the panels. I was thinking it might be a bad reaction with the primer/paint and the adhesive itself.