Is this clear coat failure?

[Dirty Jacket]

http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32760&stc=1


If so, is there a reasonably safe way for a noob like me to address this or is this better handled by someone with experience?
This is a 2014 Estoril Blue BMW that I just purchased last week.

[jrock645]

Looks like it.., If you want pro results, take it to a pro. There is clear Coat touch up paint for a DIY fix. Won`t be perfect.

[Dirty Jacket]

Looks like it.., If you want pro results, take it to a pro. There is clear Coat touch up paint for a DIY fix. Won`t be perfect.

Fair enough. Expensive?

[jrock645]

Fair enough. Expensive?

Im an enthusiast, myself, so I`m really not sure how much a pro would charge for a repaint and such. Somebody else can chime in on that

[Wing Commander]

I am not seeing the clear coat failure in the picture? I see what looks like a easy to correct spot that I would use a swirl remover on first then after that if it still does not show improvement post up another picture and lets see a little clearer.

[Dirty Jacket]

I am not seeing the clear coat failure in the picture? I see what looks like a easy to correct spot that I would use a swirl remover on first then after that if it still does not show improvement post up another picture and lets see a little clearer.

I hope you`re right but I fear that this is failure. I`m polishing the car this weekend and will upload a new picture then.

[tom p.]

The paint was damaged (stone strike or some other flying object) and the clear coat is lifting. Personally, I`d attempt a self-repair and then continue to monitor to see if it gets worse.

That chip would be a nice candidate for Dr Colorchip. You can buy a small bottle of clear coat anywhere for a few bux.

It does look like there`s some additional damage a couple inches from that chip. I`d probably do a bit of polishing and attempt to smooth that area out.

[RTexasF]

All I see is two chips and maybe a little bird poo. Fill in the chips & polish after the paint has dried completely.

[DaveT435]

I was thinking it looked like a chip that took a little clear coat with it. I would say Dr Colorchip would fix it right up.

Right, two chips one that took some extra clear with it. Missed the second chip on the first look.

[rlmccarty2000]

Doesn`t look like clear coat failure to me either. I would really be surprised if a car that new had cc failure. Can you feel the spot? If it is an indentation, go with a drop of Dr. Colorchip. I looks fixable.

[Accumulator]

Looks like a chip to me too. Rather than DrColorchip (pigmented single stage, at least the ones I`ve used from them) I`d get some clear touchup and fill the chip with that.

[xtremekustomz]

The one in the middle looks like a rock chip or something like that. The top right looks like clearcoat delamination. What part of the vehicle is that on? If it is delam then it can be fixed one of two ways. Either sand the area with some 320 until it stops chipping, apply some primer, sand with 500-800 grit wet, scuff the rest of the panel with a grey scotchbrite and some scuff paste, apply base over primer and blend into adjacent area and clear the whole panel. The other way would be to strip the whole panel to the metal and start over. That would include blending into adjacent panels though. That or just do as others suggested. Big name brand paint manufacturers have a tough time getting color to match 100% perfect. On top of that there could be 10+ color variants so I`m not sure how Dr. Colorchip could get their matches perfect.

[rlmccarty2000]

The Dr. Colorchip paints are very, very close. If you get 6 inches away you can usually see its touch up paint, but it`s darn good.

[Accumulator]

xtremekustomz- Will all due respect for your incredible skills, I wouldn`t recommend that anybody do any kind of sanding...like, ever. I honestly put it in the "if you have to ask, you shouldn`t do it because you`ll trash things" category. Absolute "Don`t try this at home, kids!" stuff.

There are *countless* threads here that start "...I wetsanded my paint.." and the only response that ever fixes stuff is "take the car to a guy like xtremekustomz and pay him to fix it."

Sure, plenty of us here do it with great results, but we`re not asking Qs about it either, we learned what`s-what long ago (sometimes the hard way ;) ).

Gee, the above must set some new record for scare-quotes, even from me :o

[Accumulator]

Even taking another look at it, specifically that one chip that *could* stand a little color/basecoat...I think I`d still recommend just putting on a dab of clear and see it that`s good enough. The DrColorchips might work better if it`s done right, but I just don`t know if the diff would be worth starting a bigger touchup project or not. Would *I* do it...probably, but that`s me.