Honda paint defects on the hood

T

TedNugent

New member
This is a mid-2000`s Honda Element. Forgive the photo, it`s over a year old and was taken before a wash and detailing. Nevertheless, it illustrates the problem fairly decently.

See the "grains of rice" in the hood paint? I`m told many Hondas of this era had the identical problem, usually on the hood only. Honda paid to have some hoods repainted, but the Element was not included in that campaign.

I don`t care that much about the paint defects as this is a daily driver, and they`re hard to see further than five or ten feet away. I`m more concerned about peeling paint / loss of clear coat years down the road as I intend to keep this vehicle for a long time. Although I detailed this vehicle a year ago, I did so very cautiously and didn`t get the best result.

1. Do I dare use a DA polisher on this hood? If no, what method should I use?
2. Do I dare use compounds on the hood?
3. What protectants would be appropriate to keep the paint intact as is over the long term?

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Ted Nugent- As I think you suspect, that`s an indication of failing clearcoat. I`ve had to deal with that a few times, including currently on my `93 Audi, which I`m *not* having repainted. Naysayers predicted total failure, but it`s never happened to me.

Aggressive correction would only lead to more trouble down the road, I wouldn`t thin it much more for any reason. Some gentle correction shouldn`t make things appreciably worse but buff off the polish before it flashes to avoid white residue that could be a PIA to get rid of. Yes, I`d use a DA/RO polisher on it.

Repeating for emphasis- Watch out that you don`t end up with product residue in the problem spots.

I`ve been able to keep the compromised clear (and even the exposed pearl and basecoat layers) OK by just keeping it well LSPed and avoiding UV exposure as much as possible. I fully expect the paint to stay OK too and while my car`s pretty pampered it might work out OK for you too.

Same ol` same ol`....my durable LSP recommendations are the usual: Collinite Wax, heavily layered KSG, or of course FK1000P (which is what`s on my `93 now). As with the polish, remember to buff the product off before it flashes completely to avoid the white residue issue (working smallish areas will be a big help with both polishes and LSPs).

I bet somebody will say "coat it!" and that might be a great idea.
 
I was going to say coat it, but then got to thinking that a coating might just amplify the defects. A good quality wax like Collinite 845 would be probably be best and there are some folks that say that the oils in wax may add nutrients to the paint. The wax will slow the clear coat degradation by blocking some of the UV light. I would not use anything to try to correct the defects.
 
Looks like from your photo..Crows Feet to me on the hood, Just coat it and maybe someday down the road you might get it repainted.
 
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