Hazing clear coat

C

Carfreak1988

New member
hey guys, my clear coat has a white hazing and I'm just wondering if this is clear coat failure or oxidation (i'm planning to get a car paint restoration) and if this is fixable.:pray1: the previous owner painted the new paint OVER the old red paint but I don't think that should cause any problem related to this. (the haze isn't as visible if theres water or wax on it)



http://oi51.tinypic.com/wagk28.jpg

http://oi55.tinypic.com/6fcqh0.jpg

http://oi55.tinypic.com/2jb73p3.jpg

http://oi53.tinypic.com/2urtiep.jpg
 
Go and find an inexpensive 30X lighted magnifier and learn to adjust and use it, hint, it has to be adjusted with the unit setting "right on" the surface.

Look at it, will take a bit of time to learn the adjustment, using the wheel that does that.

If you see "bubbles" or "small crack lines" in the clear's surface, no saving of it.

It's gone, gone, gone!

Grumpy
 
I use a 10x Jewelers Lupe, found at art supply stores or camera shops, for less than $10, for this purpose. You'll be amazed at what you can see.
 
Brad. if you can get a hold of a 30X lighted, well, you will be amazed.

Not sure, but when I left the company, they were offering them.

We always bought and resold the Radio Shack light, but they discontinued them so I found an overseas supplier.

To be honest, the "quality of construction" was not as good, but they worked just as good.

Grumpy
 
I have both. The loupe is good for casual inspections but the lighted magnifier totally amplifies. Both have their place. The lighted magnifier is a little cumbersome to adjust but paint looks like jewels under it and any damaged paint can look like a war zone. It's pretty magnified.
 
I get a kick out of handing my 10x loop to some buddies, and listen to them go "WOW!", then put the 30x in their shaking little paws.

Grumpy
 
lol, I love waiting for 3 hours just for a reply, and this thread exploded into a lighted magnifier thread. You guys are great. No sarcasm :P
 
Regarding the paint specifically, it looks like it's clear failure to me. I don't know enough about paint technology to speculate how it arrived at that condition.
 
Carfreak, yes, it's a loupe thread because this is the simplest, quickest way for you to know. Regarding the pics, unfortunately they are basically useless. If you could post better ones with proper macro-focus, we could tell you in a more reassuring way.



CC failure can look like this, but also very heavy oxidation can too. All paint finishes oxidize, it's just more noticeable on single stage paints. It is rare(r), but in some instances the clear can develop a rough, uneven, chalk-like finish, which does not have cracks underneath the oxidized layer. That can be polished away using the appropriate abrasives, but the surface must be protected with heavy artillery afterwards.



When you take a *khm* loupe, and examine the surface, you may see tiny little cracks (like the miniature version of dried-out soil). That means the finish is gone. You can improve it a bit again with abrasives, by abrading them down, thus cheating your eye, but the damage is there, it's permanent and usually spreads quite quickly. Alternatively if you apply Opti-Coat/Guard to it, it *may* stop the damage. As it is a high-performance coating (essentially a couple of microns of clearcoat) it will reduce the crow-feet optics, and it *may* stabilize the surface. Still, don't expect it to be perfect and/or durable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top