Can anyone tell me what this is? It’s not ON the surface; it can’t be felt or wiped off. I was wiping the car down and found a few, much smaller places like it. More to the point, though; what’s the fix for it? Thank you to anyone who can help me solve this riddle.
It LOOKS like your clear coat is delaminating away from the base coat. If that's what it is, needs to go to the body shop for a couple touch ups, there is no way to fix them other then repainting the spots.
Is that a stain from birdie doo-doo or hard water? It doesnt look like its into the basecoat yet. Try a little vinegar on a rag with your finger tip to neutralize it. If you cant feel it, maybe some 3000 wet paper may take it down and buff it out with some 3M compound (on the right). If thats what it is, Ill shoot ya a shot glass full so you dont have to buy the 80.00 bottle. ws
Try the LEAST invasive repair first, that's JUST using that compound. If that doesn't work, THEN TRY wetsanding with 2000 or 3000 grit, then the 3M compound Yachtsman Bill showed 6085 Work slooooow, that's right in the middle of the roll of the panel, VERY easy to sand thru the clear/
Bill, as always, your offer is both generous and helpful, thank you for the offer. Here’s what I have: a Rupes Bigfoot 15 Mark 3 polisher kit with 4 grades of compound and corresponding pads. I started on it with the coarse compound, very lightly and slowly. Nothing. I worked thru the medium, fine and ultra fine, still nothing, but the surface was so SMOOTH! I tried some 2000 wet in just the affected area, and after bringing it back thru the grits, it still looks like that. It’s never been struck by any bird droppings, and I’ve only used filtered water when washing it, which isn’t often, since it sits under a cover most of the time. Does the 3M compound work differently than what I have? I’ll gladly pay $80/bottle if it corrects this. I’m definitely trying vinegar tomorrow. I’ll have a progress report later.
I was afraid someone would say that. I found more spots on 3/4 of the car in varying sizes; most were small to the point that you’d have to know what to look for to know what it was. The shop that did the work was sold to a local “chain” of shops. This has all the makings of a very expensive solution if other methods don’t work.
Sooooo,...I bring bad news,...all that clear will need to come off,...you can spot repair it but in another few months another place,..then another etc etc They either used a different brand of base vs the clear,..used reducers that didn't cross link,..and or waited too long before applying the clear
What Hugger says is true BUT, what I would do, being I paint cars for a living, is roll the dice, and try a spot repair first, THAT would be the least invasive now, since you said you buffed and its silky smooth and still there. A can of worms could VERY easily open up now Im assuming you don't do body or paint, so you'd have to take it to a shop, where they would try their best (I hope) to repair, and refinish it PROPERLY and matching the color (the hard part) and clearing ONLY that panel as long as there are definite breaks, like a trunk jamb, door jamb, belt molding (top of door) NO BLENDING THE CLEAR WITHIN THE PANEL That process is for bumper covers on daily drivers when the insurance company sticks it in your ass with shitty paint time I don't blend the clear on quarter repairs anymore, I run my clear up the quarter and forward along the roof rail and down the windshield pillar. Let us know what yah decide to do
Yep. That’s what kept me up all night. Thinking that I’d need a respray. The color is quite custom; I kinda played mad scientist with House of Kolor paint (but I kept the recipe). Like I said earlier, some of the other spots are small enough that you need to know what they are, but others, like my example, stick out from across the street. I know the clear went on about 3 days after color sanding; I have no idea if that was too long. I’ll check today and report back. Thank you for the insight!
I know the clear wasn’t the same brand as the paint (House of Kolor), but it was just as expensive. Don’t know what reducers were used. And I also thought about “chasing the problem” all over the car. At least it’s a convertible.
Curiously, was there body work done in the problem areas? Are you able to see if something may be going on on the other side?
I've never been a fan of mixing product manufacturers,..now I'm not saying I'm not guilty of it,..but there are only a couple different Hardener manufacturers ..but that doesn't mean they aren't fine tuned in their respective labs once they receive the core product Reducer is the same way,...but there again,..
Yeah Joe, After looking at it, even tho its so smooth, all youve done is polish the topcoat. The underlying structure is failing. After just doing my '64 with a few minor issues that I had to correct midjob, I hope mine doesnt de-lam. All the guys aboves' comments ring true though. You may be due for a clear coat sand off, color respray, and a recoat on the clear. At least the bodywork is done. The painter couldve just been lazy there, or drip some juice off of a beef sammich for lunch while admiring his work LOL. Just trying to maintain a little levity on a shitty problem. Being a total amateur, I may hafta do this myself next year after the car has a chance to "settle out" in the sun and road etc... ws
Your saying the clear was applied THREE days AFTER the base coat??? That’s waaaaay too long, hell 30 minutes would have been plenty of time. Plus you say they color sanded the base? That’s a no no, UNLESS you apply a couple more coats of base coat, then the clear. It sounds like they were trying to use “old school” techniques meant for laquer back in the day when you were doing a custom. I’ve seen a lot of painters do stuff that doesn’t need to be done for a killer paint finish.
I gotta say this about paints today, FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES To me “custom” paint work is the mural, stripping, flames etc that’s under the clear coat, THATS custom, the painter is talented, artistic and I respect the hell outta his talents Just doing a base/clear job is more production style, and there’s NOTHING wrong with that, until the painter decides to add a couple more coats of the clear, then wonders why the finish looks globby and has no gloss, that was fine in the laquer days, but not with urethane, two coats typical, three coats MAX
I’m beginning to see where the errors were made. The color sanding was done, because I have pictures of it afterward. I believe the painter evidently thought “all paint is the same” and did it the way he always did. I’ve been told that there is “a ton of material” on the car, and that might be a contributing factor as well. I contacted the shop today, and I’m not sure, but I think I’m being blown off. So, I’m gonna check into other places to get estimates. Either way, with being furloughed for an undetermined time, it’s gonna have to wait.
I did the body work. There isn’t ANY area with this defect that has bodywork under it. I used less than a can of bondo on the whole car and about 2 containers of polyester. I can point to every place on this car and discuss it with total confidence.
I hadn’t thought about this until I read your comment. If you were going around the car pre-clear, the affected areas fall into the “could’ve touched it” category. I’m waiting for the shop to contact me, but I’m kinda doubtful it’ll lead anywhere.
