what caused this crazed paint
 

at least that is what I am calling these cracks - let me know if there is a more technical term

the front of this VW Vanagon was repainted in April 2011 - this spring I see this:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369019778.jpg

Poor surface preparation.

Yup.... They didn't get something clean and the paint is letting go. I'd be making the body shop fix that...

Are those cracks in the paint? Then I'd call it crazing. But to me it looks raised such as a reactive chemical get on there.

if aluminum it's called filiform corrosion caused by not properly prepping for paint, greater with polyurethane paint.

no, that is a steel panel

I do not trust this body shop to fix it as they screwed up everything else too.

I'll either take it somewhere else and eat the cost, or try to get them to fix it.

I had exactly that happen on the bonnet of a 2 year old metallic black car. It was bird droppings with little berries in it that contracted as it dried and must have pulled the paint in. The heat from the engine and the absorbed solar heat (from being black) meant it dried very quickly. By the time I got home and hosed it off maybe 8 hours later it had done the damage. It left exactly the pattern you have there.

no bird droppings in this instance

Peter Egan, about 2/3rds of the way through my favorite Side Glances sometime in the '80's... I cut it out and saved it... don't think it's in any of his books... don't know why because the whole thing is hilarious:

LESSONS FROM THE SHADE TREE
A brief look at the backyard restoration of old British sports cars

If you fill a fender dent with Bondo or Black Magic
in the middle of February when the temperature in
your garage is right around zero, the body putty
will eventually cure to a consistency resembling
chilled Camembert cheese. Months later when you
park the car in the hot sun the filler will expand
slightly, creating a crack in the paint that looks
something like a map of Australia.

I would venture to say continued curing of the filler/substrate used in the repair. Some of these material will continue to cure months to years after application.

Could it be due to the wrong activator used with the base or clear?
I think there are differnet activator heat ranges used for different tempertures, which ensures the chemicals stabilize and harden in a certain timeframe.
One layer might have taken a year to cure.

My other guess would be the clear was sprayed on before the base coat was fully dry.
When the clear contracts when finally curing(all solvents evaporated), I'd guess it could pull sideways on the thin layer of basecoat.

That basecoat doesn't look too thick...

Is there any possibility that the car was hit with an egg. or eggs thrown by some juvenile delinquents ? I believe that eggs can do this to paint.

Do all you guys that chime in here even have paint experience ? LOL

no chance of an egg hit - exposed to rain in winter is all