Paint Finish Question

[Targa Me]

About 5 years ago the front end of my P-car was repainted after a small fender-bender. On that repainted surface I'm starting to notice cracks and water spots. The water spots seem to be deep into the paint.
Is there anything I can do about this, short of repainting?

Thanks in advance.

[rnln]

I experience that once, not prof done. I did it myself. Long later, you see that shown more noticeable.
Why? I want to know too.

[DRACO A5OG]

I would ask Rudy at AXIOM.

From what I recall it has to do to the fact red and yellow paint oxidize much faster than other colors. Also the repair shop probably did not prep her correctly.

The cracking I think is attributed to the primer not drying adequately before placing the top coat or not baking the top coat properly.

I know Rudy and other Body Shop owners can diagnos better then me.

Hope you can color sand and buff it out.

Jim

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

Hope you can color sand and buff it out.
Jim

Only thing that will buff those cracks out is 220 grit in a DA!

[Canuck_Targa]

Unfortunately I think Gary is right, the problem is usually with the primer under the paint. I have seen it happen if they used the older lacquer primer, it dries faster so they can get on it faster, but if it does not cure before they spray it it causes problems with the top coat. I am sure someone who does this for a living will explain it better, but I have done enough bodywork to have experienced most of these problems through doing it wrong at least once.

What I figured out was, the more you rush bodywork, the worse it comes out.

It took me 7 years to do my last complete ground up ( I would be broke and starve if I had to do it for a living).

[DRACO A5OG]

Larry, which insurance company paid for the work, Progressive guarantees work. just a thought.

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

I would ask Rudy at AXIOM.

From what I recall it has to do to the fact red and yellow paint oxidize much faster than other colors. Also the repair shop probably did not prep her correctly.

The cracking I think is attributed to the primer not drying adequately before placing the top coat or not baking the top coat properly.

I know Rudy and other Body Shop owners can diagnos better then me.

Hope you can color sand and buff it out.

Jim

The cracking is most likely due to a low quality paint system, 5 years ago, there were several paints that claimed to have the wet look, at a fraction of what we paid for top notch paint, the problem was that they go on very thick, you've seen what happens to clay when it dries, same thing here. The water spots: low pigmentation, If you are lucky, it may color sand out, but it looks pretty deep.

[Cairo94507]

That looks like poor preparation. I agree with DRACO above; most insurance companies now guarantee for the life of the car the repair they paid for. Give them a call and see what they see.

However, in the event you were a self-pay customer, a lot of body shops will also guarantee their work for the life of the car while you own it. Give that a try too. 5 years should net see paint failure like that.

Good luck.

[Targa Me]

It was the other guys insurance that paid for it, but regardless I'll talk to the shop owner and insurance company and see what they say.
Thanks for the input Gentlemen.

[Buckterrier]

As the other folks said those all could be legit reasons for the crack and spotting. A few more. Possibly to high of a catalyst level in the paint to get the topcoat to dry faster. High DFT, (dry film thickness). I'd ask the shop to read the film builds and see. Primer/sealer should not be more than 1.5 - 2.0 mils and that may even be high. The basecoat or topcoat, if it has a clear over it, should be no more than 2.0 - 2.5 mils depending on the pigmentation as stated above. And if it does have a clearcoat that should not exceed 1.5 mils. My call would be excessive film builds.
The spotting could be from the car put in the rain before the topcoat had proper time to cure etching the surface and or acid rain etching the surface.

Good luck and let us know what the shop says.

[mrm930]

Targa Me - Is this a single stage paint? - Without a clear coat? Looks like a combination of what everyone is saying.

Poor prep, cheap paint, cracking usually results in bonding/reaction between the layers. the cracks do not look like too much material build - those are usually distinct chip like cracks - these look like a reaction from the new paint. The "water spots" could be that they sanded through the new base color layer and hit the old one. Also possible if they shot clear on it - makes it more apparent.

I painted my car and without knowing it sanded through one of the layers of clear and hit the base color. Wet sanded and polished it - then checked it with an UV light. Ghosted spot right at the clear burn through - had to reshoot the hood with more clear coats. Everything was fine after that.

This will probably need to be stripped. Painting over this will not resolve the issue. Something in the paint is not reacting with the base coat. Only way to get rid of it is to remove it completely.

Good luck.

[Targa Me]

I believe its a single stage but i'm not 100% certain.