mrshabo

Well there is a area on my car where the clearcoat of the paint is falling off (by the passenger mirror). Is there anyway to keep it from continuing to peel off? It's been getting worse and worse.

Guitarman

Has the car been repainted at some time?

Unfortunately, there's little you can do because the UV rays break it down more and more, even if you try and put some brush on clear touch up over the edge where it's happening, you'll see it delaminate behind the edge, and lift. I had this happen on my wife's Miata (red) and the only thing I could do was repaint it, which I did myself. It had been repainted on a couple panels before we bought the car and they either wetsanded it too thin ( UV damages the clear when the UV inhibitors in the paint get buffed or sanded away when someone isn't cautious when buffing or wetsanding and removes too much paint ) and the resins fail then lose their bond to the basecoat. Either that or there was a bonding issue if it was ever repainted, such as too long a flash interval or improper prep.

If it's original paint, it most likely got so thin that the bulk of the UV inhibitors were gone and then it's just a matter of sunlight and time. I rarely see this on Lexus cars though, but the fact they are more likely garaged cars helps them hold out a lot longer when this scenario is happening.

You can slightly slow it by dabbing some touch-up clear on it, but it will still continue on unfortunately. Sorry I can't give more hopeful news Mrshabo.

Getting that panel repainted would likely be $200-$300 generally. Good luck.

mrshabo

ahh.. it's original paint. i guess i'm just gonna leave it as is for now until it starts getting really bad then i'll repaint it. thanks for the info

exceldetail

What yr is your MM ? I dont believe they started clearcoating until about 97-98.....You may have an issue with your dealer ?

mrshabo

mine is a 93. if i don't have a layer of clearcoat then i dunno what that layer of clear stuff is... lol

jfelbab

A picture would help. What color?

In the mean time, I'd try some clay followed by a paint cleaner like Meguiar;s Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner then polish and wax. I'd probably use a polymer sealant as opposed to a wax.

exceldetail

Id put my money on the fact there is no clear coat.......How long has it been doing this ? Do you plan on keeping th Miata ?

mrshabo

i've had this problem since i bought the car and that has been a year now.


What Miata?

Guitarman

They're right, the early Miata's don't have clearcoat, but ours has it on 3 panels. It was evidently painted that way prior to our buying it, after an accident or some cosmetic damage (the car steers and drives perfect so it couldn't have been too bad).
The rest of the car is S/S paint, but the driver's door, D/S rear quarter and rear bumper were clearcoated. The driver's door is what started peeling first, then a spot on the rear qaurter, then a few tiny spots on the bumper. i just feathered it down, blended in some base on those areas, and recleared each panel.

In our Miata's case, the panels in question were wetsanded ( I can tell -it's really flat ) and they might've sanded them too thin. Either that, or they had poor prep or long flash times between base & clear.

They are great little cars though, we've had it since 1998, and it's an incredibly reliable car for my wife. She does drive the GS400 a couple days (sunny days) a week. though too.

exceldetail

Sorry for the confusion, my bad. I dont know why i had miata on my mind in a Lexus forum.....Must me something subliminal with Guitarman....lol
Mr Shabo, im not sure you mentioned what underneath whatever it is that peeling ?
Sound like your right, just wait until you can save up some $ for a paint job.....