sc300tttt

I have a 94 pearl white SC300. Recently I have noticed that the clear coat on the panel of the body that connects the roof with the rear fender has been peeling off. It started out very minor, but it was been getting worse. I would say that there is a good 4 square inches now that has no clear coat on it whatsoever. The clear coat is very britle and can be peeled off with easse if touched.

Does anyone know any type of action that I can take to help this problem from getting worse? What can I do to fix the part of the body that has already been stripped of clear coat (ie. where to take it, what to ask for, how much it should cost...)

thanks so much!!

SC300Es

I have the same problem with my pearl white. After they installed my rear glass, they covered it with tape. When I took off the tape it started to peel on the right side. It's also brittle and seems to come off at will.

Ed

Guitarman

More common than you would think...Many car makes suffer this.

It may sound like a copout, but realistically, there's nothing you can do to stop it unless you have some auto paint/body experience, because the root cause of it lies UNDER the paint that is still intact (presently) and you can't get at that without damaging it . A shop would have to sand back the leading edge of failure, then featheredge it well, scuff the entire panel(s) with 800 grit, blend in some NEW basecoat in the affected area, then reclear the panel(s). In severe cases they may also strip the panel down to metal and start over.

The technical side of it can be attributed to quite a few possible causes, but generally UV from the sun and paint thickness (or lack thereof) is at the heart of it in one way or another. The clear gets so thin over time from polishing & buffing, that all of the UV inhibitors eventually are gone (they cure up near the surface of the paint, in the upper .5 of about 1.8 MIL during the paint process) and the UV wavelength from the sun breaks the bond between base/clear, thus destroying the resin system in the clear, making it very brittle.

There are other causes that can be attributed also, but they all come back to one remedy; repaint.

I had to do this very procedure myself (the one I outlined in the first paragraph) on my wife's Miata, which was repainted before we bought it. It started peeling slowly, until It was peeled about the size of a fist at the top corner of the driver's door. I sanded all the lose clear off until i had a solid edge that wouldn't peel further. feathered it well, scuffed the whole door clearcoat, then shot some red paint in the area that delaminated, blended it out a ways with more red, then shot 2 coats of new clear over the whole door. Has been great for 3 years now, no problems.

I was lucky it wasn't metallic since you usually have to blend out to the next panel for matching. White should be easy for a shop to do, so at least there's an "up" side for you. Best of luck!

You could spray some clear (shaker can) on the area, but the thing that's caused the delamination will still be at work underneath, and continue.

sc300tttt

man that was a flawless respone...I really appreciate it...i couldnt have asked for a more clear and consice (sp) answer to my question. Also just to mention, I noticed you are from Ormond Beach, I live in Timber Creek (next to breakaway) Just thought I would mention it.

Guitarman

No way! That's incredible, small world eh?

PM me if you want to meet up sometime, I'm in Tomoka Oaks, next to the Trails. I'd love to see your car and if I can ever help you out with anything detail related,- scratches, advice etc. I'd be happy to, no charge of course, kind of a CL Semper Fi.

I 've actually detailed a few cars in Tymber Creek over the years, and many in Breakaway. I was actually just there for 2 on Monday.

Dan H