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OT Fixing clear coat auto paint

Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Location
marysville ohio
I have a 2000 Corvette, Yellow with clearcoat that is falling off in sheets. About 90% is off. The color coat is in great shape. Seems like painters want to respray the color as well as the clear. Can it just be clear coated or does it need a complete paint job?
 
Many cars of that vintage have a paint issue like that with the clear coat falling off. Problem is the rust preventer, primer, color coat and clear coat are compatible with one another but not all four together. I bet they want to do a color coat they know will be compatible with the new clear coat. Or they just want to charge more.
I bet the factories were changing paint formulas as they went along and there is no good way to know exactly what paint was applied that day in that factory.
I have heard that people who repaint boats figured it out before car repainter. It is really too expensive to repaint an entire boat in one go.
Bill D
 
You don't know how the basecoat has oxidized so its best to remove/seal the old paint and fix it with modern materials. It will cost money, if its not a Z06, the car may not be worth it.
 
I was told that you have a short time after the base coat is applied to spray the clear coat. Supposedly the clear needs to chemically bond with the base coat. Seems like there must some clear that will stick to the base coat.
 
Also it looks 'good' it is not perfect, and not being perfect will be very obvious as soon as the clear is sprayed.

The early waterborne base clears did this as the clear was not as UV protective as it should have been.

They will want to wet sand the whole car to smooth the transitions where the clear is still there. I'll bet the top of the hood and rear deck are bare, but the lower parts of the sides still have clear.

UV damage
 
I think the key to keeping the old base coat is about getting all the old clearcoat off without breaking through the color. If you spray clear over part old color and part old clear its gonna look a bit off. Maybe from certain angles or in certain light only, but it’ll be there.

I just did an outboard motor cowling, made a mistake, sanded out the damaged area only, resprayed color and then clear. At certain angles and light I can barely see my work. I’d rather it didn’t show at all. This is a small curvy piece so I doubt anyone will ever notice. On a big yellow car I think it will show more.

How much more to shoot the color? They can shoot it all in a session, so its mostly gonna be the paint cost isn’t it?
 
I have a 2000 Corvette, Yellow with clearcoat that is falling off in sheets. About 90% is off. The color coat is in great shape. Seems like painters want to respray the color as well as the clear. Can it just be clear coated or does it need a complete paint job?

i would sand it all off and repaint it all. it does no good painting over old paint that has no adhesion. all you will end up doing is painting it again when the clear comes off elsewhere in flakes.
 
I was told that you have a short time after the base coat is applied to spray the clear coat. Supposedly the clear needs to chemically bond with the base coat. Seems like there must some clear that will stick to the base coat.

yes this is true, there are recoat times based upon temp and manufacturer. most are 24-48 hrs, if not you need to scuff the base color before to get mechanical adhesion.
 
I have a 2000 Corvette, Yellow with clearcoat that is falling off in sheets. About 90% is off.

Was the finish waxed often, or never?
Stored outside or inside?

There are a lot of autos with no clear coats. If the base is good then buff it out and maybe use wax.
 
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Last one I did was basecoat then clear 2 hrs I think first coat clear, flash 20 mins second wet on wet if you like, the base coat was dry in 10 mins, no sand on base btw
It was 2 pack polyester stuff with nasty isocyanate hardening
New stuff probably different I suppose
Mark
 
Many cars of that vintage have a paint issue like that with the clear coat falling off. Problem is the rust preventer, primer, color coat and clear coat are compatible with one another but not all four together. I bet they want to do a color coat they know will be compatible with the new clear coat. Or they just want to charge more.
I bet the factories were changing paint formulas as they went along and there is no good way to know exactly what paint was applied that day in that factory.
I have heard that people who repaint boats figured it out before car repainter. It is really too expensive to repaint an entire boat in one go.
Bill D

Just to clarify there's probably no rust preventer on a corvette...:)

Plastic fantastic!!! Had a 07 for a few years, what an awesome experience.
 
Spraymax 2K rapid cut-in clearcoat is available in spray cans and is designed for smaller jobs such as repairs.

You'll need to remove all the existing clearcoat and wet sand the color coat with 600 grit. Wash, dry, and wipe with a prep solvent before spraying.

To activate the catalyst you first shake the can for 2 minutes, then turn it upside down and press the plunger to break the capsule. Then shake for another 2 minutes before spraying.

Normally you can't polish, glaze, or wax for several weeks but Wizard Shine Master polish and glaze is OK on fresh paint within a couple of days.

If you have to blend with existing clear, feather sand the edges and tape well away from the repair. Then tape blue Scott's towels and gently pull back to leave a rounded edge to get a softer blend line. You'll still have to buff though.

The Shine Master will give some protection but for best long term use something like Griot's Garage Ceramic 3-in-1 Wax which has good UV protection and is about as close to a self cleaning finish as I've ever seen. Most dirt just rinses off. Wait 3 to 4 weeks before waxing though.
 
I have a 2000 Corvette, Yellow with clearcoat that is falling off in sheets. About 90% is off. The color coat is in great shape. Seems like painters want to respray the color as well as the clear. Can it just be clear coated or does it need a complete paint job?

There are two types of bonds between the various layers of paint; Chemical and Mechanical. Many paints today can have subsequent layers of paint applied via the method referred to as "Wet on Wet". This method relies on the chemical link between the various layers and only a relatively small time window exists to achieve a chemical bond. Mechanical bond relies on the substrate surface being keyed by abrasive sanding to provide what I call the "Ploughed Field" affect. If you examine a paint surface that has been rubbed down with even very fine grade abrasive paper, under strong magnification, it looks like a ploughed field. Once the Chemical Link time window has expired, then an existing paint surface must be keyed before further paint layers can be applied.

The Clear Coat on your car would have to be removed entirely and this can only be done via abrasive sanding if the intent is not to go back to the original, unpainted surface. To do that on a previous Clear over Base paint job without rubbing through to primer would be wishful thinking. Further, a Chemical Link between the Base and Clear Coats is far more reliable that a Mechanical Link.

If I were doing the work on your car, I would insist on applying a Base Coat, followed by Clear.

Here's one I prepared earlier::D

Car Outside2.jpg

Boot Floor Paint1.JPG

Boot Floor Paint2.jpg

Boot Floor Paint3.JPG

Body Paint7.JPG

Regards,

Bill
 
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I'm guessing (could be wrong) that car was sprayed with water-based paint. If you clear it with normal clear it could react.

I also think you'd have a tough time getting the base color coat to truly be in good enough shape to warrant a clear coat-only. I'd bet if you started looking at the color coat closely, you'd find enough imperfections that you wouldn't want to clear over it.

As for the concept that you have 24 hours to clear a base....many of the paints I've used state that - but they also state that if you go past 24 hours you should scuff the base coat using Scotchbrite. They don't state that you're screwed for good.


As for the car...I'm not a Corvette guy by any means but a 2000 in yellow? Great looking car. There's one sitting on a lot near me that's been tempting me for several weeks now...
 
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re: wrap- I've seen it applied many times but never seen anyone take it off. Nightmare to remove some that was on the side of a box truck I have...Love to know if there is some trick to it.
 
I'm guessing (could be wrong) that car was sprayed with water-based paint. If you clear it with normal clear it could react.

I also think you'd have a tough time getting the base color coat to truly be in good enough shape to warrant a clear coat-only. I'd bet if you started looking at the color coat closely, you'd find enough imperfections that you wouldn't want to clear over it.

As for the concept that you have 24 hours to clear a base....many of the paints I've used state that - but they also state that if you go past 24 hours you should scuff the base coat using Scotchbrite. They don't state that you're screwed for good.


As for the car...I'm not a Corvette guy by any means but a 200 in yellow? Great looking car. There's one sitting on a lot near me that's been tempting me for several weeks now...

I do love the c5 front ends.
 








 
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