pman6

With a car parked outside 24/7 in the cali sun, there's only so much you can do before the paint eventually peels.

Despite regularly sealing and waxing, my 07 GS350 roof is faded. There's still a bit of clear coat left and it hasn't peeled up yet. But I'm hesitant to do any more polishing with the DA polisher, cuz the clear is looking a little thin.
All I can do now is keep applying the sealant. I don't care if this beater car is not shiny anymore.

I'm not sure whether I should get the body shop to spray a few more coats of clear on top, or to wait and just get it repainted when it goes to sheeeeet.

Not sure how much cheaper it is to sand a clear and reclear now, versus sanding and complete repainting later.

mmarshall

Why not use a car cover? Or is it too much of a hassle to regularly get it on and off? Covers get hot in the sun, too, but at least they prevent the damaging ultraviolet rays from hitting the paint. However, cheap or poorly-made car covers can also abrade or scratch the paint if not put on or off correctly.

JDR76

What sealant are you using?

I may suggest posting this on the detailing forum as there are some very knowledgeable folks on there. That's where I always go for these types of questions.

UDel

If your clearcoat is thin or fading, don't polish it anymore, I would look to a ceramic coating and see what that does, may give you a little more life.

Don't waste your money spraying new clear over fading/old clear because it won't solve the problem, the old clear is still going to start flaking/will still deteriorate and it will cause issues with the new clear you sprayed on it, spraying some new clear over the old clear can help a little by extending the aging process but it won't stop it.

If the clear starts flaking or turns milky the best thing to do is have it sanded off, painted and cleared again. A shop can do it or you could do it yourself with Spraymax 2K clear and a urethane paint for pretty cheap but it would help if you practice. Don't expect factory/professional results but you can get pretty close if you know what you are doing.

SoCalRX

Depending on the extent of the failure, you might want to take a look at this: OPTIMUM CLEAR COAT RESTORER (CCR)

There are several videos about it now on YouTube: Videos

Discussions of this product can be found on several of the detailing forums. It's relatively new. Optimum has been making excellent car care products for some time now. I have not used this product yet, but have used and own several of their other products. I like Optimum's products for their UV protection qualities. My wife and I have a daily driver that we are still fond of that's a 2004 and it sits outside of our garages. However, all the products I use on it have UV protection and we still get positive comments on the car's condition. There has been no paint failure.

riredale

Why would the paint "peel?" I can see the paint fading, thinning from abrasion, and eventually cracking, but peeling to me implies a lack of adhesion when the paint was first applied.

I used to own and fly a light aircraft. Some planes were protected from the elements under a roof or inside a hangar but most were left outdoors in the sun and elements. The most common color was white but there were many aircraft with trim colors. Our aircraft began looking faded after about 15 years so it was repainted (stripping down to bare metal, then chemically cleaned, primered, then painted). As I recall the paint vendor could tell the number of years of exposure by the amount of gloss remaining. But none of the outside planes had peeling paint, just worn-out paint.

Anyway, just wondering what makes the paint on a car different from the paint on an aircraft. One surface is probably steel while the other is aluminum, but both would have used primers so I don't know if there would be any functional difference.

SoCalRX

A relative of ours has a 2007 green Prius that I believe has never seen wax or any other form of paint protection. The clearcoat literally started peeling away from the roof, like large blisters, owed to the clearcoat failing from lack of protection. Whenever she comes over I run my hand over the roof where additional clearcoat has curled away from the colorcoat about ½" up into the air to remove long and large flakes of the clearcoat. Her car has never been repainted, just no real paint protection to speak of.

mmarshall

I'm an ex-Pilot (and Ground Instructor) myself. Paint on a car is different from paint on an airplane in that, on an airplane, the paint and aircraft skin is subject to quick changes in temperature, pressure, icing/de-icing, weather conditions, ozone exposure, expansion/contraction, etc... from rapid ascent/descent conditions, often exacerbated by the aircraft's own pressurization system. Vehicles usually don't undergo as rapid changes in as quick a time.

UDel

Never even heard of that stuff, looks interesting but wondering what makes it different from a ceramic coating and if it will last, stop the old clear from continuing to fade/fail. I am sure whoever invents a clearcoat product that can just be applied over fading old clear with not too much prep that lasts several years will make a lot of money.

cheezz

Can you take a few pictures and post them here so I can see the condition of the paint?

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