Flaky lacquer??

sogood

I have to do some, thankfully, minor cosmetic jobs to my new baby, largely in the form of correcting some flaking/peeling lacquer, or top coat as its sometimes called. This is the clear lacquer which is applied over the paintwork on the body. It has cracked, and peeled in parts and I was wondering about the best way to repair it. I may yet leave it to a professional, but having done numerous minor body repairs in the past, I'm happy to tackle it if I know what I'm up against. I'm thinking about cutting it back, especially around the slightly raised edges, or lip, getting back to the good stuff. Would T cut be the best man for the job or is there a better product for this, like some sort of specific rubbing compound. Also, would the paint underneath need to be touched up, or does the lacquer create the real gloss/ shine in the finish, after it has been buffed that is. Any thoughts or suggestions most welcome.

TomMc

If it is peeling off it needs a respray. You can give it a polish if you like and reapply some clearcoat yourself, but it will probably look like a botch job. I'd say the panel was resprayed and no primer was used or else a new clearcoat was applied over the existing base colour. Either way poor prep work. You are fighting a losing battle as what looks fine now will probably start peeling into the future.

The clearcoat is what adds gloss, depth and uv protection to the base colour coat. Without it paint colour would fade fairly quickly.

Neilw

^^What the man said, respray is the only way to fix it properly.

MetzgerMeister

Good advice Tom. PaintDoctor on here would be able to give you more advice if you want it.

Owen

Gotta agree with Tom, a respray is the only cure, whatever has caused this - and it's probably poor prep - may come back to bite again on an area which is currently good.