The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Clearcoat Flaking off......What now ?

I'm wondering what to do with a 90's GM product which has the clearcoat flaking off.

It's black in color with the clear missing in spots and with areas where the clear is hazy looking and rough to the touch.

Can this be sanded and cleared again or are we talking do the B/C paint job over again.

It's a good ride in great shape, low miles, but of course it's not worth the cost of a complete new paint job, which is why I'm looking for the low dollar fix.

Dan

I had the same problem with my 99 Dodge pickup. I tried a few things but nothing worked very well. I tried the rattle can clear coat after lightly sanding, it just mad the spot stand out more! I finally gave up on trying to repair it!

re-paint is about the only option-my buddy has made a fortune re-painting 90s GM trucks. The sun just kills clearcoat.

The sun is only one part of the problem. All the car companies had a problem with thier paint process back in the late 80's and early 90's. Main problem was adhesion, stripping and painting is the only fix.

The specific problem with those paint jobs was water base paint systems. The car companies were experimenting with water base paints in an attempt to meet government VOC laws. They used water basecoats and then topcoated with urethane clear coats. The urethane clear did not fully adhere to the base and you guys have seen the end result, in some cases the basecoat would de laminate from the factory sealer. I painted a lot of "peelers" during the early 90s as well, GM seemed to have the most problems.
Our best results were with razor blade scrapers, it takes a little practice but in most cases the clear would come off rather quickly. We would sand the base with 320 on an orbital sander. The base will ball up and clog the paper so you will need to change your paper out regularly. Then wipe down with a good wax/grease remover and seal.