I have a 96 Accord that is Flamenco Black Pearl and has a failed peeling clear coat on the trunk and roof. It is also starting on the hood with a few white spots. I was considering repairing this myself and I was looking to get some insight into successful fixes that other owners have done.

My first option is to use PlastiKote spray cans that come in a matching factory color, followed by their clear. I have a question in to them asking if a two part clear can be used.

Anyone have success using this product?

As far as surface prep is concerned, they recommend sanding w/400 grit, primer and their paint/clear.

Does this clear coat condition reappear even after recoated? What kind of prep needs to be done to eliminate future problems for a while?

Thanks for the help

 

Plasti-kote responded. A catalyzed clear is not compatible with their touch up paint and their clear is not very resistant to gas and other chemicals.

 

I have done some more research on the paint issue and will probably go with the spray paint as a temporary fix. If anyone has interest, I can update with results and other findings.

 

Just fyi, although it can be done with OK results (considering the low cost), it's difficult to get a good finish when you are painting downward onto something like the roof, hood, trunk, etc.
Obviously you could remove the hood and trunk, so that you can get the right angle, so the can is always upright, but I found it difficult when I painted just my car's roof. I wasn't expecting much anyway though, and I could probably get a smoother finish if I cared enough to wet sand and then buff it.

Maybe I'm mistaken, and that product is different (so angle can is held at doesn't matter) but that stuff I used wasn't like that.
Also, if you sand the surface prior to paint, and there is still paint left on the surface, you shouldn't need to apply a primer first. Not to my knowledge.

 

I'm having the same problem with my 94 what i've been doing was slowly scrapping the clear coat with bad CD-R disc as it scrapes the clear off but leave the paint almost untouched it could be sanded also and i'm going to try and buff it with polishing compound if that fails get the car painted...

 

From what I have read online, the peeling clear is almost impossible to stop or repair without repainting. Some people have said that the deterioration of the paint would be lessened if waxed regularly and since the suns rays are the cause in a lot of cases, removing from sun ( if an option ) was also advised.

I tend to look at this as a defect in the paint, because many cars of similar age do not display this problem. Even cars I have owned and not waxed do not loose the clear coat.

As for the plasti-kote, I believe this is a laquer finish, so it is a better DIY product, but not as hard as enamel and therefore not as resistant to scratches/dings as other finishes.

Some info online suggests that the spray method is a good temporary fix to make a car look better while you wait for a real body shop finish ( or the car to die). Since I only paid $500 for the car, it doesn't make much sense to me to pay $1200 for a decent paint job... at least not now. One person said it will look good for 2 to 4 years. Probably for that paint, keeping up on the waxing would be a good idea to add protection. More info to follow.

Thanks, for the tips on the clear removal and the issue of the horizontal surfaces with the rattle cans.

 

I read on H-T to try this out.
http://www.alsacorp.com/
From what a couple of people said,they have some really good stuff.I'm really considering ordering a couple of cans of clear coat from them and giving it a try.

 

that product looks like the 2 part clear that I cannot use over plasti-kote finishes. It is probably a great product. I would try to get some info concerning coverage of that product. At $40/can it may be tailored more to the people that do auto graphics than someone who is repairing a clear coat. Are you thinking of respraying your base color coat and using this product?

 

Yeah,after the whole thing is repainted though.I'm gonna try to do as much as I can myself.I went to Maaco to see how much they would charge just for painting the front and rear bumper,and the driver's side door and they told me like $640!It's just cheaper to get the presidential paint service which is $399.

Anyway,I said to hell with that,I'll just try it out myself before I plunk down 400 bucks.

About that clearcoat,the guys that were talking about it on another forum said that it's pretty damn good for something out of a can.I think that I'll try it on just my trunk lid,as that I'm in the process of repainting it now.Doing the whole car could get real expensive at $40 a can,so I'll probably look for something cheaper.

I'm not familiar with your type of finish,I'm a real newb at this and I'm hoping to really learn something while I'm in the process.

 

I have the Honda factory finish that is a black pearl. I ran across the matching color code in the Plasti-kote Import Color spray cans. Duplicolor also has factory colors, just not mine.

I had also considered Maaco, but read online that their cheaper paint job is really not going to last long and is suited to people who sell and it becomes someone else's problem. I think their business plan is to bring you in with dreams of the $399 and tell you why it sucks and it should really be $1200. You also deal with whoever works there today, as opposed to a mom and pop shop that has to build business with great work and word of mouth advertising.

I had talked to a local body shop that did excellent work on my wife's van after an accident and he quoted me $700 to spray the roof and trunk. I have no doubt that they would do a perfect and lasting finish. Since considering this I have noticed the problem on the hood is starting. I think that would double the area I need refinsihed and possibly the cost.

Since I only paid $500 for the car and it is no gem... I decided to try and tackle this myself. Plasti-kote's paint is a laquer so it goes on better, and I believe subsequent coats loosen up the previous coat and makes the finish melt together. They recommend using their clear coat spray. They admit that it is not very resistent to gasoline and other chemicals. My plan is to give it a try in several areas like my bumpers to check for ease of use, color and durability.

I read an interesting post on the different types of paints, laquers, enamels and acrylics. It was by people who paint plastic models, but the information was good and they actually use some of these spray. It talks about the solvents and compatibility of differnet paints as topcoats over other types of paints.

http://www.rcboataholic.com/faq/painting.htm

so in the end, if I spray my color coat with plasti-kote, I need to follow up with their clear. It is not as durable or resistant to chemicals as a two part clear like you are considering. I think some duplicolor paints might allow a two part clear. my limitation is the availablilty of a matching color. You may want to check out duplicolors web site and their videos. Apparently people have painted entire cars with that brand of spray.