Is this clear coat cracking?

[spotco2]

2003 Honda Accord that had hail damage repaired about 6 months ago. The top of the car was recleared (local body shop, not a guy in a van in a parking lot) but not painted. I was washing it today for my wife and noticed that the hood was acting funky when I was using some swirl remover on it with my PC. It was almost like it was drying out faster than I could go over it. The same thing happened with Pinnacle final glaze and Meg liquid wax. I had a bear of a time getting the wax to buff out flat without leaving what looked like drag marks all over it.

I thought she had some water deposits on the hood or some dried bugs (she commutes about 150 miles per day) but nothing I could throw at them would take them off. It also looked like the front of the hood was covered in fuzz and spiderwebs that would not move.

Here are a few pics. Let me know what you think about them. Is the clear cracking or is it something else?

[builthatch]

yep, that is failure. pic 3 and 5 show it without a doubt. little baby cracks...crow's feet.

[zliegen]

Yep.. its clearcoat cracking aka crowsfeet... and it will need to be repainted to repair. Sorry mate :(

[LegacyGT]

That looks like crows feet - clear failure

[spotco2]

What causes clear coat to fail like this?

Poor prep? Applied to thin? Fate?

[zliegen]

What causes clear coat to fail like this?

Poor prep? Applied to thin? Fate?
I'm not entirely sure, as my knowledge regarding painting and refinishing is rather limited, but apparently this is a common problem with Hondas black paint. If you type into google "crowsfeet paint" the first results are from some honda forums with similar black paint.

[Bates Detailing]

What causes clear coat to fail like this?

Poor prep? Applied to thin? Fate?

My only thought if it was recoated 6 months ago is that it was a very thin coat.... put on improperly...... wasn't prepped properly maybe.....or wasn't put on at all. Either way - sorry to see the failure man.

[Kristopher1129]

Classic Honda crows feet. Have it on my car as well. I don't necessarily know why this happens. But it seems to me that the paint actually splinters, causing those little gashes. Repaint is the only option unfortunately.

[oldmodman]

Must have been a VERY poor clear coat application.

I had one side of my 1992 Explorer worked on five years ago. Drivers door was painted and cleared, the front fender and rear door were blended and cleared. The panel behind the rear door was just cleared. It looks like brand new after five years, and that is the side the sun hits.

I would take it back and have it repainted under warranty from the previous repair.

[spotco2]

She has to drive it to work tomorrow but I will take it to the shop this week.

Best I can remember they cleared the roof, hood and trunk lid when they did the repairs in Oct 2010. The hood is the only place that I saw any problems.

I think it was poor prep or to thin. The car has not been buffed until today since it was repaired so I know that it has not been buffed to death.

Thanks everyone. I'm hoping this guy will stand behind his work and take care of it.

[BobbyG]

Paint failures can result from a number things but mostly from improper surface preparation.

Contamination; oils, silicones, dust, wax, that have not been properly removed prior to painting will result in poor surface adhesion. Incomplete sanding or sanding with the wrong paper will also cause issues.

[Wendell Jarvis]

Classic Honda crows feet. Have it on my car as well. I don't necessarily know why this happens. But it seems to me that the paint actually splinters, causing those little gashes. Repaint is the only option unfortunately.

:iagree: I have seen this too many times on Honda's....great cars.....not so much great paint.....especially the Accords

[Midnight1700]

No doubt, it's a problem with the prep work. The surface wasn't properly cleaned and preped prior to spraying. I do a lot of detailing for local car clubs and have noticed that if they have to have a new coat of clear, it's much better to go to a custom paint shop instead of ANY DEALER! Dealers typically follow the manufactures protocol for painting, but custom painters know that a re-paint or or re-clear requires a different process to get a quality job.

[Mike Phillips]

Had the same thing happen to the factory paint on a 2004 Honda, cracks all over the hood and top portion of the front fenders if memory serves me correctly. This was the Nighthawk Black Pearl.

Post about this a few times... here's one thread...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/26767-stopping-progression-clear-coat-failure.html


You can't fix the problem because the cracks are throughout the layer of paint, not just "on" the paint.

This is a case where some people had luck with a "colored wax" but any success will be short lived and the product will have to re-applied often.

Time for new paint or maybe a "wrap"


:)

[spotco2]

Thanks again. I am taking it to the body shop towards the end of the week. We'll see what happens.