Paint Problems - Honda Paint (civic)

[phimag512]

Hi Mike,
I have a lot of issues going on with my cars paint. I have a '06 Honda Civic Rallye Red, and the paint is peeling and oxidizing really bad on the roof and starting to fade on the sides. I've had the car for almost 11 years, and this started last year. I've been trying to just keep it clean and waxed, hoping to slow the process down, but I feel I'm losing.

Honda cars, especially the model/year I have, are having serious paint problems. There was an extended warranty put out for the years 2006-2011, however my color and VIN# doesn't fall under their parameters, even though it's doing the exact same thing as other Civics and models.

My question is, how do I stop this from getting worse? I know the easiest way is to just repaint it by a professional, but that would cost between $700-1000. And I'm not prepared do that. I've been watching a lot of videos on YouTube on wet sanding and polishing. However I know the defect is within the primer and color that Honda used and it looks like the clear coat has failed on the roof. So I don't know if it even makes sense for me to do this.

What I was going to attempt to do was, wash, clay, wet sand, compound/polish, and use 2K clear coat. I'm just hesitant to do this process on my car, especially since I don't have much experience with wet sanding and using the spray cans.

What do you suggest? I'm realm angry with Honda, I've contacted them several times but they are unwilling to help me. There are so many complaints online about this generation and other models with the same issue.

I will enclose photos later, I just wanted to get your thoughts on this.

Thank you,

Phil

[Paul A.]

Sorry to hear that, Phil. Without pictures it's difficult to assess however if it is, in fact, clearcoat failure the last thing you want to do is wetsand or even compound it. Maybe a light polish. My personal approach based on your description is a full, wash, decon and maybe a cleaner wax to brighten up what's left and save up for a repaint if you want to keep it.

[phimag512]

Hey Paul,
I just edited my post above with the photos included. Okay, so you think just polishing it a little. I've been using that Liquid Glass stuff as a wax/polish, but maybe i'll try to find something a little better on the polish side. Anything you recommend?

[Paul A.]

I've used Liquid Glass before and from my experience it seemed like more of a sealant type product and not really a "polish". Although there is nothing wrong with using it to protect.

Unfortunately that clearly looks like clearcoat failure and once it has gotten to that point it will most likely continue. Again, I would thoroughly wash and decon the paint and get it as clean and defect free as possible. Considering you are not going to repaint it now I would maybe polish the paint and then maybe lay down a coating to offer a more substantial and robust layer of protectant on what paint remains. One of my favorite paint "cleaners" is Duragloss 501. there are numerous coatings however I have found McKee's 37 coating very easy to apply.

Another approach I would consider is an AIO like HD Speed or McKee's 37 360. These AIO's are mildly abrasive and clean your paint in addition to leaving some protection behind. Using an AIO is simply one time around the car whereas the polish+coating is essentially twice around the car.

With either approach I would keep in mind your paint is not only thin but soft. I would probably test out a black or white LC pad with either approach.

Do you have a machine or are you doing this by hand?

[phimag512]

Hey Paul,

I would be applying this by hand, I don't have a buffer, unfortunately. When you say "decon" the paint, are you speaking about decontaminating it with the clay bar?

I looked up both the Duraglass 501 and the McKee's 37. So I would use both of these or just one?

[VISITOR]

this is the main reason why i won't purchase another honda again, the paint quality sucks (though the engines are as solid as they come). sorry to hear about your frustration and lack of customer service from such a reputable brand. this may or may not help, here's a video i found among many on YT. i have yet to try this method so do so at your own risk...

[Paul A.]

Ya know, after watching that video VISITOR posted up I would certainly want to do that instead. That seems like an excellent video that goes step by step.

If you don't want to tackle respraying clear over the failed areas, doing a buff job by hand is a very tedious process and you never get the results a machine would give you. Even so, it's been done before but I would probably just do the AIO approach and go around the car once. You'd certainly brighten up the remaining clearcoat paint and get some sealant type protection on it until you get it repainted. By comparison, the DG501 and a coating session isn't that much more work but anything done by hand is a lot of work. I would wipe down the paint with an isopropyl alcohol/distilled water mix in a spray bottle before the coating for an inexpensive precaution but ideally I would use the McKee's Coating Prep product before applying the coating.

Better yet, tell us where you're located and maybe someone here local to you could give you some guidance.

(edit - oops, sorry, I left out an answer...By decontaminate I always do 2 things, a ferrous metal remover like Iron X and then a thorough clay bar effort. I NEVER run the risk of breaking any of that crap away from the paint and lodging it in my buffing pad or, in your case, hand pad).

[phimag512]

Hey guys,

VISITOR - I'm absolutely pissed with HONDA, I'm definitely staying away from them. It's crazy, now that it happened to my car, whenever I drive by a civic, I see it! on all of them. I can't understand how they are getting away with it, and there is nothing anyone can do about it, UNLESS you happened to be within the 6 year period and it fell under your VIN number. Ridiculous.

Thanks for the video. I actually saw that one, and I thought about doing that technique. It looked like it really didn't get it perfect, however it did look nicer and that's where I got the idea for the "2k clear coat".

I'm located in Virginia Beach currently. One of the detail shops recommended I go to a body shop to get it repainted, because there wasn't really much I could do to restore it back to normal. I checked in with that shop and they wanted right under $800. That was just for the roof though. I got some minor issues happening on the spoiler and above the driver side window.

So it looks like the steps will be:
- alcohol/distilled water mix
- McKee's coating prep
- McKee's coating

Now what after that, I just hit it with the 2k clear coat, would that make it look better or do I have to wait for that McKee's stuff to cure?... I'm guessing, right?

or..
I have to choose one or the other?? Either polish it with the McKee's or go the road of sanding it and then clear coat.

Paul, thanks for explaining the decon process. I figured claying it had something to do with it.

I'll try to give it a shot next week maybe, the weather has been crazy around here lately with rain and I live in an apartment complex, so I don't have much wiggle room.

[VISITOR]

VISITOR - I'm absolutely pissed with HONDA, I'm definitely staying away from them. It's crazy, now that it happened to my car, whenever I drive by a civic, I see it! on all of them. I can't understand how they are getting away with it, and there is nothing anyone can do about it, UNLESS you happened to be within the 6 year period and it fell under your VIN number. Ridiculous.

unfortunately, most every car that i see on the road in my neck of the woods that has clear coat failure is the honda civic and/or accord (most later models after 05'). while their paint quality may have improved over the years (maybe not), i'm not going to purchase another and have to worry about paint issues within a few years of owning it. also, most of their exterior designs are getting uglier...

[custmsprty]

unfortunately, most every car that i see on the road in my neck of the woods that has clear coat failure is the honda civic and/or accord (most later models after 05'). while their paint quality may have improved over the years (maybe not), i'm not going to purchase another and have to worry about paint issues within a few years of owning it. also, most of their exterior designs are getting uglier...

That's the way it is in Florida, along with a lot of Acuras and Toyota Camry's and Corollas. My buddy bought a brand new Sti back in the late 2000's, after 18 months the roof near the windshield failed as did the trunk deck lid.