# Clear coat failure?



## withoutaclue (Mar 31, 2017)

I have a question about the paint on the roof of my car. There are 3 or 4 cloudy white/hazy places that are obvious but not peeling. Can I take care of this myself or will I need to have it repainted? Thanks!:


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

You might get it to polish back up by using some Rubbing Compound on the roof, use it lightly at first to see if it will do anything to those spots.
Rubbing Compound is sold in the Automotive finish department of auto parts stores, and maybe some BOX stores.

Car paint often fades and dies in the hot sunlight, and a good waxing keeps them looking good longer.


ED


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## Bret86844 (Mar 16, 2016)

How old is your car? If it's a couple years old, then something is wrong. If it's 10 years old, then that is not a surprise. Sun will beat down the flat surfaces of your car faster.


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## withoutaclue (Mar 31, 2017)

Bret & Ed, thank you for your help! My car is a 98 Nissan, so yes it's old, lol. Other than this problem, the car only has 80,000 miles on it and the rest of the paint is fine so far. I had some work done on it last summer and it sat in the (very HOT) sun for two or three weeks!
I don't want to put a lot of money into it, because of the age, but I just might have to if the compound and wax do not help. Being a woman, this is all completely confusing to me, but I'm learning.
Thanks to you both!


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

As a last resort before you 'put a lot of money into it', you could try a 'car detailing
shop. If anyone can rescue a paint job, it would be them.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Clear coat peeling off. It's like rust, eating through clear coat. Ain't no rubbing to fix it, it needs to be sanded down to paint and possibly re-coated. Things like fenders, doors, can be man handled, but roof does not give you vertical surface to work with to do any decent paint job with spray can. 
You can spray from cup sprayer, with compressor. 
I know you value your car, but there is no easy way to fix it. And sanding clear coat off will easily damage paint and THEN you MUST repaint it.


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## withoutaclue (Mar 31, 2017)

Thanks to you all, I appreciate your help! I took it by a detailing shop yesterday and even though it is not flaking/peeling, they said it would have to be repainted. So, I guess that is my next step. 
Again, thank you all.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Told you. I tried roofs before, it is VERY awkward to DIY. For the year and car value, paint job may be financially prohibitive. Paint jobs are expensive and add little value to a car. It's more for your eyes.
In simple English - not worth it. Does not improve performance or handling or anything else.


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## Justin_99 (Jan 23, 2017)

I have cleared up cloudy clear coat with a rag with acetone on it and lots of rubbing.

Warning! Only do this if it is an old junker car. Also try a small test spot first. And keep looking at your rag. Stop if you see any paint coming off. In my case no paint came off, just clear coat on the rag.


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## withoutaclue (Mar 31, 2017)

The car is in great running condition and looks nice, the only problem is the roof. I suppose if I did not repaint, I will have a rusted roof soon, even though it's not peeling yet. Thank you!


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## withoutaclue (Mar 31, 2017)

Justin, someone told me to try nufinish or 3M's, I may try it. Do you think acetone would be better than these? Thanks!


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Nufinish is garbage. It won't do a thing.


Stop by some place that paints cars and ask if they can lightly sand just the part needing done and clear coat it again...


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

The 3M products that you can try:
3M Cleaner Wax Medium Oxidation Remover
3M Rubbing Compound Fine Cut

They both come in black plastic bottles. The first one is less aggressive than the second. Look for them at PEP Boys/Autozone/NAPA type places.

These products will actually remove some of the clearcoat. What you are going to try to do is remove as much of the clear coat as necessary to get to something that looks better. Then put a good coat of wax over the whole roof to make up for the gloss that the clear coat was providing. 

Use an old soft towel to apply these products and another one to polish them off.


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## r0ckstarr (Jan 8, 2013)

My truck is a '96, isn't worth much, and I don't care for show quality paint work. My clear coat is peeling in patches on the roof and bed rails. The peeling looks just like what he is repairing, just on a bigger scale. I was going to try the method in this video.






He's got links to the products used in the video description.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

If it were mine and I just wanted it to survive another 10 years the top would probably get a thorough sanding with very fine wet/dry paper and painted with a sponge roller a few coats of very thinned matching paint from an auto paint store supplier.


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