# Clearcoat Failed



## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

I'm over in NZ so the UV in the sun destroyed the Clear Coat on older cars.

I have just brought a 98 Merc E320 and the clear coat on the roof has failed and looks like thousands of little cracks so makes the entire roof look white instead of the Dark Blue it should be. I will get a pic up ASAP.

Some parts of the roof have zero clear coat left and I noticed today that these parts of the roof look the original colour so I polished them using some Sonus Polish and they look pretty good so I sanded a section of the roof down to the colour and polished it up and again it looks pretty good. At least now its the original Dark Blue instead of cracked white colour.

My question is, how long will the colour last if I sand back the Clear Coat and also can I flat back to the Base Coat taking off all the old Clear coat and then Rattle Clear Coat over the top as a short term solution.


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## Dixondmn (Oct 12, 2007)

If you can sucessfully remove the clear coat and get a good finish on the base coat using polish, I dont see why it wouldnt last as long as the original clearcoat... if not longer, depending on the number of coats you apply.
It would be good to see some photos though.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

You can flat it and polish it as you have been, but it's worth remembering the basecoat has no uv protection at all, so after a while it will end up the same.

Best solution it to have it re-painted, as a lot of the new clear laquers have uv protection in them already, may sounds silly but the more yellow the laquer is the more uv filters it has in it.

Could you not take to a Mercedes dealer to see if it could be done under warranty as the laquer has obviously failed, regardless of where you live and how hot it is, or has the roof been painted in the past.


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

I'm finishing detailing the car today so will get a pic up later today.

Its a 1998 so not sure what Merc warranty is like?

Thats what I thought, if it looks good then thats all I need but if the Base coat has no UV protection am I going to spend ages sanding it down and then it fades in a few days/weeks.

I would get it resprayed but the car was cheap as, so dont want to spend the money really as its not worth it.

Thanks for the help


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Bod42 said:


> I'm finishing detailing the car today so will get a pic up later today.
> 
> Its a 1998 so not sure what Merc warranty is like?
> 
> ...


If your flatting it all down, could you not buy some clear coat and paint it yourself :thumb:


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

Andyb0127 said:


> If your flatting it all down, could you not buy some clear coat and paint it yourself :thumb:


Ya thats what I was thinking, just rattle can the clear coat back on but do I need to worry about compatibility as the paint has fully cured now.

I'm not sure what type of paint merc use?

Just waiting for Photo Bucket to load pics and then I will put them up


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Bod42 said:


> Ya thats what I was thinking, just rattle can the clear coat back on but do I need to worry about compatibility as the paint has fully cured now.
> 
> I'm not sure what type of paint merc use?
> 
> Just waiting for Photo Bucket to load pics and then I will put them up


Mercedes only use Glasurit or spies hecker paint, there the only two that have been approved by mercedes.

If you have flatted the basecoat, then there should be no problems with laquer adhering to it, you will only encounter problems with it, if you have applied basecoat, then left it for far to long before laquering, then you would need to flat it again, but as you have already flatted it I don't see any problems.

Pretty much any laquer will be compatible with it :thumb:


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

Andyb0127 said:


> Mercedes only use Glasurit or spies hecker paint, there the only two that have been approved by mercedes.
> 
> If you have flatted the basecoat, then there should be no problems with laquer adhering to it, you will only encounter problems with it, if you have applied basecoat, then left it for far to long before laquering, then you would need to flat it again, but as you have already flatted it I don't see any problems.
> 
> Pretty much any laquer will be compatible with it :thumb:


Cheers Andy.

I uploaded a Pic now. You can see in the top right corner where I have taken the clear coat off and it looks miles better. I used 1200 and then 2000 Grit to take the Clear off. Should I polish it to a nice finish and then clear coat or just clear coat straight over the 2000 grit.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Leave it flatted with the p2000, for the areas that are a little bit harder to get to use a grey scotchbrite, this will key the paint up for the laquer to bond to.


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

Andyb0127 said:


> Leave it flatted with the p2000, for the areas that are a little bit harder to get to use a grey scotchbrite, this will key the paint up for the laquer to bond to.


Thanks for all your help Andy.

Just one last thing. You say any clear coat will be ok. My bro said something about the base coat and clear coat have to match so they dont react with each other, like enamel or acrylic etc. Is this the case now or does it not matter as the Base Coat is completely cured.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Bod42 said:


> Thanks for all your help Andy.
> 
> Just one last thing. You say any clear coat will be ok. My bro said something about the base coat and clear coat have to match so they dont react with each other, like enamel or acrylic etc. Is this the case now or does it not matter as the Base Coat is completely cured.


It will be if fine to use which laquer you want.

Your brother is partly right, as most body shops will have a paint mixing scheme, and will use all the same products. What he means is where it's solvent basecoat and use thinners to thin it, and the laquer will also require thinners, they could react, but that said ive never really heard of anyone having problems, I've used solvent basecoat, and applied a different make of laquer over it and never had any problems.:thumb:


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