# Talk to me about laquer/respray/walk away on Honda Civic



## Bazza85 (Mar 14, 2015)

Hi all,
Had a test drive in a ‘sooped up’ Honda Civic Type-R FN2 over the weekend

To be honest, I kinda fell in love with it a bit- the noise and revvyness etc, the extras it had fitted, the mugen wings and spoilers... Sounds chavvy but it worked in the flesh & drove spot on

But the deal breaker was the paintwork. 
It was swirled all over- quite badly, & I’ve read how thin/soft the paint is. 
Looking round further, there were bubbles/pot marks in the laquer along the rubber seam just above the windscreen, almost all the way along & almost 1/2” in depth. 
There was also orange peel where the bumper & front wing meet on both corners. 

As much as I’d probably enjoy the challenge of getting rid of the swirls and rescuing the paintwork, am I right in thinking the only way to rescue the laquer is to sand back and have resprayed??
If the laquer was left, would it slowly get worse, or would a good wax/sealant keep it where it is?
Are there any ways to polish out and hide the bubbling laquer?

I just wonder as after driving the civic over the weekend, I’m thinking yes I reckon I’d enjoy one of these after the seriousness of my 6 series, & it’s given a fair few ideas of mods that would be nice to do. 
But I’m worried all the 10yr old-ish Type-r’s will suffer similar paintwork issues??

Any advice and info appreciated thanks


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

It's hard to give an opinion without seeing. 

From what you've described, I'd walk away if your doubting your ability. 

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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

I think this bubbling along the roofline rubber was a recall issue with the FN2. I'm sure some owners have a managed to get a repair under warranty after all this time.



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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Nidge76 said:


> I think this bubbling along the roofline rubber was a recall issue with the FN2. I'm sure some owners have a managed to get a repair under warranty after all this time.
> 
> Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk


True. The problem was caused with the rubber flexing and wearing the paint off. The problem first came to light in 2007 and Honda issued a recall. I had my roof painted and the windscreen rubber replaced to fix the problem.


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## robby71 (Jun 4, 2006)

They also suffered from corrosion along the door tops - peel back the rubber seal at top of door frame and look there


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## Bazza85 (Mar 14, 2015)

Thanks for the info. 
Does anyone know how best to 'care' for the affected area once lacquer peel has started, or is a respray the only way?
The swirls don't concern me armed with my trusty DA, but what effect would it have when going over a bubbled area of lacquer, would it flat it back but leave the paint more exposed to UV or prone to chips?

Haven't bought the car but curious!
No pics of what I saw close up. 
Managed a cheeky one of the car in question while on a test drive



















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## SamD (Oct 24, 2015)

If the clear is peeling it will need a respray, I’d probably walk away


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## Sharpy296 (Jan 18, 2017)

For me it would depend on the price, if it is priced taking into account it will need work doing as you point out then it could be a good buy, if its priced as a minter id probably walk away.

All of the issues can be resolved but at a cost.... It depends if you want a project or not as well.


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## mikechesterman (May 25, 2013)

If the car is straight with no dents or dings etc, then a full respray cost could be very reasonable.

Last month I did a full respray on a red Z4 and it was less less than half the price I'd usually put on a full respray as there was literally no repair work to do. The guy wanted a respray purely due to fading and lacquer peel and spotting from previous poor repair work, so prep time was dramatically reduced compared to most resprays I do.

Depends how the car is priced and what you could get knocked off, but if everything else about the car is exactly right for you then it could be food for thought.


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