# HELP! Hundreds of tiny bubbles on paint



## Mr Concours (Mar 8, 2006)

I have a old 59/60 mini that I bought about 5 Years ago, the mini has had paint on both wings/doors (cellulose I think) before I bought it, in the last Month hundreds out tiny bubbles/blisters have appeared on the passengers side in the area of the respray on the wing/door.

Any idea whats caused this?The car only goes out in the summer (never the wet) and is tucked up in the garage over winter.

Any idea what I can do to remove it?I was thinking wet sanding but '*A' *I've never done this and *'B'* I'm worried I _might_ make it even _worse_ by taking the tops off the blisters/bubbles and leaving lots of tiny craters behind,HELP!


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## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

Sounds like moisture (water) escaping to me. I've seen it a lot on Lotus cars where fibreglass panels still have a tiny bit of water in them, and without being 100% dried before painting the water ends up creating these micro blisters in the paint. This can take a considerable amount of time to appear after the paint has been applied.

I appreciate this isn't a fibreglass panel, but it sounds like a very similar issue. I don't think that a sand and polish will sort it, but I'm sure one of the bodyshop chaps will be able to confirm exactly what is/isn't doable.


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Strangely I noticed 2 pin holes on our freelanders paint that wasn't there before..... I know this can happen when the base coat has a small hole which then sucks the rest of the coats but ive only seen this straight after spraying not 2 years later as on ours.

Anyway I dropped some paint in and couldn't find it after so all good.

Funny how things take time to show up...

Cheers

PaulN


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

Mr Concours said:


> I have a old 59/60 mini that I bought about 5 Years ago, the mini has had paint on both wings/doors (cellulose I think) before I bought it, in the last Month hundreds out tiny bubbles/blisters have appeared on the passengers side in the area of the respray on the wing/door.
> 
> Any idea whats caused this?The car only goes out in the summer (never the wet) and is tucked up in the garage over winter.
> 
> Any idea what I can do to remove it?I was thinking wet sanding but '*A' *I've never done this and *'B'* I'm worried I _might_ make it even _worse_ by taking the tops off the blisters/bubbles and leaving lots of tiny craters behind,HELP!


could easily be surface rust coming through the paint.. especially since its been repainted before you got it and you dont know what state the metal was in before it was painted.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

yep its a damp related problem

might have sat in the damp when it was in primer , or sat wet in a garage for a length of time

only cure will be sand it back to bare metal and have a look whats going on , then repaint it


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2008)

whilst steve is the painter so knows what he is on about, could it be that when it got painted no barrier coat was used between the celly and, guess, 2k?

Not many places use celly anymore.


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## Mr Concours (Mar 8, 2006)

I'm reasonably certain its not rust related,it seems feesable that its water coming up through the paint from when it was painted,if anyone has an idea of how to get rid of it. 

Thanks for the replys.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

matt1263 said:


> whilst steve is the painter so knows what he is on about, could it be that when it got painted no barrier coat was used between the celly and, guess, 2k?
> 
> Not many places use celly anymore.


that would usualy cause cracking/crazing problems

again the only fix is to roar it all off and start again....sorry if its not what you wanted to hear but thats how it is


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## Mr Concours (Mar 8, 2006)

steveo3002 said:


> that would usualy cause cracking/crazing problems
> 
> again the only fix is to roar it all off and start again....sorry if its not what you wanted to hear but thats how it is


So what _would_ happen if I wet sanded it?


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2008)

i would go with advice from the man who does it for a living am afraid.

time to start looking for a painter that still does celly, would hate to see such a rare mini go 2k


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

if you wet sand it chances are you will sand off the tops of the bubbles and be left with craters instead

if theyre really mild you might knock the tops off and make it look ok...until it gets hot again and they'l pop up again 

when you find someone to sort it...make sure its sanded well back to bare metal or you might be having the same probs again real soon

whats the problem with using 2k? its much more durable


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2008)

I dont have a problem with 2k, its just a very rare car that has celly and I think it should stay that way.

I find 2k gives a very "plastic" look.


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## 111r (Apr 28, 2008)

Shine On said:


> Sounds like moisture (water) escaping to me. I've seen it a lot on Lotus cars where fibreglass panels still have a tiny bit of water in them, and without being 100% dried before painting the water ends up creating these micro blisters in the paint. This can take a considerable amount of time to appear after the paint has been applied.
> 
> I appreciate this isn't a fibreglass panel, but it sounds like a very similar issue. I don't think that a sand and polish will sort it, but I'm sure one of the bodyshop chaps will be able to confirm exactly what is/isn't doable.


Yep got some appearing on the rear clam of mine (less than a year old).


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## 3dr (Mar 1, 2008)

111r said:


> Yep got some appearing on the rear clam of mine (less than a year old).


you've got a spotty clam? :doublesho

seriously though, steve is right, it seems like the paint has sucked the moisture in and it's breaking out, seen loads of cars in storage over the years do this, the WORST thing you can do to a car is not use it.


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## pcc (Oct 11, 2006)

Blistering is caused by contamination on either the bare panel or primer surface reacting with moisture. Only way to get rid is to take all the way back and start again afraid.


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## Mr Concours (Mar 8, 2006)

So there really nothing cosmetic I can do?did try some Megs #83 then #80 before posting but TBH didnt notice much diffrence _was_ going to try some G3 before wetsanding.

No glaze that might help?I have IHG and Z mol HD cleans.


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## johnbuck (Jul 1, 2007)

Mr Concours said:


> So there really nothing cosmetic I can do?did try some Megs #83 then #80 before posting but TBH didnt notice much diffrence _was_ going to try some G3 before wetsanding.
> 
> No glaze that might help?I have IHG and Z mol HD cleans.


Forget it mate. The problem is beneath the paint.

As already mentioned the only proper solution is to remove paint and primer back to bare metal so you know what you're dealing with.

Shouldn't cost too much if you do the prep work yourself and leave the final finishing to the painter.


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

johnbuck said:


> Forget it mate. The problem is beneath the paint.


Nothing to loose other than time if you've got to repaint the panel anyway....


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## Jay Herts (Dec 26, 2005)

Sounds like microblistering you will need to seek paintshop advise theres no shortcut here .
Did you store it in winter with plastic sheeting this can cause sweating even in dry conditions.


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## Mr Concours (Mar 8, 2006)

Stored in a lock up most of the time ,did have a breathable cover on it when in storage but the garage does have some damp issues,such a shame because the paint has been fine since I bought it,I'm worring now theres filler in the wing/door.


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

yup, obviously a damp problem.

ive had this happen to a set of alloys i put in my shed, they were wet, and left them for about a year :lol: but the bubbles on these were huuuuuge


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## Sandro (Mar 16, 2008)

my dad had this on is Ferrari, he took it to bodyshops and theres nothing yuou cna do about it, other than a respray.


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