Hot Rod Forum banner

Paint bubbles! Who's at fault?

21K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  shine 
#1 ·
I have an 87 Corvette that I did some body work on about a year ago. I then took the car to a body shop to have the areas that I had worked on painted and blended. The work that I did required me to take it down past the primer and sealer. The first time I had the car painted it looked fine for about a week, then what loked like sanding scratches in the fiberglass going in all different directions started to show up underneath the paint. I took it back my paint guy and he said no problem and fixed it right away. The car looked great for about 6 months but then I started to notice some raised bubbles underneath the paint. These bubbles have now, a year later, become pretty decent in size. The paint has not yet cracked but it's obvious that there is some sort of adhesion problem and the bubbles will likely get bigger.

The paint guy I used is a top notch dude and I wouldn't hesitate to let him paint anything I own, and I have in fact sent him a good bit of business because of the good work he has done for me in the past.

My question is, is this bubbling caused by a poor prep job on his end, good paint on top of old paint that is starting to peel away, or is it likely something that I did when doing the actual body repair? Could it be something I got on the raw fiberglass that is now causing the paint to lift? I don't know a lot about painting but would a sealer block anything from seeping through such as oil from my hand or oil from an air tool that got onto the raw glass. I don't remember this happening but anything is possible when I work on a vehicle. lol. I'm trying to figure out if this is something to fix at his expense or is it something that I caused? I have a feeling that if I showed it to him and asked him to fix it he would probably do it just to keep a satified customer, however, if it's my fault I don't want him to feel like he has to do that. He painted and cleared the drivers side rear quarter, which is where I did the work. He painted blended in the drivers door and re-cleared it, and he fixed a starburst crack that was dead center of the hood and then recleared the entire thing. On the passengers side, where he recleared, the bubbling is present in an area that I didn't do any body work on. In fact, that area is larger than that on the driver's side rear. I posted pics of both sides, but you can only really see it on the passengers side due to the size of the bubbles and the reflection of the light.
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#2 ·
I think this is the key sentence in your post, "The car looked great for about 6 months but then I started to notice some raised bubbles underneath the paint."

If this car has anything but OEM paint on it, he isn't at fault to be fair. With glass there are opportunities for air pockets, "uncured resin", all kinds of stuff. To blame him for that just wouldn't be fair.

Brian
 
#3 ·
If I read you right you said you sanded down to the fiberglass?if this is the case it probably should have been spotted with gel coat to keep it sealed or said my buddy that owns a body shop. not all shops are good at glass and some will not mess with it at all.a shout to Shine is a good idea as he is a Corvette man.

OLDROD :mwink:
 
#4 ·
Well what I don't understand is why it is doing it in another area that had no body work done to it, only paint work. The hood was repainted about 10 years ago after a small gouge was repaired, I've had no issues with it until he recleared the hood.

I was considering have him repaint the whole car, but I don't want to do it if 6 months down the road its covered in peeling paint regardless of whos fault it is. Does the entire car need to be taken down to gelcoat if I want to insure proper adhesion? Is there anyway to repair the problem I alredy have? I think I already know the answer to that one but had to ask.
 
#5 ·
DaSouthWon said:
Well what I don't understand is why it is doing it in another area that had no body work done to it, only paint work. The hood was repainted about 10 years ago after a small gouge was repaired, I've had no issues with it until he recleared the hood.

I was considering have him repaint the whole car, but I don't want to do it if 6 months down the road its covered in peeling paint regardless of whos fault it is. Does the entire car need to be taken down to gelcoat if I want to insure proper adhesion? Is there anyway to repair the problem I alredy have? I think I already know the answer to that one but had to ask.
As I said Shine is de man but is does sound like the clear and paint are not compatible know that an't what you want to hear maby some one else knows?
If I did repaint the hole car I would like any bare glass gel-coaded may not be neserry but might save doing it over.
OLDROD
 
#6 ·
cut a bubble open with a razor blade and see if it smells like lacquer,resin,or wax and grease remover,,,if it smells like nothing then it was water and the H left and the 2o stayed and expanded...If it smells like gasoline it's a motorcycle tank

Fiberglass soaks up and holds solvents for a long time (sometimes even water when rushed) ...until they get some heat on them, then with nowhere to go they bubble...
 
#7 ·
no gelcoat on vettes !!!!! it is brittle as hell and will spiderweb . the area worked on was probably cleaned with lacquer thinner ( recommended here by folks who know nothing ) and then primed . should have been cleaned with soap and water , let dry well and then epoxied. my bet is the bubble will go all the way to raw glass. solvents are the #1 cause of paint failures. lacquer thinner is for cleaning paint guns at best.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top