[Damien89]

I know that my question isn't about a hotrod but this is the only place i'd like to ask this type of question.

In the pics that i included you can see the roof of my SUV. 8 years ago the owner before me had made a small dent in the front of the roof and painted half of the roof before my dad bought the suv. The new paint was not that visible from the old paint at first. But as the years rolled by the new paint that was applied became more apparent. Now the new paint is dull and looks like the clear coat has flattened and the original factory paint looks a whole lot better. What has caused the new paint to become dull after 8 years?





Sorry for the broken english and thanks!

[chevelle_man64]

what it looks like to me is they used "blending clear". What I would do is wetsand with 1000 and shoot some good clear over the top of it..

[Damien89]

Could be?
I tought that who did the half respray sanded the original clear after they repaired the dent and the shot base coat then shot clear coat on half the roof to blend it.
What i really would like to know is what could have caused the paint to go flat like that? i.e wrong mixture, not cured enough?
If anybody has seen something like this and knows what can be done to prevent any new paint to do the same thing please tell me because i have seen many paint jobs ruined by many painters here in Malta after a couple of years that i almost would want to buy some equipment and start experimenting to see if it happens to me also.

[Vortech 4.3]

cheap paint. is what i say.

[Damien89]

Originally Posted by Vortech 4.3

cheap paint. is what i say.

I've seen a guy paint with PPG and Rage and still the same happened.
I say it's more the technique everybody uses here in Malta and maybe because the painters don't use ovens to cure the paint properly. What's the real purpose of the oven?

[bloverby]

Good reading.......
http://www.i-car.com/html_pages/tech.../071502b.shtml

[jcclark]

There are a lot of reasons why a clear wouldn't hold it's gloss.
Too many to cover here.

Most are from improper proceedures, like rushing the process,
not allowing bases and primers to dry adequately before clearing.
Trapping solvents that take time to escape and dull the clear later.
Also not mixing the clear correctly with activators and reducers.
And even using a clear with a old activator that should have been tossed.
It was probably a cheap job to begin with, I can't imagine blending
half the top. I would have cleared it all, a blend right in the middle
is asking for trouble, especially on a roof, they are the hardest
hit by weather and flexing and will fail easier than most panels
to begin with. So I'm guessing they were cutting corners to begin with.
I've always said "quality" takes about 3 yrs to show up,
or maybe I should say "not show up"

[Damien89]

Thanks for all the replies guys

[baddbob]

Originally Posted by Damien89

I've seen a guy paint with PPG and Rage and still the same happened.
I say it's more the technique everybody uses here in Malta and maybe because the painters don't use ovens to cure the paint properly. What's the real purpose of the oven?

Baking the paint speeds up the cure so the vehicle can be put back into service quicker, however, paint still needs a full 30 day cure naturally before any waxing regardless if it was baked or not. UV light also has an effect on cure.

[Damien89]

Originally Posted by baddbob

Baking the paint speeds up the cure so the vehicle can be put back into service quicker, however, paint still needs a full 30 day cure naturally before any waxing regardless if it was baked or not. UV light also has an effect on cure.

When you say a 30 day cure does this mean that you can sand the clear down to a smooth finish after 48hrs but you cannot buff it?

[jcclark]

Most clears can be sanded and buffed after 24 hrs, they will
continue to harden for 30 days or more, but some can cure so hard in less
than a week that it is much harder to buff them out after a couple of days.
Depends on the clear.
You just don't want to wax it for at least 30 days so the process
can complete, otherwise it will take longer.