Doctor up my failing clear coat

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Autogk

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I have one panel where the clear coat is failing. I opticoated the entire panel in an attempt to slow down the process. I have an area, as seen in the picture, where there is a dull circle. I want to tape it off and use Meg's Ult compound by hand to polish away the clear and then put OC over it. Think this will work?
Thanks
 
Autogk said:
I have one panel where the clear coat is failing. I opticoated the entire panel in an attempt to slow down the process. I have an area, as seen in the picture, where there is a dull circle. I want to tape it off and use Meg's Ult compound by hand to polish away the clear and then put OC over it. Think this will work?
Thanks
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Hard to see, but short answer is no.
 
Yeah, we all hoped Opti-Coat would be a cure for failing clear, but it isn't.
 
I can't see why it wouldn't work. I'm basically removing the clear coat where it's dull and then putting a thin layer back with OC (I would put about 3 layers of OC).
 
Autogk said:
I can't see why it wouldn't work. I'm basically removing the clear coat where it's dull and then putting a thin layer back with OC (I would put about 3 layers of OC).
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unfortunately 3 layers of OC 2.0 is maybe 3% of the thickness of your clearcoat, if you're lucky. I seem to remember it being said that OC Pro was 1-2 microns thick.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
unfortunately 3 layers of OC 2.0 is maybe 3% of the thickness of your clearcoat, if you're lucky. I seem to remember it being said that OC Pro was 1-2 microns thick.
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Inbelieve you are correct, but would it matter? I would still have clear protection over the black paint in a 4"x4" area
 
Autogk said:
I can't see why it wouldn't work. I'm basically removing the clear coat where it's dull and then putting a thin layer back with OC (I would put about 3 layers of OC).
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How do you remove the clear which is bonded to the base coat? Trying to blend OC to the existing clear is easier said then done.
 
Rsurfer said:
How do you remove the clear which is bonded to the base coat? Trying to blend OC to the existing clear is easier said then done.
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I would keep polishing until I see the basecoat color (black) on my pad. I wouldn't try to blend OC to the existing surrounding clear, I would just apply OC to the small section I worked on and it should look less noticeable than the dull spot of clear I polished off. I am not a paint expert, so let me know if my logic is incorrect.
Thanks
 
First of all, polishing off (just) failed clear and leaving the basecoat in any kind of uniform way is just about impossible, second, even if you can get the thickness of OC 2.0 up to 2 microns which is doubtful, even thinned out clear is 10 times that thick.

Let's look at this another way. Let's say 50 microns of clear is typically sprayed on a new car at the factory. If it would look alright with 40 microns or 30 microns, don't you think the car co's would do that (this is not entirely fair, because it's not just appearance but UV durability that comes into play also). The reality is that even your failed clear is probably at least 5 microns thick--so how is removing that and putting 2 back going to improve how it looks?
 
I've always liked Corey's assessment of "fixing" failing CC with Opti-Coatings:
CEE DOG said:
The best you can do without repaint is try to remove any loose areas, polish, opticoat, and pray.
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Bob
 
Ever polish to the point where you can see the cars paint color on your pad? I would polish up to this point on ONLY the cloudy clearcoat section. In my opinion a very small area of dull black paint would be less noticeable than the cloudy clear coat. If I OC over this area, it would at least provide some form of protection, rather than leaving the basecoat exposed.

My vehicle is 13 years old and people tell me it looks new (thanks to everything I learned on AG). But this one spot is driving me nuts bc it is only noticeable when the sun is setting and hits the panel at a certain angle. I'm just trying to "hide" it a little better, not completely fix it yet.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Let us know how it turns out.
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If I work up the nerve to do it, I'll post back. My priority is prepping my tires and finally applying Tuf shine (it's been staring at me for a week already!). Then I'm doing a rock chip repair on the wife's vehicle using the Langka system, followed by a full detail and OC 2.0.

This thread was to gather info and thoughts so I can make an educated decision on if I should attempt my idea or leave it be....

Appreciate all the insight and advice guys. Thanks
 
I have the same issue going on with my car its 17 years old.
I buffed it down two years ago. seems to help a little. The best thing you can do is keep it waxed or else its a new paint job.
 
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