I think my clear coat is failing. Can I touch it up myself?

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I noticed the other day that I have a small spot on the roof of my car by the rear window that looks like this:

IMG_2371.jpg

IMG_2370.jpg



I know there isn't really anything you can do with a failing clear coat other than paint it... which brings me to my question.

I have a small bottle of OEM touch-up paint that looks just like this:

PaintPen_m.jpg


Would I be able to paint over the spot myself with a little bit of touch-up paint? Or does the whole roof need to be repainted?
 
Any touch up is going to look exactly like it sounds, touched up. Whether or not that is better than the existing spot is up to you.

I would focus on making sure the rest of the paint is properly protected and hopefully slow down the continued degradation of whats left of the clear coat.
 
I've had to repair many of these in a body shop I used to work at. We had a big account with Honda and the blacks and blues would always have these problems. It's a paint defect from the company. The way it worked with Honda I believe is, no matter the year of the car you just go to the dealer and they have to take care of it. The problem though is a lot of body shops don't do the job correct. They'll just sand out the area and respray over that and a few months down the line you'll have the same problem. The correct way is to get the entire panel to metal, prime, paint, and clear the entire thing. What kind of car is it happening on for you?
 
7.3powerstroke said:
What year and model car is it if I may ask?
Click to expand...

I've had to repair many of these in a body shop I used to work at. We had a big account with Honda and the blacks and blues would always have these problems. It's a paint defect from the company. The way it worked with Honda I believe is, no matter the year of the car you just go to the dealer and they have to take care of it. The problem though is a lot of body shops don't do the job correct. They'll just sand out the area and respray over that and a few months down the line you'll have the same problem. The correct way is to get the entire panel to metal, prime, paint, and clear the entire thing. What kind of car is it happening on for you?
Click to expand...
2008 Honda Civic Si
 
I may be remembering incorrectly but I believe Honda had either a recall or a technical service bulletin on a certain color.
 
Definitely covered. The civics are prone to fade on the roof, trunk,fenders, hood, pillars, and quarter panels. I'd go to your local dealer they should straighten it out for you. Just be sure to ask the procedure they do to fix it.
 
I had a 1989 Camaro. The paint was failing after a few years, and chevy owned up to it and said they would paint it for free due to a known defect in their paint or process. I foolishly thought they would make it look like new. Instead they put the minimum amount of effort possible into the paint job. They didn't tape off things like the rubber door trim. They just pretty much taped the windows and sprayed over everything else.

Moral of the story - if Honda is going to repaint it for you, make sure you know what they are going to do and how they are going to do it.
 
I just picked up a 2003 dodge stratus and the paint was doing the same thing, I picked up some fine grit ( 180, 320,1000 etc ) sanding pads at auto zone. I concentrated primarily on the flaking,peeling areas with a warm soapy water wet sand. My intension is to do a repaint and clearcoat but im having a hard time finding somone that has my paint code.

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strat tegic said:
I just picked up a 2003 dodge stratus and the paint was doing the same thing, I picked up some fine grit ( 180, 320,1000 etc ) sanding pads at auto zone. I concentrated primarily on the flaking,peeling areas with a warm soapy water wet sand. My intension is to do a repaint and clearcoat but im having a hard time finding somone that has my paint code.

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Click to expand...


Those aren't Fine grit sanding discs. Those are really really course.


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They arent 40 or 80 grit which would leave gouges and take the finish down to bare metal beyond. The idea was to wet sand the hard edges down to a smooth surface as explained to me by the guys at autozone. This is by far a learning experience for me.

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