Lifting Paint

[kraakevik]

I've got a couple of square inches of 40-year-old Mercedes paint that's pliable but lifting off the surface--just a tad. Anything I can inject under the flap to stabilize things until I get around to a permanent repair?



Tim Kraakevik
kraakevik@voyager.net

[Stretch]

Is it lifting because of rust underneath?

One thing you might want to think about is doing something like plasti-dip over the top. I think there is a clear version - it won't look really pretty but you can remove it by peeling / rubbing off with thinner and a rag. It might provide a vague element of protection to slow down what ever process is occurring.

I kind of imagine injecting any glue like stuff underneath will cause a whole load of trouble later on when you come to re-paint. I don't think automotive paints can be re-softened like say an oil paint on a canvas.

[Tomguy]

Best thing to do, in my eyes, would be picking up a can of a quality clear (like Krylon) that dries fairly quickly (not RustOleum), masking off areas around it, and spraying over the area. It will prevent rust and further lifting, and shouldn't look too bad. It, just like the pre-existing paint, can be removed with chemical stripper.

[kraakevik]

There's no rust--the paint layer seems to have separated from the primer coat, which looks intact--the top coat has just lifted on one side perhaps half a millimeter or less from the undercoat--and is still flexible



Tim Kraakevik
kraakevik@voyager.net

[Squiggle Dog]

I wonder if injecting paint thinner underneath the lifted paint with a syringe would melt it enough to bond to the primer. Then again, it might make matters worse.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

I wonder if injecting paint thinner underneath the lifted paint with a syringe would melt it enough to bond to the primer. Then again, it might make matters worse.

I don't think paint thinner or laquer thinner is going to cause problems for future painting... I think that glue or adhesive might. I'm going to take my lifting paint problem to the guy who painted it and ask his opinion....

[scotty b]

If the paint is lifting off of the primer then it is an adhesion problem you won't be able to easily fix. I just had a customers 356 that I stripped the whole roof off of in about 20 minutes with nothing more than an air chuck due to primer being applied and then sometime later the color being applied without any sanding of the primer. Paint goes on either wet on wet, or the primer needs to be sanded ( you need either a chemical or mechanical bond ) if the primer is allowed to set up then painted over without scuffing/sanding, the color WILL NOT adhere properly. What you end up with is an eggsehll where the outer skin is bonded to itself but not to the substrate. Once the shell is cracked you're f-ed.


body shop disaster 101

[Mark DiSilvestro]

I've seen so many minor and major repaint disasters. One of the worst was the '60 Fintail I used to drive 10 years ago, which was repainted with the PO at least once. The paint started peeling in various places. Worst was the trunk, where one day I was washing the car, spraying it with a garden-hose nozzle. Nearly all the trunk paint lifted off the primer. The sad thing was, everywhere the repaint had come off, the original paint under the primer was still in wonderful shape!

Currently, I drive a navy-blue '82 240d which was repainted at some point. Only on the hood, (which is missing the hood-pad) all the paint has acquired thousands of tiny bubbles & freckles. Someone told me that when it was repainted, the paint wasn't given time to cure before the car was driven and the engine heat caused this.

Happy Motoring, Mark