Best way to remove lifting clear coat while saving volor "patina"

[D-n-Tyke]

Truck had a respray many years ago and the clear coat has now failed, coming off in chunks and looks horrible. What is the best way to get the clear coat off while retaining the base coat color?

[Richard]

You are looking at a repaint, unless you choose "patina" As a general rule removing only the clear cannot be done with good results. Base coat on a two stage needs clear. Unlike single stage. Reason I chose out of state sourced single stage paint for my 72 repaint. The clear is failing on the 7k repaint on my 94 after only 5 years. Was told "we use good clear and a lot of it" when the respray was done. My friend was not available at the time the paint was done on the 94.

[LT7A]

I'm encountering the same thing. On one rig I'm planning to light sand to clean up the edges and then try a matte clear plastidip type product and see what that looks like. I want to get away from the sheen and metallic look and add some scratch protection on a 90s Jeep. On another rig, it's just the hood. Going to use 2000 grit sandpaper so that the sheen on the clear knocks down to something similar to the sheen on the basecoat. I think the second approach might work well for you. Treating and touching-up your rust spots, knocking down the sheen on your clear coat, and using a paint sealer (polish type, not spray coating) over the whole thing would probably give quite presentable results. And then as the clear continues to peel, it's really not that big of a deal.

[KQQL IT]

Seen guys use compressed air to blow under the failed clear and lift it off.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I'm encountering the same thing. On one rig I'm planning to light sand to clean up the edges and then try a matte clear plastidip type product and see what that looks like. I want to get away from the sheen and metallic look and add some scratch protection on a 90s Jeep. On another rig, it's just the hood. Going to use 2000 grit sandpaper so that the sheen on the clear knocks down to something similar to the sheen on the basecoat. I think the second approach might work well for you. Treating and touching-up your rust spots, knocking down the sheen on your clear coat, and using a paint sealer (polish type, not spray coating) over the whole thing would probably give quite presentable results. And then as the clear continues to peel, it's really not that big of a deal.

Once the clear is comprised there’s not a lot you can do to fix it other than a repaint . The base coat has no UV protection in it and turns chalky. Also the base coat is super thin and rubs through rather easily . Spot repairs don’t really last as the delamination has already begun most times you can’t get the clear to feather because it just rips .

This is one of the reasons I used single stage in my truck .

[Mid-Pack]

You can either embrace the patina look or repaint. The already exposed base coat is in poor shape and probably very thin, any correction could get you into the primer. I would carefully sand (2000 grit) the clear coat and smooth out any rough edges, also sand and smooth out the rust areas. Either use Shine Juice or a wipe on Matte Clear Coat, from Poppy`s Patina or VGG. Another choice could be a wipe on auto paint sealant. Pick a test area and see how it works.

Just my .02, good luck.

[D-n-Tyke]

Completely understand that it really needs to be repainted but I have a TON of rust repair that needs to be completeted before I will be ready to repaint the truck. I am just trying to get the portions of the clear coat off that make it look like there are 4 different colors on the truck. Especially the white hood and roof. It looks like it is white and mud white. Not really worried if I damage the color base coat, just not trying to sand it off or fully thru it. Just trying to clean it up and make it look as good as I can until I get to a point where it can be repainted.

[Mid-Pack]

Perhaps instead of trying to remove the clear coat, you can carefully polish the base coat and bring it closer to matching the clear coat areas. Then apply a sealant to lock everything in and protect what you got.

[D-n-Tyke]

Originally Posted by Mid-Pack

Perhaps instead of trying to remove the clear coat, you can carefully polish the base coat and bring it closer to matching the clear coat areas. Then apply a sealant to lock everything in and protect what you got.

That is my problem. The clear coat is not savable. It is the part that looks the worst. The white in the picture is the base coat, the brownish/blackish dirty blotches is the clear coat. If I can get it uniform like the white portion I would be happy.

[damnyankee36]

Yeah, that's gonna next to impossible to remove the CC without affecting/damaging the BC. You would have to somehow accelerate the CC peeling before the previously exposed BC fails to the point of bare metal showing.