Laquer peel Clear coat DIY panel respray

[431andy]

Hi folks,

Wanted to pick your brains about this subject after researching what I can on here and elsewhere.

3 of my 91 SE Pacific Blue panels (spoiler, boot lid and hood stowage lid) have areas of lacquer peel which I've read is a common thing with SE models which used ICI paints. Its lasted well to be fair! I'm sure its not a coincidence that they are all horizontal panels...

At some point in the future I intend to have a full respray but for now, I'm keen to improve the look myself using aerosol.

My intention was was to begin by experimenting with the spoiler first by removing the uppermost spoiler lacquer using P1000-2000 wet.

Rubbing this back to base-coat and after degreasing/tack clothing I intend to then seal/prime the basecoat so that I can spray subsequent Pacific blue on in light layers, cutting back in between if necessary. I'll then apply a decent lacquer (pre purchased Spray Max 2k on Amazon from Germany after reading positive reviews about the product)

I understand that the results will be limited to a DIY repair and any experience I might have but keen to undertake.

The questions that I have are as follows:

What sealer/ primer is best to use on top of the existing base-coat and subsequent new paint that I'll apply using aerosol? My paint physics knowledge is not great.

What colour sealer/primer is best to use under Pacific blue (I'm imagining grey?)

Can anyone suggest how and where it's best to purchase some Pacific blue in outer London. Im not sure wether to purchase cans off the shelf or send the filler cap to match so that paint can be made up?

I've bought a decent lacquer so don't want to spoil the job with poor prep and materials!

Any tips and advice really appreciated!

Thanks in advance guys.

Andy W

[Simon_P]

So first thing to realise is that it is all in the preparation - every edge and every scratch will show up and it will sink differently with different paint layers and filler - particularly the edge where the lacquer has peeled. Even if it looks perfect you will see it in six months.

Metallic basecoat you don't flat between coats.

The good news is that there is a really good paint shop near you. The shops in the island by Bushey Station. From Tesco, under the railway bridge, as you go up the hill it's on the right.

[431andy]

So first thing to realise is that it is all in the preparation - every edge and every scratch will show up and it will sink differently with different paint layers and filler - particularly the edge where the lacquer has peeled. Even if it looks perfect you will see it in six months.

Metallic basecoat you don't flat between coats.

The good news is that there is a really good paint shop near you. The shops in the island by Bushey Station. From Tesco, under the railway bridge, as you go up the hill it's on the right.

Amazing - thank you! I'm going to rub down all of the existing lacquer on the panels to avoid any edges, just need to decide on a suitable primer.
cheers

[Tuga2112]

when you do this task please take some pictures, id like to see the end result and get an idea of how much effort it took

My blue car is in the same position as your describing (probably worse)

[Rambo]

Probably Joao ? I suspect definitely having seen your car at CC a year ago

Incidentally, I've seen Jamie's (Jamie the Seal) work with shake, rattle and roll cans and it''s very good. Take your time and have patience and you should get a reasonable result to tidy up your panels for now

[Tuga2112]

Probably Joao ? I suspect definitely having seen your car at CC a year ago

Incidentally, I've seen Jamie's (Jamie the Seal) work with shake, rattle and roll cans and it''s very good. Take your time and have patience and you should get a reasonable result to tidy up your panels for now

Mark. The car you saw last year at CC was the yellow one
The blue Car has lacquer peel issues. while the yellow car has all over the place paint cracking.
Both need a full respray anyway.... just not sure when that will be happening

[Rambo]

Mmmmm....sounds £xpensive Joao

[dapinky]

My opinion of laquer peel is that it is a job which can be tidied up - but you'll always be able to see the patches.

That said, I can only comment on metalic paint finish (Pacific Blue!) and a solid colour may well 'hide' the patches better.

When I first got my blue one, it looked tidy enough, having had a bit of a respray in the previous couple of years..... but it was a cheapo blow-over, and not a proper strip & paint job. Now, whether the painter did a good job or a poor job is not for me to say - it obviously looked good to start with, and achieved it's objective of making the car presentable..... so if it was cheap, it was good!

Within a year or 2 of owning the car, some of the laquer started to peel - starting on the bonnet, headlamps and progressing to rear deck and bootlid......over a 4 year period. After a shower of rain it wouldn't notice as the 'wet' base coat looked the same as the bits of laquer left on the car, and I found myself using a gentle technique of removal of the loose edges of the laquer with a wallpaper scraper and a brush. (I had already decided that it was too bad to repair, and was going to have to go for a full on respray).

By keeping the edges of the peeling laquer removed, there was an obvious 'step' in the paintwork, but it looked better than having the white patches of lifting clearcoat.

I decided that as water made it look presentable again, it may just get away with a squirt of clearcoat, as the basecoat was solid.

So, I gave it a squirt, and it improved .....

...... except there were 'rings' round where the laquer had been removed (a bit like you would get cutting a tree trunk) - basically, once the laquer was off, the UV sunlight would cause the Pacific Blue to fade, and the result was better than it started (at first glance) but not great.

The issue being that you can't sand down a metalic basecoat as it will destroy the orientation of the metal bits - it needs spraying and then clearcoating before going at it with a polishing grade abrasive.

This is what leads me to say that a solid colour may work much better - once the clearcoat is removed, you can polish the surface with G3 (or T cut, or whatever) to make it a uniform colour, and remove the hard edges of the old laquer, and then spray it over.

Depending on your preparation, patience and skills it is a job which may result in complete happiness, or it may not.

[Bern]

I painted the rear bumper corner of my pacific blue Elan. I think I used grey primer. It turned out really well! I used rattle cans that I bought from ebay.

The most experience I've had with lacquer and metallic base coats is on MX5s.

I had lacquer peeling on the top side of the rear wing on my first MX5. I rubbed it down with 1200 or finer and then re-lacquered it. It was fine for 6 months but then started to peel again!

I've just painted a few large areas of my current MX5 (after welding in pieces to replace the rust), and again it's come out really well.

I put on a few coats of base coat, enough to cover the primer and a bit more. Don't worry about getting a shine, just get it even and consistent. I then put quite a few coats of the lacquer on working side to side from the bottom up, slowly and overlapping the coats. The difficulty is that aerosol cans work best when they are vertical, the tops of the wings were difficult. But I found that along as there's enough lacquer the finish isn't too important as it polishes up really well after a few days drying. I first used 2000 grit and soapy water followed by a rotary mop thing in en electric drill and G3.

Where I wasn't doing a complete panel I blended in by first taking 1200 grit beyond where I was painting and then painting to about an inch from this edge. I then put the lacquer up to that edge. It polished in well.

I had a few runs in the lacquer, I took these out with 600, 1200 and then 2000 grit before again polishing with G3.

Hope that all makes sense!

[CallMeLegend]

I have a similar tack to attempt on the Orange peril drivers door, the top section has some lacquer that's reacted with the lacquer that was already there, will attempt to tidt it until it goes off the a body shop.