Uh Oh!!!

Those tiny cracks are caused from extreme heat. I had the EXACT same marks on my old civic. They were concentrated over the exhaust manifold and the valve cover (the two hotest parts) That car had no insulation on the underside of the hood and that is a big problem. This is why most cars have insulation, to protect paint and also for the noise. No way to fix it and they will only get worse.
 
EisenHulk said:
Great!!! Thanks, Sherri.



I really appreciate all of you chiming in here. Maybe is isn't my fault after all.



:xyxthumbs
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Not your fault at all. As Sherri said, great car, lousy paint. There was a thread here a couple years ago about clear coat failure. Some guy that knows his stuff about car paint said that if your CC is gonna fail, there's really not much that can be done to prevent it. Some were arguing that using a sealant with UV protection would prevent it, but there were no hard facts to back that position up. Once it starts, though, it's gonna keep going.
 
Thanks for the input, SB. I know this may seem like a crazy question, but can I expect the CC to fail on the entire car? Or is it simply because the hood is exposed to even more heat (From the engine obviously). I'm just wondering if it's the added heat that leads to the cc break down.



SuperBee364 said:
Not your fault at all. As Sherri said, great car, lousy paint. There was a thread here a couple years ago about clear coat failure. Some guy that knows his stuff about car paint said that if your CC is gonna fail, there's really not much that can be done to prevent it. Some were arguing that using a sealant with UV protection would prevent it, but there were no hard facts to back that position up. Once it starts, though, it's gonna keep going.
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Sherri Zann said:
As soon as I saw those pics, it looked familiar. ...progressive clear coat failure...
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Yep. The repainted hood of my M3 has similar issues; they didn't become obvious until after I started rotarying away the marring.
 
Our 98 Dodge Durango has the same problem but it's mainly around the roof. They're not as noticeable as yours though.
 
Although it seems you know what happened, I'll add to the thread. Like someone before, I also have clear coat failure on my 95 accord. Infact I took almost the exact same pictures when I first joined this site and had to double check if I had clicked my own thread (just looking at the pics quickly) haha. Anyways my accord has really bad failure on the hood. I have a 98 civic that has perfect paint though (its silver so keeping my fingers crossed it wont be a problem).
 
Honda crows feet. I don't believe it's the first time I've seen it on here. Thankfully I haven't noticed any of this on mine yet.
 
Oh jeez, this hurts... :cry:



The vibrations of a PC seem to make it wose, let alone standing out more after you polish. Low Voc Honda paint FTL, terrible.



My '89 BMW E34 has an even worse case of neglected paint, but I my CC is still intact! I polished the hood last year, no problem. I was surprised. The differences in quality show with age, thats for sure.
 
Many thanks to Elliot Ness, Civicman86, 99BlackSE and Charlesaferg. I guess I feel better knowing it's not my fault...even though it still sucks!



Thanks to all again. Your help is GREATLY appreciated.
 
Perhaps the low-VOC paint formulations had something to do with it, but as has been discussed here, heat (engine, or the roof on top of that glass greenhouse) plays a part, as well as the color, darker colors absorbing more heat. Throw in the latitude for stronger sunlight and more heating.
 
I guess I don't understand why a then-35-40k vehicle would have such crappy paint? I had a Nissan Titan for a short-while that I LOVED but I despised the paint. It was so soft and thin.



Are japanese manufacturers known for having soft clear and overall poorer quality paint vs. some other countries?
 
I've got at least a few spots failing on my 10 yr. old GM paint as well. I doubt the previous owners did any real detailing on the exterior, let alone waxing.



I guess this is something that can't be prevented, even if a vehicle's paint is decontaminated and kept waxed/sealed from new?



Is CC failure like this throughout the whole CC (top to bottom)? If not, can it be wetsanded out? Or is this something only wetsanding+touch up paint can fix?



IMG_1471.jpg
 
shine said:
I've got at least a few spots failing on my 10 yr. old GM paint as well. I doubt the previous owners did any real detailing on the exterior, let alone waxing.



I guess this is something that can't be prevented, even if a vehicle's paint is decontaminated and kept waxed/sealed from new?



Is CC failure like this throughout the whole CC (top to bottom)? If not, can it be wetsanded out? Or is this something only wetsanding+touch up paint can fix?
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Spots like that need repainted, simple as that. Or if you value originality, just keep them waxed and live with it. I have some spots like that on my '85 Jag and I consider them "patina", a sign of originality.



Often, areas like that come from over-polishing/thinning of the paint (both single stage and b/c). And they're usually the result of sun/UV exposure.



Early RX-7s like my '84 have notoriously fragile paint, it often failed after just a few years...but *mine* is still like new because the original owner kept it out of the sun and didn't do much polishing.



Some factory paintjobs are simply better than others and some will fail no matter what. But the least sun/UV exposure and the least polishing, along with the *most* waxing/sealing, will help a lot.
 
Glad I saw this thread.



I have those same exact marks on the hood of my dark emerald green '95 Toyota Camry, and was wondering what it was. As others stated, I never noticed them until I did the first major detail on the car after buying my PC last summer.



Now I know. Thanks for sharing your expertise folks.
 
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