Can You Repair Badly Damaged and Peeling Clear Coat?

In this video we are going to see whether it is possible to repair peeling, flaking or heavily damaged clear coat on a car. As you might have seen in my previous video, it is possible to repair clear coat if you catch the damage before it reaches the base coat and start's damaging layers bellow.

Here are Links to Tools and Products Used in This video:

Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchets and Wrenches, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. Ratchets and Wrenches assumes no liability for any property or personal damage that may arise from doing a repair on your vehicle after watching any of my repair video's. Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchets and Wrenches, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Again Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Ratchets and Wrenches.

[TrixBruh]

10:00
I'd consider it more artistic than anything else. It's clearly a cityscape with a green, starry night.

[rwhp]

If you are going to attempt this make sure you get a clear coat that is specifically for spot work. Regular 2k clear only adheres to a basecoat that hasn't cured yet. The spot clear is more forgiving about adhering to surfaces.

[rupe]

For those asking how many cans of paint are necessary, it depends on the amount of dissolved solids in the mix and what color you are trying to cover. IOW, changing color from white to yellow wont need as much paint (# of coats) to cover as white over black, where you may need 3 coats to have it look even. Also, cheap brands don't cover well (less dissolved solids) so may need more coats. I did the roof of a small van that was roughly 5 ft by 12 ft with 7 cans in 2 heavy coats. That's roughly 60 sq ft so 9 sq ft per can. The down side to using spray bombs is moving fast enough to keep a wet edge and avoiding "spattering" as the can reaches empty while you are holding the can on an angle, which is what you need to do on a roof or hood. Save the partial cans for the side of the vehicle where you can hold them upright and quickly move to a fresh can for that roof or hood. Matter of fact, pre-shake all of your cans in advance (at least a full minute each) to avoid dry edges while you work. Also, shake each can for a few seconds after every 30 seconds of spraying. You will thank me later.

[sailorbob]

So my take away from this set of videos is that if the clear coat is just oxidized you can scuff and shoot new clear and it'll look halfway decent, but if the clear has started peeling you'll need to repaint and blend those areas. It would be interesting to see what happens if you would scuff half that hood with 1500, put down three layers of color and then clear over that, since the new base coat could bond directly to the old base coat without needing another layer of primer I would think ( not that I actually know anything, it's just a guess ).

[jl]

sometimes his delivery is just so funny. its like this awkward deadpan thing idk.

[theslipkid]

I painted my 1996 Camry about three years ago, using the knowledge I gained from your videos. It was a lot of work and I had to repaint a few areas, but the results were impressive. For grins, I painted the top of the car black, while the rest of the car is the original green. Sadly, I'm starting to get some clearcoat peel on top near the windshield, so thought I would refresh my memory on how to repair. I have a feeling, though, that to make it look as good as it did before, I'll have to sand the whole top before applying clearcoat. Oh worth it when you do it right. You make great videos. I've watched several of yours and you always entertain as well as inform.

[rebeccabentz]

Thank you a ton for this video. We are buying a motorhome with great bones and an awesome engine, but the Arizona sun has done a number on the exterior. I'm excited to use your advice. I have a feeling it's going to make a huge difference.

[PrissyPatriot]

I am learning so much from your channel, having just come across it. Last weekend I fixed the clearcoat using 2k on my Saab and it looks great. I watched the video 4 x to make sure I got it right. Thanks so much!

[tonylatimer]

Thanks, Ratchets. Fascinating experiment. No such thing as failure when you've got an old car to practice on, so thanks for sharing the learning.

[cujoedaman]

Another neat thing to note is that if your car has plastic headlights (like this one), they spray clear coat on the lenses too, that is why they don't turn yellow. The reason they DO turn yellow is because the clear coat has failed and is no longer protecting the plastic. the 2K clear he uses here is great for resealing your lenses after you clean them up and I have even used it on new knockoff lenses because they don't use clear coat to keep prices down.

[SmooveBee]

A wonderful experiment; in my observation, the outcome was dependent on one major issue: For this metallic green paint, the paint faded two-shades in the portion where the clear-coat was missing for the last few years; this worked very well on on an earlier video that you did with a black car; oddly enough, black paint holds up pretty well these days. Your clear-coat restoration on that black car worked out a lot better. I was happy to see that (because my car is black with flaking clearcoat on the hardtop); thanks so much for teaching us about the 2k clearcoat, too, I had no idea that I could buy that - this will help me improve the appearance of my 30year old car that I care very much about, but I cannot afford a paint job on it; this car is not clear-coated, but it is a convertible with a fiberglass hard top, and the hard top got a clear coat, as did the mirrors and bumpers (Mazda, early nineties, urethane). I think I know how to restore the hardtop now, thanks to you: wet-sanding an feathering the worn clear-coat, and then clear-coating with the 2k for a short-term fix which I will cross my fingers for as well as including prayer / pure-polish / & wax (1992 NA Miata 'brilliant black' paint)

[stinzz]

Take a drink for every time he says clear coat.

[djmattplay]

Good tips.. I would just say, don’t use your favorite car wash soap.. some car wash soaps contain waxes which will fight against the clear coat adhesion. I’d recommend using dishwashing soap which is designed to cut wax and grease, where some car washes may add some wax.. not all do, but some definitely do.

[jkzftpo]

Good job. Thank you for your honest portrayal of results that could be expected.

[michaelhaines]

I agree Dawn is the best! I've used cheaper off brands and it does not seem to do the same job....thanks for the post!!

[paulspring]

Thanks for taking us on this journey with you. Good vid.

[Floridays]

The more I see you do, the more I trust you, I have had some paint issues with my Black on Black Nissan Maxima, and some of the things I have picked up from you have not only helped, but I have learned not to be so picky with my first applications and so forth, good stuff please keep it coming. Harley!

[steveadams]

I LOVE that; "The advantage of having a crappy car I guess."
LMAO! That's true ! Very very true!

[Spacemonkeymojo]

"Now it is true that if you use a sponge and you go hard enough you can put scratches in your clear coat... but there is no clear coat on this car" LOL

[sespider]

Going to check this out.
Really hope it works.
Walked out today, after 2 days of very heavy rain, and found TWO large water bubbles on the side of my truck. All because the 20+ year old clear coat had flaked some and now holding rain water.