Frankie the Fink

Can't remember if I asked this already (and apologize for the Chevelle thread) but after 7 months of ownership the 1 year old paint job on my '67 Chevelle has developed some 'bubbles'. The good news is that this is the only defect I've found (rest of the paint is flawless) -- the bad news is that it is on the hardtop rear 'sails' along the rear window (on a major body panel).

I don't need lectures on what caused it -- I know all the possible sources of the defect.

The bubbles are smaller than they appear in the picture and are really hard. I can't dent them with a firm thumbnail.

Question:

Can I wet sand these down with 2000 grit then buff the area ? Or, are we talking respray (remember this means the whole hardtop and both huge rear quarters would have to be reshot with clear)

(Oh - I DO have about a 1/2 quart of the original Marina Blue paint that was put on the car!)

66vettedude

Bad news, You have something like rust or the primer is not adhering to the metal. Wet sanding wont get rid of it. It will only sand through the paint and you will need to repaint it anyways. It would wait awhile and see if other area's pop up like that. Then you can repair them area's also. And yes that means reclear coating the entire panels.

Is the spot below the back glass? Do you have a pic the better shows the exact location on the car? Sometime we have blended clear up to some sharp body lines with good results.

toms silver 60

Frankie, you knew what the answer was going to be........

Frankie the Fink

I'm 99% convinced its not rust...this car was a complete body off down to the metal and the only rust spot was a dime sized hole near lower rear window that had metal welded in. The bubble spot is what is shown in the attached picture at the red circle. Of course (luck of the Irish) this spot is on a panel that is basically 2/3 of the whole car.

I'm inclined to think its solvent pop or some trash got in the sprayer.

I'm willing to wait but thought I might luck out and be able to wet sand this small defect back to be not so noticeable...nothing else has shown up anywhere in the paint.

1snake

That is definitely NOT solvent pop or trash. Something is happening UNDER the paint. The only fix is sand it down, fix the problem and repaint.

Jim

Frankie the Fink

Damn - I guess the good news is that the window trim, wheel well moldings and emblems are easy to pop off on this car and I have original paint. I think I'll let things 'cook' until next spring just to make sure nothing else shows up in the paint.

Thought about you yesterday...I was touring Portland, Mt. Hood, the Dalles on my Oregon Trail road trip -- just got back last night!!

chrislyn

I did a body off on my Son's Dakota and I refinished the truck in Chrome Illusion paint and after a year or so the same thing happened on the L/S rocker. When I took the paint down to metal I found a little pin hole and a couple of tiny dark spots in the metal. I took a sharp awl and it went through, So my guess is you have a small pin hole or several pinholes in the metal. As far as a repair goes I would try and see if you can get your hand up the side of the sale panel from the trunk and try and see if you feel or see anything going on. I sometimes use a small camera on a flexibleshaft to see things that are hard to get to.maybe you have one or know someone. Good luck, Wes

toms silver 60

How old is the paint job?
How long does it take for blisters to form (or stop forming)?

Isn't it not uncommon practice for cars to run just primer for 6 months or so to detect any portential flaws?

66vettedude

If you had it Soda blasted and it didnt get cleaned properly I know the primers will not stick. Soda doesnt etch the metal and it does leave a film that needs to be washed off with the right cleaners.

1snake

That's a beautiful area. The weather has been great. Hope you had a good time.

Jim

csherman

Tampa Jerry

Frankie: I feel your pain. Can you remove the inside sail panel below the headliner and see or feel if there is something going on in there?? If it is a patch of rust, at least you will know. Jerry

chrislyn

As originally posted the paint job was done a year ago. Defects in your body panels can show up at anytime. There is no exact science to it .You have to be as through as possible with your repairs and the products you use. Prep Prep Prep is your friend. What I have seen through the years is guy's will prep a car and never really take the time to actually look at all the body parts one at a time to make sure what they are priming is good to go. As far as waiting 6 months for something to happen , hey something may pop up but no guarantee, not to speak of the contamination. On the other hand if your dealing with metal parts and you prime and depending on the product you use and if using the car or just sitting the parts outside it is not a very good plan. Primers can have a porous surface and you may think all is well but if you allow moisture onto the surface what you will find is rust starting under your primer. another scenario is the guy that does bodywork to his car. Regular body filler is like sponge it will suck up water like you wouldn't believe . The guy thinks he did a great job and primes the repair with a lacquer primer and uses the car for a while and he starts to see rust coming through the repair. the primer let the moisture in and rusted the metal underneath, time to start over.

AZDoug

Looks like rust to me. If there was already a rust hole back there that was fixed, i would be highly suspect that more will pop up, sometimes the metal has gotten thin, and the entire piece must be replaced, as more will keep popping up from the backside.

Rear window surrounds are known rust areas because 1) it is condensation point for a leaky trunk, and 2) people often put vinyl tops on these cars and those were perfect rust incubators.

Or, it could be a paint prep flaw, but based on the location, i think maybe not.

Doug

Frankie the Fink

It's not in the typical rust location on early Chevelles (Camaros)...that usually occurs at the very bottom of the rear window glass IMO. This is relatively high up on a nearly vertical surface. I'm gonna see if I can get behind it somehow to do an assessment.

AZDoug

Yeah, the bottom of the rear window was always a bad spot.

Put a soft magnet around your spot area, is it near the roof attaching seam? any bondo?

Doug

Frankie the Fink

OK - learn something new every day. Not only can you see up into the inside of that 'sail' area from the trunk you can actually get a tool up in there. A very close inspection reveals its rock solid, no rust signs (on the back anyway) and even poked around with awl -- nothing...so THAT'S good news at least!!!

Magnet sticks like crazy - no bondo... I'm thinking contaminants or primer lift now.

Again, I apologize for the Chevelle post on this forum - but I trust opinions here far and away over other forums (including Chevelle Tech) for such common things.

DansYellow66

I would suspect some sort of filler reaction at the Qtr panel and roof panel joint. I believe they were leaded at the factory but your body guy may have skimmed it with some filler that reacted with the factory lead or he didn't clean the lead surface adequately before skimming. And then it could be rust but it seems to be an unusual area for rust unless it was formerly a vinyl top car.

62Jeff

Two things:

1) You indicated it was a solid bubble, so I don't think it's paint lifting, it has to be something under the paint bubbling.

2) I THINK the location you are describing is a natural body seam in the A-bodies. The quarter panel would have been welded to the sail panel there, and then leaded. The leading would have likely been replaced with modern fillers during the car's restification. So I suspect a little filler like all-metal or something like that.

But then, I'm not a body/paint guy.

wmf62

yep, i think that's what happened to the jeep we painted a year or so ago...
Bill