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It's been cold here the last few days, 34 Degrees. When I pulled the car cover off this morning this is what I discovered. Two weeks ago, this was not happening. I have owned this car for over 14 years and never seen paint pop off like this. What causes it?
I'm no paint expert by any means but going by your pics I don't see any indication of any sort of prep or primer. No offence meant but I think you're probably lucky it lasted for 14 years.
On the plus side, it should be REALLY easy to strip.
Gary
Last edited by Gary's '66; Jan 3, 2016 at 01:21 PM.
I would tend to agree with you. However, would it have taken over 14 years to show up? I am not a automotive "paint guy" so I am not sure what would have caused this after all of these years. The paint that is on the car is what was on it when I purchased it. Even back then it had dings and small scratches. So, I presume that it had been repainted years before I bought it.
Very strange surface under the paint! As said above, no sign of primer, and the surface has a blotchy mottled uneven finish. I agree it was likely poor bonding between the paint and the underlying surface.
I actually do see primer, the problem is it appears to be outdated red oxide lacquer primer, and from what I see it absorbed moisture, probably between coats. just lucky it lasted so long.
I have found that any repair that was done to this car before I purchased it was done half-assed. I guess there isn't any reason that the paint job should be different.
There is some pleasant, positive input. Sure glad you joined our group here on the C1/C2 forum. Looking forward to what you might have to offer in the future.
My guess would be trapped moisture under the cover, then freezing.
I don't know if you can blame the car cover in this case but I really don't like those things. I use one occasionally if I'm doing something in the garage around the car, but it comes right off afterwards
On the plus side, it should be REALLY easy to strip.
Gary
Yeah, should pretty much fall off with a razor blade, and quickly, too.
As far as why it fell off, poor prep, perhaps the primer was sanded to smooth of has contamination on the surface; and also, using a different type primer from the final paint, even different manufacturer primer from final coat can cause problems. In other words, if you start with Sikkens primer, use Sikkens paint, for example.
As far as why now? Paint will peel when it wants to peel. I would suspect if anytime in the past few years, had you hit a weak spot in the paint with a high pressure water hose, a whole lot of paint would have stripped right off.
I am not a painter, but I have hung around paint shops long enough to ahve picked up a few things.
I don't know if you can blame the car cover in this case but I really don't like those things. I use one occasionally if I'm doing something in the garage around the car, but it comes right off afterwards
I think the trick is to use a breathable cover for cars that are stored indoors. Use one that is specifically designed for indoor storage, basically just a dust cover. Do not use an outdoor car cover on cars that are stored indoors. It will trap moisture and cause problems, especially in any heated storage where condensation can then occur on the inside of the cover. Even the ones that claim to use Gore Tex or something similar for supposed breathablity can be overwhelmed by the amount of moisture that gets trapped. Been there, done that.
Some folks only want to buy one cover and try to use it both ways......
I don't think we know from the OP whether the car was stored inside or out, or what kind of cover was used?
Last edited by tuxnharley; Jan 3, 2016 at 03:26 PM.
Reason: expanded comments
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (appearance mods)
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The old paint probably had hardly noticeable cracks or crazing in it in those areas. Then moisture gets in the crack and you covered it, trapping that moisture under the paint. Freezing would lift it for sure. Sometimes covering a car at the wrong time or the wrong humidity is worse than not covering it at all.
If it had of sat in the sun for a day before you covered it, it wouldn't have happened. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it!
To answer a few questions.
I am in the military and going to retire in 18 months. So, it is not in the budget to repaint the car right now. However, I do have plans to do a complete overhaul of the car once I get settled wherever I should retire.
Since moving to my new duty station, 18 months ago, I keep the car in a large three sided covered shed. Although there is a roof over the car, it is still exposed to the elements. Because of that, I purchased a Noah Car Cover from Zips. According to Zips description "For indoor/outdoor protection the NOAH fabric is the most versatile material available for your C1 Corvette."
Everywhere else I have lived, I kept the car in a proper garage with an indoor car cover on it.
I think the trick is to use a breathable cover for cars that are stored indoors...I don't think we know from the OP whether the car was stored inside or out, or what kind of cover was used?
Best circumstances is no cover-in a perfect indoor environment, dry, dark, heated, dust-free. In the average garage that other people access, a dust cover.
In cold indoor storage (such as a self-service storage facility (typical light gauge metal bldg on slab) I use no covers in season, and then indoor covers.
Few things are worse than parking a car outside with a cover, any cover. If it has to be outside better to block the windows from sunlight inside, oil the bumpers and chrome, and hope for the best.
I guess if you really care about the car which you probably do, I would suggest you start researching the cost of the phases and plan on it in a realistic way. I wish you luck and hope to see you get to it.
You're saying that all happened within 2 weeks? There was no sign of cracking or spider webbing before that? That's pretty amazing to hold up for 14 years and then blow up like that within a 14 day time span.
Paint Flaking Off
