Lifting lacquer on XKR

[jeccles2]

Hi Folks,
I have a beautiful 1998 XKR in Phoenix Red with near perfect paint. It always amazes me that after a rain shower my other cars look drab with half a ton of Sahara on them but the XKR just gleams brighter than ever. Today after washing it I noticed a patch about 20cms x 10cms on the NSR wing where it looked as though someone had stuck on a sheet of polythene with wrinkles that you could move with a finger. On closer examination it was possible to get a fingernail under it and lift off what seems to be a lacquer coat leaving a slightly blistered paint layer below. I am at a complete loss as to how this could happen when the rest of the car's paintwork remains perfect.

Does this ring a bell with anyone?

[J44EAG]

We see this quite a bit across the model range of Jaguar cars.

Often this is down to the quality of paint preparation prior to clean coat application. A smear of greasy substance left on the colour coat is all that is needed to promote poor clear coat application. It could also be down to a previous repair where a similar issue may have occurred.

You could try a localised repair. Wash and dry the panel for at least two feet back all around the area to be repainted. Use mild rubbing compound to remove deep ingrained panel dirt before you do anything. I would tackle this type of issue by flatting off the clear coat on and around the offending area with P800 Wet&Dry production paper, ensuring you have taper blended sound top coat edges into the colour coat. I`d then go over that area again with P1200 W&D. Avoid removing colour coat from the car. Wash off flatting residue with a new sponge with water from a running hose. Let dry and avoid drying off with a cloth. It is all to easy to re-contaminate a panel with a cloth. Let dry naturally or blow off with compressed air.

You can find Clear Coat lacquer in aerosol tins in Halfords or a similar outlets. Do not attempt paint repairs at less than 15 degrees or you stand the chance of having the fresh new paint "bloom" on you as it dries. This is where a layer of condensation forms on the newly sprayed paint. If that happens you will have to flat that damage off before proceeding further! Wait until you have the right conditions before doing DIY paint repairs. Only paint on fine days with the temperature of the day on the rise, rather than on the fall. I always aim to paint in the morning with rising temperatures forecast for the afternoon. The paint then gets cooked in the afternoon sun before temperatures plummet in the evening.

When you come to paint, mask trim parts well to avoid over-spray. I always mask back at least two feet all around the area I am repairing. Do not mask around the repair itself. Assuming the area to be painted is now completely dry and free from dust, evenly spray on three or four coats of clear coat at ten minute intervals. Do not rush this stage or overload the area with too much paint in one go. Take your time and walk away from the job after each paint coat application and get a coffee. That will stop you dashing another paint coat on too soon! Spray the clear coat over the opened up repair and about three inches out all round from the centre of the repair outwards. Leave to dry for at least 24hrs. Yes, you will have "dust edges" all around the repair. Once the paint has hardened, use P1200 W&D on the new lacquer and work down those dust edges to leave a smooth blended finish with the existing clear coat. Water wash and dry the repair. Buff up with rubbing compound, remove the residue and apply your favourite polish. The job is done. If any of the repair looks "flat", continue with rubbing compound to increase lustre.

Damaged colour coat may need to be repaired. Again Halfords will specially mix the correct colour for you. Take your thee digit paint code to them and they will mix whilst you wait. Repairs to the colour coat follow the same sequence as detailed above followed by the clear coat application.

Hope that helps,

Mike K

[jeccles2]

Mike,
What an extremely detailed and useful response - I am indebted. I had thought to drop by the bodyshop but your excellent description of a remedy prompts me to have a go. As I look more closely I can see an oval area in the middle of the affected rectangle that has some high spots that show grey primer if you scratch them with fingernail so I think there must have been a previous repair which is finally coming to the surface. I have owned the car for 12 years and this is only now beginning to show. Obviously I need to go down into the colour coat and primer as I suppose the high spots may be due to some rust spots developing though I would have expected that to have happened before now.

Well here goes! I was feeling very pleased with myself having just completed precautionery replacement of all timing chains and tensioners, water pump and thermostat though after only 37,000 miles in 18 years the original plastic tensioners were in perfect condition.

Thank you Mike.

[J44EAG]

My pleasure.

It sounds as if you have an "inclusion" or indeed some other defect below the paint. You need to get down to the core material and see what is going on. Once the damage is opened up, perhaps take a couple of photo images and post them here so we can see what horrors lay below.

Mike K

[oldtimer]

Jeccles 2
Mike makes it sound a piece of cake to do. My attempts have usually been pretty feeble especially applying clear coat so the very best of luck. A photo of the result would be good

[BrizzleJag]

I'd to be interested to hear how you got on. Mike's detailed description of what to do is spot on, but it does take a little courage and confidence to tackle this yourself, Iv'e done this on other cars. I had a similar blister on the roof of my XKR and because of where it was I left it to the professionals to repair. Had it been on the wing like yours I would probably have done the "smart" repair as described by Mike myself. At the end of the day if it doesn't work out you can always get a pro to fix it.

[J44EAG]

The secret is to go slowly, think what you are doing, keep any repaired area as small as possible and cut back the paint edges with W&D paper and cutting compound at each stage. This removes over-spray from primer, colour coat and clear coat.

As an example, lets take a repair the size of a £2 coin. You flat the damage out using say P240 which leaves tapered paint which reveals a quarter inch of primer around the coin shape. You then wet flat with P800 W&D to remove the P240 scratches. Wash down the rubbing residue and ensure you have a clean area about a foot back all round the repair. Dry the worked area and the surrounding existing paint. Spray three coats of primer at fifteen minute intervals. The primer should cover the damaged area and extend all around by about an inch. Let dry for 24hrs to harden.

Next day, just dust coat the primer with a pass from a can of matt black spray paint. That is just a mist of contrasting colour over the primer and is known as a guide coat. Wet flat the primer and guide coat until the guide coat has been rubbed off. The guide coat sits on top of the primer and also in the orange peel effect of the sprayed primer. Rubbing down with P1200 W&D until the guide coat disappears and the primer is flat, gives the good surface finish needed for top coat. Use the P1200 to remove excess primer and dust over-spray. Polish up the primer with cutting compound and cut back the excess primer to keep the repair as small and tight as possible. Yes, you will take off a few molecules of existing clear coat in the process.

Having cleaned up the excess compound and wishy washy general residue, wash and dry the part finished repair. Now spray on three coats of colour coat at fifteen minute intervals. Ensure you run an inch over the edges of the new primer. Step away from the job for 24hrs.

Next day, gently flat the colour coat with P1200 W&D paper. Go easy and flat off the edges of the colour coat to remove dust edges and blend into the surrounding paint work. You can cut back and polish the new paint with cutting compound to remove any flatness. Wash, clean and dry again. Then spray three or perhaps four coats of clear coat on the job and again walk away for another 24hrs.

Next day, flat down the clear coat with P1200 W&D. Polish up with rubbing compound and blend in the colour coat dust edges. This will finally give you a repaired job. Finish off with your favourite car wax.

Most people don`t know how to use W&D paper. Place a new sheet in front of you. It is A4 paper size. Fold the paper in half length-wise. Effectively you have two long strips. Fold back and forth a few times, then tear the sheet down the fold line to get those two strips. Take a long strip and fold in half, top to bottom. Open out and fold the bottom of the paper to the crease line you have created. Then repeat again with the other part of the paper above the crease line. What you are trying to achieve is to make four small working surfaces which you can open out change the worn surface to a fresh one as the abrasive wears due to use. You are trying to create a paper area that fits nicely onto your hand. One corner gets gripped between your thumb and forefinger.

These images may help you with this basic origami. I`ve used a sheet of white paper to show the folding technique. In use do not allow any of the abrasive surfaces to touch one and other. That will rub the two surfaces to extinction and wear the paper out in double quick time. Use the paper FLAT in the palm of your hand and DO NOT rub with your finger tips. That would put tramlines in your work!

Here we go again. Site limitation is three images per post.

[J44EAG]

Note the technique of holding the paper between thumb and forefinger.

Mike K

[BrizzleJag]

Terrific step by step guide Mike, top tips.