Paint bubbles

[ParaHandy]

I have a few rust-like bubbles showing above a wheel arch and a door trailing edge. Is this the paint bond to the aluminium failing or, more seriously, a structural deterioration of the underlying aluminium skin? And should it be corrected as soon as possible? Mileage now 90k

Thanks in anticipation.

(XK4.2 06 plate x150)

[mike020150]

Sadly, over time, aluminium corrodes (oxidises) in a similar way to steel. The main difference is that the resulting oxide is a less visually objectionable white powder instead of a nasty brown flaky material. Any signs of corrosion, like bubbling, are best tackled early to prevent poor paint adhesion turning into perforations so, I'd certainly suggest getting the offending areas corrected sooner rather than later. Mike.

[ParaHandy]

Thanks. Do you happen to know someone who can correct this? Anyone between Oxford and Portsmouth .... Several, some that I know quite well, won't touch it. They seem to think this is the tip of the iceberg.

[mike020150]

Hi Douglas,
I'm afraid I'm rather out of date with body shops in that area that are competent working with aluminium panels. You could do worse than investigate which body shops your local Jaguar dealers use since these will have had to pass muster with Jaguar. Mike.

[ParaHandy]

No luck. The Jag paint shop Initially offered a ludicrously expensive option of replacing the metal from the wheel arch to the roof. After some persuasion arrived at a make-do-and-mend but that still costs nearly £1,000.

Now seeking help from MX5 body shop who might deal with this rather better.

There is the XK seminar which is too far away for me to attend but there are some notes and other useful material. Is that material available to purchase?

[mike020150]

Contact Nigel Thorley or the Bristol office after the seminar next weekend. I feel sure they will be able to supply some useful material. Mike.