Ah, a car’s paint peeling. It’s the last phase in the clear coat failure phase. It’s when the clear coat has deteriorated so much that it is now peeling off the car. Unfortunately at this point, there is nothing you can do besides getting your car repainted.
In order to prevent this from happening, the preventative maintenance should have starts months and months, and even years ahead of time.
In this blog post, I’m going to cover a few more details about clear coat failure and why the paint is peeling. Hopefully you’ll take away some great knowledge so you can apply it to your next car (or your current car before it happens).
What Happens That Makes Clear Coat Peel
First things first, it’s not your actual paint that’s peeling, it’s your clear coat (hence why it looks white/clear, because that’s the color of the clear coat. Your actual paint color is dull, and when they’re manufacturing your car, they apply clear coat over the paint to protect it and make it look shiny.
No clear coat= no paint protection= no shiny paint 🙁
The main reason for your clear coat to deteriorate is neglect over the course of several years. Clear coat just doesn’t happen over night, it takes time for the heat and weather to eat at it little-by-little into the clear coat can no longer take it.
How To Prevent Clear Coat Failure
If you drive your car a lot and you also leave it parked outside under no roof, then the best thing you can do is keep your car protected with a wax or sealant (or the strongest is a coating).
The life of the wax or sealant will vary from 2 to 6 months, depending on how you drive, the outside conditions, and where you keep your car when you’re not driving it.
But this can be one of the best ways to maintain your clear coat. The wax and sealant acts as a layer of protection for your clear coat. So whet it rains or bug guts splatter over your car, the first layer of defense is the sealant, followed by the clear coat.
That way it’s the sealant that’s always being eaten away, not the clear coat.
However, just because you apply a sealant does not mean your car will not scratch or receive any damage whatsoever. It’s more so that it will highly minimize the risk and damage of what could happen.
Conclusion
Yes, it does take some time throughout your day to wax the car (you can always fire a detailer), but the time you spend protecting your car every other month or so will be worth it so you can have your car looking great for years to come.
Think about the pros and cons. You can not wax your car right now and save time and energy, but you’re going to spend a lot more money (if you want to get it fixed and not drive around like that) getting the panels repaired and painted. Whereas if you spend a little time and energy upfront, you’ll save the headaches of taking your car to a body shop later on in its lifetime.