Peeling Clear Coat

[IndianaJoe]

The clear coat on the rear of my coach is beginning to peel. I would like to repair it myself,I do have experience with paint but have never taken on anything like this before. Any suggestions.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Clean it up, sand it down, and re-spray with a gun or rattle-can spray clear coat paint. If you have some experience with spray painting, it should come out fine. The quality of the prep work is the secret - sand it well and wipe off the dust thoroughly.

You aren't sanding down through the underlying paint - just the clear coat.

[paz]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

...You aren't sanding down through the underlying paint - just the clear coat.

Good suggestion, but it's easier said than done. Our colored base coat was so thin that by the time I had the clear coat sanded off, I was through the base coat in numerous spots.

One reason the clear coat peels is it wasn't applied heavily enough and wet enough. The underlying color frequently has the same problem, and it therefore can be very easy to sand through it.

You don't necessarily need to buy paint for the color coat beforehand, but I recommend trying to at least find a source for it before you start sanding just in case.

[NHRA225]

Just completed re-finishing my front Cap- Clear was peeling all over it and I thought I could get away with just sanding and re-clearing, however that didn't work out as I got into the color trying to get it smooth enough.
Bit the bullet and sanded the Cap with
320 and began the build up process with Pimer- Sealer- Sprayed new base coat to match and then 4 coats of clear.
Lot of work, but it looks nice.

[akeyzoo]

I concur that clearcoat repairs are nearly impossible to isolate to just the clearcoat. When I repaired the top radius on my coach it took a repaint of that section. Luckily for me the repaired area was high and any imperfections from my driveway repair are not visible. I choose to use KBS diamond clear for a durable clear.

Chris

[Razzman]

I just did the top of the front and rear caps on mine. The clear coat was applied thick and was looking like crap. Not wanting to get into a re-paint just yet i got up there and blasted both areas with water to remove what was already sticking up as well as what would soon. I then used a fine scotch-brite pad to remove any tails and stuck debris. Finally i lightly sanded the entire area, washed and dried. Once dry I applied three coats of automotive clearcoat to both ends. Once dry i buffed out with polishing compound and waxed.

Is it perfect? Nope and when up close you can see the edges of the original peeling. But from the ground you can't tell and that's good enough until i do a re-paint unless I sell it first.