MGA Holy Blisters! MGA Paint Question

[Daimlerdb18]

It's been months since my MGA was painted (base/clear coat) and up until we had some 100 deg days (130 deg in garage) the paint has looked great. But, now it looks like if the heat in the garage has raised blisters over the boot lid and bonnet. They look alot like the evil fish eye that pops up soon after painting a poorly prepped surface. Could the heat + micro-contamination cause pop ups? Any opinions on if there's a way to repair the problem short of sanding the entire surface and re-painting?

 

[Stewart]

I had the same thing happen on the right rear fender of my B right after it was painted. Close to the same conditions 3 diget temps and it took about 2 weeks to show up. Not sure what caused it but the painter did have to sand it down to the metal and start again.

 

[ccougill]

I agree with Stewart, you'll be sanding on this one

 

[tony barnhill]

Doesn't that almost say contamination during prep?

 

[ccougill]

yeah it does Tony, base coat/ clear coat should be dry enough to wax in about 24 to 48 hours. I just painted the door on my LE and waxed it the next day for the car show

 

[zahnej]

Here is another suggestion.

I am assuming your base/clear is a two part two step urethane which is relatively thick paint.

Try wet sanding an area with 2000 grit and then rubbing and glazing out. If you can get the paint level with the wet sanding without going through the clear you should be OK.

If not, some other possibilities are
- An incompatible layer prior to finish paint - filler,spot putties, sandable primers etc.

- Not waiting long enough for sub layers to properly dry and getting bleed through.

If you have to start over and don't take it down to bare metal make sure to apply a sealer coat of epoxy primer prior to your base/clear. Most epoxy primers are compatible with almost all sub and top coats. This should stop compatiblity and bleed through issues.

Best recommendation is to follow all paint manufactures instructions for their systems starting with bare metal to top coat and don't mix manufactures to avoid surprises.

Hope you can get it out with just the wet sanding!!

 

[ccougill]

I talked to my painter about this and he says that your painter or body guy painted the car before allowing the bodywork to properly dry and give up it's gases. the paint sealed them in and they expanded in the heat, thus causing the blistering. Back to bare metal is his advice. He also graciously allowed me to practice my wet sanding technique on a buick he is working on. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[Daimlerdb18]

Thanks very much to all for the advice. There are some positives here, I guess! 1) I need the exercise I'll get from sanding the paint. 2) It's starting to cool off so working in the garage won't be complete torture. 3) It will be a very good excuse to have "sanding parties" with my more gullible friends (think Tom Sawyer)...

Cheers!
Bruce

As for "there's a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"...my friends in the Antique Car Club of Jalisco, Mexico, have a great club motto: "El mal del fierro"...The Iron Disease...yup that about sums it up...

 

[tony barnhill]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] 1) I need the exercise I'll get from sanding the paint. [/QUOTE]
Strip it chemically if you decide you've gotta take everything off!

 

[Daimlerdb18]

Hi Tony, Any advice on which chemicals to use? Methylene Chloride? or Something not as toxic?? Or are you thinking about the process of pulling the coachwork off the chassis and having a dip done?

 

[tony barnhill]

I was thinking arcraft stripper - brush it on, use a putty knife to peel off...get most of it off that way then sand.

 

[Daimlerdb18]

Thanks Tony, You are an invaluable resource on this forum!!

 

[tony barnhill]

Man, you are taking this better than I would!

 

[ccougill]

yeah my painter would be doing the rework, for free

 

[tony barnhill]

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif Have you talked with him yet?

 

[Daimlerdb18]

Yeah, talked to him, but here's the rub (and my error no doubt): I did all the body work and the prime painting (urethane with activator) but wanted the finish painting done in a proper spray booth. The paint shop is a small two man operation which has done good-looking work for local hotrodders. The guy didn't charge very much ($39/hr + cost of paint) and the car looked really good when it came out of the shop. He's saying that the glaze and the filler (very scant) on the areas blistering did not have enough time to out gas...I waited a week between the time the last wet sanding was done on the primer and taking the car to the painter. That should have been enough, or so I thought. I did give him the prime paint info, too, so that he could match manufacturer. So, where to place the blame?

 

[tony barnhill]

This one's a no win....my body guy won't touch a car that's been worked on by anybody else...right now he has a '68 Ford convertible in his blast booth...owner had it painted somewhere else & wanted this shop to do some touch up...he pointed out how deep the paint was overall & the different layers of paint & took the job only if he could strip to bare metal...another car that a customer took to a different bead blaster & brought in, this shop pointed out what the problems with that blasting & would only do the job if he could repair the problems he pointed out....& he won't take any job where another shop has laid down primer.

This time I'd say let them do everything or you do everything....

 

[Daimlerdb18]

Indeed, lesson learned. It may be time to take a foray into doing the final painting myself...I wasn't out a huge amount of cash the first time around, mostly time.

All this futzing around with the MGA and Armstrong Siddeley keep me off the streets, out of the bars, and too broke to have a girlfriend; a condition enthusiastically approved by my wife. Of course it was a few years ago when upon taking up LBCs after a 20 year hiatus, she commented that a grown man should have given up playing with cars long ago. To which I replied, "take you choice, I can occupy myself with old cars or a young girl. I need a hobby." She was cool with the LBCs until she saw the fisrt Moss bill and said that the girl friend would have been cheaper...

 

[ccougill]

basically you needed to wait longer before you shot your primer over the filler.

 

[tony barnhill]

My guy strips, primes with exopy primer & then does any bodywork on top of his epoxy primer.