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paint film removal

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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

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For several years I wondered why one section of paint on my car (2015 Nissan Altima) was always duller than the rest of the car.

Now I realize there's some kind of protective film on that section - right rear quarter panel.

How the heck do you remove it?

I've seen videos on removing a clear plastic protective "bra" - but that's not what this is. It's some kind of protective plastic that I assume was put on the car prior to shipment.

Photos attached, showing a few spots where the plastic has flecked off at the edge. You see the actual paint surface where the plastic has peeled off. In the second photo, it looks like someone tried removing the plastic, but it wouldn't come off after a certain point. (greyish line)

Believe me - it doesn't peel off by grabbing an edge; it just seems to flake off in tiny pieces. Edit: I did try the hair drier heat idea, but no change. Just barely comes off with the fingernail. As it's on the entire rear right quarter panel - that's a *lot* of fingernail work. There's got to be a better way.

I wondered if anyone has gone through this.

Thanks.
Tom M.
 
Clearcoat? I don't think so, as it's got a defined border, and flecks off in distinct "squares" or strips. How could I tell?

The paint *under* the film is perfect and matches all the rest of the car's paint exactly. The film has obviously weathered, and gives the entire quarter panel a dull finish - except where I can remove it.

Thanks.
TM
 
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Years ago Chrysler put a protective coating on the lower parts of their cars to protect from road dirt. Or at least that is what the dealer told me when I questioned the weird paint about 8 inches up on the car.
 
I remember that. On my old Mazdas there was a wide clear protective strip along the bottom of fender and door panels.
 
Take it to a local detailer. They'll be able to tell what it is pretty quick. Every car I've seen in shipment has protection across the hood, roof and trunk. Maybe a Ferrari gets a full body wrap, but I'm pretty sure Altimas aren't getting that treatment. Google Nissan Clear Coat problems and you'll find a bunch. I'm betting on paint delamination, too.
 
Thanks Rick.

Take a look at this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ImwTPN10-Y

The area he points to looks exactly like what I'm dealing with.

But I'm too dense to figure out what he did to that area. Did he just scuff the edges of that dull area, clean it, then spray clear coat over the entire area so it "matches"?

I'd think he'd try to remove all that dull looking clear coat - but he obviously doesn't.

Thoughts? Is he just "cleaning up the edges" then clear coating the entire area?

Thanks.
Tom M.
 
He's removing the clearcoat that isn't tightly adhering to the base coat (the color coat). Once he gets the loose clear coat removed, he's feathering the edge of the clearcoat by sanding to make a smooth transition from the clear coat to the base while keeping the sandpaper away from the base coat (sanding over that will put scratches in the base coat that will show up when he reclears). Then he's lightly scuffing the remaining exposed stable clear coat to give the new clear something to adhere to. Ideally, he'd be able to sand right up to some defined breaks, like chrome trim or a door opening and reclear that whole portion. However, you'll note he's taped up to a portion of the window frame where he'll stop painting. Once that's finished, he's going to clear the entire area he's sanded, trailing off the spray as he gets to that top edge he's taped off (he doesn't want to apply a heavy coat all the way to the tape as it will leave a sharp line)
 
OK - that's what I don't understand. Isn't the "dull" area in that video the clearcoat?

It looks like he's leaving all that dull area on there.

On my car (see photos), the dull area is slightly darker than the white paint (where the dull coat has flaked off). The first picture shows the bright white area at the top, where the coating has come off. That area is bright white, but all the rest of the panel is the slightly dull, slight darker, surface.

So - if I don't remove all that dull, darker area, and spray new clearcoat over it - won't I just be "shining up" the darker area, so it won't match the bright white in that small area at the top?

Befuddled.
 
Tom,

I'm not a paint expert. but the problem you have may be a result with a defect in the clear coat that dulled it across the panel. Now it's delaminating in that one particular area. But you're right, reclearing over the dull clearcoat probably won't fix the problem. If that's the case, the best solution is to have the panel sanded down to the base coat and have it repainted with basecoat and clear. It's pretty odd that it would be limited to a single panel though, as modern cars are painted robotically all over.
 
Thanks Rick. Agree on the bit about the problem only on that one panel. If you can make out the attached photos, you see the "dull" area on one panel, the bright on the adjoining panel. The panel in question is the right rear panel which runs from the wheel well up to trunk, then up over the doors.

And on the last photo, you see where the dull area just stops in the middle of the section which runs over the doors. Like there's a 1/2" border between the dull and the bright, on that one panel. Dull on the left, extending leftward for the rest of the panel. Bright on the right, extending rightward all the way to windshield. The patchy appearance on the right in that last photo is due to the surface reflecting trees overhead. That section - and the rest of the car - has a great shiny reflective surface with no dull areas at all.

Weird-a-mundo. I'll probably just live with it; I'm the only one who notices, and (so far) it's not flaking off except in those two spots in my earlier photos.

Thanks.
Tom M.
 
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