Peeling car paint is pretty common as cars get older. It only takes a few dings or scratches to begin the process of paint peeling or delamination that can lead to rust and corrosion if left unfixed.
Peeling often starts as small patches but can quickly spread, exposing the underlying metal. So while how your car looks is probably your biggest frustration, a peeling paint job can become a bigger worry.
Car Paint Peeling Table of Contents
How To Fix Car Paint Peeling Off
Peeling paint on your car both looks bad and can also lead to further damage if left untreated. Here are some of the best ways to address your peeling paint job.
Buy A DIY Kit
For minor paint peeling caused by chips, a DIY repair kit can work and be pretty cheap.
These kits will include fine sandpaper, primer, paint, and clear coat spray, letting a novice fix small sections of paint damage.
Getting that professional-looking finish with a DIY kit can take practice and some kits are better than others. If you’re confident in your skills and looking for a cheaper option, this can be a temporary fix.
Work With A Trusted Car Paint Shop
Working with a skilled, trusted car paint shop like Bemac will get you the best results.
Pro technicians have the experience and tools to properly prepare the surface of your entire car, match the paint perfectly, and apply it so that you can’t even tell you had any work done.
The result is a durable, high-quality finish that not only looks great but also protects your vehicle again. Trusting your vehicle’s paint to qualified professionals is your safest bet.
Paintless Dent Repair
Paintless dent repair is a bodyshop technique used to remove minor dents and dings from your vehicle’s body without doing any painting.
The dent is essentially massaged from the underside of the panel using special tools, slowly restoring the original shape. Paintless dent repair can be an option when the paint itself hasn’t been damaged but it could start coming off later.
Vinyl Wrap
Vinyl wraps are another alternative. Vinyl wraps are made from durable vinyl that, once applied to a car’s surface, cover all imperfections like scratches, chips, and fading paint.
A higher-quality one put on by professionals can look really good. While it doesn’t fix your paint, it does protect it and your entire car’s structure from further damage.
Methods To AVOID
Ceramic Coating
While ceramic coatings will definitely protect your paint, they won’t fix peeling paint. In fact, applying a ceramic coating over damaged paint can make it worse and lead to more peeling. Avoid.
Razor Blades
Using razor blades to remove peeling paint is risky. You’re likely to scratch the underlying surface which can cause rust and corrosion down the road.
Immediate Polishing
Polishing a car properly with peeling paint can actually remove more loose paint. Fix your peeling paint first before thinking about polishing.
Overpaint The Peeling
Painting over the peeling area without cleaning, wet sanding, repairing damage to the structure, priming, and masking will end up looking terrible and won’t last. The new paint will just peel again.
What Causes Paint To Peel?
When we use the term “car paint,” we’re really talking about 3 different layers; base coat, colour coat and protective coat. Working from bare metal outward, we have: the primer, the paint itself, and then a colourless clear coat. If any of these layers gets delaminated (stops adhering to the surface below), your paint is in trouble. Once the clear coat peeling process starts, it only gets worse, unless it’s treated.
So let’s get down to it, “What causes this delamination process?”
1. Chip, Scratch Or Dent
Your car’s clear coat acts as a paint sealant. When this outer layer is compromised by the tiniest scratch or chip, it opens the door (so to speak) for contaminants and moisture to penetrate. Small dents chips or scratches, left untreated can and will lead to delamination. Ottawa paintless dent repair can do the trick!
2. Pressure Washing
A pressure washer is much more powerful than a hose, so it’s a popular choice in getting your car super clean. However, pressure washing can be a disaster for your paint if the clear coat’s been breached by chipping or scratching.
Holding the spray nozel directly over a scratch can allow that high pressure water to get under the layers of paint and quickly cause major damage.
3. Winter
Ottawa winters are hard on your vehicle. Just the very cold temperatures will make the clear coating brittle. Melting snow turns to a salt infused slurry that penetrates every nook and cranny of your vehicle. Flying ice chunks and over zealous window scraping with sharp tools can all easily cause scratches and damage that you might not even be aware of until spring.
4. Ultraviolet Ray Exposure
Prolonged exposure to the UV rays of the sun will result in deterioration of the clear coating, and even cause fading of the paint below. While “patina” cars are quite popular, you probably wouldn’t appreciate the look on your 2012 Honda.
5. Chemical Cleaners
Be careful using harsh chemicals on your vehicle. Dilute as per the maker’s instructions and rinse off promptly. Even strong detergents like liquid dish soap can strip the protective wax from your car, leaving the paint and clearcoat more vulnerable to everything listed above.
How To Protect Car Paint From Peeling?
1. Wrap it up. An expertly applied clear plastic film (especially on the front end and hood) can protect your car from just about anything – from winter’s snow and salt to tree sap, road salt and grime and bird poop in warmer weather. Is paint protection film worth it? Learn more to decide.
2. Keep a clean machine. Take care to wash off contaminants and potentially abrasive particles. Keep your car clean! To really keep your paint perfect, commit to a clay bar session and car detailing in Ottawa 3-4 times a year. Follow cleaning with a protective coat of wax.
3. Park safely. Give your car a break – park in the shade or a garage whenever possible. In a public lot, try to find a spot away from other vehicles (or worst case, park beside the nicest vehicle), so there’s less danger of a scratch or two.
4. Nip scratches and rust in the bud. Have these problems repaired pronto, before they lead to serious damage.
5. Be good to your car. Speaking of scratches, keep keys and rough nylon snowbrushes away from your paint job. Invest in mud flaps and a car cover to protect against grit, as well as water and sunlight.
6. Get proper paint repair. Get peeling paint fixed fast, but never simply paint over it. Make sure the entire area of damage is meticulously removed and your paint is seamlessly repaired, matching the color exactly to the manufacturer’s paint code. As they say, the work is in the preparation – you get what you pay for here!
7. Consider a full paint job. If peeling affects most of the vehicle, consider having it completely repainted. While this doesn’t come cheap (a full paint job costs about $5,000), it gives you back your vehicle looking “brand-new”, along with pride of ownership and a solid resale value.
Take Care Of Peeling Paint With Bemac
Looking for a professional and long-lasting fix for your car’s peeling paint?
We make getting estimates or appraisals easy with online scheduling and quoting, drive through estimate bays, and multiple locations across Ottawa. Trust Bemac to restore your car’s paint and get it looking great again.
