# Micro bubbles in paintwork



## GTR Pete (Oct 20, 2008)

I have a UK (Middlehurst) GTR34 VSpec and owned for the past 17 years, which had a respray four years ago due to being keyed. Went to give it a wash and polish yesterday to discover hundreds of tiny blisters beneath the paintwork on the bonnet and roof. Anyone have any ideas on what this may be and a possible cure?


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## jnoor (Feb 24, 2016)

Pretty sure a wet sand with 2000 grit followed by a machine polish should take that out.

Had my front bumper resprayed a few months ago which has tiny little bumps here and there. Took it back and guy wet sanded it and polished them all out.

Also depends on how much clear coat there is though, so be careful you dont go past it. My guy usually lays on a thick clearcoat so that you tackle issues like this.

EDIT - Theyre solid bumps right?


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## lightspeed (Jul 11, 2002)

Usually caused by moisture. Do you keep it under a cover?


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## KING (Jul 10, 2002)

I don't think they will sand and polish, that looks like solvent evaporation where by the solvents in the paint are forced out by some form of curing/ chemical reaction. Speak to a local reputable body shop or as suggested to a Detailer and get them to take a closer look and best of luck.
P.s possibly too many layers of paint and so many years later a reaction has taken place.


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## GTR Pete (Oct 20, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. It's never been under a car cover but I will take to a reputable paint centre and see what they say. Cheers.


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## davew (Apr 28, 2003)

GTR Pete said:


> Thanks for the replies. It's never been under a car cover but I will take to a reputable paint centre and see what they say. Cheers.



That's moisture in the paint when it was resprayed, the airline water trap mayu have been full so the moisture travels through with the paint. During spells of extreme cold weather the moisture expands and this is what you get. It will not flatten out, polish out nor anything out as its in there and the damage is done. We would advise the effected panels are taken back to bare metal, correctly treat, sealed and repainted.


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## davew (Apr 28, 2003)

Looking at those pictures the materials used have been pretty crap mate, alot of shops knock out shiny jobs only for it to deteriorate over the new 12-18 mths.


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## GTR Pete (Oct 20, 2008)

The job was done four years ago in April, so it's not relatively recent. However, the Nationwide company do offer a lifetime guarantee, if the var stays with the same owner. I've just emailed them with photos - so we'll see where it goes and if they honour their promises.


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## Makis (Mar 19, 2017)

Hi Pete,
like already mentioned from some people the blister you have are 100% cause by humidity. 
I've been developing paint for Refinish application and now work at the OEM /Refinish area.
We see this effect (when excluding that the prep work hasn't been done correct like stated from Dave) when we perform a so called water immersion test. Therefore the painted panel is exposed on one part in a humid environment with high tempetature. 
Like mentioned from user lightspeed in 99% of the time this is cause by keeping the car under a cover which does not let the humidity escape. If your car hasn't been covered and wasn't in a closed place with high humidity for a longer time than another option could be that the paint it's self is causing this effect. The explanation is thst additives that are used in the paint contain chemical components thst draw humidity. If one batch isn't ok than this effect can be higher than normaly. In the clearcoat from example this can cause whitening. ( a customer in italy had this effect). What is strange of course is that this effect occured after such a long period which show that for some reason the car was exposed to more water than in the past. The bubbles will disappear when the weather will get dryer / warmer. Now the question is you can keep is this way and can be lucky but with rhevrisk that it will occur again, or it can cause rust underneath the paint which will get bigger over time . The rust will be visually detecable before it can cause to much of a damage since the paint will start blistering. If the company offers a lifetime guarantee than i would defenitely respray it the way Dave mentioned it.
I hope i could help a little bit.
Bye
Maki


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## GTR Pete (Oct 20, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. The good news is that the company concerned have agreed to a full back to the metal respray under their lifetime warranty agreement. Car goes in next week. Thank you all for your replies.


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## Dazsw (May 26, 2017)

Hi mate,

I actually run a detailing company.

That's something I see from time to time.

As others have said it's moisture that's trapped, some of the finishing going from the photos does also not look to great.

Needs re-painted.


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## GTR Pete (Oct 20, 2008)

The good news regarding the respray is that the original company and management have now been taken over by a larger company. Fingers crossed that the past job will be much better.


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## Dazsw (May 26, 2017)

GTR Pete said:


> The good news regarding the respray is that the original company and management have now been taken over by a larger company. Fingers crossed that the past job will be much better.


Hope so bud, just make sure and give it a damn good inspection once complete!


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