I took the cover off the car today to apply some wax that i got for xmas to find blistering on half of the roof, a bit of the boot and a tiny bit on the front bumper. I have been super careful to remove the cover every few weeks to check and dry it out if it was damp but it has still happened! I think its from damp and frosty weather mixed with sun!
I am gutted, will it go back down? Anything i can do?
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I doubt it's anything to do with the car cover. Is it a recent paint job? Looks like moisture under the paint which has frozen then when it's thawed it's just popped. Had it all over my E46. Mine was fine until the first frost then it popped.
Im not blaming the cover, its fairly old paint but its not really been out in frost since. Hopefully it stays where it is and gets no worse!
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This is all a bit secondhand so apologies if its wrong but a paint tech once told me that blisters like that were due to pin-holes in the paint when it was applied and frost would open it up and allow moisture underneath. Once its underneath, it will only get worse.
I'm guessing the car has been resprayed as it doesn't happen with OEM paint.
Also, putting a cover on the car can be worse than leaving it out as it traps the moisture under the cover and, when the wind blows, can act as a mild abrasive scratching the paintwork as the cover flaps.
Yep mine keeps getting these paint blisters every winter
Im hoping that they will miraculously disappear! Doubt it though. The paint was fairly well sealed so i don't know if its pin holes as they should be sealed up really. Either was it looks pants now.
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There's a certain amount of truth in that, although the more likely explanation is moisture somewhere in the process. I painted my BMW in a weekend and it was outside between primer and basecoat stages. Even on a dry evening in summer there's too much moisture in the air to put a car outside during paint process which we found out the hard way. We couldn't figure out if it was moisture coming through the airline from the compressor, or not letting the panel-wipe evaporate, or oil contamination etc etc. That's what we put it down to and since then everything gets painted with heat lamps on and hair dryers blowing under the booth door. The only way to completely dry out any car for paint is in an oven.Originally Posted by Jonny Wilkinson
In my experience they start small and get worse every year. Eventually when I washed the bonnet the tops of the bubbles peeled off and left primer underneath. That only really happens on flat panels like bonnets, roofs, tops of wings etc. Anything vertical shouldn't look too bad.
Do they disappear? Please say yes!
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Well...first time I had the paint redone.
This year year they came about a month ago just before I chucked it in the garage for Xmas.
The good news is they have gone!! But that's with it getting left in a garage for a month. Not sure if you continue to leave yours outside in the frost if they'll go or not.
This is certainly from the car cover. That's why outdoor car covers are never a good idea because moisture is constantly being held against the paint. Me and my brother have stored cars outside for winter for the past ten years and soon found out that car covers cause these blister marks. Unfortunately they don't disappear as they are defects. They need to be sanded back and resprayed.
Unless you are using a carcoon type arrangement it's best to leave it uncovered with a box of silica gel in the interior to stop mould.
So would the same apply to "breathable" covers? I used one on my last car (shell) that sat for 3 years, I don't recall seeing these marks, I've now got another car which is now covered but concerned after comments made here
Mine was a halfords breathable cover.
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Yeah it's not really a question of it being breathable. It's more a question of it being wet for long periods of time and keeping the moisture against the paint. A good wash and decent wax will keep the paint nice and protected
Honestly I know its counterintuitive but having it exposed to the elements is better than having water held against it for weeks at a time before being dried out.
As said. Invest in decent wax (as in not halfords bargain basement) and it will be okay. Won't do anything about chassis rust etc but then again neither will a car cover
Holding water against a lacquered finish doesn't do the paint any good, but it doesn't cause these blisters. A lacquered finish is sealed, it's only porous for a few weeks at most until it's fully cured (this is why you should never put polish or wax on fresh paint, you need to let any remaining solvent escape). The only way moisture can get under the surface of the lacquer is by damaging the top layer (stone chips etc) or if the moisture was already there in the first place before the panel was lacquered.
If you get these blisters on your paint then the car hasn't been painted in the correct conditions.
I guess micro stone chips would do the same
It's not simply the water again to the paint that causes the blistering. It's the constant abrasion of the cover flapping in the wind along with the water being held against japanese paint which is super soft.
Its blistered where the cover doesn't touch too (Between the kouki wing and roof) which rules that theory out.
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How long ago was the car painted ?
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Its was pre 2008 not sure exactly. Before mine and the previous onwnership. When JonTrueman owned it i think.
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