Peeling clear coat, respray needed.

[Papalazarou]

Kaz,

I found the ‘respraying is damage history’ in Japan really interesting. When I was looking for a car in Japan, the dealers hid a lot of issues which makes me think that 1. The domestic market customers are treated better, or 2. There’s not a lot of difference between Japan and here. I have never been to Japan.

I believe it is inevitable that paint is as much a consumable as many of the parts we replace or recondition. Kaz, you are fastidious with maintenance.
The illusion that something is original is mostly a fallacy. Especially when one considers that a sizeable percentage of cars are refinished between factory and dealer. You could be saving the paint you believe to be original, but which amy have been done later.
I was at one of the UK’s top restoration shops this week. They have the most beautiful cars; muiras, 275GTB’s, 250 california’s etc etc. the original cars were never as good as these restored examples. But honestly, so what, they look incredible. They are command horrific sums.
With one exception, every NSX I have owned has been painted somewhere. There’s a car currently for sale online which boasts all original paint and that car had the old 97+ corrosion issue. Hence, all original apart from the front, that back and one side��
I believe that something painted well is much better than the alternative which is bubbling arches, massive paint deviations between plastic and metal (I know the old argument), burn throughs and scratch damage.
I know that ‘patina’ tells a story and I concede each to his/her own.
Personally, I embrace maintenance whether mechanical or aesthetic.
Cheers.

[The King]

97 + corrosion issue??

[Papalazarou]

97 + corrosion issue??

Sure. The later 3.2 era cars suffered from paint corrosion issues. Normally around the front and rear wheel arches. The earlier cars seem less prone.
I can only imagine something changed in production which caused these issues. Perhaps the change in the aluminium grade or a paint material/process. One physical reason might have been the trim/nosecone lightly rubbing against the wing, but certainly stone chips eventually letting in moisture.
The facelift cars seemed the worst. They often had slam panel bubbling as well. I had a long beach blue car which was bubbling well on the wheel arches. Honda actually paid out for it. I had one red facelift car with only 12k miles on it. That car had paint flaking off the wheel arch.
There will be some cars which have not suffered from it to any noticeable extent. But I’d say it’s rare. I know people will be reading this thinking their car is all original, but tbh on a 20-30+ year old car, it’s doubtful.
Feel free to beat me up over this.

[NZNick]

James - is the issue only on 02+ cars, or were/are some pop-up cars affected? Is it a worldwide issue or just in the UK? I remember seeing pictures of LBBP cars years ago but nothing since.

[Papalazarou]

James - is the issue only on 02+ cars, or were/are some pop-up cars affected? Is it a worldwide issue or just in the UK? I remember seeing pictures of LBBP cars years ago but nothing since.

I only have experience of UK and a handful of European cars. Out of all those cars I’d say the facelift cars got in worst, very closely followed by pop-up 3.2’s, or autos from around 97 onwards.

[NZNick]

Thanks for the swift reply. Mine seems to be ok (goes off to touch wood and aluminium)….

[Papalazarou]

Thanks for the swift reply. Mine seems to be ok (goes off to touch wood and aluminium)….

I think there is also a bit of luck involved. I also believe that certain colours fare better than other. Certainly that is true with plastic/metal variations.
Look at most red NSX’s and there will be a colour difference between bumpers and body. I know most have been painted by now, but even the original finishes are often a mile out. IOP and pearl white perhaps the worst. Not quite as bad as the R35 Nissans which were just shocking from factory. I was told that they paint the body and bumpers separately, but I was told, so who knows.
Strangely I’ve never seen a LLB with original paint with deviations. The ones that have been refinished are hellishly bad.
Just a final thought. I think the corrosion issues have a fair bit to do with moisture and humidity. Storing cars in damp environments causes lots of issues.

[NZNick]

Cheers again James - my car is kept in a reasonably large well ventilated space. i think in it’s previous life in Japan it was well cared for and driven a reasonable amount. Can’t see that it has had paint in the past - if it has it has been done well.

[Senninha]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about the issues Martin, and whilst a wrap could be an option, please be mindful that removing it from anything other than OEM paint is only likely to cause further issues for you as the wrap is removed. Further, my experience, that I know James will support, Formula Red is soft and will have changed tone over the years so I would proceed with caution with any shop claiming its ability to match part of the car.

Also to consider is that paint has changed since yours left the factory. It’s all water based now and that also adds to the complexity of colour matching.

If it was my car, I’d drive and worry less about the exterior and probably not even wash it … theres something about a supercar that’s clearly been used and isnt looking like a new pin … hard to do but starts a whole new set of conversations

Ref the bubbling issue, it does preceed the facelift as Ive seen several NA2 pop-ups with the issue both before and after treatment. As James says, how original is original. I’d rather buy an honestly maintained car than that has received properly recorded mechanical and cosmetic care than one that has a sketchy history and ‘claims’ to originality.

Jump in a drive it, its a unique and rare sight regardless of cosmetics and many will still admire as you roll past them!!

Regards, Paul

[rkanaga]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about the issues Martin, and whilst a wrap could be an option, please be mindful that removing it from anything other than OEM paint is only likely to cause further issues for you as the wrap is removed. Further, my experience, that I know James will support, Formula Red is soft and will have changed tone over the years so I would proceed with caution with any shop claiming its ability to match part of the car.

Also to consider is that paint has changed since yours left the factory. It’s all water based now and that also adds to the complexity of colour matching.

If it was my car, I’d drive and worry less about the exterior and probably not even wash it … theres something about a supercar that’s clearly been used and isnt looking like a new pin … hard to do but starts a whole new set of conversations

Ref the bubbling issue, it does preceed the facelift as Ive seen several NA2 pop-ups with the issue both before and after treatment. As James says, how original is original. I’d rather buy an honestly maintained car than that has received properly recorded mechanical and cosmetic care than one that has a sketchy history and ‘claims’ to originality.

Jump in a drive it, its a unique and rare sight regardless of cosmetics and many will still admire as you roll past them!!

Regards, Paul

That lacquer peel is very surprising isn't it? Was the car stored outside with a cover on it? I think that can sometimes lead to moisture and together with abrasion from the cover over time cause problems?

My 1991 Red car doesn't have any paint issues after 32 years, but it has always been stored inside, maybe that's the issue? It's had a front bumper stone chip respray but the actual lacquer was perfect apart from the stone chips.

If you're after a top notch printshop, I can recommend SL Restoration in Gatwick who did it.

The other thing to remember is that the original paint finish involved something like a 28 step process concluding wet sanding to get the really fast look and a tinted clear coat. That's why if you polish an original panel you will get some colour on the rag. It's pretty much impossible to recreate with current paints, so anything will be a best approximation.

The new NSX has an 'Andaro' paint option ($6,000) which also has this fancy tinted clear coat technique I believe.

The