I have some small chips all the way to the paint that I would like to fix and I think I have a good idea on what to do. What bothers me is the clear coat is peeling up majorly on the hood and the side panel right underneath the roof between the roof and the door.

is there anything I can do or spray to make it look decent and keep it from getting worse? I’m trying to avoid getting it repainted or rusting. Thanks!

 

I previously drove a Blazing Blue 2007 Toyota Yaris that had the same problem. I eventually learned that it was a known issue with that paint color in that year, but by the time I acquired the car it was past the age where Toyota would do anything about it. The car was not worth enough to justify proper repair.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to DIY fix peeling clearcoat. There are many different spray can clearcoat products, but if you apply over the top of compromised clearcoat you will at best be buying yourself a small amount of time before it starts coming off again. If you are ambitious, you could try to remove all the damaged clearcoat (without compromising the paint below), rough up the paint and good clearcoat (so that new clearcoat sticks) and spray the panel yourself, but again I don't think you would get a very good or long-lasting result.

Having said that, if it's just the clearcoat peeling, you're not really at risk of rust because you haven't exposed bare metal. You can regularly apply wax to provide extra protection to the paint. As a side benefit, the added shine will make the clearcoat damage less visible, or at least that was the case with my Yaris. I had the car for 5-6 years and outside of additional clearcoat peeling (especially in the winter) there was no damage or fading of the regularly waxed paint and no rusting. I had to park outside, which increased the rate of UV and weather damage to the clearcoat. If you have a garage, you'll probably have slower future degradation.

 

Thanks so much, that makes me a feel a lot better knowing proper waxing should help it keep its color. Would you have the time to write out what products and process you use?

 

If you want a proper wax, shine and paint protection, here is what I recommend:

Start off with a good wash. Use a degreaser and dish soap to clean any residue. Then you can seal and wax.

Start off the first layer with either a ceramic coating or an enamel coating:

- Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating
- Autoglym SRP500US Super Resin Polish (enamel coating)

out of these, I prefer the autoglym. The enamel resin will last a long time.

The next Step is to apply a wax layer to seal the enamel resin and prolong its life.

I recommend Meguiars Carnuba paste wax or any other type of carnuba paste wax. This will leave a nice thick layer.
To touch it up, you will want a liquid wax or quick wax which is quick and easy to apply after a wash.

I recommend Meguiars Ultimate Quik wax

You can apply this to all the paint and even windows.
Avoid getting any of this on the rubber or plastic trim.

 

too good my friend. Drop your cashapp/venmo and I’ll buy you a beer. I appreciate it greatly.

 

Anytime, my friend.

I believe that knowledge should be free! Enjoy it.

If you ever need help I'm here.

 

I second what was said above, especially in regards to preparation of the surface so that whatever product you apply bonds well. It's sort of funny, but that applies to everything from paint to car wax.

Everyone has their own favorite products they use on their car. Realistically, any wax, polish, or sealer is going to be better than nothing, so if you already have something you might as well use it up. It is true that some products last longer than others, have more shine than others, etc., but I'm most interested in protection.

When I had the failing clearcoat Yaris I spoke about before I used Duragloss 105 Automotive Total Performance Polish + Duragloss 601 Polish Bonding Agent. Not sure if the bonding agent actually helps or if I was a victim of marketing, but it wasn't too expensive so I gave it a try. After letting that set up for about a couple hours I would apply Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845. I can't remember where I heard about this product, but it works pretty well and applies easily. My basic process was:
1) About once per year do a wash as described by Virulence, using Dawn dish soap to strip any old products off the surface.
2) Clay bar
3) Apply the polish and wax above. The wax didn't last a super long time, but I considered it a sacrificial layer.
4) Regular washings of the car with auto-specific soap (not dish soap) maybe every couple weeks in the summer and as often as possible in the salty winter. About every three washings (so every six-ish weeks) I would reapply the Collinite wax.

Note that washing will probably flake off additional bits of clearcoat, and also expose new unprotected paint. Not much you can do about that.

With my Fit, I'm now able to park under a roof (vs my outdoor Yaris), so products seem to last a lot longer. I now use Meguiar's G200416 Hybrid Ceramic Liquid Wax, applied with a dual-action polisher. I also use Mequiar's G17220 Ultimate Compound (once, when I first got the car) and Mequiar's G19216 Ultimate Polish (maybe twice per year). As described above, about once per year I do a dish soap wash and clay bar to produce a really clean surface, with other washes using one of the Mequiar's auto wash products sold at Harbor Freight. I don't wash as often as I used to because the Fit is under cover and not driven that often as I work from home and we use an EV for local driving.

 

Thanks so much for the write up! Excited to give it all a try

 

Then, later on, don't use dish soap anymore as it removes the wax...