splinters in my paint?

Hey everyone,

I am painting my bug at the moment and was chasing some advice from those in-the-know?

From what I have read and the advice I have received so far, it is better/safer to take it back to bare metal but if the paint is good it can provide a better bond for the new paint (with the proper preparation) and save a lot of time. With this in mind I went about my merry way (http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=69099) . . . . . . . . until I noticed a patch of splinters (100 or so about 1mm long).

What caused these splinters? If I sand this area back to bare metal and eventually prime & paint over it, will the splinters come back and destroy my hard work!

Should I take the whole car back to bare metal?

Hmmm, looking at the colour it has obviously been resprayed in the past therefore any topcoat is only as ever as good as what is underneath. Can you be sure that the previous respray was done correctly with proper prep and proper use of filler etc etc? If not then it is always a gamble painting over it.

It is hard to know what you mean by splinters - can you get a close up pic (maybe with/without flash)? If the "splinters" are raised slightly and kind of wrinkly it is likely you have an adverse reaction in which case you would need to sand back that area (not necessarily to bare metal but of course that will ensure you don't get the same problem again)....but at least far enough so you can effectively seal that layer before applying further coats. If the "splinters" are like cracks (the opposite of a raised splinter), then the filler/spray putting/primer (whatever was used) may have shrunk under the top coat you applied.

Try giving us some more info in terms of the exact process you followed (sand/etch/epoxy prime/high build prime/filler/base coat/clear coat vs prime/acrylic etc etc) and maybe some pics that would help.

Cheers
Al

Cheers for the help Al
From what I can tell it has had at least 4 other coats (all various shades of red)
I will post some photos of the area

If it was me, I would certainly be taking the whole car back to bare metal. It is the only way to be sure. The extra hundred or so hours will make it a better job and could save a total redo of the job later on. One of the biggest problems with painting over previous substrates is incompatibility. Unless the entire history and brands of products is known, then it is better to start from bare metal.

This is the area I was talking about above. I don’t know if you can see it very well but there are little black splodges on the metal.
Do you think the previous paint jobs were reacting with each other which caused the tiny “splinters” which exposed some of the metal to the air? So if I sand back these areas (and the rest of the car) to clean metal will it be safe to paint?

did you wipe it over with prepsol before you painted it ,,,,?

I think I can count 9 layers there. There is a big possibility of incompatibility of products with what you are currently using. The only sure way is to remove all panel to bare metal. Cracks, crazing, pinching, shrinkage, "splinters" you could have any of these unless you use a compatible process of refinishing as recommended by your product manufacturer. We all have our favourite brands for varying reasons, and none are wrong, but unless it is all done in the correct process according to that brand and product, then problems are something that can eventuate.