[RadicalBradical]

I purchased this car pre owned from bmw and they claimed it was never repaired/repainted. I’m beginning to think it was repainted in some areas as the clear coat is not holding up in certain places. Is there anyway to fix this without repainting the whole door?

[zeikei]

Originally Posted by RadicalBradical

I purchased this car pre owned from bmw and they claimed it was never repaired/repainted. I’m beginning to think it was repainted in some areas as the clear coat is not holding up in certain places. Is there anyway to fix this without repainting the whole door?

Repainting the whole panel where this happens is the only real option and what will drive the price up a bit is that they need to remove all the clear coat which is not bonding properly.

[Billfitz]

It will have to be totally repainted...again. Back when clear coat was new lots of cars suffered this after a few years, you can see examples of it every day where they look like peeling sun burnt skin. But they figured it out, and cars made for at least the last ten years don't have this problem. That means your car was repainted, and the shop that did it screwed the pooch.

[sean2648]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

It will have to be totally repainted...again. Back when clear coat was new lots of cars suffered this after a few years, you can see examples of it every day where they look like peeling sun burnt skin. But they figured it out, and cars made for at least the last ten years don't have this problem. That means your car was repainted, and the shop that did it screwed the pooch.

^Exactly This

And if you have it in writing that the dealership told you it was never repainted, or think they may at least take care of you, I would go back to them for starters.

[weehe126]

Any chance it is a ceramic coating flaking off? Hard to tell from the picture.

[Billfitz]

You can see the difference in the gloss level between where the clear coat has flaked off and where it hasn't. Ceramic coatings aren't that thick either.

[//Melon]

The clear didn't stick to the paint at all, probably was put on before the color coat had time to flash off.

Oof.

[Billfitz]

There are a few possible explanations, but none of them would happen with the factory paint.

[//Melon]

Could have been a small chip that got worse, or acid.