Hi I'm new here.

I have an '06 civic coupe and today I noticed a large white patch on the paint right above the windshield. I tried wiping it down, and when it didn't go away looked at it closely. It looks like my clear coat is coming off (but I could be wrong). Almost like a plastic-wrap gone wrong.

What can I do to fix this?

Here are some camera phone shots.








Thanks guys
Bam

 

Have you washed and waxed the car at all?

 

How long have you had the car for?

 

It went awhile without a wash but I wash it roughly every 2-3 weeks now. I dont wax it often (busy!)

And owned the car since 2006. Bought it new.

Is this result of a dirty period? or lack of wax? (if so, how frequently should I be doing these? weekly? bi-weekly?
and how can I fix it?

thanks guys!

 

if it's clear coat, take it to the dealer, they should fix it under warranty..

 

Given your description and pictures, I'm pretty sure that's clear coat failure. There could be other things that contributed to it, but it usually happens due to paint neglect... not washing it often, waxing, etc... As for fixing it, unfortunately only a repaint will fix this. Good luck!

 

Doubt it, it's a 2006, and probably wasn't treated very well resulting in the clear coat getting junked up.

At that point all you can do is have it repainted/cleared

 

something burned through it to the primed base. some sort of extremely caustic bird ****, honestly. heat and something of that sort can compromise an already weak paint application with the quickness.

since 2006, honda has been using a VERY soft paint system...super soft clear coat and, due to the bean counters, extremely thin application.

the upside is the cost to properly re-base and re-clear that will be minimal since these cars have a very small roof section that doesn't require blending into adjacent panels, etc. the rain gutters and windows make it, basically, a little square.

the solution for everyone else with these cars is to 1. use a very high quality sealant after washing/drying and 2. be vigilant. do not ever let stuff sit on the paint for any extended period of time - if you can't wash it all off properly right away, some solvent rich quick detailer like that from Meguiars and a microfiber towel will remove it. make sure the area is cool, soak the spot with a couple sprays of quick detailer and wipe lightly, without grinding the stuff into the clear.

 

damn. so this is just from neglect and weak paint? (hasnt happened on BMW or toyota).

so wash the car more. wax it. but as to repairing the existing damage... can i just get it re-clearcoated? and so does the exisiting paint up top need to be stripped and reprimed THEN reclearcoated?

last but not least, b/c honda has been using softer paint, do you guys recommend I take it to the dealer for this (assuming no warranty coverage) or to a third party?

thanks!
and now i need to wash more...

 

it looks to me you need to get it (the whole roof "square", from the windows to the roof rails) taken down, primed, based and then cleared. i can see the OE primer there we are unsure of what caused the failure, so i think they would want to take it down and start over.

if honda will not cover it under their paint warranty, i would take it to the absolute best practical paint shop in the area. it could be the dealer, it could not be - i know down in my area the honda dealers do marginal body/paint work - barely adequate, IMO. if you are not sure of who is good, go around to some accessory stores that seem to do quality work on nice cars and ask them their opinion of who is a good paint shop in the area, then go get some estimates. also, look for a shop that is a BBB member. in my experiences a BBB shop will go the extra mile to assure things are right with their work.

you might not be that particular so any respectable body shop might suffice : )

i've had some pretty crazy experiences with paint shops other than my regular guy so i'm pretty set on recommending people really search out a quality shop.

 

" Any item concerning your
vehicle's general appearance that
is not due to a defect in material
or workmanship is not covered. Cosmetic flaws
or minor damage to the body,
paint, or other items may occur
during manufacture or shipping of
your vehicle. These are usually
found and corrected before delivery.
If you find any uncorrected flaws
or damage on your new vehicle,
notify the dealer as soon as
possible after delivery"

In layman terms, take it to the dealer you never know, and next time slater on that Meguiar's wax, unfortunately the paint quality IS all to be desired.

 

You probably let bird poop sit there for too long.

 

hey on that matter I have a 2010 oddesy, and it had a spot on the hood that bird crap ate thruogh. I went to the dealer and they said too bad. So I have been very good at getting anything off the car that gets on it. it is garaged kept. Saterday i washed it off and put it in the garage. Monday my wife took it to school. I came home monday night and saw bird droppings on the roof. I washed them off and guess what they went right thruogh the clear coat. Now to compare I had a 2005 GM minivan that we traded for the oddesy, and it sat out side 24 seven never had an issue with the clear coat.

 

yep. this is what happens with Honda now. it's terrible.

the best bet is to follow what i said earlier about sealant. it will help protect the clear.

 

bumping this because i've always preached about how shitty the paint is on my wife's Si (and 2006+ hondas in general), and today the spot that has been waiting to fail for the past couple years finally gave up during a short trip.

keep in mind this is a car that has only seen a buffer a couple times in 4 years, to spare the soft clear. it is cleaned regularly and protected with a fine spray wax every 5-6 months. bird doo was never allowed to dwell anywhere on this cars paint, etc. this is typical of honda's bullshit paint.