Im kinda of an old fashion guy, so this clear coat business is all new to me.

My friend has a Toyota PU that has had bodywork and repaint done here and there  over the years. And I can see where some of the clear coat is coming off in spots.  And The paint underneath has a dull finish.

Whats the reason for clear coat anyway?  Shine? Cheaper? Durability?

What ever happened to the good old fashion paint job...
 with, what you see is, is what you get.
None of this clear coat stuff.  And it looked shinny enough to me

Is this typical for a repaint, for the clear coat to come off in spots over time?

And if I ever get a car repainted, why would I go with clear coat vs
          just plain coats of regular paint....?         thanks
steves742008-07-29 13:28:47

Here is my non professional analysis....

What you described above is partly true... "Shine? Cheaper? Durability?"

For a painter it can be laid on in stages and walked away from for a bit. (actually the longer the better) This gives them the ability to do multiple jobs in some of the larger shops.

It dries much faster than paint of days gone by. It is also much harder or durable.

Repair work can be matched up easier. Blending can be done in smaller areas.

Cost for the material is more expensive but the labor is less because of less time spent in the shop.

Overall I don't think I have heard of any disadvantages to the use of clear coat.Tuxblacray2008-07-29 12:41:59

The negative side of the 2 stage or clear coat process is just what your friend experienced. The sun and weather take their toll on the clear coat. It loses it's elasticity and bonding characteristics.. the result is crazing and chipping particularly on rubber substrate like bumper covers.

Scott

YUP..... That exactly what happened.  What a bummer....
Makes me think twice about clear coats.

Thanks Scott and Tux

A base coat/clear coat paint has it's advantages, such as the quicker drying times, and ease of touch-ups, but the main advantage is protection from the elements.
It seems that certain paint colors will make it appear that the clear coat is damaged sooner than other colors. For instance, silvers, and light metallics don't seem to stand up as well as solid, or darker colors. The clear coat will fade/peel, and you'll see the dull, original paint underneath, just as you describe.
Without the clear coat over the base color, the paint would just be....color. No shine at all, and it wouldn't survive very long. The clear coat is what brings out the color, and "shine/luster" of the paint.

The older paints, such as enamels, and lacquers, all have their good points and bad points. Enamels are tough, and easy to keep up, but take forever to dry, as they depend on air dry. Lacquers dry quickly because they dry by solvent evaporation, so it's easier to "fix" boo-boos in the paint booth almost as soon as you find them, but lacquers have little durability. You can mix clear in with lacquer paint, and get the best of both worlds, but...it's pretty much illegal to spray lacquers without a proper spray booth with specific filters...

Bottom line is, ANY base/clear paint will peel eventually, unless the vehicle stays completely out of the sun and weather. Doesn't matter how well you maintain it, wash, wax, etc...if it gets any sun, the race is on!

Thanks Joel..  When you say the "race is on",
For new cars too, or you just referring to aftermarket paint jobs ?

Newer paint compounds are a little better, but the effects of the weather will still get to the clear coats, sooner or later. A lot depends on the quality of the paint itself, and the skill of the painter. The better the pre-paint prep, the better the final product.

So once the clear goes bad just drive the car at night, or in the rain...

The cheaper part for manufacturers comes from that the pigments that make up the colors are the expensive part of the paints and now they only need one or two coats of color and then they build up the "mils" of thickness needed for protection from the elements with much cheaper clear. 

When clearcoats first started being used on the assembly lines, they were not very good.  I remember seeing lots of peeling clearcoats back in the 80s.  There was so much problem at first it prompted some manufacturers to switch back to single-stage paints for solid colors and only use clears over metallics.  Toyota is known for quality and reliability, but they had some pretty poor clearcoats back in the 80s too.  When they first went to water-based paints after the EPA mandated reductions in VOCs, a whole lotta new cars got some piss-poor paint jobs again because once again, they implemented a new technology before it was ready for prime time. 

While clear was not necessary on older type finishes, a few well placed layers gave the paint a bit more depth to the appearance.   Now with the basecoat clear coat systems the color basecoat is actually quite dull and plain with little to no shine until the clear is applied.