Paint cracks - what causes them?

[BoarderM]

My hood is checked really badly. It basically covers my entire hood. I'm the original owner and have never had the car repainted. The checks started appearing about three years after ownership. I brought it to the dealership and they didn't know what it was so they called their paint specialist to come and look at it. He said it was called checking and repainting was the only option.
At first the dealer said it would be covered under my extended warranty but the company that I had the extended warranty with would not cover it because I had never brought my car in yearly to have the paint examined. I've never heard of that proceedure before and talked myself blue in the face but they would not budge.
To this day, I still have a checked hood. BTW, my car is black.

[grossgary]

Originally Posted by eofelis

I am planning on keeping this car for at least 5 more years. I was just wondering how that paint job will hold up that long. Should I see about a paint job for a 10yo car?

don't worry about it, the only thing it will effect is your emotional state if you're the type of person that's concerned with cosmetics. it is mechanically and functionally benign.

you don't want to get into repainting a car unless you really, really want or have to. cheap paint jobs are just that, cheap. and quality paint jobs are really expensive. if it's just one panel - like the hood - then you're talking roughly $300 per panel for a quality paint job. so if it's just the hood, then maybe it's worth it to you, if it's more than that it's probably not.

[jp1203]

Mine's got some of that and had a few tiny chips in the paint...just on the hood though, nowhere else.

[Superglue]

Being an automotive detailer for over 20 years I can give you an opinion on this matter. Its a brake down in paint. There is nothing you could have done to prevent this. It's an issue from the factory. I have seen this on 2 year old Honda ridgelines too. It has something to do with the preperation process. These cracks start from under the paint. The only way to fix this is to have it repainted. When they prep, let's say the hood. The bodyshop has to sand right back to bear metal. If they just scuff the top surface these cracks will come back. The worst subi have seen it was on the hood all over, on the roof and the tops of the doors and fenders. This tells me it has something to do with the sun qnd its U.V. rays. Now this is on factory paint. I have also seen it on cars that have repainted.
Buffing it will not make it go away and buffing did not cause it. More often it is on the darker colours but I have seen it on the tri-colours and cream colour too. One thing I can tell you is I have never seen it to the point of rust. So its an asthetic thing.

I hope this helps

[Superglue]

Being an automotive detailer for over 20 years I can give you an opinion on this matter. Its a brake down in paint. There is nothing you could have done to prevent this. It's an issue from the factory. I have seen this on 2 year old Honda ridgelines too. It has something to do with the preperation process. These cracks start from under the paint. The only way to fix this is to have it repainted. When they prep, let's say the hood. The bodyshop has to sand right back to bear metal. If they just scuff the top surface these cracks will come back. The worst subi have seen it was on the hood all over, on the roof and the tops of the doors and fenders. This tells me it has something to do with the sun qnd its U.V. rays. Now this is on factory paint. I have also seen it on cars that have repainted.
Buffing it will not make it go away and buffing did not cause it. More often it is on the darker colours but I have seen it on the tri-colours and cream colour too. One thing I can tell you is I have never seen it to the point of rust. So its an asthetic thing.

I hope this helps

[Mynextgreatcar]

The correct answer to this issue is caused by solvents being trapped in the paint, due to improper painting techniques.

If a panel is repainted and the paint that is applied is improperly mixed the thinning agents/solutions can become trapped, and as the drying process begins several factors come into play.

The most common cause is overloading the paint, measured in "Mils"
Many inexperienced painters will incorrectly mix, or apply to much paint between coatings, thus trapping solvents.

When paint is applied properly and you wait for the coats to flash this allows enough time for solvents to escape.

Painting involves a great deal of knowledge base in order to achieve the best results.

This is the most common cause of "crows feet" as it is referred to in the Body Shop World.

Preparing the surface is important, but not the significant cause of this issue.
Surfaces that are incorrectly prepared will usually cause issues like, dirt in the paint, paint adhesion problems, fish eye problems, as well as paint flaking and peeling issues.

My experience with "Crows feet" has always been the result of improper painting techniques including mixing, flash times, temps, the use or improper use of heat lamps, drying times between coatings, and last but not least applying to many mils of paint to a cars finish.

Sometimes the best policy is to strip a panel down to bear metal, and always once this happens, the crows feet, this is the only correct way to resolve the issue.

Crows Feet is most often seen only on the top sections of vehicles.

As paint ages, lacquers especially, they also can be prone to cracking and crows feet.

[raac]

Yep! I see the same thing in the '04 I just bought. The car's in great condition otherwise but the hood has crows feet all over it. Other panels are almost entirely fine. I've not noticed them on the roof.

So what to do about? If I leave it be, will it get worse? Will the cracks widen and will I get more cracks? Is there anything I can do to stop it getting worse?

Cheers!