And there is *almost* nothing you can do about it especially since you and I both live in California.
…because you live in California you enjoy the sun all year round…. BUT there is a down side to this…
No April Fools joke here… I’m dead serious.
Did you know the factory applied clear coat top layer of your paint finish has UV inhibitors and has a half life of 5 years. (seriously – NO ONE talks about this)
You might be wondering “so what” ?
Simply this – at 5 years your clear coat UV inhibitors have lost HALF of their effectiveness!
*kinda makes you go “hummmm” how long is my car loan…oh 5yrs…. weird coincidence perhaps?
At 10 yrs…you are living on borrowed time and just a matter of when not if the clear coat will simply fail. (all is not lost – with a few tricks you can beat the odds)
However it doesn’t even take 5 years for a modern clear coat to fail.
I see the signs of failed clear coats everyday… like this.
I ride about 300-400 miles a month on road bicycles here in San Diego, keeps me sane and cheaper than a shrink 🙂
…and over the course of just one ride ( 3 to 4 hours) I see at least 5 or 6 vehicles on the road that have failed clear coats just like the above photos.
However clear coat failure can happen before 5yrs… depends on several factors.
Here is my top 5 list of things that can accelerate clear coat failure.
1. Consistently leaving your paint finish dirty for extended periods…. (more than 2wks) draws out the components that keep the paint flexible and resilient.
*like when your hands are dirty it pulls the natural oils out and leaves them dry and cracked.
2. Parked outside for most of the day thus being exposed to UV and the environment.
*consistent assult of sun UV on the clear coat especially all horizontal surfaces like roof, engine lid and trunk lid.
3. Incorrect car washing technique – using house hold detergents.
*house hold detergents are high pH and strip all wax and protection off the clear coat.
4. Allowing things like bird spats and tree sap to dry and leave them on the clear coat.
*these things will bond to the clear coat and can make it fail in that contact spot within days.
5. Never applying any type of protection on the clear coat. (modern automotive paint sealant or at the least a regular carnauba wax)
* THE biggest factor in premature clear coat failure – not keeping the clear coat protected
consistently. Sealants are THE BEST protection for delicate modern clear coat finishes and super easy to apply. Protection can last 6 months or more.
