Advice on Paint blisters

TBirdUK

TBirdUK

TBirdUK

Soldato
Joined
9 Jul 2005
Posts
2,703
Location
High Wycombe
Hi all, need a bit of advice as to cause and repair. I have a 1959 car that was resprayed in red cellulose based paint 19 years ago (when my Dad had it restored) and on doing my 3 weekly check I have noticed 100s of small (sub 1mm) and large (up to 3mm) blisters. I was mortified as I try to take care of this car as it was my Dads.:(

The blisters, when pushed crack and emit a black liquid and show the white base coat! There is no evidence of rust.

The car did have a significant moisture level on it this time due to the really cold weather- hence why I was wiping it down and noticed the blisters The garage I have is not great and I have a cover over the car and the moisture was only on some areas, not all. The car is not driven in winter months and I try to avoid rain (or wipe down when I re-garage)

Any ideas why this has happened - I know its probably going to need a full re-spray as most panels have been affected - anyone know a rough cost and what I need to do to the car now to stop it getting worse (I have polished all surfaces as I didn't know what else to do and hoped the blisters may be surface only - I wished!?
 
Sounds like damp has got in to the paint and caused it to blister. I've of heard this happening with celly paint on cars and tractors in damp storage.

What sort of cover do you have on the car? Covering a car in a damp environment is the worst thing you can do because you trap a layer of moisture that just can't evaporate and sits there attacking the paint.

You might find the blisters reduce or disappear if you can get the car dried out, but they'll come back if it gets damp for a prolonged period.

The only course of action is a complete respray :( Cost - anything from £1k upwards really, maybe a bit less if you strip it yourself.
 
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thanks for the info - had a wool cover, with a breathable gortex one on top - have put a fan in the garage to keep the air moving but the blisters have a black liquid in them so don't think they will go down - but I'll give it a try - this weather is damn near impossible to dry anything, even my toolboxes are covered in moisture (without covers at all!).
 
I highly doubt the fan will help to be honest, especially if you have moisture on your tools, that sounds like you have a very wet garage.

Despite all the horrible weather lately I've not had any moisture on any of my tools or my car in the garage. I often leave the door open when working on the car, even if it is raining and isn't heated at all yet it is always dry inside due to decent walls, ceiling and roof. It does actually leak when it really chucks it down, but even then , despite a small puddle of water on the floor, it isn't damp in the garage / there isn't a moist atmosphere.

You'll need to get a dehumidifier and empty it (initially probably every few hours) daily until it isn't so bad in there.

You'll want to spend a decent amount on one too, as in, £200+ really. We've got and used various different ones (never in the garage actually, but in the office to ensure documents stay dry etc.) and I recall the better ones have been the more expensive ones. You can get them from various places these days:
Tesco
Homebase
Dry It Out

Certainly a good investment if the garage is damp, provided you can sort out the reason for the moisture getting into the garage in the first place (old walls, roof etc.).
 
Think its the roof and garage door - trouble is I rent the place so cannot do too much to it - shame as my garage in the house I own and rent out is lovely.

Thanks for the info - I'll try and get my landlord to fix the roof and provide a dehumidifier - then I'm going to try and claim off his insurance, but proving it was the garage at fault is going to be difficult on a car so old!
 
A Carcoon is another option if you want to stop it getting worse. I really don't see you getting far down the insurance road and I would not annoy your landlord.
 
sorry, been away - finish was almost perfect up to this point!

sadly landlord wont do anything as contract states anything put in garage is at own risk :mad:
 
TBirdUK said:
sorry, been away - finish was almost perfect up to this point!

sadly landlord wont do anything as contract states anything put in garage is at own risk :mad:
Click to expand...

That's hardly surprising though. Most garages not attached to a house are nothing more than a shed made of brick rather than somewhere to keep a valuable / treasured item.

I feel your pain, but you mentioned that your toolbox had moisture on them so you must have known that the area had very high humidity?

I guess the only avenue left is your own insurance?
 
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