This was a distressing discovery on the Mk III Cortina. So much for keeping my original paint. Can't help but wondering why rust would be starting now on a lightly driven 40 year car. (I know these cars are rust prone, but why now?)
Suddenly all these little rust bubbles showed up on the left front fender of my very original Mk III Cortina. Pop them with your thumb and a little bit of rusty water appears.
Sorry to see that and understand the shock as I've been there. Where and how do you store your car? Even a garage with a dry cement floor can still wick up moisture under and around your car.
My Mk1 now resides in an old garage that during temperature changes I see moisture all over stuff inside there, so I'm now concerned with the car, and will have to rectify the problem soon.
It could be storage, My dad did a Mk2 Jag for someone, after it was freshly painted it went in a shipping container for storage and bubbles came up after only a few months. Same could happen if you keep it under a car cover.
It always unfortunate when original paint has to go, but IMO its worth it to keep these Mk3s solid and beautiful for another 40 years
Sorry to see that. Looks like the paint has to go though. My best guess too is a non-breathing car cover that trapped the vapor inside and eventually just forced it through that old porous finish. Not sure what sort of paint they had but if lacquer, that will surely happen.
Thanks for he insights on this. I'll update when I get the problem addressed.
Winter storage for the car is under breathable car cover in a carport with a gravel floor. It is frustrating, in part, because I've been wanting to build a true garage for years, but at this point there is no realistic plan to build anything in the foreseeable future.
This may also be a result of when an the idiot
"neighbor" put some kind of solvent on our cars a few
years back.
Last I heard,he went to prison for dealing drugs-
again.
Doug, I considered that possibility, but the pimples are only on the places were the paint was faded by the acid. Looks like the fender may have been repainted at one time (although it looks original except for a little bit of overspray).
Since you mentioned the fender has been repainted, I do know, that condition is often a result of moisture in the compressed air when shooting the primer or paint. It can also happen from incomplete or incorrect prep. Sorry it happened, but a good paint store or shop should be able to scan and match the exisiting paint color, even if what you want to match, the door say, is faded.
A temporary crazy-have-lots-of-time-and-curiousity fix, knowing eventually you will get the fender repaired correctly, is to chip off the blistered paint, spot blast each blister, Harbor Freight has a $13 spot blaster that works well enough for this use, which feathers out a small circle to clean and prime and touch up. well, a lot of little circles. Then color sand to blend, polish, buff and wax the whole fender. It isn't hard work, it requires patience, it would buy you time where you repaired, but ultimately might not be worth it if more blisters appear where you haven't repaired.
So really the best use of time would be to arrange with a shop to prep, prime and paint the fender, but you do all the initial sanding at home to get the old paint and primer off down to the factory primer or bare metal. Then they can do final sanding, metal prep, prime, paint, and any color sanding if you want a smooth glossy finish. If you want to try to match a not so smooth factory finish that is on the rest of the car, they should shoot single stage paint, no clear coat over top, let it cure, buff and wax.
It does look like it might be local to the fender repair, so if you find a good shop, and are willing to gamble a little, you might be able to have them fix the old fix per above, not the entire fender. Are you feeling lucky? :-)
And yes, cars under covers in moist or hot conditions can blister paint as well.
Good luck, hope it doesn't appear on other parts of the car.
