Volkswagen Passat (1997 - 2000) - 99 1.8 Lacquer coat peeling

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Fri 13 Jun 2008 15:36
99 1.8 Lacquer coat peeling - bk.bas
My tornado red 99 model Passat estate seems to be developing patches where the lacquer coat is peeling off lin small random patches leaving the paint underneath exposed. Does anyone know what causes this, how I can stop it happening and is it easy to spray new lacquer coat over the damaged patches or is there some special preparation/repair needed?

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 13/06/2008 at 19:29

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Fri 13 Jun 2008 17:45
99 1.8 Passat Lacquer coat peeling - CQ
Bird excrement causes it.
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Fri 13 Jun 2008 18:11
99 1.8 Passat Lacquer coat peeling - drivewell
My personal spraying experience is all with cellulose (shows how long it is since I had a spraygun in my hand).

My understanding is that each affected panel would need to be sanded back to the base coat, and then possibly a thin base coat applied before a subsequent layer of lacquer. Be aware that if the whole car needs done, you will be looking at a bill that is probably more than the car is worth.

Any refinishers able to be more precise?
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Sat 14 Jun 2008 14:00
99 1.8 Passat Lacquer coat peeling - Halmer
Is it on one or two adjacent panels only because if so it may be due to a previous low quality respray?
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Tue 1 Jul 2008 18:16
99 1.8 Passat Lacquer coat peeling - bk.bas
no it's mainly on the bonnet and leading front edge of the roof. These are original panels, but it is a fact that this is a 10 year old car that has been used a s workhorse, so seldom gets polished or properly cleaned and lives outside all year round. Bird crap is a strong possibility. I'll try to t-cut it back to a good baseand laquer over it, but if no success then I'll live with it until it fall apart. Unless anyone has any more tips?
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Tue 1 Jul 2008 23:58
99 1.8 Passat Lacquer coat peeling - steve
It is really quite difficult to deal with this - for a professional repair it means stripping the panel and starting again (or at least that was what I was told when I asked at a body shop).
It can take many years for the lacquer to react - usually it is something to do with a previous repair. I had a car for 8 years - never had any body work repairs done to it myself and then suddenly a patch of lacquer peeled off the tailgate - it was obvious then that it had been repaired - to a high standard but then years and years later the lacquer had given up for some strange reason.
With the age of the car I would suggest very gently flatting back with very fine grade wet and dry (1000 grit) and then spraying a new coat of lacquer to protect it - it is not worth spending hundreds of pounds on.
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Sun 13 Jul 2008 16:55
99 1.8 Lacquer coat peeling - peltier3
I too have the same problem on my red Passat (1999 TDI saloon) and have seen another red Passat in a carpark of a similar age with the exact same problem. - I believe this could be an orginal manufacturing fault in cars with the red paint finish, others on the web have also reported it (with pictures). anyone else experienced this?

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 13/07/2008 at 16:58

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Thu 17 Jul 2008 11:55
99 1.8 Lacquer coat peeling - coopz79
I've got a metallic yellow 99 passat, and i've got the exact same problem on one side just in front of rear wheel arch, and on rear passenger side door. I am in the process of trying to sell the car, and i wondered if there was anything i could do to touch up it for selling it?
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Thu 17 Jul 2008 13:56
99 1.8 Lacquer coat peeling - rustbucket
It also happens to dark blue Volkswagon polo's.
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Wed 27 Oct 2010 12:27
VW laquer coat/paint problems - bk.bas
and now (I just lived with it and still have the PAssat with virtually NO laquer left on the bonnet) my partners sons 99 Golf TDI black has exactly the same problem, in exactly the same places, so it certainly appears to be a problem with VW's of that era. So much for the (supposed) famed VW build quality. My neighbours 98 Mondeo still looks like it has just come out of the factory
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Fri 25 Mar 2011 10:49
VW laquer coat/paint problems - 97GolfTDI

I know it's a while since you posted on this thread but I have the same problem with lacquer peeling and wondered if you had manage to repair it without having to respray the full panel?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

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