Had a OEM paint job bubble on me second try last Thursday

Was spraying a 2023 Civic hood at my shop in Portland and the whole center section crinkled up like cheap wrap. Turned out the activator I grabbed from the shelf was 8 months past date, has anyone else had batch issues with old hardeners messing up a fresh job?

3 comments

3 Comments

davidshah19d ago

Read a post on a body shop forum last month about the same thing. Guy said his supplier sold him old activator and it ruined a whole weekend of work on a Tesla bumper. Three people chimed in saying they had the exact same issue with the same brand, all stale stock from the back of the shelf. Old hardeners definitely don't cure right, they just sit in the paint and eventually react weird under clear. Seems like the bigger shops rotate their inventory but smaller guys get stuck with the expired stuff. Check the batch dates before you buy next time, I started doing that after a buddy lost a full repaint on a vintage truck.

fionanguyen19d ago

Funny you mention the sharpie trick, @davidshah. I started doing that after a disaster on a black 2018 F-150 hood. Had a quart of hardener that was maybe eight months old. Paint went on fine but it had this weird gummy feel the next day. Had to strip it back to bare metal. Now I only buy from the local jobber that lets me check the batch date on the can before I pay. They have a shelf with stuff from last year and they're honest about it. Caught one last spring that was already nine months past date.

davidshah19d ago

Back when I was doing collision work on the side I got burned by the same thing on a silver 2017 Honda Accord. The activator looked fine in the can but it just wouldn't kick the paint off right - it stayed tacky for like three days and finally had to sand it all back down and start over. What saved my butt was buying the hardener in smaller pint cans instead of quarts so I use them up fast, and I always write the date I opened them on the cap with a sharpie. Also started shaking the can before opening to feel if there's any clumps or if it feels watery - that alone caught me twice before I even poured it.