Coating coming off "rear spoiler"

I think both are valid strategies – repaint vs replace.

I'd just do what was cheaper. It would be cheaper if you did the labor to remove it and take just the spoiler to be repainted.

 

Certainly possible to tape off the whole area or remove it, sand away the clear coat, re-primer as needed, and repaint the whole piece with the same paint as the stock car had, finishing with clear coat. As the whole piece would get repainted, it would be hard to see the small differences between this piece and the (now faded) color on the rest of the car.

Look up which paint colors are easiest. Black or dark colors show errors more easily. Silver and white are generally easier to do yourself.

 

Just avoid the east coast "Rock" as it is made with New Jersey's finest water versus the fine Latrobe water it used to be made by. Guinness Blonde is now made in the ol Latrobe Brewery IIRC.

Good luck with your repaint or let it ride. We might be offloading the wife's 98 4runner soon which has its own paint issues.

 

Sounds like karma.

We were just saying at work how great it was that we were finally fully staffed. Then 3 people went out on medical and 1 gave his 2 week notice.

We plan on keeping our comments under wraps next time.

 

You can just pick away at the clear coat and I can tell you from experience that the car will definitely not explode.

I did talk the an auto paint guy and he said it is not a good long term solution as the base coat of paint relies on the the top clear coat to provide the durability. Having said that, I have the entire roof free of clear coat on my beater 2nd car, and the only downside is that it is quite intensive looking after the paint in that I have to ensure I frequently (more frequent that I would like) wax it to stop it from looking beat up.

I think you might be like me in that regard, so my plan would be the pick off the clear coat as it gets flakey, apply polish to the exposed area(s) all the while saving up to have it repainted. I might even consider buying a spay can of clear coat and attempt to do the clear coat myself, once all the old clear coat was off. But that's just me, I'm pretty ok with a spray can.

Hope that helps.

 

Maybe better to save your money for mechanical repairs.

 

Hopefully I haven't diverted this to FHOP.

As a former east coaster who used to do business in Latrobe and go there once a month, it was a big deal when the brewery was bought out.

Just spent time this evening beer tasting at the local breweries around Elk Grove where her uncle lives and has invested in one. It's always interesting to see what creativity is out there.

His 50th is next weekend and it'll be at one of them.

 

Not sure what color your car is, but have you thought about vinyl wrapping the spoiler yourself? I think a black-colored vinyl matches ok on any color Prius. 3m car vinyl on ebay should be less than $20, but the wrapping part would need some practice and patience. Plenty of youtube DIY vids out there. This is something I considered doing on my silver Prius, but was fortunate to find a used fade-free spoiler for less than $100 locally.

 

If the clear coat is failing....well home repair is more difficult.

Peeling off the clear won't make the car explode or harm it...the spoiler part is plastic I believe.
The color's hue may fade quickly without the clear.

I think your most cost effective option near OEM style is to remove the part, peel or sand off the clear and wrap the spoiler with vinyl.

Or if the budget is $10 cut a rectangular large colored decal and place if over the top area only with no part removal.
I think this $10 option would look okay.

Good luck.

 

If were you I would try and repair it yourself on a 9 year old car.

Get some fine auto finish sand paper and wet sand the spoiler with attention to the areas where the clear coat is peeling. Wash it off and make sure it is dry. Mask the car and spray new clear coat on. It won't be perfect but a 9 year old car is imperfect while still being great to use.

 

Another option is pulling one off of a junkyard Prius of the same color. I doubt they would charge more than $50 for it.