Hood Delaminating...

My wife took the 74 to the body/paint shop to have some trouble areas looked at. The shop owner told us that there are bubbles in the paint on the body & a larger bubble on the hood. He said that the fiberglass is delaminating. We think that he didn't prepare the surfaces properly before he painted the car.

Is what he is saying making any sense?

Sounds a bit odd to me. If the glass separates, it won't bubble. It will simply come unglued from the underside part of your hood. If the paint is in fact separating from the glass, my first suspicion would be in the prep. Can you post or send a picture?

Maybe, maybe not! Without knowing where the separation is located it is hard to say. Your theory is more probable in that the "delamination"  is more likely debonding of the paint/primer from the parent fiberglass. This is usually indicated by paint bubbles. A delamination in the fiberglass rarely exhibits itself in the form of bubbles. It can be localized but rarely circular. And a delamination usually covers a larger area. Delaminations are usually an indication of excessive heat in a localized area such as the hood above the carburetor.  Is the bubble above the carburetor? Is it circular? What is the diameter?

Debonding of the paint usually is a result of contaminates, including human skin oils, or one of the cleaning solvents was absorbed by the fiberglass. Once the paint cures and seals, the solvent outgasses under the paint resulting in a bubble. Preparation of the car is the reason paint jobs are so expensive on Vettes. One must be sure that all solvents have had sufficient time to gas off and all contaminates are removed from the surface. If you see a paint man around a Vette "ungloved" you can bet the job will produce bubbles.
ranger32007-05-03 14:37:29

I will try & post some pictures when I get home on Saturday. The body shop owner says that there are other areas in addition to the hood where this is happening. I'm really not understanding what is going through his head. 

We are meeting with the shop owner today. There will be pictures...

Could excessive heat cause paint bubbles on the hood?  It seems that hoods tend to be prone to this phenomenon.  It is difficult to get aftermarket hood insulation for some models (like mine). I never see it listed.

Well I'm back & I have pictures. Let me set up a webshots album. The long & the short of our meeting was that the car was poorly prepped. The hood actually is delaminating & will have to be replaced. Although why this wasn't caught before the car went into paint we will never know.

The shop is re-prepping the body & repainting the car at their expense. We are buying a new hood...

Here is a link to the new album dealing with this issue. The pictures aren't the best as there was a good bit of Sassi swirling around in the bay when I was shooting.   

Click Here For Pics.

Sorry to see the problems with your new paint job. I've seen this happen before with contamination in the glass. My friends 58 has some type of contamination on top of the drivers side fender. It's been painted 3 times and still comes through. If I were you, i'd take the car all the way down to the glass and re gelcoat it. Good Luck!!