My LC has been vandalised...........

Perhaps not as dramatic as the subject line might suggest.........but I don't have another explanation.

Went to Battersea Dogs Home around lunchtime today, to pick up the newest addition to our motley crew. Parked in an adjacent street, car was fine when we parked it, 100% sure about that. Not the most salubrious of neighbourhoods, however I've parked in that area quite a few times before and never had any concerns or issues.

When we got back to it about 90mins later this was the state of the bonnet;












Since the pics were taken (which was in a car park away from the area) even more of the lacquer has lifted. Seems like paint stripper or similar liquid has been poured onto the bonnet. The weird (but good) thing is that the damage is limited to only that panel - nothing on the wings or windscreen scuttle panel.

I've put this one down to "sh1t happens" but it would be good to know what actually happened and whether it was some bizarre accident or a deliberate act of vandalism.

It looks just like normal toyota lacquer lifting to me but as you say it's all of a sudden it must be something else, was there any residual liquid left on the bonnet

Mick

cavanmick said:

It looks just like normal toyota lacquer lifting to me but as you say it's all of a sudden it must be something else, was there any residual liquid left on the bonnet

Mick

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No, it was all dry - the paint underneath the lifted lacquer is also "burnt" and discoloured, though that is not very clear from my pics.

Yes, it does look like normal "lacquer lifting" as you say, other than happening in less than 2hrs, especially when the nearby wing and roof surfaces are pristine.

Very strange alright, nitromors generally tends to crinkle the paint it's lifting, brake fluid no longer has the additives in it to lift paint. If it was vandalism I would love to kick the heart and soul out of the fucker that did it.

Mick

Car battery acid or brake fluid that's what we did it with when we were kids and the snob who built a mansion on the shore of our lake burnt our tents and put a sign up saying private property , i would love to have seen his face when he called police to look at his Rolls Royce and they ordered him to take the sign down .

chadr said:

.... Yes, it does look like normal "lacquer lifting" as you say, other than happening in less than 2hrs, especially when the nearby wing and roof surfaces are pristine.

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My 80 did exactly the same, the wings and roof are still pristine two years after it occurred.

Mine happened in the winter following a snow flurry. The snow sat on the bonnet for a couple of days, as it slid off so did huge sheets of lacquer. Two years on and I'm still getting lacquer flying off as I'm driving along.

I think it adds to my trucks rugged look

Happened to mine suddenly. Lacquer lifts off the base coat. The bonnet takes the heat from the engine so suffers more than the wings. The bonnet is hot all over due to conduction but that heat can't get to the wings so they don't seem to suffer. I had my bonnet removed and completely stripped to metal and repainted. Then the WHOLE ROOF had to be done due to sitting in the sun for 17 years.

Green as well.

Thanks for the feedback.

So it might be a coincidence that it happened whilst away from home, where it usually spends most of it's time. If I found it in this state one morning then I probably wouldn't have thought anything sinister about it.

Still really surprised how quickly it seemed to happen.

My body shop told me that my bonnet and roof had been repainted at some time using cheap materials. I can believe this as I do know a bit about paint.

frank rabbets said:

My body shop told me that my bonnet and roof had been repainted at some time using cheap materials. I can believe this as I do know a bit about paint.

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Well if mine has been repainted in the past, it must have been pre-2004, which is when I (first) bought it. Certainly hasn't had any paint to the body since - though the grey plastic bits have been painted a couple of times.

I bought my 1995 in 1998 and the bonnet and roof must have been painted during that period. I did check before I bought but some months later found a masking line in the middle of the roof.