I have a 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport with 110,000 miles on it and recently noticed a patch of clearcoat which has flaked off the left rear quarter panel and am wondering if there is a way to patch it with something or is the only remedy to have the entire car clearcoated?
How bit is the affected area?
You could try wetsanding the area then using a cat of Duplicolor clearcoat touchup. There are various good painting tech sites out there that will show you how better than I could describe it.
There’s no way to touch up a clear coat finish to where it looks good.
Once a clear coat starts peeling off one area of the body you can expect to start peeling off other areas.
Tester
You don’t have to do the whole car, just that section but if the clear is gone, you also have to spray the color coat first, then the clear after that. Trust me, you can’t just replace the clear once the color coat is exposed. I tried it and it’ll look shiney but the color will be off. Around here they get about $200 per panel for refinishing.
good painting tech sites” (my emphasis)
like which?
also are you all basically saying it is hopeless to patch a small area, better just repaint TWDT?
I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “patch”. You don’t patch paint. You would patch with filler or whatever if you had rust or a dent. Usually you only refinish the damaged area whether that be a small 6x6 area, a large 2’x2’ area or the whole panel such as a 1/4 panel, door, fender etc. You just need to spray beyond the repaired area some to blend it in and for color matching.