WTF has happened here??

[8ball_Rob]

So I had an hour or two spare this evening, and figured I'd give the Tuscan a good old clean as it was looking a bit dusty... applied snow foam and left to dwell for a few minutes, rinsed off with the lance and then started shampooing with a microfibre mitt. All was going well at this point, and then I got to the roll hoop behind the targa panel - what the hell?





That definitely wasn't there when I washed it last week

Any idea what might have caused this massive bubble/blister - gel coat failure perhaps? Could it be due to the recent hot weather? The car lives outside in all weather as I don't have a garage - I usually keep it under a weatherproof cover, and am always careful to make sure the bodywork is bone dry before putting the cover on. With the nice weather though I've left the cover off this past week, so the car's been sitting in blazing sunshine for the last few days - could that be a factor?

Oh well, I'd been toying with the idea of having a full respray anyway next winter, so this could be just the excuse I need to 'justify' it to my better half...

[fausTVR]

Looks like some joker's been at it with a blowtorch.

[Mike8448]

Is it firm or soft? If it's solid then defo a reaction with the fibre glass or what ever is underneath. if its soft it's the paint reacted.

[bobfather]

Are there any electrics in there? That looks like heat damage. Perhaps someone left something hot resting on the car

[8ball_Rob]

fausTVR said:

Looks like some joker's been at it with a blowtorch.

Nah that can't be it, I think the yoof around here are too lazy to cart around a torch and gas cylinders

[8ball_Rob]

Mike8448 said:

Is it firm or soft? If it's solid then defo a reaction with the fibre glass or what ever is underneath. if its soft it's the paint reacted.

Quite firm - the bubble moves a little under finger pressure, although I didn't want to try pressing too hard in case I cracked the paint or clear coat. In terms of stiffness it feels like the sort of plastic they use in blister packs, if that helps?

[brman]

bobfather said:

Are there any electrics in there? That looks like heat damage. Perhaps someone left something hot resting on the car

Is that a high level brake light just under it?

[8ball_Rob]

bobfather said:

Are there any electrics in there? That looks like heat damage. Perhaps someone left something hot resting on the car

Good suggestion, it is located directly above the nearside indicator - maybe I'll pull the LED assembly out tomorrow and see if there's any evidence of overheating to be seen.

[Mike8448]

Are they led? There should be no heat coming from a led really older leds got Luke warm but never that hot to do that. It looks to have had some serious heat though. Best of luck keep us informed.

[WinstonWolf]

Parked near anything that could have acted as a reflector?

[bobfather]

Mike8448 said:

Are they led? There should be no heat coming from a led really older leds got Luke warm but never that hot to do that. It looks to have had some serious heat though. Best of luck keep us informed.

Correct but even if they were filament lamps they wouldn't do this. I'm suggesting an electrical fault which could easily cause excessive heat

[dudleybloke]

WinstonWolf said:

Parked near anything that could have acted as a reflector?

Or a large magnifying glass.

[Speed 3]

That's a long way forward of the LED circuit board, should only be wiring under there in the hoop and if teh LED's still working I don't see how it can be electrical. My money's on the reflected heat (per walkie talkie building in London) or someone's applied something nasty. Not nice, whatever the cause as you'll have to get a bodyshop deep into the gelcoat looking at that depth of ripple.

Bummer

[8ball_Rob]

WinstonWolf said:

Parked near anything that could have acted as a reflector?

I was actually wondering about that - the walkie talkie effect. I can't see anything nearby that could have acted as a lens, but I did drive the car into town last weekend and left it parked all day on the street in bright sunshine, perhaps there could have been some street furniture nearby focusing light onto that spot - seems unlikely though?

An electrical fault in the indicator unit seems like a more probable cause, so I'll pop that out tomorrow and let you all know what I find. I'd like to figure out what caused it before taking it to a bodyshop to get the area repaired, don't want the same thing happening again!

[glenrobbo]

Rob, that looks bad, you must be gutted.
I've never seen that sort of problem before, it does look like it has been caused by a lensing effect. Perhaps you have been travelling too close to the speed of light?

I have seen a Tuscan with a waving flag roof wrap, may be the way to go?

Can't find a pic of the Tuscan, but this is an example:


Or even something like this?


I think that would direct attention from the "bobble".

[andy43]

Have you tried Clearasil?

[Speed 3]

8ball_Rob said:

Oh well, I'd been toying with the idea of having a full respray anyway next winter, so this could be just the excuse I need to 'justify' it to my better half...

I used that man maths:- needed a new pepperpot, oh and the service bonnet has some crazing, oh and one of the front wings has a graze so I need to do both, and whilst I''m at it the main bonnet needs catches re-aligned, oh and the doors rub......Don't regret having a full respray and can recommend someone very good in SW London if you're still in Surrey and not expensive compared to S&C / Central. You're welcome to have a look at mine, I'm in Epsom.

[Alpha Omega]

A indicator lamp wouldn't cause this problem, my reasoning being that a indicator lamp is only on for a short length of time and even then it is on/off/on/off/on/off.........................................

[8ball_Rob]

Update: I pulled the LED board from the indicator housing, and everything looks in good condition as far I can see. There's certainly no sign of heat damage inside the indicator housing:



Having thought about it some more, an electrical fault in the indicator does seem like an unlikely culprit - not impossible, but unlikely.

It looks as though the two wires that run from the plug on the back of the LED board disappear up and over the roll bar, so they presumably must run close to the underside of the fibreglass. They're certainly in the right area to have caused the damage. However, the indicator does still function correctly, so a short seems unlikely. More investigation needed at the weekend, methinks.

I'm beginning to think that lensing, or some chav with a magnifying glass, is the most likely explanation...

[8ball_Rob]

Speed 3 said:

I used that man maths:- needed a new pepperpot, oh and the service bonnet has some crazing, oh and one of the front wings has a graze so I need to do both, and whilst I''m at it the main bonnet needs catches re-aligned, oh and the doors rub......Don't regret having a full respray and can recommend someone very good in SW London if you're still in Surrey and not expensive compared to S&C / Central. You're welcome to have a look at mine, I'm in Epsom.

Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that - Epsom is only a 20 minute drive away. I'll drop you a PM