[Lotusmotion]

Interesting. It looks like it could have been caused by blunt force trauma of some sort.

Is it above the battery area? If so, check your battery to see if it is clamped down properly. Can you check the panel underside with a mirror?

Are you the original owner or was the car previously owned?

 

[JUNGLISTluder]

looks like somebody leaned on the clam during a repair. i'd have it fixed.

 

[cutters68]

I am original owner. Battery is firmly secured. It is possible at last/first oil change that someone could have leaned on it. I have only felt the underside, but will check with a mirror. What would be involved in a fix?

 

[tesprit]

I have seen this type of damage on the engine lids and tops of the rear fenders of the Elise from small stones/road debris that were somehow thrown up over the windshield and hoop cover only to get sucked back down and cause little chips in the paint on the rear of the car. As far as repairing the damage, it usually is in the clear coat only and short of repainting, the only thing that seems to help is to very carefully remove some of the clear coat to smooth the chips by wet sanding the spots with some 2,000 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper and then polish and buff the sanded area to hide the marks as best as possible.

 

[5qf3764b]

I have 2 of the same type of spots. They likely come from the inside of the boot. Mine was from the soft top sliding into the clam while driving hard. That looks to be right above the battery if I'm looking at it right. Is is possible the battery got loose?

 

[def]

I'd think if the battery got lose, it would be a lot worse than that

 

[cutters68]

I have 2 of the same type of spots.

Battery has never gotten loose. Did you have your spots fixed? If not, have they gotten any bigger? If I knew it wouldn't spread or eventually chip off I wouldn't worry about it since it is hardly noticable. I have never had a paint issue like this so not sure what to expect long term.

 

[VisualEchos]

Nothing external can crack clear like that and not also crack the paint. The clearcoat used is exactly like the paint, only clear. IMO this was not caused by something hitting the underside or topside, it was caused by a flaw in the painting process itself, and took some time to reveal itself.

Don't think of your clearcoat as being a sheet of ice on top of your paint, think about it like a weld. The car is painted, and while the paint is still wet the clear is sprayed on and allowed to "bite" into the paint forming a bond between the two like a weld joint.

Back when Lacquer was used for automotive painting processes, these types of cracks were common, and they were caused by the process itself.

 

[kestrel74]

A 1977 QUARTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you have ANY idea how much that's worth ??????????? :clap::clap::up:

 

[NMRJock]

A 1977 QUARTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you have ANY idea how much that's worth ??????????? :clap::clap::up:

$.25? :shrug:

 

[kestrel74]

$.25? :shrug:

Haha.... Paul !! You're getting used to my humor ! rotfl

 

[fsparv]

I've seen something on my 05 Elise like this. Having long ago (in my youth) had a Firebird on which I fixed many rust spots and tried repeatedly to get the white paint to match/blend/etc... I looked at this sort of flaw it and said to myself, "Fixing it is a thousand times riskier than leaving it alone." Any sort of sanding/repainting of small portions of any automobile finish that matters to the owner should be done very carefully by someone with lots of experience. Even then, it might still create a (larger) area that didn't quite match in gloss or color.

Given that the body is fiberglass not steel and rusting is not an issue, I wouldn't touch it. I would be a little careful when you towel this area off after washing so that you don't catch it and tear up a flake. If that does happen you will have a much more visible defect and touch up or repainting might be warranted at that point.

 

[ZAMMY1]

probably better to leave it alone.

that'll teach you not to detail your car.
sam with the dirty elise...

 

[elisesile]

Haha.... Paul !! You're getting used to my humor ! rotfl

'Liked that one. Very funny.

 

[AgentTripleX]

I've seen cracks like that on Tesla's test mule that was in Iron Man. It was made of fiber glass like our cars and not carbon fiber, which they currently use for the body.. I've always wondered what causes them.

 

[cutters68]

Thanks for all the advice. I am going to leave it alone. I will be careful when cleaning that area and worry about repairing if it ever worsens.

 

[Vishus_1]

It is hard to tell what may have caused that. It could have been something tapped there from the outside or, as others have indicated, from within the trunk.

I disagree about leaving it along - at least that wouldn't be my long term plan. This may seem minor now but it can manifest into something worse.

Cracks in clear coat allow oxygen and other material to get underneath and potentially cause the area to flake - regardless if you touch it carefully with a towel or not. Water can be the worst - which also, of course, contains oxygen. Even when you wash the car, water will likely enter into the crack promoting the clear coat to ultimately flake.

I do agree about spot painting - never a good idea if it can be avoided.

 

[Thomasio]

I have 2 of the same type of spots. They likely come from the inside of the boot. Mine was from the soft top sliding into the clam while driving hard. That looks to be right above the battery if I'm looking at it right. Is is possible the battery got loose?

T.J. is selling a battery bracket that really secures the battery... in case that was the problem. He has a thread started.

 

[FunElan]

That will happen with fiberglass. My father's Elan has some bad cracks around some major points of the body, but he lives with it. It almost adds to the character of the car.