Yikes. This is a tough one. It happens sometimes seemingly without reason.

There are a few possible causes (in order of likelihood):

* This paint job may be at the end of its reasonable life expectations.
Especially if a heavy clear topcoat was applied (via many coats at the
owner's request), 10 years is actually a great run for a clear job. This
is especially true if the plane was kept outside, double for Southern
California or Florida. Heavy clear jobs usually fail much sooner on
custom auto paint jobs that are used as "daily drivers". What kind of
paint is it? In '96, acrylic lacquer was still available. If it is a
lacquer job, you got a great life out of it.

* the base paint was not meant to have clear over it. Most paint
recommended for aviation use is single stage (no clear topcoat)
urethane. The specific paint brand may have a clear, but if you read the
instructions, it is only recommended for "custom" finishes and there are
ample warnings about peeling, cracking, and crazing. I have not followed
paint for may years, so this may have changed. There are several common
automotive paint systems today that are 2 stage (base with clear
topcoats). But I recall the brands commonly used on airplanes were and
are single stage.

* the shop used a different clear brand than the base. It happens. Some
shops think that all urethane paints are compatible so they use whatever
clear they have. Some clears have better spray properties than others.
Some guys use the same clear that they know will flow out like glass.
Unfortunately, they may not be fully compatible over the long haul with
the base.

* the clear topcoats were applied incorrectly over the base coats. When
putting clear over a base, there are specific maximum "recoat" times
that you must follow. Some shops will paint the base, wait a day and
paint the second base color or some stripe color, then wait another day
and paint the last stripe color. After all this, they may wait an
additional 1/2 day and clear over the whole thing. Some paint requires
that recoating requires a scuff sand. It may not have been done. Some
paints prohibit recoating between 24 hours and 1 month.

* the clear was out of date or contaminated. Old paint, especially paint
that has been exposed to freezing or near freezing temps can turn
unpredictable. Airplane hangars are expensive to heat 24/7. Some shops
turn off the heat or turn it way down when there are no paint jobs to do
or everyone has gone home. If the paint is stored in the same hangar, it
will get too cold to use. Clear may be bought in bulk if they do a lot
of clear jobs. That increases the chances of contamination or freezing.
But, if it stuck for 10 years, this is not very likely.

* Just bad luck. Paint is not perfect. Bad batches do happen.
Unfortunately, there are enough variables that most paint companies
won't stand behind the stuff is things go south. Yours has the added
challenge of time. If they do cover you, they may only replace the paint
itself. You get stuck with the labor. In that case, it is not fair to
try to get the shop to eat it. On the other hand, if you can pin the
shop down to one of the improper application or storage methods above,
you might chase after them . But, like I said, after 10 years, you are
probably stuck with the total bill.

What can you do about it? Nothing besides a strip and repaint. If you
try to sand the finish and feather the edges, you MAY get a clear recoat
to stick. But that may be impossible to make look good, especially at
the edges. Chances are excellent that the original will keep peeling.

Good luck,
Mike

We had our archer II painted in 1996, including a clearcoat. About 6 -
12 months ago the clear coat started peeling just a little, almost
exclusively on the control surfaces. (They were removed and painted
separately, so it makes sense they behaved slightly differently. Now
though, the clear coat is peeling in quite a few places, especially the
elevator and outer wing. Other the the peeling clearcoat, the paint is
in pretty good shape.
Any suggestions/recommendations for ways to 'fix' the clearcoat without
a relatively complete paint job.?? I'd like to get some good ideas
before talking to a shop.
Thanks!!
Mike Pvt/IFR PA28-181 N44979 at KRYY