Has anyone else ever seen this damage on their ac vents? No sure what would have caused this.

 

Moisture under the color coat?

 

Are these vents easy to remove?

 

If anyone finds a replacement vent in decent condition please let me know. I found a used one on Ebay which was 250 USD! Only cosmetic imperfection so it annoys me

 

Here's one listed on ebay UK from a breaker in England at 100 UKP:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115015582...3ABFBM0qDNhZxg

Listing indicates will do international shipping.

Another on ebay in the US at $140 plus shipping:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274570277...gAAOSw2KVfq3c1

Graham

 

Thanks!

Unfortunately the shipping and import fees make it almost 200 USD. In the time I posted earlier, I actually found someone will to have a look and "restore" it. I'll see what is cheaper.

 

That can be a killer.

When I needed an XK sunshade, the only one available anywhere was at JAGUAR - COLUMBIA in South Carolina, USA. Shipping and import charges added $34 to a $61 item but I was only too pleased they were prepared to ship it.





Baking in the sun after a fast 2000 miles across Europe.

Graham

 

To me, that appears to be damage due to a chemical of some kind. Have you had your car detailed recently?

 

Or just age/environmental. These cars are getting to be quite old and how long parts are going to last is unknown.

 

Might be cheaper to remove and have it painted by a panel shop

 

pretty sure it is moisture getting under top finish and then the bubbles in finish rubbed off.
'condensation'
painting/refinishing will not look oem
WJ

 

2k paint & baked in booth

WJ you can get great results if painted correctly ie panel shop

 

No question @ that ! But it won't look oem.
wj
Btw, I ran euro restoration shop for + 20 yrs

 

Is OEM the baseline? Many things can look better than OEM. OEM is actually the cheapest way possible to get an acceptable result. Me, I like better than just acceptable.

 

Agreed, unless you're trying to preserve what was produced by the marque, there's plenty of room for improvement.

 

Oem is oem
I assumed the goal was to repair the original in order to not look...different. In that situation you replace as a refinished piece will appear different, better is preferred over worse. but different it will be.
wj

 

Thanks everyone. Slow to get back. I have spray automotive paint and I think if I had the paint code for that silver, I could do a good job touching it up.

 

You would need to paint the entire part, touching it up will not look good.

 

Thanks what I meant actually. Thanks

 

Found a nice used center vent on eBay and bought it.
It is some kind of platinum color that does not match my vent.
I never knew that there were other colors for these. WTF?