Bubbling Clear coat

I pass a '98 Forester GT on my way to work everyday and it's roof is a mess of bubbling clear-coat. It looks like an expensive repair job.

Now I've just noticed a 4cm diameter round area on my own '00 GT's quarter panel which appears to be the same thing but it's not very bad yet.....ie: rubbing and pushing on it doesn't move anything so it hasn't quite de-laminated yet.

Is this a common issue? Anyone else seeing these symptoms?

I've read that on metallic paint cars that the UV reflects off the paint back up into the clearcoat and over 10 years causes a chemical to break down in the clear.

Have you owned the car from new? It could have had a poor quality repair done on it. Factory metalics and clear coat don't usually bubble, they are more likely to craze and break down, if anything. Most Japanese cars in the 80's did that but it is not so common anymore.

This is a very old thread but worth reviving IMHO as a lot of folks get conflicting advice on how to take care of the new clear coat paints.
First wash it properly with car soap not dishwashing liquids!!! and keep the car out of the sun and than wax the vehicle with a high quality carnauba PASTE wax. The liquid stuff is faster but not as good IMHO.
I use either Meguiars or Mothers wash/wax system, both are very good. The new waxes have UV inhibitors built in to keep the clearcoat protected. Wax does several things, it keeps the clearcoat from picking up and holding dirt, it protects agains UV, it keeps the clearcoat from drying out and becoming brittle over time. The clearcoat has replaced paint over the years as the color coat underneath the clear layer is very thin and easily damaged. It is important to keep the clearcoat as clean a possible and use clearcoat specific products!!
The days that you had to wait for the paint to 'harden' are over as the new 'paints' are baked on the cars.
Also do remove birdcr^p off your car ASAP as it contains an acid capable of eating through your clearcoat waxed or not....
I wax my vehicles at least every two months as I live in a harsh climate or cars. Some say that is too much, but my 10 year old Chevy Avalanche looked brand new and when I traded it in for my Subaru, I had a hard time convincing the used car manager that it was the original paint.:lol:
Hope this helps a bit.

Nice one outbackinfo, I will have to make sure I look after my paint better in future.

Since October 2008 when I made the first post in this thread, my example of this phenomena has now become quite large and 50% of the paint on the quarter panel is now cactus. I have recently decided to make an insurance claim in order to get it repaired. I'd imagine it'd cost a couple of thousand to fix.