What causes a guitar's finish to cloud?

Hi All,

Scored a ridiculously low-priced deal on a Hofner Vice President on eBay,
and it should be here on Friday.  The only thing wrong with the instrument
is that there is some "clouding" in the clear finish on the instrument:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2578125089&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:US:6

Can anyone tells me what causes this, whether it's a serious issue, and
whether or not it can be fixed?  I'm not much into cosmetics, but I want to
make sure that it's not indicative of another problem.

Thanks,

NDB