Why can't higher end car makers paint a motor?
Discussion
Pagani tend to be pretty good in my experience. Mind you, in agreement with OP, the overwhelming majority of new cars come out painted like playschool projects and there's really no quick and easy way around the problem - a spray gun will not give you the finish you'd imagine in your head that an expensive new car should have.
This video is highly illustrative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxnnA7ntDUo
Skip to 6.15 for the 'after' section.
This video is highly illustrative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxnnA7ntDUo
Skip to 6.15 for the 'after' section.
The paint on our 1999 BMW 3 series is flawless as is that on a friends 2000 740i. Our 2007 5 series is disappointing, lots of orange peel in the base coat which no amount of detailing can remove, along with a vulnerability to bird splats that leaves blemishes in the lacquer in a very short time.
My daughters Fiat 500 has excellent paint as did her previous two Toyotas. I am told the reason for the poor paint on the newer BMW is the change to water based paint, but other manufacturers changed over and don't seem to suffer.
My daughters Fiat 500 has excellent paint as did her previous two Toyotas. I am told the reason for the poor paint on the newer BMW is the change to water based paint, but other manufacturers changed over and don't seem to suffer.
Sadly, its just something you expect to see these days. Im a detailer and specialize in high end cars (mostly aston martins) and you can believe the state of some of the cars that come straight from the factory. With Aston's, its mainly da sanding marks dotted here and there that have not been polished out properly from the factory. There are of course areas that seem to have very thin paint, sometimes no paint at all. Places like the edges of wings and door handles. I swear the guys that give the final inspections must have one eye and wear a patch over the good eye.... Ferrari are just that bit worse. Don't think they care how half the cars leave the factory. I remember once seeing a long fibre from what looked like a jumper actually in the clearcoat of a lambo.
At least with cars like Astons, Bugatti, pagani etc, you don't get the orange peel like you do in the german cars.
Francis
At least with cars like Astons, Bugatti, pagani etc, you don't get the orange peel like you do in the german cars.
Francis
Civpilot said:
I think only the Zonda present was better finished than the LFA (and that was debatable). That car is head and shoulders above loads of high end stuff... only the badge gets it judged unfairly as 'expensive'.
Paint finish aside as for the rest of the car... just stunning.
The build quality was exceptional and it looked and felt brand new, despite being the very well used example owned by Lexus and the car featured in most road tests (Dark Blue). Once on track fast is too small a word and you could hear it above everything else as it screamed (the right word) towards 9k. Felt like a total animal on the edge from the passenger seat and according to the Lexus test driver "totally 100% analogue" in feel, feedback and response to inputs.
Sounded utterly amazing from the inside too
Ps. We left the line first and were lapping the back end of the pack by lap 3!
Have driven this very LF-A, anologue is a very good description & lively to say the least. On my wish list if I win the lottery Paint finish aside as for the rest of the car... just stunning.
The build quality was exceptional and it looked and felt brand new, despite being the very well used example owned by Lexus and the car featured in most road tests (Dark Blue). Once on track fast is too small a word and you could hear it above everything else as it screamed (the right word) towards 9k. Felt like a total animal on the edge from the passenger seat and according to the Lexus test driver "totally 100% analogue" in feel, feedback and response to inputs.
Sounded utterly amazing from the inside too
Ps. We left the line first and were lapping the back end of the pack by lap 3!
kev b said:
Our 2007 5 series is disappointing, lots of orange peel in the base coat which no amount of detailing can remove,
The quote above is actually a myth i think has come from people who have tried to remove orange peel unsucessfully so assume its in the base coat layer , and has become the standard quote for the reason in NOT removing orange peel by detailers. I demo this (this time of year) weekly due to training pupils from all around the world coming to my company for advanced detailing training and wet sanding practices.
I wet sanded dozens of BMW's from early 2000 cars right through to brand new at the time 2013 all have same success rate.
Kelly
Thanks Kelly, I used to enjoy your posts on Detailing World before I twigged that using an ungaraged car everyday on country roads and having a family was incompatible with mirror finish paint/clean wheelarches etc.
The paint on my BMW has been bugging me for 7 years and stopped me from buying another.
Now you go and point out that not only was I wrong about BMW orange-peel but I could actually do something about it, thanks a bundle!
How many hours would it take to wet sand and polish a 5 series and does it affect the warranty on a new car?
The paint on my BMW has been bugging me for 7 years and stopped me from buying another.
Now you go and point out that not only was I wrong about BMW orange-peel but I could actually do something about it, thanks a bundle!
How many hours would it take to wet sand and polish a 5 series and does it affect the warranty on a new car?
Beefmeister said:
I agree with you wholeheartedly. People seem perfectly fine with buying a £150,000 Aston, then shelling out £1000 for a detailer to correct all the mistakes that their brand new car had. If it were me i'd be sending it straight back, or getting them to pay the £1000.
When Aston made the Vanquish they spent more time on the paintwork then Porsche took to build a whole 996 turbo. But the paint on the gaydon cars did go downhill for a timeiandc said:
Maybe mine was painted after a long lunch on a Friday!!
More likely finished just before a long lunch on a Friday :-)Apprently you used to be able to tell if a Ducati had been crashed because all the panels would be the same colour. Allegedly they'd paint 20 tanks, then 20 tailpieces, then 20 fairing uppers, etc etc. Of course part way through they'd run out of paint and make up another batch the day after and carry one with the other panels, but there was quite often a slight different.
I am not a pro painter but have painted cars as a hobby for the last 30 years, many to major show winning standards. I therefore tend to examine factory paint jobs with a very critical eye. And as other's have mentioned the general standard leaves a lot to be desired. On the plus side a couple of recent Rolls Royce’s I have seen have had very good paint jobs, these were being exhibited at Goodwood so I am not sure if they were representative of what a customers would get but I hope so as I was impressed. But even this high standard when compared too a black E-Type restoration project next door looked amateurish when seen side by side. It just went too show what could be achieved by a master of the art.
The question manufacturers ask themselves is what can they afford to get away with and what will the customer accept. Many high end cars are now spayed by robots. The manufacturers will claim it provides a consistent finish; the reality is that it’s a hell of lot cheaper. There is a reason why companies like Mototechnique will charge between £25k-£40k for a full bare metal respray of your pride and joy
The question manufacturers ask themselves is what can they afford to get away with and what will the customer accept. Many high end cars are now spayed by robots. The manufacturers will claim it provides a consistent finish; the reality is that it’s a hell of lot cheaper. There is a reason why companies like Mototechnique will charge between £25k-£40k for a full bare metal respray of your pride and joy
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