Pinhole Blistering on Rocker Panel Undisclosed Respray?
Discussion
Hi all,
I’m reaching out to see if anyone else has encountered this before.
I recently purchased a 992.1 GT3 Touring from an OPC (Porsche Approved, clean HPI, very low mileage, no paint or accident history disclosed, and priced accordingly). Everything appeared fine during inspection — until delivery day… and it’s been unravelling since.
What started it all: the wheels
As part of pre-delivery prep, I asked for the wheels to be powder coated in Satin Neodyme. I was assured this would be done to proper spec. Instead, I received what turned out to be a poor spray job — the paint began peeling after the first wash, just 48 hours after delivery. This was confirmed by two independent wheel professionals and other GT owners: it wasn’t powder coat, nor anything close to factory quality.
That immediately raised questions — because if the finish on something as visible and agreed was misrepresented, what else might have been?
Then I spotted this on the rocker panel
When the car was being trailered back to the OPC (to rectify the wheel issue and several others that developed in the first few days), I noticed a line of raised dots or pinhole-like blisters just above the textured coating along the driver-side rocker panel.
It’s not stone chips. It’s a linear band of bubbling, which looks exactly like solvent pop, poor masking, or an uneven lacquer coat — all typical signs of a localised respray.
The dealer insists this is “normal” and part of Porsche’s factory-applied stone-chip protection. But I’ve owned a 991.2 GT3 and inspected many other 911s, and I’ve never seen this on a clean factory panel. There’s also no note of this in the 111-point check, and no damage history disclosed.
Why it matters
If this is non-factory or undisclosed repair work, it materially affects the car’s value, provenance, and resale. At this level — and with full Porsche Approved backing — this goes beyond cosmetics.
The dealership is now being pressed to carry out a proper bodyshop inspection using paint depth gauges and relevant tooling, but I’d prefer not to rely solely on internal assessments if others in the community have seen or experienced the same issue.
Has anyone else seen this bubbling/blistering finish on a factory rocker panel on a 992 or GT car?
Would hugely appreciate any insights — especially from experienced owners, paint professionals, or anyone who’s dealt with this type of scenario.
Thanks in advance,
I’m reaching out to see if anyone else has encountered this before.
I recently purchased a 992.1 GT3 Touring from an OPC (Porsche Approved, clean HPI, very low mileage, no paint or accident history disclosed, and priced accordingly). Everything appeared fine during inspection — until delivery day… and it’s been unravelling since.
What started it all: the wheels
As part of pre-delivery prep, I asked for the wheels to be powder coated in Satin Neodyme. I was assured this would be done to proper spec. Instead, I received what turned out to be a poor spray job — the paint began peeling after the first wash, just 48 hours after delivery. This was confirmed by two independent wheel professionals and other GT owners: it wasn’t powder coat, nor anything close to factory quality.
That immediately raised questions — because if the finish on something as visible and agreed was misrepresented, what else might have been?
Then I spotted this on the rocker panel
When the car was being trailered back to the OPC (to rectify the wheel issue and several others that developed in the first few days), I noticed a line of raised dots or pinhole-like blisters just above the textured coating along the driver-side rocker panel.
It’s not stone chips. It’s a linear band of bubbling, which looks exactly like solvent pop, poor masking, or an uneven lacquer coat — all typical signs of a localised respray.
The dealer insists this is “normal” and part of Porsche’s factory-applied stone-chip protection. But I’ve owned a 991.2 GT3 and inspected many other 911s, and I’ve never seen this on a clean factory panel. There’s also no note of this in the 111-point check, and no damage history disclosed.
Why it matters
If this is non-factory or undisclosed repair work, it materially affects the car’s value, provenance, and resale. At this level — and with full Porsche Approved backing — this goes beyond cosmetics.
The dealership is now being pressed to carry out a proper bodyshop inspection using paint depth gauges and relevant tooling, but I’d prefer not to rely solely on internal assessments if others in the community have seen or experienced the same issue.
Has anyone else seen this bubbling/blistering finish on a factory rocker panel on a 992 or GT car?
Would hugely appreciate any insights — especially from experienced owners, paint professionals, or anyone who’s dealt with this type of scenario.
Thanks in advance,
Sounds like the OPC/someone has used a smart repair man in a tent to do the wheels and touch up a mark on the body 
Been, there done that, with a 6 month old 911 from a Porsche dealer that honestly looked like the rear bumper had been painted by a blind man on a windy day. It was awful. When I pointed it out they agreed to re-do it in their approved body shop.
Been, there done that, with a 6 month old 911 from a Porsche dealer that honestly looked like the rear bumper had been painted by a blind man on a windy day. It was awful. When I pointed it out they agreed to re-do it in their approved body shop.
AW777 said:
Slippydiff said:
A picture may help ...
Sorry, I tried to post with Pic but don t know how?Click on "Choose image"
Choose and open the file containing the image you want to use, then left click on the image to highlight it.
Press the Open tab and wait for the image to download.
You'll be given a list of links.
Go to the "Hotlink for forums" and left click on the small blue and white file box to its right to copy the link.
Paste the link into your forum post, and we can all rejoice in your OPC's ineptitude.
@ Discombobulate. I owned a SMART repair franchise between 1998 and 2003 , we did next to zero private, retail work, instead we concentrated on servicing official Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Maserati, Jaguar and Bentley centres for 5 years.
I subsequently found out some 8 years later we were one of the most successful franchisees for what was the most prominent and successful SMART repair brand in the UK 20 + years ago.
Yes, there were, and no doubt still are, some truly atrocious repairs carried out by less than diligent operatives, but that doesn't mean that all SMART operatives should be tarred with the same brush.
Cheers mate, just tried, and it worked on my end, however, as a new user i am not allowed to post links within the 14 days period....
Slippydiff said:
Click on "Choose image"
Choose and open the file containing the image you want to use, then left click on the image to highlight it.
Press the Open tab and wait for the image to download.
You'll be given a list of links.
Go to the "Hotlink for forums" and left click on the small blue and white file box to its right to copy the link.
Paste the link into your forum post, and we can all rejoice in your OPC's ineptitude.
@ Discombobulate. I owned a SMART repair franchise between 1998 and 2003 , we did next to zero private, retail work, instead we concentrated on servicing official Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Maserati, Jaguar and Bentley centres for 5 years.
I subsequently found out some 8 years later we were one of the most successful franchisees for what was the most prominent and successful SMART repair brand in the UK 20 + years ago.
Yes, there were, and no doubt still are, some truly atrocious repairs carried out by less than diligent operatives, but that doesn't mean that all SMART operatives should be tarred with the same brush.
Choose and open the file containing the image you want to use, then left click on the image to highlight it.
Press the Open tab and wait for the image to download.
You'll be given a list of links.
Go to the "Hotlink for forums" and left click on the small blue and white file box to its right to copy the link.
Paste the link into your forum post, and we can all rejoice in your OPC's ineptitude.
@ Discombobulate. I owned a SMART repair franchise between 1998 and 2003 , we did next to zero private, retail work, instead we concentrated on servicing official Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Maserati, Jaguar and Bentley centres for 5 years.
I subsequently found out some 8 years later we were one of the most successful franchisees for what was the most prominent and successful SMART repair brand in the UK 20 + years ago.
Yes, there were, and no doubt still are, some truly atrocious repairs carried out by less than diligent operatives, but that doesn't mean that all SMART operatives should be tarred with the same brush.
Sounds about right — though the dots look very consistent, running along the line between the door/rear quarter panel and the lower painted rocker. Apologies I can’t post photos here, so a verbal description probably doesn’t do it justice.
Discombobulate said:
Sounds like the OPC/someone has used a smart repair man in a tent to do the wheels and touch up a mark on the body
Been, there done that, with a 6 month old 911 from a Porsche dealer that honestly looked like the rear bumper had been painted by a blind man on a windy day. It was awful. When I pointed it out they agreed to re-do it in their approved body shop.
Been, there done that, with a 6 month old 911 from a Porsche dealer that honestly looked like the rear bumper had been painted by a blind man on a windy day. It was awful. When I pointed it out they agreed to re-do it in their approved body shop.
Thanks, mate — I think it’s just a new user restriction; I’ll need to wait 14 days. I’ve posted the same content over on Rennlist, where there are no limitations — including a photo in case you're interested.
Thread title: ‘Raised Pinhole Blistering on Rocker Panel – Factory Finish or Undisclosed Respray?’”
Thread title: ‘Raised Pinhole Blistering on Rocker Panel – Factory Finish or Undisclosed Respray?’”
interstellar said:
Just click upload an image when in a post where you would type and it s just a live the box you are typing in, if you are on an iPhone that is and it s self explanatory.
Slippydiff said:
https://postimages.org/
Click on "Choose image"
Choose and open the file containing the image you want to use, then left click on the image to highlight it.
Press the Open tab and wait for the image to download.
You'll be given a list of links.
Go to the "Hotlink for forums" and left click on the small blue and white file box to its right to copy the link.
Paste the link into your forum post, and we can all rejoice in your OPC's ineptitude.
@ Discombobulate. I owned a SMART repair franchise between 1998 and 2003 , we did next to zero private, retail work, instead we concentrated on servicing official Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Maserati, Jaguar and Bentley centres for 5 years.
I subsequently found out some 8 years later we were one of the most successful franchisees for what was the most prominent and successful SMART repair brand in the UK 20 + years ago.
Yes, there were, and no doubt still are, some truly atrocious repairs carried out by less than diligent operatives, but that doesn't mean that all SMART operatives should be tarred with the same brush.
Not having a go at all smart repairs. I have had excellent work done on two of my cars in my drive. However, the job my OPC did (in a tent in their car park) was truly awful. And sanding, filling and spraying wheels isn't the same as a proper dip and powder coat. Fine for a spot repair but a colour change? No thanks.Click on "Choose image"
Choose and open the file containing the image you want to use, then left click on the image to highlight it.
Press the Open tab and wait for the image to download.
You'll be given a list of links.
Go to the "Hotlink for forums" and left click on the small blue and white file box to its right to copy the link.
Paste the link into your forum post, and we can all rejoice in your OPC's ineptitude.
@ Discombobulate. I owned a SMART repair franchise between 1998 and 2003 , we did next to zero private, retail work, instead we concentrated on servicing official Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Maserati, Jaguar and Bentley centres for 5 years.
I subsequently found out some 8 years later we were one of the most successful franchisees for what was the most prominent and successful SMART repair brand in the UK 20 + years ago.
Yes, there were, and no doubt still are, some truly atrocious repairs carried out by less than diligent operatives, but that doesn't mean that all SMART operatives should be tarred with the same brush.
Edited by Discombobulate on Sunday 6th July 18:52
I recently watched a Mat Watson video on youtube when he picked up his new 911ST. The first thing he did was take it to a paint correction facility. Here they pointed out how poor paint work was on a 300k car. Apparently Porsche are better than most!
This probably doesn’t answer your question, but maybe makes the point that the quality of paint finish when one of these cars leaves the factory may be not to the standard you might expect.
This probably doesn’t answer your question, but maybe makes the point that the quality of paint finish when one of these cars leaves the factory may be not to the standard you might expect.
Discombobulate said:
Not having a go at all smart repairs. I have had excellent work done on two of my cars in my drive. However, the job my OPC did (in a tent in their car park) was truly awful. And sanding, filling and spraying wheels isn't the same as a proper dip and powder coat. Fine for a spot repair but a colour change? No thanks.
I think that’s exactly what happened with my wheels too — sounds all too familiar. I won’t even bother posting photos here (still too new to attach images), but honestly… they looked awful. I’ve done a better job painting a flower pot! 😅Edited by Discombobulate on Sunday 6th July 18:52
Really disappointing, especially coming from an OPC that specifically promised a proper powder coat. Unfortunately, that set the tone — once the wheels failed and mechanical issues started appearing in the first few days, my confidence took a hit. It’s hard not to grow suspicious of everything after that.
Interestingly, I’ve had a mix of replies on my Rennlist thread — some saying the bumps on the rocker panel are “normal spatter from undercoating,” while others with the same car say they’ve got nothing like it on theirs. So I’m still trying to get to the bottom of it… feels like a bit of a coin toss at this point.
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