What's wrong with the paint?

[N7GTX]

At the start of lockdown last year I put my car in for a partial respray. The bonnet, front bumper, front wings, door mirrors, rear bumper and boot lid are all made of a type of resin material and were in a sorry state. The body shop was highly recommended on here as they do high end cars. Once lockdown eased off the car was painted and the rest of the car was detailed. On collection it looked amazing.

I've been unable to drive it much since then, just 30 miles or so but on Sunday drove from Yorkshire to Edinburgh for a 3 day break. Reaching Edinburgh noticed the front was covered in flies and bugs. Came home and cleaned the car, soaking the bugs with warm water before wiping them off. They came off quite easily. Or so I thought.

In certain light the bugs and flies seem to be still there. Its like the bug has hit the paint and left its outline embedded in the paint. But there are no ridges that I can feel with my fingers. In bright sunlight you can't see them, only when the car is in shade. I've never seen anything like this before. Is the paint too soft? The paint shop said they would use the same paint as the original - Aston Martin 1995 - so no lacquer. Is this right? I've not yet tried polishing them out in case I do more damage.

Help!!!

[paintman]

You need to speak to the bodyshop that did the work & see what paint they used & what they say about this issue.

[N7GTX]

paintman said:

You need to speak to the bodyshop that did the work & see what paint they used & what they say about this issue.

Yes I know. First car show of the year on Sunday too.

[mbwoy84]

What colour is it?

[N7GTX]

Its Aston British Racing Green. Before the show I had to remove the bug marks and all the other marks. I used Meguiars Deep Crystal polish and it did a good job of removing almost every mark. Then used the same wax to give it some protection.
Came home from the show and a few bugs again. Think I'll leave them until I can speak to the body shop. Also noticed a lot of marks on the boot lid which will polish out but there are none on the original paintwork. After polishing there was a fair bit of green colour on the cloth.

[V8covin]

N7GTX said:

. After polishing there was a fair bit of green colour on the cloth.

Which tells you that it hasn't been clear coated which is what the bodyshop told you.
If you press a finger into the paint does it leave a print ?

[N7GTX]

Yes, if you press hard enough. What's the solution? They said they were going to use the same paint as the factory but I don't understand how it can be so soft after 12 months. As you can tell, paint is not my specialised subject.

Edited by N7GTX on Sunday 13th June 22:49

[V8covin]

N7GTX said:

Yes, if you press hard enough. What's the solution? They said they were going to use the same paint as the factory but I don't understand how it can be so soft after 12 months. As you can tell, paint is not my specialised subject.

Edited by N7GTX on Sunday 13th June 22:49

Well clearly the paint hasn't cured properly.
Go back and point this out and ask them what they're going to do about it.......they will probably try baking it but in all likelihood it will have to be stripped off and redone

[N7GTX]

Thanks, going to call them now.

Edited: called Aston for details of the paint. It should be 2k not a single solid colour. When you polish it does the cloth turn green? Yes. Then its the wrong paint. They have never painted DB7s that way. Advised to contact the body shop. If they disagree or refuse then I will need an independent expert's report with a view to the county court.

So called the body shop who are very reluctant to back down. The owner thinks the paint shop manager may have thought it was a solid colour on its own so quoted the work at the price paid. Pointing out it is not the right paint and finish he said it would cost a lot more to do the car in base and top coat. He was quite happy to restore the finish by detailing it but says to apply top coat is a big job and would need to be priced accordingly. There is a clear threat that they will only apply clear coat at my expense, in effect a respray, and he says even with a clear/top coat there will be problems with bugs, flies and marks as its a dark colour. I find this hard to believe as my X5 is black - no problems, my Rover SD1 was black - no problems, wife's Golf was black - no problems.

I really didn't want this hassle.

Edited by N7GTX on Monday 14th June 11:39

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

Not defending the paint shop in any way but you may find that with the current legislation in regard to environment, car paint is not what it used to be and possibly isn't as 'good'.

A bit like you can no longer buy creosote for your fence panels.

[V8covin]

Matt_E_Mulsion said:

Not defending the paint shop in any way but you may find that with the current legislation in regard to environment, car paint is not what it used to be and possibly isn't as 'good'.

A bit like you can no longer buy creosote for your fence panels.

You clearly know nothing about automotive refinishing mate,the quality of the paint has never been so good and so hardwearing.
The paint on any vehicle should be hard to the touch when it leaves the bodyshop,end of story

[LennyM1984]

May sound obvious but have you tried polishing it? On one of my old Porsches (dark blue) bugs would leave a kind of shadow in the paint if they had been left too long. A quick hand polish (with the modern day equivalent of T-Cut) and the paint would be perfect again.

I was told that it was something to do with the enzymes in squished flies etching the paint.

[N7GTX]

Yes, polishing it does clean it all back again as evidenced by the cloth turning green. But I can't polish the car every time I use it. If Aston say it should have a top coat then that's what it should have. Sounds like the manager believed it was a single paint and the owner doesn't want to bear the cost of correcting it.
I'm hoping to get it to them tomorrow so they can see for themselves.

[steveo3002]

the fact you can push your thumb into suggests its faulty paint or cheapo rubbish , as said above once baked it should be rock hard , should no way be able to push a thumb print onto it

clear coating or or any magic potion over this will cause more problems as it will move around and the clear coat wont then cause crazing after a while

[V8covin]

N7GTX said:

Yes, polishing it does clean it all back again as evidenced by the cloth turning green. But I can't polish the car every time I use it. If Aston say it should have a top coat then that's what it should have. Sounds like the manager believed it was a single paint and the owner doesn't want to bear the cost of correcting it.
I'm hoping to get it to them tomorrow so they can see for themselves.

What model of Aston is it ?

[N7GTX]

Its a DB7, 1995.

I think we're sorted. I first off spoke to the body shop manager at Chiltern Aston who specialise in DB7s. Aston never used solid paint on these cars. In fact DB5s and 6s are given a clear coat for a better finish these days.

Took the car to the shop and after some lengthy negotiation with the owner, he has agreed to repair the panels that were painted. I've met him part way by agreeing to pay for the sill cover panels to be done as well (they weren't done originally). Car is booked in for the end of the month. So I'm relieved its going to be sorted out.

Thanks to those here with far more knowledge of car paint than me.

[V8covin]

N7GTX said:

Its a DB7, 1995.

I think we're sorted. I first off spoke to the body shop manager at Chiltern Aston who specialise in DB7s. Aston never used solid paint on these cars. In fact DB5s and 6s are given a clear coat for a better finish these days.

Took the car to the shop and after some lengthy negotiation with the owner, he has agreed to repair the panels that were painted. I've met him part way by agreeing to pay for the sill cover panels to be done as well (they weren't done originally). Car is booked in for the end of the month. So I'm relieved its going to be sorted out.

Thanks to those here with far more knowledge of car paint than me.

You mentioned single stage paint in your post above.
That usually refers to a paint without an activator like a synthetic.I can't imagine for a second any bodyshop nevermind a high end one would use single stage on an Aston Martin....or anything other than a commercial these days.
They almost certainly did it in 2K but made a cock up of the mix,not enough activator or too much possibly.
You'd be far better off having it done in basecoat and clear as the clear offers better uv protection.
Hope they get it sorted to your satisfaction,we all make mistakes

[N7GTX]

Yes, being done in base and clear now. It really was done in solid 'to keep the cost down.' Thanks for your help.

[mbwoy84]

N7GTX said:

Yes, being done in base and clear now. It really was done in solid 'to keep the cost down.' Thanks for your help.

It doesn't really save anything on cost for most of us. Only if it's a high volume bodyshop who will really notice the difference between the relatively short extra time spent on the clearcoat, but as suspected, yes it would certainly have been base and clear from factory.

[N7GTX]

mbwoy84 said:

N7GTX said:

Yes, being done in base and clear now. It really was done in solid 'to keep the cost down.' Thanks for your help.

It doesn't really save anything on cost for most of us. Only if it's a high volume bodyshop who will really notice the difference between the relatively short extra time spent on the clearcoat, but as suspected, yes it would certainly have been base and clear from factory.

Thank you.