Factory finish panel colour mismatch?!
Discussion
Hi Guys
Well our Boxster S has arrived albeit a little late and we collected Friday. Looked stunning in the showroom absolutely awesome drive home blue sky - perfect. However, got it home and looked it over and noticed the panel between the door and the rear wheel is at least one or maybe two shades different than the abutting panels. Now I know that it is a plastic panel and the door and rear wing appears to be metal. I also know sometimes the shade can be slightly out as a result of it being plastic but is that really as close as the colour match gets on the Boxster build? The car was built at Osnabruck. Should the difference be so noticeable? or is it as good as it gets and just the way things are now at £65K price point? Or is it me? I have uploaded a photo - looks worse in the metal. It is apparent the panel was sprayed away from the car and the metallic fleck is coarser than the rest. Similar on the driver's side as well, maybe not quite as bad.
Well our Boxster S has arrived albeit a little late and we collected Friday. Looked stunning in the showroom absolutely awesome drive home blue sky - perfect. However, got it home and looked it over and noticed the panel between the door and the rear wheel is at least one or maybe two shades different than the abutting panels. Now I know that it is a plastic panel and the door and rear wing appears to be metal. I also know sometimes the shade can be slightly out as a result of it being plastic but is that really as close as the colour match gets on the Boxster build? The car was built at Osnabruck. Should the difference be so noticeable? or is it as good as it gets and just the way things are now at £65K price point? Or is it me? I have uploaded a photo - looks worse in the metal. It is apparent the panel was sprayed away from the car and the metallic fleck is coarser than the rest. Similar on the driver's side as well, maybe not quite as bad.
Looks quite noticeable from the photo. Could it possibly have been damaged in transit and repaired? Any overspray anywhere?
Unfortunately it does happen. Mine was damaged between leaving the factory and arriving at the dealership. It had been poorly repaired somewhere but nobody knew where! Had to have the repair done again properly.
If it's on both sides then it would point to poor finish from the factory. Talk to your opc ASAP.
Beautiful colour combo though. I'm sure you'll get it sorted.
Jon
Unfortunately it does happen. Mine was damaged between leaving the factory and arriving at the dealership. It had been poorly repaired somewhere but nobody knew where! Had to have the repair done again properly.
If it's on both sides then it would point to poor finish from the factory. Talk to your opc ASAP.
Beautiful colour combo though. I'm sure you'll get it sorted.
Jon
cervezaman said:
Looks quite noticeable from the photo. Could it possibly have been damaged in transit and repaired? Any overspray anywhere?
Unfortunately it does happen. Mine was damaged between leaving the factory and arriving at the dealership. It had been poorly repaired somewhere but nobody knew where! Had to have the repair done again properly.
If it's on both sides then it would point to poor finish from the factory. Talk to your opc ASAP.
Beautiful colour combo though. I'm sure you'll get it sorted.
Jon
I cannot find any overspray. I am thinking that if it had been damaged there would have been a better attempt at blending it in! I think you are right I will have to go back to the OPC with it. Did you find overspray on your car or did they own upUnfortunately it does happen. Mine was damaged between leaving the factory and arriving at the dealership. It had been poorly repaired somewhere but nobody knew where! Had to have the repair done again properly.
If it's on both sides then it would point to poor finish from the factory. Talk to your opc ASAP.
Beautiful colour combo though. I'm sure you'll get it sorted.
Jon
I took mine to an independent Bodyshop who found loads of overspray. My car looked perfect when I picked it up, it was only after I'd washed it a couple of time I noticed that the drivers door had what looked like big scratches which had been touched up. Looked like a really poor 'smart' repair.
Opc's Bodyshop then repaired it (twice)....
Even now it's not 100% perfect, but it's pretty good. Having said that I am really critical and notice everything!
Opc's Bodyshop then repaired it (twice)....
Even now it's not 100% perfect, but it's pretty good. Having said that I am really critical and notice everything!
Overspray means paint on top of paint, i.e. if they sprayed one panel but didn't mask up to the one next to it and some of the paint dried on the one that didn't need it.
If a panel was damaged and resprayed, you shouldn't get overspray anywhere, unless they didn't mask up around it, which quite frankly they would have to be a numpty to do, and even Porsche aren't that numpty. Also overspray can leave the adjoining panel rough to the touch.
If a panel was damaged and resprayed, you shouldn't get overspray anywhere, unless they didn't mask up around it, which quite frankly they would have to be a numpty to do, and even Porsche aren't that numpty. Also overspray can leave the adjoining panel rough to the touch.
I would guess the panel was sprayed in a different place to the car and then added on the production line? I am unsure if that part of the body goes through the bodyshop with the metal part of the car. The hue of the paint is wrong and the metallic coarser so was not painted at the same time as the door and upper panel, unless damaged in transit of course. There was a delay on the build time of one week notified a week prior to the original delivery date so could well have been dinked at the docks in Germany and given a line but I doubt I will ever know for sure. I have emailed the pics to Porsche and the dealer. I am now waiting for the "they are all like that" response.
Looks like Agate Grey. Mine are all the same colour - just went out and double-checked too. Never seen that on other cars either.
I would've guessed it's the difference between the correct colour in the factory, and a small batch repair mix that hasn't been made quite right. But then odd that it's both sides on the same panel...
S
I would've guessed it's the difference between the correct colour in the factory, and a small batch repair mix that hasn't been made quite right. But then odd that it's both sides on the same panel...
S
it is true on my audi i used to own the plastic was a different shade than steel but i dont see how it should be as both have primer over steel and plastic so top coat should not be any different, my aqua blue cayman has plastic bits and is spot on,go and look at others in dealerships and see if they are the same
Porsche can take 6 months to approve a new PTS colour that hasn't been used before. As I understand it they take 6 months so they can test the paint on all the different materials used in the car to ensure colour compatability, paint adhesion and longevity. Their own paints shouldn't give different results no matter where they are on the car. This is not right and OPC should put it right.
I took another photo this morning of the other side and I think this is just as bad on the driver's side? The OPC have stated they have no knowledge of damage in transit and I actually believe that. So it is looking more like a build quality issue from the factory. I am waiting to hear back from Porsche now on this. 
Edited by Agent51 on Monday 19th May 13:48
For those who cannot see the difference, here is a clearer pic that defines the light grey on the top panel and the dark grey on the lower panel. This is nothing to do with light and panel shape - they are different colours. It would seem then there are other cars out there with similar shade changes so perhaps that's just the way they are? but it does not make it right. I have to say I would have expected better. I have not seen anything quite this bad on a Porsche before now. 
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