Defective paint
Discussion
I bought a used car in September ’25 and as part of the prep the O/S rear quarter was painted. As you can see in the below photos the paint has reacted either with small blisters or the long jagged “scratch” marks. I know this looks like a door has been opened onto the car but it is definitely a reaction in the paint.
Do any of our paint experts know what has caused this so I can counter the dealers “not me guv” response?
Do any of our paint experts know what has caused this so I can counter the dealers “not me guv” response?
I'm a painter.
The micro blisters is definitely solvent pop, its got variable reasons, but basically the solvent becomes trapped as the lacquer skims over and slowly over time and heat it works its way out by breaking through the surface.
It's either painted in the cold then heated up or it's been rushed and layers applied before the solvent has evaporated below. It can come out months later and sometimes the painter despite thinking it's all gone well won't know until months down the line. Those blisters can only have come from the paint process so the dealer needs to get them corrected.
The second photo isn't so easy, they do look like new scratches, the only explanation from the painting process is that they have put some primer on top of the scratches and over time it has shrunk back meaning they have become visible, but I would expect to also see a halo around where the primer was applied if that was the case. So it's a bit harder to argue those ones.
The only rectification I'm afraid is for the panel to be resprayed.
Most dealers even if they have there own bodyshop simply use a mobile smart repairer for cars going on the forecourt, despite telling you the customer that the only way to repair any new damage that you have to pay for is to use the expensive bodyshop!
The micro blisters is definitely solvent pop, its got variable reasons, but basically the solvent becomes trapped as the lacquer skims over and slowly over time and heat it works its way out by breaking through the surface.
It's either painted in the cold then heated up or it's been rushed and layers applied before the solvent has evaporated below. It can come out months later and sometimes the painter despite thinking it's all gone well won't know until months down the line. Those blisters can only have come from the paint process so the dealer needs to get them corrected.
The second photo isn't so easy, they do look like new scratches, the only explanation from the painting process is that they have put some primer on top of the scratches and over time it has shrunk back meaning they have become visible, but I would expect to also see a halo around where the primer was applied if that was the case. So it's a bit harder to argue those ones.
The only rectification I'm afraid is for the panel to be resprayed.
Most dealers even if they have there own bodyshop simply use a mobile smart repairer for cars going on the forecourt, despite telling you the customer that the only way to repair any new damage that you have to pay for is to use the expensive bodyshop!
Thanks for the comprehensive reply
The strange thing about the "scratches" is that they don't appear to be on the surface of the paint as they can't be felt and from some angles are totally invisible. The only explanation I could think of is that water running down the car has frozen and affected the paint in some way
The strange thing about the "scratches" is that they don't appear to be on the surface of the paint as they can't be felt and from some angles are totally invisible. The only explanation I could think of is that water running down the car has frozen and affected the paint in some way
They are likely original scratches that just weren't dealt with when the panel was resprayed and have just become more visible over time as everything has shrunk back as the solvent has evaporated. With a silver it's all about how the flakes lie that reflect the light so it may be that as they've shrunk back you've just noticed the shift in the base colour. If they are under the lacquer then clearly they weren't sanded out. With a silver the surface has to be a lot finer sanded than a solid colour.
Assuming they have used a trade smart repairer, dealers pay peanuts for trade work, so in return the painter is leaving his pride at the door and simply doing the repair he is told and to be fair, if they won't pay why should the painter correct everything when the dealer is only paying for a specific repair on a panel. You see insurance work where the insurance company won't pay for previous damage so you get a newly resprayed panel still with dents in it, it's bonkers.
I work for myself and sleep well at night, but the odd trade job I get in isn't given the same attention as a private customer as they simply wont pay, so they aren't going to get the same number of hours spend prepping, thats what they want, its just a churn of quantity rather than quality.
Assuming they have used a trade smart repairer, dealers pay peanuts for trade work, so in return the painter is leaving his pride at the door and simply doing the repair he is told and to be fair, if they won't pay why should the painter correct everything when the dealer is only paying for a specific repair on a panel. You see insurance work where the insurance company won't pay for previous damage so you get a newly resprayed panel still with dents in it, it's bonkers.
I work for myself and sleep well at night, but the odd trade job I get in isn't given the same attention as a private customer as they simply wont pay, so they aren't going to get the same number of hours spend prepping, thats what they want, its just a churn of quantity rather than quality.
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