Paint Problems

[ready2fly]

I searched the forum and I could not find a dedicated topic for paint issues. I have paint peeling off the roof. Paint quality is a big problem for GM and it looks like Opel was also affected. My clearcoat is easy to scratch and easy to dent. I did talk to my local dealer today, service manager will get back to me tomorrow. They may not be able to do anything because my warranty expired. All of my previous cars had much better paint/clearcoat quality (they were all new Hondas and Toyotas). You can see rust-proof yellow coating inside. Did you guys run into similar problems?

 

[Jack GS]

That's bad... I have nothing like that. I know our paint is thin but I've never seen it peel like that. Are you positive the paint has never been touched up or resprayed since the factory?

 

[abizzle]

I can’t quite tell where that is located. Is that the seam where the roof meets the back glass? I have a good friend that does professional paint correction and I’ll be happy to show him the pics and get his opinion on what causes that. He’s seen it all.

 

[ready2fly]

That's bad... I have nothing like that. I know our paint is thin but I've never seen it peel like that. Are you positive the paint has never been touched up or resprayed since the factory?

I bought my car brand new and it has a clean carfax. I live in FL and my car is always outside, so most likely the paint got too much sun exposure.

 

[ready2fly]

I can’t quite tell where that is located. Is that the seam where the roof meets the back glass? I have a good friend that does professional paint correction and I’ll be happy to show him the pics and get his opinion on what causes that. He’s seen it all.

First one is inside the rain duct on top of the passenger front door. Second one is right above the windshield. My guess it is sun damage.

 

[abizzle]

First one is inside the rain duct on top of the passenger front door. Second one is right above the windshield. My guess it is sun damage.

How often do you wax or polish the car?

 

[ready2fly]

How often do you wax or polish the car?

Never. I don't believe in waxing or polishing. My cars always lasted for 4-5 years without any paint issues.

 

[abizzle]

Never. I don't believe in waxing or polishing. My cars always lasted for 4-5 years without any paint issues.

I mean it’s up to you and I’m not saying it’s to be expected because the paint was clearly sprayed thin. I will say it was preventable, tho. Living in Florida, I’m surprised you haven’t had issues before.

The sun is brutal. I live in Louisiana and have seen soooo many cars with the paint peeling on the roof. I have a 2012 Explorer for a work vehicle and my company puts a sticker logo on the front doors. Well, they didn’t wanna pay for UV rated vinyl, so guess what happened? After 4 years the stickers fused themselves into the clearcoat and ruined the paint. The only way to fix it is to strip, sand, and repaint the doors.

Had they spent a little extra money on the right kind of sticker they could have avoided a $2000 mistake.

 

[Jack GS]

With respect to the rain gutter, it shouldn't see THAT much direct sunlight. If anything, the top of the hood or middle of the roof would be the first to exhibit signs of sun damage. To me, it looks like it's peeling up almost as if a paint thinner/stripper/acetone found it's way onto the paint.

As far as the leading edge of the roof above the windshield, it looks like there have been a couple of impacts. See here in the center, a stone may have chipped right through the paint and primer/rust coating:
Looks like the paint peel spread out from the center after it was compromised.

Final thoughts... Since the paint defects are on the leading edge of the roof and gutter, maybe it has something to do with the washer fluid. Any chance something other than standard washer fluid was used?

 

[abizzle]

With respect to the rain gutter, it shouldn't see THAT much direct sunlight. If anything, the top of the hood or middle of the roof would be the first to exhibit signs of sun damage. To me, it looks like it's peeling up almost as if a paint thinner/stripper/acetone found it's way onto the paint.

As far as the leading edge of the roof above the windshield, it looks like there have been a couple of impacts. See here in the center, a stone may have chipped right through the paint and primer/rust coating:View attachment 33899
Looks like the paint peel spread out from the center after it was compromised.

Final thoughts... Since the paint defects are on the leading edge of the roof and gutter, maybe it has something to do with the washer fluid. Any chance something other than standard washer fluid was used?

That edge by the windshield looks like three different sections of peeling paint. From left to right, the first two are visible and it looks like there’s a third section where you can see the first couple of mm and the rest was cut out of the picture.

Is that correct?

 

[Jack GS]

Is that correct?

Yeah looks like it

 

[LLninja]

I recall in the 90s GM had paint flaking issues on many of their vehicles, finally attributed to people in the GM paint booths wearing a certain deodorant which interacted with the paint. A coworker got his truck completely repainted by the dealership body shop because of this. But I believe many factories have switched to robotic paint booths to get a more consistent paint job. Alas, who knows what they did in Germany.

 

[saab93driver]

….. Alas, who knows what they did in Germany

About 1 minute in.

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Past GM paint problems were called delamination which had a issue between the primer coat and paint adhering.

To confirm if the vehicle had this problem the dealer service/body manager would use a very detailed and precision test. They put a piece of masking tape on the vehicle, pulled it off and if the paint came off with the tape free paint job.

If the OP can check with the dealer that it's a adhesive issue between the primer and paint it may be covered. If the parts were run on different paint lines that could also affect the finish product.

 

[ready2fly]

Past GM paint problems were called delamination which had a issue between the primer coat and paint adhering.

To confirm if the vehicle had this problem the dealer service/body manager would use a very detailed and precision test. They put a piece of masking tape on the vehicle, pulled it off and if the paint came off with the tape free paint job.

If the OP can check with the dealer that it's a adhesive issue between the primer and paint it may be covered. If the parts were run on different paint lines that could also affect the finish product.

Cool idea. I plan on going to talk to them again next week, if I have free time. It isn't on my priority list, but it would be nice if GM covers the bill.

 

[ready2fly]

With respect to the rain gutter, it shouldn't see THAT much direct sunlight. If anything, the top of the hood or middle of the roof would be the first to exhibit signs of sun damage. To me, it looks like it's peeling up almost as if a paint thinner/stripper/acetone found it's way onto the paint.

As far as the leading edge of the roof above the windshield, it looks like there have been a couple of impacts. See here in the center, a stone may have chipped right through the paint and primer/rust coating:View attachment 33899
Looks like the paint peel spread out from the center after it was compromised.

Final thoughts... Since the paint defects are on the leading edge of the roof and gutter, maybe it has something to do with the washer fluid. Any chance something other than standard washer fluid was used?

Rock chip is possible, I took a pic of only the largest part. Entire edge is peeling off.
Windshield washer fluid fits in better, I always had dealer fill it when they do an oil change. I had to buy washer fluid two or three times, I would always pick a decent one at Walmart. I believe sun most likely caused it, but the paint itself is clearly defective.

By the way, I looked up the paint code for my car and it is called "Son Of A Gun" gray metallic 🙂 It's not as cool as "Pull Me Over" Red, but still. Someone had too much fun making up those paint names.

 

[saab93driver]

In general the paint quality on mine leaves something to be desired. Mine is a silver car, Seems like paint is both soft and thin. There are a few specs of debris embedded in factory finish as well and some other clear cost defects I could only describe as “spotting”. The kind of issues where the cure might be worse than the illness so I left it alone. t I haven’t experienced any pealing or adhesion issues.

 

[LLninja]

Maybe I need to Plastidip my “pull me over red” TourX to help protect the paint. Possibly next Spring, if the mistress of all she survey’s allows it… then I’ll post pics of our deep purple TourX

 

[ready2fly]

Update:
I talked to my dealer, they contacted GM. Since I am out of the warranty they will cover a portion of it, my payment would be around $450 to repaint the entire roof. I decided to go ahead and do it, but my dealer sold most of the loaners due to chip shortage. Since they expected to keep my car for a week and our other car is not available, I decided to get touch up paint. It was $25 plus tax. I believe the contractor for this touchup paint is Sherwin-Williams. I was pleasantly surprised with overall quality of this touch up paint kit. It looks like a little starship. It includes a white tip to scratch off any leftover flakes and a clearcoat brush on the bottom. If you are thinking about getting it go for it. I used it yesterday and the results are great. The paint is somewhat thin, but it is very strong and holds up great. I believe two layers would be needed to match the shade of the factory paint.

 

[abizzle]

Update:
I talked to my dealer, they contacted GM. Since I am out of the warranty they will cover a portion of it, my payment would be around $450 to repaint the entire roof. I decided to go ahead and do it, but my dealer sold most of the loaners due to chip shortage. Since they expected to keep my car for a week and our other car is not available, I decided to get touch up paint. It was $25 plus tax. I believe the contractor for this touchup paint is Sherwin-Williams. I was pleasantly surprised with overall quality of this touch up paint kit. It looks like a little starship. It includes a white tip to scratch off any leftover flakes and a clearcoat brush on the bottom. If you are thinking about getting it go for it. I used it yesterday and the results are great. The paint is somewhat thin, but it is very strong and holds up great. I believe two layers would be needed to match the shade of the factory paint.

You got out a little cheaper than I did. I haven’t used it yet, so I can’t comment on how well it works.

I bought a touch up paint kit from Amazon, which was sold by TouchUpDirect out of California. For $39 they include primer, paint, clear coat, and a few accessories. It seems like a legit product and I’ll post an update after I try it out.

Amazon.com