i think my brand new car was repainted at the factory

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
You could be right, maybe it's just lighting but to me according to the picture it looks like mismatched paint.
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SpoiledMan said:
The fade from lighter to darker on the door is not from lighting. That's a botched repair.
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I think the fade is actually from lighting. If you look at the pictures I posted on page 2, the light to dark effect disappears. Someone else on another page said the rear fender looks repainted for the same reason, but other pictures debunk that also. I think this color is just very deceptive to the eyes.

However, I definitely think there is some tiger striping on the door between the mirror and door handle because this is very noticeable in real life. It seems like at the top part of the door--just under the window--every few inches the hue changes from dark to light. It almost appears as if a shadow is being cast down on to that part of the door, which is definitely not actually happening.
 
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What really sucks is that if it really is mismatched,tiger striped, or needs repainting, both the quarter and fender will have to be blended for it to match. So this brand new car will already have almost half the side already repainted and cleared. Good luck with what ever happens
 
A little clarification:

2csdh1i.jpg
 
kiteman said:
WOW really?!?! here are a couple of pictures. you see any other areas that look repainted?

PS thanks for all of the replies. i like the argument that it is flawed and should be fixed under warranty.

stuff024.jpg


WP_000181.jpg


WP_000185.jpg
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hey man i dont know if its because of the angle, but i can see you got two different tones between the doors and the quarter panels on both sides, what makes me think that could be the angle of picture but if its the car it was repainted and maybe fenders on both sides.

please tell us what happend at the end.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=32.585989,-117.071859
 
Well, finally some news everyone has been curious about. I went to a dealership close to my home after work today, but not the dealership that I bought my car at (much further away, haven't had the time to do that just yet). They had a PTG and so I have some results, although unfortunately they are a little ambiguous.

1. The hood was at about a 6.5, which I was told is normal. The roof about 7.5, which I was told could still be normal. The rest of the car was FUBAR from what I could tell.

2. The driver's side door was anywhere between 6.5 and 8.5, depending on where the reading was done. He did at least 10 readings on the door and while they were not all different, one reading 2" from the next reading could be the difference between 7.0 and 8.5.

3. The front fender read 7.5 rather consistently, but it wasn't uniform. The rear fender also read about 7.5 rather consistently and was also not uniform, spiking to 8.0 or so in random places.

Then things got a little bizarre as we went to the passenger side, which I originally did not see problems with.

1. The passenger door read a whopping 9.0 all the way down to a 6.0, depending on where he put the gauge.

2. The rear fender read 7.0 except on the top part just between the side window and the rear windshield. That read 8.5 somehow.

3. The trim around the window (driver's and passenger) read 8.0 while the roof was still reading 7.5.

The technician was a little puzzled. We actually stepped over to a loaner Malibu that had inconsistent readings on each panel too, but the disparity was not as significant as my passenger or driver's door.

Maybe I should have asked you guys what else to do with the PTG readings, because I'm more confused now than I was previously. Seems to me the whole damn car was repainted! At least both doors seem to have been repainted. Can someone with more knowledge on the subject matter help analyze the readings?

PS: Side note, the technician said they do spot repaints for about 15 ordered cars a month. He also recognized the paint did not look right and that some panels were in need of repainting on my car, especially the driver's door. If they did repaint the passenger door, it appears they did a better job than on the driver's door.

He also said right away he would warranty this and they would fix it. He was apologetic, and I didn't even buy the car from him. I am contemplating not even taking it to my original dealer and instead giving this guy my business. I know nothing about their body shop, but he said they can definitely make it look better than its current state. My thinking is that if I go back to the original dealership I purchased from and they agree to fix it, they may just put the same nincompoops on the job that messed it up the first time around. Thoughts?

And yeah, you can now officially say that I am PO'd.
 
First, let me say that the variation in readings you were getting is quite normal, and if the tech who was taking the readings didn't know that, he hasn't done this much. Second, those are quite healthy paint thickness readings, but IMO nowhere near high enough to indicate a repaint (at least one that was sprayed over the original paint), but I am far from an expert.

Since the tech was puzzled about the variation, I would also question the calibration of his PTG, because I'm fairly certain that others will chime in that your paint is quite thick for current OEM, unless GM is really raising the bar.
 
kiteman said:
He also said right away he would warranty this and they would fix it. He was apologetic, and I didn't even buy the car from him. I am contemplating not even taking it to my original dealer and instead giving this guy my business. I know nothing about their body shop, but he said they can definitely make it look better than its current state. My thinking is that if I go back to the original dealership I purchased from and they agree to fix it, they may just put the same nincompoops on the job that messed it up the first time around. Thoughts?

And yeah, you can now officially say that I am PO'd.
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The other dealer is probably eager because they will get paid by the factory for the warranty work.


stuff024.jpg



The paint in this pic looks even to me. Just normal variations based on the variation of angles of light reflection. Quite a difference from the parking lot picture.

Why not try claying the car, polishing it up really nicely, and put an even coat of your favorite LSP on it and see if it looks more even after that. Just a thought.


-Rick
 
Rix6 said:
Why not try claying the car, polishing it up really nicely, and put an even coat of your favorite LSP on it and see if it looks more even after that. Just a thought.
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Thanks, Rick. I actually have previously polished it with a PC and added an LSP, and even after that I noticed the inconsistent paint.

But if the PTG readings don't really point to any malpractice, then it has to be as "normal" as "normal" gets, huh?
 
kiteman said:
Well, finally some news everyone has been curious about. I went to a dealership close to my home after work today, but not the dealership that I bought my car at (much further away, haven't had the time to do that just yet). They had a PTG and so I have some results, although unfortunately they are a little ambiguous.

1. The hood was at about a 6.5, which I was told is normal. The roof about 7.5, which I was told could still be normal. The rest of the car was FUBAR from what I could tell.

2. The driver's side door was anywhere between 6.5 and 8.5, depending on where the reading was done. He did at least 10 readings on the door and while they were not all different, one reading 2" from the next reading could be the difference between 7.0 and 8.5.

3. The front fender read 7.5 rather consistently, but it wasn't uniform. The rear fender also read about 7.5 rather consistently and was also not uniform, spiking to 8.0 or so in random places.

Then things got a little bizarre as we went to the passenger side, which I originally did not see problems with.

1. The passenger door read a whopping 9.0 all the way down to a 6.0, depending on where he put the gauge.

2. The rear fender read 7.0 except on the top part just between the side window and the rear windshield. That read 8.5 somehow.

3. The trim around the window (driver's and passenger) read 8.0 while the roof was still reading 7.5.

The technician was a little puzzled. We actually stepped over to a loaner Malibu that had inconsistent readings on each panel too, but the disparity was not as significant as my passenger or driver's door.

Maybe I should have asked you guys what else to do with the PTG readings, because I'm more confused now than I was previously. Seems to me the whole damn car was repainted! At least both doors seem to have been repainted. Can someone with more knowledge on the subject matter help analyze the readings?

PS: Side note, the technician said they do spot repaints for about 15 ordered cars a month. He also recognized the paint did not look right and that some panels were in need of repainting on my car, especially the driver's door. If they did repaint the passenger door, it appears they did a better job than on the driver's door.

He also said right away he would warranty this and they would fix it. He was apologetic, and I didn't even buy the car from him. I am contemplating not even taking it to my original dealer and instead giving this guy my business. I know nothing about their body shop, but he said they can definitely make it look better than its current state. My thinking is that if I go back to the original dealership I purchased from and they agree to fix it, they may just put the same nincompoops on the job that messed it up the first time around. Thoughts?

And yeah, you can now officially say that I am PO'd.
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I would probably take it to the dealer that checked it. He sounded like he understands paint and he seems to care about your car. Regardless keep us in the loop!
 
Setec Astronomy said:
First, let me say that the variation in readings you were getting is quite normal, and if the tech who was taking the readings didn't know that, he hasn't done this much. Second, those are quite healthy paint thickness readings, but IMO nowhere near high enough to indicate a repaint (at least one that was sprayed over the original paint), but I am far from an expert.

Since the tech was puzzled about the variation, I would also question the calibration of his PTG, because I'm fairly certain that others will chime in that your paint is quite thick for current OEM, unless GM is really raising the bar.
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Thanks, that is refreshing to know. I hope that others with knowledge of PTG readings chime in with the same information. I guess if the PTG shows no repaint has been done, what am I fixing?
 
I ran the car fax and it was clear. I agree with setec those readings wouldn't frighten me. They seem to be pretty consistent. Does the orange peel match?
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
You mean the picture that shows two different shades of color?

I guess I've seen a lot of mismatched silver/gray metallic panels and they all look like the picture kiteman posted and I included in my article on mismatched paint.
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In order to show true mis-matched paint, the mis-match needs to be seen from more than one angle. The light is DEFINITELY making the two panels look mis-matched. Whether this is because of a true mis-match? I dunno, but I don't think so.
 
kiteman said:
Yes, it does. And no rough edges, either.

But why would some cars just like mine not have this "problem?"
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Have you looked at another camaro with the exact same color?

I honestly doubt your car has been repainted.
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
Have you looked at another camaro with the exact same color?

I honestly doubt your car has been repainted.
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I think we're just back to the fact, as has been noted before, that metallics don't always have consistent flake distribution, and a metallic black (which I love, BTW) is perhaps one of the worst for showing off this defect.

I happen to agree that sticking with factory paint is best if you can...so if you can live with it, or make it look better with polish/LSP as Rix suggests, that's probably the best solution. If not let the one dealer repaint it under warranty; a door repaint isn't as bad as say, a hood repaint.
 
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