I've got some quality questions on the factory finish...
05-20-2010, 12:52 PM
#1
I've got some quality questions on the factory finish... I picked this car up last week. 2002 Trans Am WS6. 15K original miles, clean carfax (which means dick), very well maintained, all original documentation, all service documentation accounted for, etc... I looked it over thoroughly, and couldn't find anything wrong, I've had four of these now so I know most of the ins and outs.
But last weekend I was washing/claybarring/waxing/cleaning it for the first time, which is when you find all of the small stuff and I found a few things that made me a little nervous. But after a bunch of research and taking it to two body shops in the area, one that I've had to ALL of my work for as long as I can remember and I fully trust they both assured me that the car is clean and is a virgin. But I wanted to get some opinions from some other F-body owners. So here's the deal. Keep in mind most of the things I'm talking about are hard to see because 1, it's a black car and 2, they're not really very noticeable in the first place.
On the drivers side door, where it meets the front drivers side fender kind of back in the jamb, not on the actual door skin it looks like some crap got painted over. There are a few small bumps in the paint that looks like a little debris got painted over. Here's a picture of where I'm talking about. The area is outlined in yellow. Ignore everything else, it's just dust.
Second, I noticed that where the front fender on the drivers side meets the front bumper cover the fender is slightly elevated above the seam on the bumper cover. Passengers side does not have this problem.
Drivers side:
Passengers side:
Lastly, is an orange peel issue. On the drivers side fender right towards the top there is noticeably more orange peel than there is on the passengers side in the same location. Ignore the lighter color of the fender. It was the flash on the camera that did it. They match perfectly.
Drivers side:
Passengers side:
So those are the questions that I've got. Now the owner of the body shop that I've known for years went over the car for about an hour and he said that he couldn't find any indication that it was ever painted. No tape lines, overspray, didn't look like the bolts were ever removed on any of the panels, etc... He said that the orange peel thing he's seen numerous times from the factory and that small specs of crap in the factory paint happen all the time. As for the panels being SLIGHTLY off, he said it was a GM car from the late 90's early 2000's... quality control/fit and finish wasn't exactly a priority. The other guy said pretty much the same thing.
So am I just being **** as all hell? Are they right? I didn't realize that GM OEM paint was inconsistent and quality control was an issue. I know that some guys are complaining that the new ones don't have matching body panels because they are all painted at different times.
And I never really looked at any of my other F-Bodies this closely because none of them were nearly as nice as this one.
But last weekend I was washing/claybarring/waxing/cleaning it for the first time, which is when you find all of the small stuff and I found a few things that made me a little nervous. But after a bunch of research and taking it to two body shops in the area, one that I've had to ALL of my work for as long as I can remember and I fully trust they both assured me that the car is clean and is a virgin. But I wanted to get some opinions from some other F-body owners. So here's the deal. Keep in mind most of the things I'm talking about are hard to see because 1, it's a black car and 2, they're not really very noticeable in the first place.
On the drivers side door, where it meets the front drivers side fender kind of back in the jamb, not on the actual door skin it looks like some crap got painted over. There are a few small bumps in the paint that looks like a little debris got painted over. Here's a picture of where I'm talking about. The area is outlined in yellow. Ignore everything else, it's just dust.
Second, I noticed that where the front fender on the drivers side meets the front bumper cover the fender is slightly elevated above the seam on the bumper cover. Passengers side does not have this problem.
Drivers side:
Passengers side:
Lastly, is an orange peel issue. On the drivers side fender right towards the top there is noticeably more orange peel than there is on the passengers side in the same location. Ignore the lighter color of the fender. It was the flash on the camera that did it. They match perfectly.
Drivers side:
Passengers side:
So those are the questions that I've got. Now the owner of the body shop that I've known for years went over the car for about an hour and he said that he couldn't find any indication that it was ever painted. No tape lines, overspray, didn't look like the bolts were ever removed on any of the panels, etc... He said that the orange peel thing he's seen numerous times from the factory and that small specs of crap in the factory paint happen all the time. As for the panels being SLIGHTLY off, he said it was a GM car from the late 90's early 2000's... quality control/fit and finish wasn't exactly a priority. The other guy said pretty much the same thing.
So am I just being **** as all hell? Are they right? I didn't realize that GM OEM paint was inconsistent and quality control was an issue. I know that some guys are complaining that the new ones don't have matching body panels because they are all painted at different times.
And I never really looked at any of my other F-Bodies this closely because none of them were nearly as nice as this one.
05-20-2010, 04:00 PM
#2
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Panels not lining up perfectly and especially orange peel are definitely common issues with F-bodies. The quality of the paint job from the factory is not the best. My '99 Z28 has orange peel all over the place if you look close. Overall the car looks pretty good, so I don't worry about it. Still, I plan to repaint it when I have the facilities, since I prefer to do it myself. The technician is probably right about your car - it's probably all factory. Whether or not it is worth the time and money to correct minor imperfections like these is a matter of personal preference.
bur yup that stuff is normal
05-20-2010, 05:19 PM
#4
Panels not lining up perfectly and especially orange peel are definitely common issues with F-bodies. The quality of the paint job from the factory is not the best. My '99 Z28 has orange peel all over the place if you look close. Overall the car looks pretty good, so I don't worry about it. Still, I plan to repaint it when I have the facilities, since I prefer to do it myself. The technician is probably right about your car - it's probably all factory. Whether or not it is worth the time and money to correct minor imperfections like these is a matter of personal preference.
05-20-2010, 07:09 PM
#6
99% of the people who see the car would never even see the things I'm pointing out, I'm just **** retentive when it comes to my cars I guess...
05-20-2010, 10:20 PM
#7
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in the pic of the hood and fender the hood looks way off color. it could be the angle of the pic but its very noticeable from the pic. if the hood has been painted that would explain why the factory finish is orange peel and the hood had been wet sanded down.
as for the body panels not lining up, good luck finding a car that every panel lines up. its not gonna happen
as for the body panels not lining up, good luck finding a car that every panel lines up. its not gonna happen
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05-20-2010, 10:36 PM
#8
in the pic of the hood and fender the hood looks way off color. it could be the angle of the pic but its very noticeable from the pic. if the hood has been painted that would explain why the factory finish is orange peel and the hood had been wet sanded down.
as for the body panels not lining up, good luck finding a car that every panel lines up. its not gonna happen
as for the body panels not lining up, good luck finding a car that every panel lines up. its not gonna happen
)
05-20-2010, 10:53 PM
#9
in the pic of the hood and fender the hood looks way off color. it could be the angle of the pic but its very noticeable from the pic. if the hood has been painted that would explain why the factory finish is orange peel and the hood had been wet sanded down.
as for the body panels not lining up, good luck finding a car that every panel lines up. its not gonna happen
as for the body panels not lining up, good luck finding a car that every panel lines up. its not gonna happen
It very common for the hoods and bumbers to be different shades than the rest of the car. My bumper is "way off"...and my old WS6 Vert (pewter) was too (the hood on it was noticably less metalic.) Its common as is the trash in the paint unfortunatly (again ask me how I know.... )
)
05-21-2010, 11:44 AM
#11
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The one thing I hate about our Fbodies is how our rear bumpers meet our tail lights. THERE'S ALWAYS A CORNER PROTRUDING...........I........hate.......that..... .....****.
05-21-2010, 01:09 PM
#13
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even new GM cars have orange peel... there was a guy not too long ago that had a new camaro and it was bad. hell even my dads c6z has orange peel on it. i remember my old t/a had the bumper and fender not lining up like that, i think its cause the way the bumper is riveted to the bracket that holds the bumper to the fender, there is defiantly room for error.
05-21-2010, 01:43 PM
#14
Hey:
With cars today even ones costing way more than an F body, this is an issue.
****, well maybe, unrealistic expectations, most assured. The only way to get the detail you want is a custom paint job by a high quality shop and that ain't cheap, and they may even run into a few difficulties the way paints and prep chems are nowadays. You can do 30 cars the same exact way and 1 or 2 will be different, seen it on fleet cars the whites all mixed and used together, qc very good, it just happens. The good thing is your car would need minimal prep to look real good at a quality shop, just pick them after seeing and confirming the work they do, over many paint jobs.
Dub
When In Doubt Do Without
With cars today even ones costing way more than an F body, this is an issue.
****, well maybe, unrealistic expectations, most assured. The only way to get the detail you want is a custom paint job by a high quality shop and that ain't cheap, and they may even run into a few difficulties the way paints and prep chems are nowadays. You can do 30 cars the same exact way and 1 or 2 will be different, seen it on fleet cars the whites all mixed and used together, qc very good, it just happens. The good thing is your car would need minimal prep to look real good at a quality shop, just pick them after seeing and confirming the work they do, over many paint jobs.
Dub
When In Doubt Do Without
