elise paint work
Discussion
hi all, i was at my lotus dealer to day buying some bit's for my mk1 elise, i got talking to a guy with a mk2 111s 04 plate in silver he told me this was the second time he had been back with the paint work on the car, the front clam blisterd on arch's rear clam on spoiler and on roof paint was bad, he was told it was a water problem drain blocked on rear clam, i paint car's myself and i would not buy that one to it looked like just bad paint work, wonder if it is any thing to do with water base paint. has anyone else had any prob's with paint work on their elise.
I was an unhappy Lotus owner, in te end they agreed to respray the front clam under warranty at 7 months and 4500 miles.
Even the field engineer was amazed that the paint had chipped as badly as it had, his guess was closer to 10000miles.
Now noticed some rippling in the paint work on top og the rear wheel arches, one is substantially worse than the other. Its just the paint not the body work, as the actual surface is smooth, just when the light catches it, you can see the ripples in the paint.
Even the field engineer was amazed that the paint had chipped as badly as it had, his guess was closer to 10000miles.
Now noticed some rippling in the paint work on top og the rear wheel arches, one is substantially worse than the other. Its just the paint not the body work, as the actual surface is smooth, just when the light catches it, you can see the ripples in the paint.
Yep mine was done just out of warranty period 
I had small blisters on the doors and the car next to me waiting to see the field engineer looked like it had pox. Very common.....
Part of the issue is bodies made in france then shipped to the uk for paint and final assembly. Blisters is classic moisture and GRP problem - they do dry them out but I suspect not for long enough...... But they are all water based paint from the late 90's on - also the spray shop was not the cleanest and next door to fettling.
I had small blisters on the doors and the car next to me waiting to see the field engineer looked like it had pox. Very common.....
Part of the issue is bodies made in france then shipped to the uk for paint and final assembly. Blisters is classic moisture and GRP problem - they do dry them out but I suspect not for long enough...... But they are all water based paint from the late 90's on - also the spray shop was not the cleanest and next door to fettling.
The new water based paint is utter crap and the lotus engineers will not acknowledge there is a fault.
Put it this way my car is about a year old and I am havig a significant amount re-sprayed (about £500 worth) and lotus will not even acknowledge there is a problem.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=234520
Put it this way my car is about a year old and I am havig a significant amount re-sprayed (about £500 worth) and lotus will not even acknowledge there is a problem.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=234520
are all lotus colors that way? or are there some members around here who has the stronger different colorpaint? I hate wrong paints...,they have to use water based paints because of the environment?! I have it also on my beemer much stonechips due to "wrong" water based paint!and I guess the layer on my beemer is much thicker then the lightweight Lotus, I know there are strong water paints too! my older '99 Z3 M coupe had a much stronger paintwork!
GTRene
GTRene
Mine's blistering for the second year also. Paint bubbled up this time last year - along the front & rear clam seams & the rear boot drain. So far this year I can see 2 seams are blistering, at least one of them was fixed last year. It was all fixed under warranty last year and it's still under warranty until the spring 06 so should get fixed again.
What will the Lotus dealer do next year if it happens again & it's out of warranty? There was a guy on the Noble forum quoting the sale of goods act (Nobles seem to blister too) which appears to say that the retailer will have carry on fixing it.
Ian
What will the Lotus dealer do next year if it happens again & it's out of warranty? There was a guy on the Noble forum quoting the sale of goods act (Nobles seem to blister too) which appears to say that the retailer will have carry on fixing it.
Ian
GTRene said:
are all lotus colors that way? or are there some members around here who has the stronger different colorpaint? I hate wrong paints...,they have to use water based paints because of the environment?! I have it also on my beemer much stonechips due to "wrong" water based paint!and I guess the layer on my beemer is much thicker then the lightweight Lotus, I know there are strong water paints too! my older '99 Z3 M coupe had a much stronger paintwork!
GTRene
It seems to just be the water based paints. Darker colours show the stone chips.
It is not the fact that water based paints are inherently weaker or less durable than traditional paints. Most cars now have water based paints.
The paint system for BMW is superb. The paint is forced through a nozzel mounted in an air bearing that spins at about 70k and actually atomizes the paint. The vortex created by the bearing creates an even stream of paint that is easy to automate.
Really cool design
Th blistering is due to a different problem. Workshops have to "de gas" panels and clams before they use them. The panels have to be heated for an extended period to release gasses from the resins / adhesives. Otherwise the slow release of these gasses cause bubbling.
It is a whole lot more complicated than painting a steel panel. You would have thought they would have been able to get it right by now.
It is a whole lot more complicated than painting a steel panel. You would have thought they would have been able to get it right by now.
maybe they have to use more flex stuf in the paint? I know that when you wanted to paint a rubbermatterial spoiler the put something in the paint a weakmaker?? maybe that way it could resisit a bit more???
And yes painting grp is a special job! you have to go to a specialist who knows what he does.
What about paint they use on grp boats?? that must be strong too? but then, they don't have trouble with stonechips from roads
GTRene
And yes painting grp is a special job! you have to go to a specialist who knows what he does.
What about paint they use on grp boats?? that must be strong too? but then, they don't have trouble with stonechips from roads
GTRene
ICH said:
You would have thought they would have been able to get it right by now.
You would have thought so wouldn't you?
I won't be very happy if I have to pay for a respray every year once it's out of warranty.
Why on earth do you think the waranty is any good. According to Lotus, there are no issues with the paint and all I have recieved is bullsh!t from them.
gooby said:
Why on earth do you think the warranty is any good. According to Lotus, there are no issues with the paint and all I have received is bullsh!t from them.
Dealer & the lotus rep accepted it as a warranty claim last year without any fuss or question at all, so I wasn't expecting any problems while it was still in warranty.
I was expecting the arguments to begin next year when it's out of warranty (unless I've turned to the darkside & bought a Porsche).
Ian
mac4089 said:
hi all, i was at my lotus dealer to day buying some bit's for my mk1 elise, i got talking to a guy with a mk2 111s 04 plate in silver he told me this was the second time he had been back with the paint work on the car, the front clam blisterd on arch's rear clam on spoiler and on roof paint was bad, he was told it was a water problem drain blocked on rear clam, i paint car's myself and i would not buy that one to it looked like just bad paint work, wonder if it is any thing to do with water base paint. has anyone else had any prob's with paint work on their elise.
Hi, i have a elise s2 2004, i have had the car for a year, i noticed after 6 months there was some blistering appeared on the rear bumper this dosen,t appear to have got any worse, then i noticed some just where you close the boot, it defo was not there when the car was purchased but appeared at the end of the summer. The car is kept outside which i now realise is a mistake as over the last month with the weather as it has been, can only presume the frost has caused the paintwork on the passenger door to blister and some of the paint has actualy come off the top of the blisters. Iam gutted & will have to have some paintwork done to the car but want to make sure it is done correctly, can anyone advise if my theory about the frost is correct?gooby said:
Th blistering is due to a different problem. Workshops have to "de gas" panels and clams before they use them. The panels have to be heated for an extended period to release gasses from the resins / adhesives. Otherwise the slow release of these gasses cause bubbling.
It is a whole lot more complicated than painting a steel panel. You would have thought they would have been able to get it right by now.
Yes this is correct, I just had a brand new clam fitted and painted, it bubbled in days - it got done again with lots of appologies after confirming with the paint company how it should be done, essentially it involved a lot more oven time. The finish is now perfect It is a whole lot more complicated than painting a steel panel. You would have thought they would have been able to get it right by now.
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