RC000E

I asked this question on behalf of many members who have voiced their concerns. Hopefully this helps put some things in perspective. Would love to hear some thoughts that can contribute positive value to the conversation.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1591592709

I asked:

Could you explain the factors/considerations/compromises that are made in determining the final paint finish on a Corvette versus its competition? Is the "orange peel" intended for durability (clear mil thickness) and has a hand finish dealer option ever been considered, etc?

Tadge answered:

"Like most of the questions I get in this forum, the premise is that although people love their Corvettes, they can think of ways it could be better. Paint quality is a perfect example. First of all, Corvette paint has never been better. Even during the life of the C7 it has improved. We have reduced orange peel by 25% as measured by a Wave Scan. A Wave Scan is a certified measuring instrument the reads the spectrum of long and short waves. Analyzing the entire structure spectrum and evaluating the ratio of various structure sizes helps to explain the visual perception of the surface. We also have developed a new process for painting our Silver that produces a bright harmonious finish that accentuates the Corvette’s crisp lines. If you have not seen one in silver lately I would really encourage you to check it out, the car looks great and the color really pops. The entire Corvette Team is driven to make every Corvette we produce better than the one before it and our efforts at improving paint quality are just another example of that.

Unlike most other vehicles, Corvette owners scrutinize their cars from every angle and see it from very close range as they hand-wash their cars. As they should be, our customer's expectations are very high. We have benchmarked many premium cars and although paint quality varies quite a bit, we are solidly competitive. Yes, you can find some that are better, but you can also find many much worse. Although you mention orange peel specifically, there are many indicators of paint quality: scratches, debris in paint, swirls, drips, sags, thin spots, dry spray, color match, harmony, consistency of flake orientation and many others. We have to pay attention to all of them.

Orange peel is caused by many factors including: spray angles, temp and humidity, air pressures, flash off times, baking temperatures and how the solvent flashes off as the paint is flowing out. With the Corvette however there is another major factor not found on most other vehicles and that is our composite body. In fact Corvettes have had composite bodies since 1953. It is an awesome material for low mass, dent resistance, styling freedom and corrosion resistance. It does however, present challenges to paint. The surface is porous at a microscopic level and is non-conductive. Both of these make painting more difficult. The best way to get paint on a body panel is to use an electrostatic charge. Like most automotive paint shops, we use static electricity to attract the paint to the panels. When the panel is steel or aluminum, it is relatively easy. For composites we have to use what is called conductive prime. We first spray the panels with a primer that conducts electricity to help with the process. That same primer helps with the micro porosity issue too and so on many panels we actually spray 2 coats to help prep the surface for the color coat and the clear coat. It is a very involved process and it is made more complex by the variety of panel materials we use. Although most body panels are a form of fiberglass, we use more flexible materials to cover the front and rear bumpers and then use carbon fiber in strategic areas. Each material takes paint differently.

The question asks specifically about hand finishing. We already hand sand at many points in the process. Could it be made better with more? Yes, although vastly more resources and floor space would be required to execute a finish like the best custom paint shops. Bowling Green produces a car roughly every 3 minutes at the current line rate. You can imagine how tough it would be to replicate the finished achieved with hours of hand sanding for each car. Offering a premium finish has been considered before but has always been deemed impractical in a mass production facility. But as I say just about every week in this forum, we love to hear customer's requests so we can consider it in our forward planning.

Speaking of that, we have announced and have started construction of a new paint shop in Bowling Green. These major facilities have lead times even longer than that of a new car, so the decision to replace the facility was made years ago. The current shop is over 30 years old and is being replaced on the normal cadence to maintain our manufacturing infrastructure. Although the new shop won't come on-line until the fall of 2017, we have had significant input to its design to optimize it for painting the Corvette’s composite body. After we are done with construction, we believe we will have the finest possible paint shop for Corvette for the foreseeable future. After the new shop launches, we could highlight some of the changes we made and the new state of the art technology that will be in use. Remember our goal is to build a Corvette that will not only exceed your expectations, but one that requires no explanation. Our investment of 439 million dollars for our new paint shop is a strong example of our commitment.

I would like to recognize Chuck Valentini for his help in answering this question. He manages the paint shop in Bowling Green and works tirelessly to continuously improve Corvette paint. We owe much of the progress we have made to him."


Thanks should be directed to Team Corvette, as well as user: JVP, for facilitating these communications between enthusiasts and Corvette management

AKKutz

Now that this is put to rest, how long before we find out about suspension modifications?

Glen e

Very disappointing answer...IMO....

RC000E

What do you think Tadge is missing, in terms of content?

1KULC7

He never really explains how the quality of the paint various so much from batch to batch. Never talks about CONSISTANCY, and the actual Quality Controls, of what deems a paint job bad..... Nor does he approve and discourage the owner from doing a final wet sanding. I certainly would not try this car after ready between the lines of what he stated.

Good technical information, but does not explain the real world of the product they product.

jcp911s

IMHO, the paint quality on most Corvettes I've seen is fine... its a car, not a piece of jewelry.

If 2% of Corvette buyers have ridiculous expectations of the paint quality on a $60K car, that's more than 500 people posting "paint" issues.

Glen e

No one is asking for a piece of jewelry, and the far is worse than any other car I've ever run across. Go find a line of 10 vettes on a dealer lot and one of them will be terrible. As was said above , is the consistency that is the problem. I think it's humidity in the shop, but that's just my guess

Jeffrey67

I wish I could see the orange peel, unfortunately it's hidden by the mottling. My Blade Silver car looks like it has dings on the doors when the light hits it just right. Sorry, the paint is terrible. My daily driver Jeep Wrangler has a better paint job. Really.

dmhines

I agree .. Tadge never acknowledges that there are consistent issues with OP, Drips and chips. Until you ADMIT there is a problem .. there is no way to CORRECT the problem. To say Corvette paint is on PAR with other high $$$ (or low $$$ for that matter) vehicles is an insult to all of our intelligence. To say that Corvette owners pay more attention to their vehicle than other owners so they notice imperfections more is absurd. I wish body gaps were also discussed in this question because that is a hit or miss issue as well.

I was at a car show recently with about 50 late model Dodge Challengers of every color present. Those cars have the most beautiful factory paint jobs that I have ever seen - especially the green, purples and oranges. Seriously .. go check them out.

Mobil 1

Is that a C7 in that picture? If so what part of the car is it?

rmorin1249

Humidity control and lack of electrostatic process are the likely culprits. The BG plant is a very old facility in comparison to most modern assembly plants. I doubt the temperature and humidity control is up to current standards. As Tadge stated the inability to use electrostatic process to paint a composite body makes it much more difficult. That said, there are other non-metal automobiles out there with better paint finishes however they do cost considerably more than a Corvette. Hopefully the new facility will improve the Corvette finish to at least the quality of other GM products.

Mobil 1

I guess I'm lucky, my 2016 AW looks awesome.

Rooster OG

I don't know what other kind of answer people expected him to give. The only way he can answer that question is to roll out a bunch of marketing stuff, which is exactly what he did.

trivette

I agree-if he actually acknowledged there are problems/issues it would open things up to even more criticism. The lack of consistency seems to be the biggest complaint and if it is humidity related then your particular build is at the mercy of moisture the day it's painted. I have no problems with my early build '14, but I've seen later examples that are definitely not up to standard.

proexpert

REALLY TADGE? Never been this bad ever. Wake up and do something about it rather than bull ******** us. Some of care about the paint finish, and this is not acceptable. You telling us it's never been better is also not true and you know it. Buh bye.

DickieDoo

My 2016 DSOM is pretty good... if i really look carefully, i can see a bit here and there..

Parked beside a BMW M3 the other day and it was really bad so this problem is not exclusive to Corvette. The body panels do indeed present a bit of a challenge...and we all know it's the environmental requirements that drove these changes so it will take a while. For the money, your getting super car performance... What i am more interested in is the durability of the paint and it's resistence to chips and scratches.... that to me is more important.. ( unless i owned one of the early C7's with some horrible peel, they should have never let them out the door. guess they figure a smaller percentage of owners would complain and address only those, rather than fix them all... )

My 2008 BLACK C6 was perfect though.

joemessman

Looks like the right rear fender top to me.





After looking at these pictures I consider myself real fortunate. I just spent the last 15 minutes giving my car the hawk eye treatment and it looked very good. Long Beach Red.

dmhines

My 2014 also has very good paint. There is a gap issue due to left rear 1/4 panel being installed a couple of millimeters to far back but other than that all is good. There is actually a 2016 z06 convertible at local dealer that has same gap and 1/4 panel alignment issue. I have seen other C7's in pictures, at shows and on car lots that look really bad though.

C7's are like houses .. you learn a lot after buying your first one .. and know exactly what to look out for when you buy your next one. This was my first one.

RC000E

Well, end of day these are mass production automobiles that are "a lot of car" at the price point. It's my belief though that sending questions to Tadge help inform him where the focus is and where it isn't. I'm sure this paint facility will go a long way to improving the finish.

Personally, I feel his disregarded a bit of my question, but...better than nothing. I have to say, he answers questions in person just the same...lol.

hisvett

I had a couple zits on my hood (looked like a clear coat issues), took it back to the dealer and the body shop made them disappear.....no big deal