I need some advice from a "professional" painter. I had my 01 millenium yellow coupe painted about 6 months ago. Ever since when I "Rejex" or wax the car the applicator quickly turns yellow. BUNCH of "yellow" coming off the car. I AM NOT using an abrasive wax or cleaner, just a very mild sealer, namely Rejex. NO rubbing compound. Point I'm making is it's NOT the product I'm using.

The OEM paint NEVER did this and the remaining OEM paint still doesn't.

Any ideas what they did wrong? Maybe they didn't mix or apply the tinted clearcoat properly? I can't imagine it's coming from the base coat below the clear?

I'm not talking a little hint of yellow on the applicator, but turns a white cotton applicator a STRONG shade of yellow in just a couple body panels. They say they used Sherwin Williams paint.

I'm pretty sure I'll have a battle with the shop and need help being educated to call bull***t. I am hoping when they say "not to worry" I can tell them I am worried because it's wrong. It's wrong because they _____________ (fill in the blank please).

What do they need to do? Repaint the car including base coat? Just respray the tinted clear?

TIA.

Rick

 

That sounds ultra wierd.... I was an insurance adjuster for GEICO for over 2 years and spent alot of time getting trained on automotive repair and painting and have spend lots of time in body shops. Unless the car was painted w/ a 1 stage paint I can't see that happening.

I've had a horrendous time getting any shop to properly match MY. As a result my car is 4 shades... and being pickey and a former adjuster trained to spot defects it bugs the hell out of me to the point I'm getting my whole car painted this winter.

The proper way to paint MY is as a 3-stage:
1. White base primer
2. Yellow tint coat
*the yellow is very transluscent and it takes a few coats to turn the car the right color yellow
3. Clear coat... the clear is not supposed to be tinted.

That is how it is painted at hte factory. The color is evil to math because first off the yellow tint coat must be the right shade of yellow, and second the painter must apply the right amount, because it's really just tinting the white base coat into yellow if that makes sense.

CHeck your rock chips on an oem painted panel, you should see white showing through.

 

with Cobra4B.

They did not use a base coat/clear coat on your car. There is absolutely no way for the base coat to "come through" the clear coat. And the clear coat is just that, clear, it has no tint in it at all. The only way to get paint color on your rag is if they used a single stage paint, which is just color. Single stage is usually cheaper than two stage.

 

 

They didn't apply the paint like the factory did (LOTS of coats of translucent yellow over bright white base coat) and they ABSOLUTELY did not apply a clear top coat. This sounds more like a relatively heavily pigmented yellow paint rather than what it should be or else you would not get the yellow transfer even if you WERE using an abrasive cleaner/polish until you wore through the clear coat.

I fear the only way to correct the problem and not have a multi-hued car is to start with a white base coat and lay up the multiple coats of MY as the factory did. My gut hunch is if the shop short-cutted you on the repair that the sun won't shine on the day they will stand behind the job and make it right.

Charlie

 

Was there any wax, Rejex, Zaino on any part that was repainted?

 

I doubt it.... I would hope they did some sort of prep work to remove all old wax/rejex prior to painting.

Rick

 

No white base coat applied. Many of the body panels were put on new prior to them painting. I saw them and they were black.
There are spots like the very bottom of the new front bumper cover where the yellow is thin and the black shows through. NO WHITE.

I have no idea how to approach them/present my case to get resolution.

Rick

 

I'm not a professional painter, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night ....

First, did the paint shop use a DuPont paint? That is what GM uses at the Bowling Green Assembly plant. Use of a DuPont paint means color matching is much more likely as the same color provided to GM is provided to the paint shop. To show GM uses the DuPont paints, go to:

http://www.bowlinggreenassemblyplant.com/

Press ENTER ... select PLANT INFO ... then PLANT FACTS SHEET ... read the sheet and you'll see they specifically state they use DuPont paints.

Second, there are two ways to paint Millenium Yellow on a Corvette. One way is the way the plant does it ... three "coats" ... Primer ... Base Color .....TINTED Clearcoat (it really does have MY tint in it). The other way is the way body shops do it ... referred to as a tri-coat paint job .... Primer .... Base Color .... TINTED Clearcoat .... Clearcoat.

For more info on DuPont paints go to .....

http://www2.dupont.com/Automotive/en...cExterior.html

From what I understand the main reasons for the difference between the factory method and body shop method is that the factory process uses water based paints and uses a much higher bake temperature (250 degrees) than a paint shop that uses solvent based paints and lower bake temperatures (120 degrees)

Bottom line ... sounds like the paint shop you went to did a VERY POOR paint job. There is NO WAY you should see the black of the SMC panels through the paint. Sounds like they skipped the primer coat, went straight to the base color coat, and then in an attempt to color match/hide the bad base color did two tinted coats, with insufficient curing of the paint so it is coming off when you wax the car.

I'd go to a REPUTABLE body shop in your area and get an estimate to repaint the ENTIRE car ... then go to the original shop and tell them they can either repaint the car properly at no additional charge to you, or you will consider legal action to both recover what you paid them PLUS have them pay for the new paint job at the shop where you got the estimate.

Good luck,

 

I don't think that would cause the kind of problem described. It sounds like there is NO clear coat on the paint and he is waxing the color coat, hence the color transfer. I had the same thing happen on my C4. It was my first hint that a body repair paint was not done properly.

Charlie

 

An update for all who took the time to respond to my request for help....

I did not let this rest. I've had several meetings with the body shop to "work" this issue. Finally met today with 2 representatives from Sherwin Williams and the body shop.

Body shop owner stated the man who painted the car is no longer an employee. He stated to the reps and myself he remembers the painter complained he was having a hell of a time getting coverage with the yellow. The owner believes he added tint to the clear coat to get it the right color. As a result this, is several of you have stated, is where the color is coming onto my "rag". They ALL stated this is "not really right, however, it is not a problem".

I disagreed and said I was not willing to "live" with the situation. After pushing the issue they have agreed to repaint the entire car at no cost to me!

Just scuffing and applying a clear-clear coat was discussed. All stated this would be a half assed fix as they would probably burn through the base and get thin in other areas during the scuffing.

It was agreed the right fix is to repaint the entire car. The body shop owner pressured the Sherwin Williams reps to agree to let him utilize "coverage credits" which I guess they issue and he accumulates for issues such as this. They agreed and will pick up the tab.

They told me they're going to pull all the body panels and do it right. I didn't think it would play out this way. Credit to the shop for working to satisfy me. They could have taken a hard line approach but didn't.

Long, pain in the *** process, however, I'm getting it repainted at no cost to me. I'm thrilled.

Thanks to all who provided advice.

Rick

 

And credit to Sherwin-Williams. My guess is you know how to get in touch with the S-W re or at least get a message to him. Tell him at least one Forum member will insist on using S-W paints the next time he has to have ANY car painted.

Charlie

 

And kudos to BlackZ06. Dude NAILED the problem without ever seeing the paint.

Charlie

 

.
mmmmm....I want to take my car here. Sign meee up
.

 

I just read for the first time today and the problem is obvious. Any time you get color on a towel with todays paint there is a problem.

Sometimes these things happen with a bad employee and the owner gets stuck. Sounds like owner is a good guy and S/W also.

Good job all around to you on getting it right and the follow up for us. Many times we never know the end result of these things.