(T) Paint Defects

Hello,
Just a question for new Bravo owners.
Has anyone had any paint defects such as paint flaking off as far down as to bare metal?
Reason for the question is that a couple of days ago I noticed a silver patch on the left hand sill, just behind the front wheel.
On a closer inspection a patch of paint approx 4 inches wide and about 3 inches deep has literally come off and exposed bare metal, surface rust has set in and I'm well and truely annoyed. Running my finger over the area you can feel the flakes of paint comming away from the car.
The car went to my dealer who has taken some photos to be sent away for the paint claim.
My first thoughts were that a stone or something had been thrown up off the wheel and hit the sill but then if thats the case talk about poor paint finish!

I'll post further details as when they happen.

post some pics mate.

Will do tomorrow.

Cant say i have noticed anything as of yet but now you have highlighted this i will keep an eye open on this, specially with all this crap weather of late, dont help if the paint does flake off as you have had then going all rusty.

This is strange. The bravos are supposedly made of galvanised steel, so any bared metal should not start to show signs of rusting that quickly as it would still be protected by the zinc coating. Not sure how long your cars paint has been flaking off.

Galvanised steel needs special etching primer to make the paint stick to it, or it can indeed flake off. I would suggest that the primer is the problem as it is unusual for paint to flake off back to bare metal like this.

When Fiat first started using galvanised steel back at the end of the 1980's they had a few problems with paint flaking, but I am surprised about the extent of this problem.

Can you post a photograph?

Hi, Thanks for the responses, sorry the pictures but thee are a little blurred but you should get the general idea .

Mm.

Not seen anything quite like that before. Do any of the panels look like they may have been resprayed, ie faint sanding lines visible below the paint, or any overspray on surrounding panels or irregular orange peel to the finish?

Sometimes if a paint defect is identified in the factory or when a car is shipped over to the UK, it may be partly repainted. sometimes this isn't done that well.

I had a brand new fiat some years ago and it had been resprayed down one side with primer showing through the paint with obvious signs that it had been badly prepared. The vehicle was subsequently handed back to the dealer, after they had a go at repainting it again and made it even worse.

Although the photos are not that clear it does look a little like that may have been the case.

How many miles has rhe car done and how old is it?

It may be worth while taking the car to a good local bodyshop just for some advice. They will be able to have a good look at the damage and tell you if it has been resprayed already.

Hi Mate

I had this happen on my Stilo (Sprint Blue) but it was second hand when I brought it and I thought it may have been steam cleaned over enthusiastically “no rust appeared though mate just shiny undercoat” I’ll keep a careful eye on my Bravo now bud thanks for the caution.

Regards Kelvin W

it looks like it has been repaired before you got the car. some kind of this **** happends in transport time or even in factory. there are teams specialised in fixing this on band route. This explains the rust.

use a magnifier and if you find uneven surface it sure happend.

Thanks Malin, Kelvin and Spikey.
The car is less than about 7 months old and has done about 8500 miles.
This car has been repaired before but on the OSR arch. My supplying dealer deneid all knowledge (suprise, suprise!) and the haulage company who moved the car had no records of any repair. There were other issues beacuse when I colleted the car it was raining so the smaller defects we harder to spot. However who ever did the first repair on the OSR wheel arch, did it with their eyes shut because the OSR light unit had been removed and re-fitted and when re-fitted it was pushed back into it's housing with enough force to chip the paint. Other things like the rear bumper and OSR arch panel gaps did not match to the NSR, the corner of the tailgate was chipped and the interior (front and rear) was cover in white splash marks (rubing compound apparently) and you could see swirl marks in the paint of the OSR sill and inner arch. Fiat inspected the car and said there was nothing wrong with it. They obviuosly sent Stevie Wonder to inspect it becaue the osf seat below was covered in white blobs. On closer inspection and removal of the OSR inner wheel arch liner, it looked like the inner wing skin had been peeled back to effect a repair. Also if you run your finger around the wheel arch it feels all jagged and rough. It only took my supplying dealer 8 attempts to paint the car and clean the car to my satisfaction. I wasn't being picky, the dealer just made a cr@p job of it.
Sorry - rant over!
Anyway, once the repair to the sill is finished, I think a part exchange may be on the cards.

Or, get an independent inspector to verify your complaints and then contact Watchdog.

Could do I suppose. I have never thought of that.
Thanks for the tip.

you a Member of the RAC or AA they often offer free motoring legal advice and have the relevant experts to hand someone with the relevant paint thickness gauge will be able to tell you almost immediately if its been resprayed

Cheers Andy, We're a member of the AA through the assistance provided with the car from new.
I think i'll get in touch with them (The AA) and see what's what.
The garage handling the paint claim (not my supplting dealer - thank god!) are excellent and have a brilliant body shop as they pointed out all the defects I mentioned a couple of postings back.

Thanks to all for your comments, help and ideas and I'll keep you all posted.