Paint Failing?

[Lowejackson]

This is a new problem which started a few weeks ago, where the door seals make contact with the paint, the paint has started to fail. The rubber seals are kept clean and seem to be nice and soft. The car was repainted at some stage but I do not know when or why. Any ideas on what is happening



http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q484/lowejackson/SillsAlfa.jpg



Mods, sorry if this is in the wrong place, please move if appropriate

[Lonnie]

LoweJackson (Alfa affectionado!):

The "wear" is just that; wear from abrasion of the seal across the paint.

You mentioned that this car was repainted, but you do not know the reason why. If this repaint was because of a collision, maybe the door-to-frame fit is now out of factory specification and there is misalignment between the two, causing the wear to occur. To measure this, try using an old mechanic`s technique used to measure valve-head-to-piston-top clearance in an engine. Place some soft detailing clay in the door sill and close the door on it. Open the door, and with a sharp knife, cut the compressed clay at the area of the wear. If it`s very thin (less than .045" or 1.1mm) you`ve got a problem.



More than likely, though, is the fact that the paint from the repair is "different" (different meaning by another manufacturer/vendor) than the original or that is was not cured properly and is softer than the vehicle`s original paint or that does not have the proper clearcoat on it. The hardness (or lack thereof) of the paint may be the reason as well, OR a combination of the two reasons stated here.

[Lowejackson]

Lonnie, thank you for your response. I am almost certain the car has not been seriously damaged as it was never recorded with any insurance firms, the dealer who sold it has a good reputation and I had the car checked over by an independent person but it is impossible to be 100% certain. I think I agree that maybe the respray went wrong or was not up to a good standard but at least there was one consistent element, all the paint started to fail at the same time.



It is not possible to see in the photo I posted but on the original, if you zoom in you can clearly see the tape marks and small bubbles in the edge of the sills. Regrettably I am not able to fix the problem except by a short term fix of a layer of touch-up paint on the worn out edges. My painting skills are poor but the results are okay as long as you don`t look properly.