Lets talk Fbody paint....

[wannafbody]

Anyone else notice that the plastic panels tend to marr more easily than the steel panels? Is it a different paint process? And for the WS6/SS owners anyone else notice that the clearcoat on the hood scratches if you look at it?

[holland_patrick]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



:buffing: :buffing: :buffing: :buffing:

[TortoiseAWD]

Anyone else notice that the plastic panels tend to marr more easily than the steel panels? Is it a different paint process? And for the WS6/SS owners anyone else notice that the clearcoat on the hood scratches if you look at it?

As I understand it, paint used for plastic panels generally has more flex-additive in the paint mix. While this makes the paint more flexible, it also makes it softer, and more prone to marring and staining.



I wish I had a source for that (hopefully correct) information . . . I recall reading it once-upon-a-time not too long after I caught the detailing bug, and now I don`t recall where I saw it. And, since I`m going from memory, take it all with an appropriately-sized salt-block.



Tort

[pontman43]

My paint seems hard as a rock when I got to polish, but is easy as heck to scratch. I dont have original paint though.

[TGates]

The paint on the hood and spoiler of my 2000 SS was a terrible mismatch. I actually got them both repainted under warrantly a local shop as they were so bad that even the dopes at the dealership admitted there was a problem. I didn`t notice any difference in scratch resistance and stuff compared with the rest of the paint. I also noticed that the black painted panel that goes over top of the car was pretty resistant to scratching.



The clearcoat on my `05 GTO is a bear to work with, I know that much. It takes IP and a cutting pad to get rid of spiderweb scratches when using a PC. The paint is super blotchy, just like on my 2000 Corvette Coupe and on my 2004 Z06. It really gets under my skin, and has me looking at the German automakers for my next new car purchase.

[lbls1]

Fbody paint can be hard to master. Mine is/can be a bit sensitive to occasional oops (by careless dealer personnel, thus my trips to the dealer are VERY far and few between).



I find though, that once you put your foot down and tell the paint and car who`s boss, that the paint surface will be pretty compliant. A lot of fbody owners feel the need to wetsand their cars because of the excessive "oatmeal." I happen to be one of the few people that is dead against wetsanding (on otherwise acceptable paint). I have seen some examples done, and on the outset the results look decent, but on further inspection I`ve been able to see quite a noticeable difference (and not to the benefit of the wetsanded car) in terms of quality of the paint depth between a wetsanded fbody and another fbody that was painfully, but correctly prepped with an excellent team of polishes.



The GM paint can be fickle. Its (very) durable, but also prone to chipping (like which paint isn`t), hazing and marring. The composite panels have a different texture than the sheetmetal quarters, and at times will show themselves in different angles (more so with poorly prepped surfaces). IME(xperience), from seeing well done examples here in Autopia and a few abroad, once the paint surface is handled right, the base clear GM paint can make its owner proud!!!



But damn if it isn`t hard to live with!!!!

[1 Clean WS6]

The paint on the hood and spoiler of my 2000 SS was a terrible mismatch.

That is a well documented and well known problem that SLP had with the SS conversions. Some colors were worse off than others...NBM being the most striking diffence in my opinion. ASC did a better job matching the colors on the WS6 cars (again some colors are worse than others) but the thing that is most noticable is the level of OP. The WS6 hood has beautiful depth and very little OP...hop a body seam over to my fender and its classic GM production line orange peel. Night and day difference.



wannafbody the urethane bumper cover (front and rear) paint is indeed softer than the rest of the car...they also tend to change color with age.



Case in point...







Look at the difference in color between my fender and the nose cone!! That has happened (become more dramatic) as the car has aged...it will be 7 years old in October. That is factory paint that has been garaged and cared for at an Autopian level since day one (I am the one and only owner).

[Setec Astronomy]

As I understand it, paint used for plastic panels generally has more flex-additive in the paint mix. While this makes the paint more flexible, it also makes it softer, and more prone to marring and staining.



I wish I had a source for that (hopefully correct) information . . . I recall reading it once-upon-a-time not too long after I caught the detailing bug, and now I don`t recall where I saw it. And, since I`m going from memory, take it all with an appropriately-sized salt-block.

Tort, I have been hearing this as long as I can remember, and I can remember back about 25 years When I was new here, I posted something about this, and had a discussion with...4DSC I think...about why (as 1 Clean noted) the plastic parts on my car have faded more than the rest. It`s either the plasticizer, or the (lower) thermal conductivity of the plastic parts, which causes the paint to get hotter on the plastic parts, or both. I have some hard plastic on my car (mirrors, spoiler) that have faded worst, and I doubt they are plasticized differently than the metal, so I go with the thermal conductivity. But certainly, the soft bumper wrappings on all the GM cars in my family, back to `76, have always fared worse than the rest of the car.

[wannafbody]

the spoiler on my 94 Mustang turned from Laser Red to reddish pink in 6 years. As for the WS6 the clearcoat on the hood seems extremely soft-I got micromarring using QEW.

[lbls1]

I`ll let you guys on a little secret. Day two after I took delivery (before I had a cover or a garage) I cleaned off a small bird spot on the hood after car #1 spent the night outside. I used a very damp cloth and just "puffed" the spot. Guess what happened on my slp hood? Color run on the cloth!!!!! I didn`t panic, because I have seen instances of color run on virgin paint surfaces before (much more so with bright colors such as red, and on my gm Red Parrot paint). The paint or clear wasn`t damaged, of course, but it was an eye opener.



I wouldn`t be too discouraged, because I`ve seen excellent examples of older fbodies that survived age and excessive fading, with that owner keeping up good maintenance of the paint. On my previous car, even though the base clear held up (I happen to think that despite the crudeness of gm paint, it is among the most durable in the industry) I noticed differences in tone between the plastic or composite or fiberglass painted parts vs. the sheetmetal painted parts. It was never an issue where IMO the look of the car was compromised, but all the same there was a difference in tone. I look at it as an original condition; as long as the paint is satisfactory without cc failure or fading, then I just take it as it goes.



I am the type that would NEVER (unless my car will become a strictly customized show car or in the event of a major collision or unexplained paint failure) repaint a car for the duration of the ownership. I take great pride in preserving and improving the look of the original paint...but then again that`s just me.

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Anyone else notice that the plastic panels tend to marr more easily than the steel panels?

Yes, there is definitely something different about the painted finish of plastic panels when compared to steel panels.



Could it be that the paint on steel panels is baked at high temperatures and plastic panels are not?

[Setec Astronomy]

Thanks Frank, that`s the other reason from back in the old days that the paint was different on the plastic panels; the plastic couldn`t take the heat of the drying oven. I`m not sure though, with the improvements in plastics, whether that is still the case. Bence would probably know as well as anyone if that`s the case, maybe he will tell us.

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

With regard to paint being baked; I wonder what the process is that`s being used for those Saturn models that have flexible painted body panels. Personally, I have never seen any problems with Saturn paint.