# Bodywork paint



## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi
Last year I had my Hymer at a Fiat dealership for some work but whilst there the body work was damaged somehow. The damage was on the side and consisted of a few scratches and a few small dents (down to metal) The vehicle was sent to their body shop for a full side respray. The problem now is I have at least 3 large areas of blistered paintwork on the resprayed side.....looks like multiple pimples. I have contacted the dealership and the manager who dealt with it in the first instance and am awaiting a response. Has anyone had this problem?, from what I can gather it can be caused by the poor prep/not dry between coats/contaminates. Moisture then gets trapped under top coat and these 'pimples' can appear overnight. There is no problem anywhere else on the van, just where it was resprayed.


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## 66j0n0 (Aug 27, 2016)

Hi

This sounds like what we call in the trade as Micro Blistering or Solvent Pop. The ONLY proper remedy is to sand down the repaired panel/area & repaint. Cut and polishing will only mask the problem and in time it runs the risk of flaking off.

Jon


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## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

Thanks Jon
I called fiat today and they are going to arrange for an 'expert' to come and look at problem. I hope they are not going to try and get out of fixing it since my van had no problem before its 'visit' to the dealership and now my van looks like it has a case of prickly heat !!:surprise:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

If you told me you'd decided to wallpaper it with woodchip I'd not have argued, that is awful, I do hope it is quickly and properly sorted out.


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## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

Kev_n_Liz said:


> If you told me you'd decided to wallpaper it with woodchip I'd not have argued, that is awful, I do hope it is quickly and properly sorted out.


My sis said it looked like woodchip !!


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## chilly (Apr 20, 2007)

You don't need no expert to say that's a faulty paint job.
Hope you get it sorted. I would be soo pi$$ed off if my van had got damaged like that. I'd go for compensation as well as a proper job. Could well effect the resale value even if done 'properly'. I can always spot a repaint on cars etc. Might it be better to push for a replacement of the side panel with new graphics etc. (how have they painted upto/round the existing decals?)
Give 'em hell!


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I can't imagine how any reputable business could have expected a customer to accept that. It's amazing that it came out of the bodyshop at all in that condition.

It does remind me though of an occasion when my wife's car, a Renault, red in colour, had been damaged and was sent to the local main dealer for a repair. I took her to pick it up. It was sitting in the dealers car park and I could see from 100 yards away that it was now two shades of red. We asked to speak to the workshop manager who came outside to look at it and while doing so sat on the wing of the car beside it, which happened to be my Lotus. This prat was wearing Levi jeans with the usual metal studs at the pocket tops. I asked him to get off my car. He laughed and apologised then said, "If your ever get yours damaged I'd take it to ABC Painting and get a proper job done."


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Yes, no need for an expert opinion, it's a classic (and severe) case of micro-blistering. So severe that it has almost certainly been caused by moisture in the bodyshop air supply.
Only cure is a complete removal of the paint and a respray by a competent bodyshop - clearly not the one who sprayed it last time.


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## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

It was a full side paint job.......plus the decals which cost £500 They will need to replace again as the blistering goes under some of the decals. It didn't come out of body shop like that......its now 18 mths later. Just almost came up overnight, I couldn't believe it. The manager has contacted their paint supplier.....obviously hoping it was a fault in the paint....duh.....so now will arrange for it to be inspected. The original damage was not huge but as they can't feather in a repair the whole side had to be done......it's much worse now due to incompetence/carelessness again. I think it may be due to their spray gun which has a water filter not being emptied enough. I am no expert but as you say it doesn't take an expert to see its down to the respray.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

So they put the decals on over a crap paint job. That tells you a lot about their standards.


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## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

When the damage had been done originally Fiat asked me to take the van to R Hind-Bendalls body shop ( same industrial estate in Carlisle ) The van was assessed there and an estimate given to Fiat. who thought it was too expensive (think it was about £1000) and arranged for it to be taken to their Billingham branch which has a body shop (they don't have a body shop in Carlisle). I just get the impression that because it was not a customer paying for the repair they maybe did a **** job or maybe some young apprentice left to do his best. The more I think about it the angrier I am.:angryfire:


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## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

*update*

The motorhome went down to their body shop in Billingham this week. They called me and said they haven't seen blistering like that before......they said the base coat etc was bonded ok and didn't know the reason for the 2 large areas affected. They also said they would have expected the whole area to be the same. The paint work was inspected by a 'paint specialist' who supplies their paint and a technician from the body shop. The problem being if they don't know the cause they cannot guarantee it will not happen again. I have said regardless of the cause, the body work through no fault of mine is in a worse state than it was before it was resprayed.I have no knowledge apart from what I have read on the internet about this problem but can't believe they haven't seen this before. My understanding is it is usually down to problems with preparation/spray booth temp/incorrect thinners/moisture via airline etc and a host of other things I don't understand. It was suggested that the moisture had come from within ie the 'wooden frame work' but I pointed out there is no such wooden frame in this motorhome. 
The van will need to be stripped down again which they are not quibling about but it leaves me with very little confidence that this problem will not happen again.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

margrae said:


> it leaves me with very little confidence that this problem will not happen again.


I quite agree, I wouldn't trust them to do it correctly either. Suggesting that the blistering has happened due to dampness in the wooden framework shows a singular lack of knowledge about the vehicle construction.

If they can't/won't give you a cast iron guarantee that they can complete the job properly then I'd want to take it somewhere else that will give that guarantee (at their expense), I would also expect some compensation for the time you've lost the use of the vehicle. It's not rocket science and you're being fed a diet of bullsh1t. Micro-blistering is due to dampness/condensation in some part of the equipment used and shouldn't ever happen in a properly equipped and operated spray booth.


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## margrae (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi

Unfortunately they probably have already started the re re-spray. They are going to take pics every step......what that is going to show me I don't know. Their main experience is with commercial trucks/vans and horse boxes.The body shop is part of the ICI fleetwatch system which requires them to pass certain standards and training etc and guarantees their paint jobs for 5yrs but obviously applies to fleet vehicles only. 
The original job may have been rushed and I am sure they will be taking extra care this time.It will probably take them longer to get the decals from Hymer.


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