Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Jetta Got A Lousy Paint Job Q. Hi Vincent, Hoping you can help with some questions. I have a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta VR6. It was involved in an accident about four weeks ago. I got the car back yesterday, which was a rainy day, and have found that there are a number of small bubbles/bumps in the new paint. I've done some poking around the net and found the following:

"... More often, the root cause of blisters is solvent popping caused by the paint sprayer who did not observe the correct flash-off time during the paint spraying stage. Flash-off simply means the allowance of time as specified by the paint manufacturer for the solvent or thinner to evaporate during the paint spraying stage. In the painting process, a car is sprayed over with basecoat (color) and clearcoat (topcoat) a number of times. If the sprayer fails to observe the flash-off time in between coats, trapped solvents under the succeeding coats will find a way out creating microscopic bubbles.

These tiny holes become very evident during the rainy season when moisture enters the holes and manifests as blisters only to disappear when the sun shines and the moisture evaporates. The long-term effect of blistering is more damaging - as a result paint chipping and lifting will take place."

I am worried that this may be the problem, so I took it back to the body shop. They told me that the bumps were the result of dirt that gets into the paint etc. and that no matter how careful they are, they can't recreate the factory paint job. i.e. there will always be imperfections. They were willing to try and buff the affected areas. I should also say that the shop was one certified by the at fault's insurance company, who is paying for all repairs.

My questions are:

1) Do you think they are correct that the bumps are caused by dirt and that this is inevitable?

2) If that is the case, will those bumps eventually get bigger or peal?

3) Assuming they are telling the truth, what's the effect on the value of my vehicle? I counted approximately 15 of them.

In addition, I park in a garage that has had construction going on next door. I've found that there are now drops of cement on the roof of my car. Any idea how to get those off?

Thanks,
Kevin

A. I have done some body work and painted a few cars, but I am by no means an expert on the subject. But I do know a few things and I will help you as best I can.

First off, and I know it's too late now but I mention this for others reading this and for your future reference. Never take your car to a body shop that any insurance company, even yours, recommends or is "certified" by them. There is no law that says you have to and it is illegal for them to include it in an insurance contract.

Never fall prey to the impression that the insurance company is looking out for your best interests. That is most certainly NOT the case. Choose your own body shop as carefully as you would any repair shop.

They may be correct that the bubbles may have been caused by dirt, but more often the dirt just gets trapped in the paint and looks like a bubble. Bubbles are almost always caused by improper prep work which includes cleaning the damaged areas with lacquer thinner when all the sanding is done and is ready for primer. And, as your information states, insufficient drying time between coats will also cause the bubbling.

If there are bubbles, eventually they will "pop" and the paint will peel and flake off. There is no reason in the world a body shop can not do a paint job as well, if not better, than the factory.

Without seeing the affected area I can't really say what will be the correct repair. I would recommend taking it to another body shop, or two or three, and get a consensus of opinion of the cause, resolution and cost of fixing the paint work.

When you have this information, take it to the body shop and see that the make the repairs. If they don't, then contact your insurance company and explain the situation and that you would like to have the work done at your shop and have their insurance company foot the bill.

As for the concrete spots, I would bring it to the attention of the construction site Supervisor. They have insurance just for this type of situation. I'm sure they will help you out because if you try to chip the concrete off, you may take some of the paint off with it.