I couldn't believe my eyes...

[jdeatsch]

I recently had occasion to be in a Chevrolet dealer with a friend who was car shopping and the salesman's desk was right next to a black on black C6 vert.

What ELSE would I do? :duh

I couldn't believe my eyes. This was the WORST paint job I've ever seen on a new car. No, REALLY. It looked like it had been painted by a rank amateur in his/her driveway.

The car was COVERED in orange peel of the clear coat. This thing needs some SERIOUS wetsanding and that's the fact of the matter.

I'm very disappointed in the folks in Bowling Green. They may as well be painting used cars with those machines.

sigh.

Jim

 

[6 Shooter]

Automation @ It's Best

Must have been a new robot in the Paint Shop, wait there are no new robots in the paint shop!
​

Later . . . . . .
6 Shooter

 

[killain]

Paint work

I really doubt it came from Bowling Green that way. It was probably a repossession or a wrecked C-6 that was being used as a demo.

 

[c5y2k]

I really doubt it came from Bowling Green that way. It was probably a repossession or a wrecked C-6 that was being used as a demo.

I tend to agree. GM and the BG plant know how picky corvette owners are about our cars. When we toured the plant back in 06' that was one thing they brought to our attention.

 

[jdeatsch]

It was a new car, on the showroom floor, new sticker in the window.

Otherwise I'd not have mentioned it.

 

[njlouc]

The way I understand, a car is "new" if it has not yet been sold. True, you think, but not all that obvious since the dealer could keep the car for 10 years and it would still be new.
Also it could have been damaged and repainted before sale and still be new.
This does make some sense since if you get really picky anything that the factory/dealer does in the way of repairs would make any car "used". If they adjust a door would it be considered used? Not really.
Some states have modified this rule/law and now dealers have to disclose certain items/$values.
Years ago I bought a car that had been damaged and repainted. It took a while before I caught it. Then I found out about this.
Sometimes if a car has a few scratches, they repaint large sections to "blend".

 

[sstearns2]

It seem that most cars have the horizontal parts of the car sanded and buffed and the vertical parts have major orange peel. Most new cars I've seen, including corvettes, in the dealer showrooms have major orange peel. Porsche might be an exception.

I think GM should have an option where they put an extra couple coats of clear on so the owners can color sand and buff the car. It's not hard, just takes a little time, but you need a good thick coat of clear.

Scott

 

[ernestD]

I could not believe my eyes too!

I went into a dealership (chevy)with my father to see the new zr-1 in 1995 major orange peel and a loose screw on the inter fender liner.I was shocked! And they wanted 30k over invoice!

 

[gmjunkie]

Don't surprise me,I 2000 sanded with mineral spirits and buffed"Vett Boys" New C6 Convertible for 2 days before I installed the 3M Clear Bra and Body Side Paint protectant Film and didn't get quite all of the Grapefruit Peel out of it!!

 

[KANE]

I went into a dealership (chevy)with my father to see the new zr-1 in 1995 major orange peel and a loose screw on the inter fender liner.I was shocked! And they wanted 30k over invoice!

Orange peel can mean different things to different people.

Most newer cars have an ever so slight texture to their finish- one that you can really only see from close up when the light hits it from an angle.

I'm not an expert on paint, but I think it is because newer cars get a limited number of base/clear coats unlike show cars that have several coats of clear that have been meticulously buffed & polished. What you see is unpolished from the factory.

 

[vett boy]

Don't surprise me,I 2000 sanded with mineral spirits and buffed"Vett Boys" New C6 Convertible for 2 days before I installed the 3M Clear Bra and Body Side Paint protectant Film and didn't get quite all of the Grapefruit Peel out of it!!

And it's smooth as lamb skin

 

[Junkman2008]

Don't surprise me,I 2000 sanded with mineral spirits and buffed"Vett Boys" New C6 Convertible for 2 days before I installed the 3M Clear Bra and Body Side Paint protectant Film and didn't get quite all of the Grapefruit Peel out of it!!

I agree. Corvettes have some of the rankest orange peel on them that I've seen. I'm surprised that they allow them to leave the plant looking like that but a lot folks don't even notice it, much less know what it is.

I had to fix the clear coat on a Shelby MKIII once that had the clear coat from heaven. I have never seen a car so slick. Whoever painted this car has skills beyond belief. I wish I could afford to have him paint a car for me!

Someone with a belt buckle from Texas scratched it:

After a little wet sanding, the scratch was gone...

After a little buffing, the wet sanding damage was gone...

This is the way a clear coat is supposed to look!

 

[leftyvette]

WOW!!! That is the greatest finish I have seen (maybe ever seen) in a long time!!

 

[fixvet]

It was a new car, on the showroom floor, new sticker in the window.

Otherwise I'd not have mentioned it.

Hey, I sure believe you. When I lived in San Diego, a good buddy of mine bought a 2008 Z06, the dark blue color that year, from Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet and was there when it came off the truck. It had, and still has, the worst orange peel paint job I've ever seen, and the vette salesman just said almost all the C6's coming in were like that too. Had it been me, I would have rejected it. But, you know someone else wouldn't give a crap and pay a premium for it.

My ol' torch red '98 has a near flawless paint surface and all I do is machine polish and wax it a couple of times a year. I've had body shop painters ask me if I've wetsanded it because they couldn't believe how nice it is. Oh well, it is what it is with vettes. "New" doesn't mean better by any means to me! I wouldn't trade my C5 even up for a C6. :ugh