Paint defects - opinion please

[treecity]

Hi folks,

We have a late 2015 T6 Ocean, in Mojave. A few months ago I noticed a couple of paint defects and after some months, VW has agreed to deal with both under warranty as S3 repair (S3 is a repair to more than 60% of the panel).

The defects are both around 1cm in diameter, see attached image:




The issue is, one is slap bang in the middle of the side sliding door and the other is just to the right of the tailgate door handle.

My concern is that I feel there is an element of risk painting, effectively, the entire sliding door and tailgate and having issues with the paint not being a perfect match or finish, overspray etc, especially the sliding door which will stand out if that's not perfect.

My dealer says "there is the risk the paint will differ from the original factory finish there is no guarantee, but it is unusually to have any issues."

I obviously have to deal with both defects as they will only get worse in time but is it too risky to allow both sliding door and tailgate to be re-sprayed?

TIA!

 

[SailSki]

Hi Treecity, where on the planet are you as your profile doesn’t specify?
Reason I am asking is a friend of mine does a lot of the VW dealer paint work in the Buckinghamshire/Berkshire area and may be able to comment.

 

[treecity]

Hi Treecity, where on the planet are you as your profile doesn’t specify?
Reason I am asking is a friend of mine does a lot of the VW dealer paint work in the Buckinghamshire/Berkshire area and may be able to comment.

Thanks! I'm in South Cambs, Herts border.

 

[mccp]

My dealer says "there is the risk the paint will differ from the original factory finish there is no guarantee, but it is unusually to have any issues."

I obviously have to deal with both defects as they will only get worse in time but is it too risky to allow both sliding door and tailgate to be re-sprayed?

TIA!

We just had to have a new bonnet on an Audi TT which was done by an Audi (read VAG) approved bodyshop (metallic grey, 67 reg). The new bonnet was sprayed, as were the existing wings and fading into the doors. Once installed all the bolts were repainted. Apparently this is all standard practice. The total cost came to around £4k, which is pretty eye-watering for repairing a 2-inch long crease in the bonnet, but the insurance covered it, no problem.

There is absolutely no way that you can tell that that there has been a repair. I was unconvinced before, but the car is immaculate again.

 

[Soton Campers]

The repair and paintwork will only be as good as the skill of the person doing it. As an ex car painter you would never do an edge to edge job on a metallic. The adjacent panels are always blended in to deceive the eye. Metallics are a pain to get right but a skilful painter should have no bother.

 

[WelshGas]

Quit a long thread developing on the T6 Forum regarding body panel paint defects on some vans .

 

[Jay20cali]

They will blend it onto the rear quarter and front door unfortunately if paining the sliding door..so basically the whole side of the van....
If you go edge to edge it will stand out a mile ,this is how they do it to avoid none colour match...
The tailgate is easier as it’s not next to a large panel..metallic paint can be a nightmare it can turn out patchy like looking at clouds .....our Audi was silver and resprayed at a local place though the insurance ,,,,cut a long story short they balls’d it up big time..it stood out a mile as I’m a painter the paint shop was gobsmaked that I rejected it and pointed out the crap job they did...it ended up having the full side and bonnet painted at a different body shop in the end ...just for a small scrape

 

[treecity]

We had it done and I have to say they did an excellent job. I can't actually tell it's had any paint at all so I am relieved, to say the least!

 

[treecity]

Quit a long thread developing on the T6 Forum regarding body panel paint defects on some vans .

Any chance you have the link to that thread? I tried a quick search but couldn't see it, thanks!

 

[WelshGas]

Any chance you have the link to that thread? I tried a quick search but couldn't see it, thanks!

Paint Blisters

Hi all, Just wanted to get a broad range of opinions please.... So I noticed a few small paint blisters on the rear wheel arch...as the van was going in for it’s first service thought I’d give her a good clean... In the end I’d noticed enough blisters to cause real concern. Some of the blisters...

www.t6forum.com

 

[treecity]

Paint Blisters

Hi all, Just wanted to get a broad range of opinions please.... So I noticed a few small paint blisters on the rear wheel arch...as the van was going in for it’s first service thought I’d give her a good clean... In the end I’d noticed enough blisters to cause real concern. Some of the blisters...

www.t6forum.com

Thanks. Sounds like we may have been "lucky" to get our sorted relatively easily under warranty.

 

[Route66]

Thanks. Sounds like we may have been "lucky" to get our sorted relatively easily under warranty.

Hi TreeCity, under which warranty did you get this sorted? 3 year paint warranty or 12 year corrosion warranty?

I have the same issue on my van and dealer has tried robbing me off by saying that it’s a paint issue and only covered under the 3 year warranty (when it’s clearly corrosion per thread WelshGas linked to). My dealer experience has been certified poor to date

 

[treecity]

Hi TreeCity, under which warranty did you get this sorted? 3 year paint warranty or 12 year corrosion warranty?

I have the same issue on my van and dealer has tried robbing me off by saying that it’s a paint issue and only covered under the 3 year warranty (when it’s clearly corrosion per thread WelshGas linked to). My dealer experience has been certified poor to date

Hey!

We were outside of the 3 year warranty so it was definitely the 12 year corrosion warranty. Bury St Edmunds is where we went and, I believe,our van went off to Ipswich for the actual paint job. Everything turned out very well.

Good luck sorting it out! Escalate things quickly if you are getting no joy... take it to the Dealer Principal and also VW. It's no skin off the dealer's nose as it's a VW warranty claim.

 

[SusiBus]

I think treecity was very lucky to get it repaired under warranty, as it was clearly a paintwork issue, not corrosion as under the warranty terms. So would have only had a 3-year warranty cover.
I always seem to be knocking VW, but it does seem in this case they went above and beyond and their warranty commitment. Well done VW, or probably just well done the dealer.

 

[ArunAlec]

I think treecity was very lucky to get it repaired under warranty, as it was clearly a paintwork issue, not corrosion as under the warranty terms. So would have only had a 3-year warranty cover.
I always seem to be knocking VW, but it does seem in this case they went above and beyond and their warranty commitment. Well done VW, or probably just well done the dealer.

Think you are right, my understanding of the corrosion warranty is that a panel or structure has to be holed rather than have surface/cosmetic damage. So @treecity you did well!

 

[Route66]

I’ve done quite a lot of research on this type of issue and it’s known as a zinc inclusion. Apparently it’s fairly common across VWs and Audi, with Audi much better at honouring warranty.

From reading all 8 pages of the above linked thread on the T6 Forum, it should be covered under the 12 year bodywork warranty as it classifies as “through corrosion” (corroding from inside the panel to our), but VW generally fob customers off in the first instance and hope they give up. VW also don’t usually approve the warranty unless customer pays £180 to PVWI (independent paint and bodywork assessors) to confirm zinc inclusion is corroding from inside our.

I think treecity has been lucky in that his dealer has honoured the warranty without making it a real struggle for the customer. Sorry, but that’s how it should be and VW does not deserve commendation for honouring their legal commitments.

 

[Vagophile]

I have had similar on my Skoda. The proprietor of my local paint and body repair shop immediately identified it as zinc inclusion, saying it was a quite common feature on VAG cars. He explained it as originating in the preliminary paint coating and working outwards.

 

[Route66]

I have had similar on my Skoda. The proprietor of my local paint and body repair shop immediately identified it as zinc inclusion, saying it was a quite common feature on VAG cars. He explained it as originating in the preliminary paint coating and working outwards.

Thanks - did Skoda cover it under corrosion warranty?

 

[Vagophile]

No, it is long out of warranty.

 

[SusiBus]

I’ve done quite a lot of research on this type of issue and it’s known as a zinc inclusion. Apparently it’s fairly common across VWs and Audi, with Audi much better at honouring warranty.

From reading all 8 pages of the above linked thread on the T6 Forum, it should be covered under the 12 year bodywork warranty as it classifies as “through corrosion” (corroding from inside the panel to our), but VW generally fob customers off in the first instance and hope they give up. VW also don’t usually approve the warranty unless customer pays £180 to PVWI (independent paint and bodywork assessors) to confirm zinc inclusion is corroding from inside our.

I think treecity has been lucky in that his dealer has honoured the warranty without making it a real struggle for the customer. Sorry, but that’s how it should be and VW does not deserve commendation for honouring their legal commitments.

So this is a kown "zinc inclusion" fault, affecting vehicles throughout the VAG group, that they are prepared, be it when given a push, to remedy out of warranty.
I presume the zinc is under the paint, so it's really a paint defect, ( 3 years warranty ) not through corrosion from inside a panel.

 

[California4x4]

I have just washed my van (doesn’t happen very often) and noticed a number of blisters under the paint in the back door.

It’s hard to capture in a picture but there is one here at approx 4mm across. My van is almost 3 years old and has a 5 year extended warranty. Should I book it into a VW service centre for an assessment before it is 3 years old (I’ve only got a couple of weeks)?

It’s a pearlescent black van.

 

[WelshGas]

I have just washed my van (doesn’t happen very often) and noticed a number of blisters under the paint in the back door.

It’s hard to capture in a picture but there is one here at approx 4mm across. My van is almost 3 years old and has a 5 year extended warranty. Should I book it into a VW service centre for an assessment before it is 3 years old (I’ve only got a couple of weeks)?

View attachment 65295It’s a pearlescent black van.

Yes, but they will try to fob you off eg: Stone chip.

 

[California4x4]

Yes, but they will try to fob you off eg: Stone chip.

Thanks @WelshGas. I have a good peppering of stone chips on my front end. Thankfully none of them are behaving like the blisters on the rear door. That might be a good angle to poke VW with. I guess I’m going to have to wash it again before I go in haha.

 

[California4x4]

Today I washed and de tarred the van for the first time in three years. There was a lot. The aim was to identify if there were any more zinc inclusion (herpes) blisters visible below the paint anywhere else in the body work. I found one additional one (total now 5) on the back door but thankfully no more anywhere else. Of all the stone chips, only one of them had any rust and a chip to the metal on the edge of the rear door had some signs of corrosion under the paint.

I took the van to Lookers Carlisle a couple of days ago. Their warranty bloke took some pictures (in the rain - sigh) and said he would complete a report, VW U.K. will authorise or not a repair within about two weeks. If they do, their normal approved body shop will be authorised to repair up to 1/3 of the panel.

So I have treated the one rusty chip and touched up all the stone chips on the front and sides with touch up paint to help prevent future rust.

Hopefully VW will authorise the repair. I think I will talk to the body shop and ask how much extra it will be to re paint the whole rear door. I suspect patch repairs will be challenging to do cleanly. I’d rather pay to have it done properly.

I’ll update when I find out more.

 

[California4x4]

Today I washed and de tarred the van for the first time in three years. There was a lot. The aim was to identify if there were any more zinc inclusion (herpes) blisters visible below the paint anywhere else in the body work. I found one additional one (total now 5) on the back door but thankfully no more anywhere else. Of all the stone chips, only one of them had any rust and a chip to the metal on the edge of the rear door had some signs of corrosion under the paint.

I took the van to Lookers Carlisle a couple of days ago. Their warranty bloke took some pictures (in the rain - sigh) and said he would complete a report, VW U.K. will authorise or not a repair within about two weeks. If they do, their normal approved body shop will be authorised to repair up to 1/3 of the panel.

So I have treated the one rusty chip and touched up all the stone chips on the front and sides with touch up paint to help prevent future rust.

Hopefully VW will authorise the repair. I think I will talk to the body shop and ask how much extra it will be to re paint the whole rear door. I suspect patch repairs will be challenging to do cleanly. I’d rather pay to have it done properly.

I’ll update when I find out more.

View attachment 65636View attachment 65637View attachment 65638View attachment 65639View attachment 65640View attachment 65635

The work was done by Thompson Accident Repair Centre in Carlisle. They seem to have done a great job. While it was getting done they also repaired the rear bumper where I damaged it reversing into something. I thought it would be a new bumper but they did some wizardry and repaired it for a very reasonable cost. I also got some exercise, as VW wouldn’t provide a courtesy car I got two 50km cycles in