planigan Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 While washing my car yesterday, I noticed some strange discoloration on the front passenger side door trim. It almost looks as though the paint underneath the clearcoat is thin. I tried to take some photos, which I've attached here. Compare the trim on the front door to the trim on the back door -- there are brown splotches all over it! Like I said, the discoloration seems to be underneath the clearcoat. It is smooth to the touch, and shows up more noticably in direct sunlight than in the shade. Anyone have any ideas what is wrong? I'm probably going to take it to the dealer to have it looked at, but even with less than 5000 miles on the car I have a feeling my chances of having paint problems warrantied are slim. If it comes down to a repaint, can that trim piece be painted seperately from the door, or does the whole door have to be repainted? This is so irritating... it's the kind of thing you might expect on a 10 year old car, but not a brand new vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euclid Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I'd take that in, pronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzed Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Uh Oh, my year, my color. I guess I'd better watch for it. Did you wax it? Use anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.T.Subie Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I have smilar spots like that on my bumper.It looks to me that the paint isn't coated enough, like you can see primer under it. Denial is your best friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 ^ what he said. My bumper is painted like shit. I'm positive it came off the line like that and wasn't dealer touch up. In the right light it looks like you can see the plastic through the paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one69chev Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 yeah what you've got there is a lack of basecoat coverage. had the same problem on a black grand prix. for dark color cars, a dark primer base is used which makes it harder to see defects. under warranty, the car was sprayed for free; i'd be interested to see what subaru does.........the rickster...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccorry Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 ^^^^^ Exactly. That is a faulty paintjob. The door edge guards come painted. That one looks like it didn't get the second coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planigan Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Uh Oh, my year, my color. I guess I'd better watch for it. Did you wax it? Use anything else? That's the thing that really annoys me... I've taken meticulous care of the paint (thanks to the fabulous detailing forum here!). Meguiar's gold wash, Klasse AIO, Wolfgang sealant. Wool wash mitt & quality microfiber towels. The other posts in this thread though pretty much confirmed my suspicions that it is a bad paint job, and not some kind of damage. I just hope the dealer will make it right somehow. I'll give them a call tomorrow, and hopefully get it in by Thursday. I'll let you all know how that turns out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gt4Me Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Yep.Got it too. Rear drivers side corner of bumper. Primer shows through with the right light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincedog3 Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Yikes my color too. Body warranty issue to me it looks. Almost reminds me of GM playing with Low VOC paint for the first time. Clear failure, and mottled the paint. Subaru better fix that. Hey, it is an 06 and a brand new car. Hope they take care of you, and do the right thing. For your car audio/video needs:D Audio Crafters IS it. In Pasadena Ca. Arthur rules. www.audio-crafters.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboman38 Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 That should be cover by warranty with no questions asked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoman Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Yikes my color too. Body warranty issue to me it looks. Almost reminds me of GM playing with Low VOC paint for the first time. Clear failure, and mottled the paint. Subaru better fix that. Well, Subaru just announced it will be switching to low VOC, water based paint in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planigan Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Thanks for the posts guys. After seeing that a few others have similar problems (GT4Me, Vahkil, G.T.Subie), I took a closer look at my bumpers and sure enough I have a similar problem on my front bumper cover. The paint seems to fade from black to gray inside the lower airdam. It's not too noticable though, unless you are looking directly at it. Still, it sucks that Subaru can't figure out how to paint an entire part evenly. If I get out of work early enough today, I'll be swinging by the dealer on my way home to see what the say. So far, they've been really great with my other warranty complaints, even though I didn't buy the car from them (bought it back home in Pittsburgh, and moved up here to Michigan for the summer). I'll let you know what they say... EDIT: I'm going in tomorrow around 10AM to see their regional service rep person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.T.Subie Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 let us know because if they fix your bumper I will be printing this thread and delivering it to my dealer. Denial is your best friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planigan Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 I just got back from the dealer. I was a little worried because it is cloudy today, and the side molding problem is most noticable in bright light. But, the service guy who saw it yesterday (on a bright sunny day) confirmed that it looked like shit. The rep said that they will take care the molding, no problem. The part should arrive next week sometime. They weren't sure if it came painted or not though. The bumper on the other hand... admittedly, it is a little hard to tell whether it is a reflection or thin paint. But, I compared it to another black LGT on the lot and I could definitely see a difference. The rep, of course, wasn't so sure. He did say to have the body shop look at it, and if they confirmed the paint to be "out of factory spec", they would respray the bumper for me. I'm a little concerned about matching the factory metallic paint though, so I'll probably pass. Lesson learned... next time I buy a new car I will be going over every inch of the paint with a freakin' magnifying glass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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