kyle951

I was wondering if anyone knew about a paint issue on 2003-2004 996 cars. I have a Black 2004 C4S Cab that has factory black L041 paint, and it appears to have either solvent pop, or something similar going on with the paint.
I noticed this after washing, claying, and polishing the paint; and it appears to be all over the metal but not on the bumpers. I am going to have a professional body shop familiar with Porsche paint do a test wet sand this week, and try and determine if this problem is in the clear coat, or in the base primer.
I would appreciate any thoughts from the Rennlist community as to what might be happening, and if anyone has encountered a similar problem on their cars.

thanks,
Kyle

halik

Are you seeing pinholes or hazing or what? There should be solvent issues on OEM paint, since the bake the chassis bare to evaporate all of it...

kyle951

What I am seeing closely resemble pinholes or what you would see with tree sap covering the car. They are very small and very uniform throughout the car, but you can't feel anything. They do not look like fish eyes and appear to be pointed inward toward the base coat. I have owned a number of Black Porsche cars dating as far back as 86, and I don't remember ever seeing an issue on a Factory OE paint job.

thanks,
Kyle

C4CRNA

Are you the original owner ?

silotwo

I have a 2004 C4S Midnight blue metallic - no paint issues. 2004 C2 Artic silver and again no paint issues. In fact, I find it amazing that after 8 years the paint appears so factory fresh, and I do drive the cars year round in all weather.

frisbee91

seanmcr6

Ditto! 2004 C4S, arctic silver here and I'm really impressed with how well the paint has held up for a car that was manufactured almost 9 years ago!!

sean

vange_c4s

i have a 2003 seal grey car - i have nothing like you are describing.

Sue Esponte

I have a 2004 C4S and my paint doesn't have the problem you described.

-Eric

jury_ca

If you are not the original owner and did not notice the problem when the car was delivered to you, it is very difficult to say that the problem originated at the factory. I've been to the factory on a number of occasions and these cars go through a rigorous paint checking process before leaving.

Sue Esponte

Maybe one of the questions (or should be) what happened after the car left the factory?

A good shop should be able to tell if the car was resprayed. If you aren't the original owner, however, it will be very difficult to pinpoint the origin of the problem (e.g., mistreatment by the PO, an undisclosed respray by the PO, the dealer, Porsche, etc.).

As an aside, some time ago, there was a case against BMW for more or less fully repainting a car at port and not disclosing the extent of the repairs to the original buyer. There was a lot of noise over the significant punitive damages awarded in the case (which were, of course, appealed) but, something else the suit highlighted to some is the fact that cars are oftened damaged and repaired while in transit to (and without the knowledge of) the dealers. In this case, you may never know the real source of the problem.

-Eric

jury_ca

^^That's an excellent point. Nevertheless, complaining about the factory paint, or what might have happened during transit for a car manufactured in 200-2004 is moot at this point.

white99c2

You are seeing fish eyes, a result of spraying clear coat where silicone is somewhere near, even on the tires. It can corrected with a wet sand. If you need help explaining how to make them go away send me a PM.

Topaz330ci

I've seen this sort of damage before when working on PDR. Light hail can cause this on the clear coat...

Also, a re-spray has similar inclusions...

C4CRNA

The OP never answered back!