2021 M3 LR Rocker Panel Paint Peeling

[contourrob]

View attachment 627190 View attachment 627192 I had planned on having the entire front end protected in PPF, along with the rockers and lower door panels. Upon install the installer noticed that there were a large number of rock chips on the rockers even though the car was only a week old. I ordered the touch up kit and the installed placed a scrap piece of film on the area just to cover it until I had the opportunity to touch up the chips. Last night I removed the temporary film to do the touch up and large patches of paint peeled off with the PPF. The paint was soft and almost gooey and clearly hadn’t been cured properly at the factory. I submitted a repair request to Tesla but know what’s coming.

The paint curing issue would clearly explain the ease that chips were appearing on the car after so few miles. The paint appears to come off with very little mechanical effort. I’m concerned that the rest of the vehicle may be in a similar situation and the installed PPF can never be removed without significant damage.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar and have thoughts on how to proceed? TIAView attachment 627190View attachment 627190

 

[outdoors]

Curious. What is the build date of your Model 3?

 

[contourrob]

Curious. What is the build date of your Model 3?

December, 2020

 

[outdoors]

Ok could be a multitude of things to cause this. Going to start with the car could be less than 30 days from paint. That being said Xpel says most factory paint is ok.

Second any type of contamination to the part then painted could cause this.

Then improper removal of film. Not sure how to do it. Especially around areas where paint is compromised prior to install of film. Film could bond to the loose parts of paint in chipped area???

XPEL | Help | Frequently Asked Questions

Will Removing The Film Harm The Vehicles Paint, Once Removed?
It is highly unlikely for paint protection film to harm OEM paint. Paint systems used on modern assembly lines today produce a minimum bond strength of 16 MPa and maximum of 25 MPa between the panel and the paint depending on color, iridescence and the system used. Our film’s bond to the painted surface at normal state (immediately following installation) is .0753 MPa. Even after years of heat and sun, the bond between the film and the paint increases to only 0.17 MPa. What that means is in the absolute worst case scenario, the bond of factory paint to the panel is over 94 times stronger than the bond of our film to the paint. In the best case, the paint is 332 times stronger.

That being said, it is still recommended to have a professional remove the film in accordance with our published guidelines.

Can XPEL Paint Protection Film Be Installed On A Brand New Vehicle?

Yes, most factory paint is fully cured before the car ever leaves the assembly line.



@joebruin77 what do you think?

 

[contourrob]

Ok could be a multitude of things to cause this. Going to start with the car could be less than 30 days from paint. That being said Xpel says most factory paint is ok.

Second any type of contamination to the part then painted could cause this.

Then improper removal of film. Not sure how to do it. Especially around areas where paint is compromised prior to install of film. Film could bond to the loose parts of paint in chipped area???

XPEL | Help | Frequently Asked Questions

Will Removing The Film Harm The Vehicles Paint, Once Removed?
It is highly unlikely for paint protection film to harm OEM paint. Paint systems used on modern assembly lines today produce a minimum bond strength of 16 MPa and maximum of 25 MPa between the panel and the paint depending on color, iridescence and the system used. Our film’s bond to the painted surface at normal state (immediately following installation) is .0753 MPa. Even after years of heat and sun, the bond between the film and the paint increases to only 0.17 MPa. What that means is in the absolute worst case scenario, the bond of factory paint to the panel is over 94 times stronger than the bond of our film to the paint. In the best case, the paint is 332 times stronger.

That being said, it is still recommended to have a professional remove the film in accordance with our published guidelines.

Can XPEL Paint Protection Film Be Installed On A Brand New Vehicle?

Yes, most factory paint is fully cured before the car ever leaves the assembly line.



@joebruin77 what do you think?

Thanks. I’ve been a user of PPF for many years and have removed film myself on some vehicles. As you’ve noted, the bond of the paint to the vehicle was much stronger than the film to the paint. i am aware of best practices when removing film, such as to remove at a shallow angle. None of this mattered as the paint was pulling from the surface almost immediately upon lifting an edge of the film.

In this scenario, the paint started pulling away very “gooey”, and not at a chip location. There was no flaking of the paint, it was more of a stretching/gooey (sorry for the poor description) pull away of some paint from the surface. The paint appears to not be bonded to the substrate well at all, as well as having a texture of what I would expect paint to have shortly after painting, yet we’re >30 days out from manufacturing. Surprising to say the least.

 

[outdoors]

Thanks. I’ve been a user of PPF for many years and have removed film myself on some vehicles. As you’ve noted, the bond of the paint to the vehicle was much stronger than the film to the paint. i am aware of best practices when removing film, such as to remove at a shallow angle. None of this mattered as the paint was pulling from the surface almost immediately upon lifting an edge of the film.

In this scenario, the paint started pulling away very “gooey”, and not at a chip location. There was no flaking of the paint, it was more of a stretching/gooey (sorry for the poor description) pull away of some paint from the surface. The paint appears to not be bonded to the substrate well at all, as well as having a texture of what I would expect paint to have shortly after painting, yet we’re >30 days out from manufacturing. Surprising to say the least.

Most of the gooeyness I have been around is contamination of surface prior to application.

Edit: Paint contamination.

 

[contourrob]

Most of the gooeyness I have been around is contamination of surface prior to application.

Thanks. Are you referring to contamination between the metal surface and the paint or the paint and the PPF? Thanks for the clarification.

 

[joebruin77]

TBH, this is above my paygrade and knowledge. That said, my guess is that paint that is properly cured and bonded should not come off as you described. I have a couple theories:

1) You mentioned that the car had some rock chips despite it being only a week old. I am wondering if sometime AFTER the car was manufactured and BEFORE delivery, someone at Tesla noticed that the area had paint damage and they attempted to make some sort of repair. Even though the car was originally painted on the manufacturer date, perhaps that area of the car was repainted much closer to the date of delivery and the repainted area did not have time to cure fully. Perhaps you could run this by Tesla and ask if they would have some sort of record if such a repair was made.

2) There was a problem with the original application of the paint at the factory. Either the batch of paint was defective or the surface somehow got contaminated before the paint was applied.

3) I think the first two above are most likely. There is also a small chance that there was something in the adhesive that you used for the temporary film that somewhow damaged the paint. Again, unlikely, but I would still check this out. Maybe you could take a closer look at the adhesive you used and make sure it was not contaminated or accidentally mixed up with some other, more caustic chemical.

I will be curious to hear what Tesla has to say. Before you bring the car into Tesla, I would consult with a local Tesla authorized body shop and document what they tell you. That way, you are prepared to respond to any inaccurate replies from Tesla.

Good luck!

 

[Dolemite]

Tesla's paint is perfect I don't know what you're talking about

 

[KenC]

View attachment 627190 View attachment 627192 I had planned on having the entire front end protected in PPF, along with the rockers and lower door panels. Upon install the installer noticed that there were a large number of rock chips on the rockers even though the car was only a week old. I ordered the touch up kit and the installed placed a scrap piece of film on the area just to cover it until I had the opportunity to touch up the chips. Last night I removed the temporary film to do the touch up and large patches of paint peeled off with the PPF. The paint was soft and almost gooey and clearly hadn’t been cured properly at the factory. I submitted a repair request to Tesla but know what’s coming.

The paint curing issue would clearly explain the ease that chips were appearing on the car after so few miles. The paint appears to come off with very little mechanical effort. I’m concerned that the rest of the vehicle may be in a similar situation and the installed PPF can never be removed without significant damage.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar and have thoughts on how to proceed? TIAView attachment 627190View attachment 627190

Are there soft and gooey areas of paint that are now exposed that you can show Tesla? Presumably, not all of it has peeled away. Did you keep the temporary film so you can show the evidence of the soft and gooey paint that peeled away?

I would also add that the area on the rockers under the "line", have a different type of primer, thicker and a little elastic, one that is meant to withstand some road debris.

 

[contourrob]

Are there soft and gooey areas of paint that are now exposed that you can show Tesla? Presumably, not all of it has peeled away. Did you keep the temporary film so you can show the evidence of the soft and gooey paint that peeled away?

I would also add that the area on the rockers under the "line", have a different type of primer, thicker and a little elastic, one that is meant to withstand some road debris.

thanks Ken. Yes, there is paint remaining, although until I have a plan forward I wasn’t intending to pick at it further. May be an option to show Tesla just how pliable the paint is and how it’s not sticking to the surface, so thanks for the input.

I do have the plastic still. The paint is so thin it is difficult to peel it off the plastic, so it may be a better option to show them the paint pulling off the surface on the actual car, as you suggest above.

thanks again

 

[Ampre Sand]

That looks like my rocker panels, except mine haven’t peeled or chipped yet. Mine have that same step where the clear coat appears thicker and softer below the line. I thought it might be some kind of factory applied PPF film or coating. I can leave a fingernail impression in it. My car was also built Dec 2020. Hmm!

 

[clerks]

Watching this thread closely. That looks terrible. I took delivery of a December model 3 10 days ago and already have to deal with a paint defect in the hood. It’s ridiculous that we have to deal with these things in a 50k plus car. Good luck. I hop this is covered by Tesla.

 

[cmmd11483]

I took delivery of a pearl white 2021 Long Range Model 3 on 16th December 2020 and it's not even done 600 miles since.

Washing it today, to my dismay, the paint has started to peel/flake on the rocker panels on both sides. It is worse on the passenger side and looks to me like it is separating from the primer. The paint seems very thin and soft to me, I am really disappointed . I am really careful washing my cars and this isn't what I would expect from a £47k car.

I am going to get in contact with support tomorrow to start a warranty claim. I am based in Scotland so it will be Newbridge in Edinburgh that is my nearest service center.

Reading online December deliveries have been having paint issues so I am hoping that they don't try to deny liability.

Has anyone got any experience of this issue? I'd really appreciate some guidance.

Thanks

Craig

 

[UncertainTimes]

Seeing a lot of this on Reddit too. All 2021 models.

 

[aspec818]

That doesn’t look normal. Hopefully tesla will help you out there.

 

[Watts_Up]

That doesn’t look normal. Hopefully tesla will help you out there.

There should be a plastic film cover in this area.

 

[cmmd11483]

That doesn’t look normal. Hopefully tesla will help you out there.

I really hope so. I will update when I get their feedback.

 

[contourrob]

Did you have any paint flake off above the rock guard cut line? I’ve also had paint issues on the rockers (see pics), but nothing above that line where the paint changes texture.

 

[cmmd11483]

No nothing above the line either. Yours looks very similar albeit a different primer colour. How are you getting on with getting it repaired?