Paint Issue

[Davey]

So my wife just noticed this on her right rear door today. Anyone else having paint problems? I got this for her in Early December and have 7000 mi. Daytime parking for work is in a covered area and usually in the garage when home.

The clear is smooth to the tough over the area. I'm sure it wasn't there before. I checked the car over pretty well when we picked it up.

TIA.

 

[Bill Foster]

From the photo it looks like something g was sprayed on the paint.

 

[Davey]

Yeah I agree it does look like that. I'll take more pics when my wife gets home Thursday. We have had zero issues other than this and love the car.

 

[Bill Foster]

Yeah I agree it does look like that. I'll take more pics when my wife gets home Thursday. We have had zero issues other than this and love the car.

Also I'm trying to see where it is in the big picture, but it seems really strange to have localized paint failure on a side panel (not constantly hit by the sun). GM had paint failure in the 90's but that really doesn't seem to be an issue with manufactures anymore.

 

[Davey]

It's just above the light/shadow line in the door. The door handle is pointing to it. I'll update Thursday when the car is back. I was just putting out feelers to see if anyone else had issues.

 

[Bill Foster]

It's just above the light/shadow line in the door. The door handle is pointing to it. I'll update Thursday when the car is back. I was just putting out feelers to see if anyone else had issues.


View attachment 417843

Keep us updated, I'd be interested to hear what Tesla says

 

[electronblue]

Yeah I agree it does look like that. I'll take more pics when my wife gets home Thursday. We have had zero issues other than this and love the car.

Is it an area people touch when opening or closing the doors?

As one possibility, you may wish to read the thread about paint issues, if the paint issues are in areas that may be subject to wear and tear from touch - or if they may be lacking in paint:

Model 3 paint wearing off

Most reports are based on road rash but there are also reports that touching by finger could leave more marks than is usual for cars of this kind.

There is a theory that some later 2018 or early 2019 made cars at least have thinner and softer paint than previously and that shows in easier wear on the doors as well as possibly a see-through effect from too little paint in some areas of the car.

Here is a picture of the see-through effect in some painted areas:

Here are a couple of more extreme examples of the wear and tear:

 

[electronblue]

@Davey

Here is another more ”smoother” example of the wear and tear on the paint that is more reminiscent of your picture (though low down and probably road rash instead of other):

 

[electronblue]

So my wife just noticed this on her right rear door today. Anyone else having paint problems? I got this for her in Early December and have 7000 mi. Daytime parking for work is in a covered area and usually in the garage when home.

The clear is smooth to the tough over the area. I'm sure it wasn't there before. I checked the car over pretty well when we picked it up.

TIA.

@Davey I found a picture of Model 3 paint issues on Twitter that quite closely matches your phenomenon visually though in a different spot in the car:

Kevin Trinh on Twitter

 

[super20g]

This thread is quite depressing. Is this a Cali specific paint process/product issue or just poor prep/paint work causing these early failures?

 

[Johnii__82]

This thread is quite depressing. Is this a Cali specific paint process/product issue or just poor prep/paint work causing these early failures?

At the moment we can say for sure that all of these problems have started after 2018 after summer in between july to september and after that produced. -->

What happened then @ Tesla fremont ? They changed the paint? They changed their processes? They changed owens? They shortned time between the curing the paint? They changed the clear coats?

I would like to know answers for these questions. I am one of the problematic owners in Finland ( we have +17 people ) whos paint looked like this in the pictures after 1200 miles ( 4 weeks of use ) on summer tires and paved & asphalt roads.

Tesla Model 3 after 1300 miles - Google Drive

 

[Johnii__82]

@Davey I found a picture of Model 3 paint issues on Twitter that quite closely matches your phenomenon visually though in a different spot in the car:

Kevin Trinh on Twitter

Also Electron we have now started to gather all the paint problematics to one Google sheets..

Global Tesla model 3 paint problems

 

[super20g]

At the moment we can say for sure that all of these problems have started after 2018 after summer in between july to september and after that produced.

Awesome, mine was built in August. I baby it and it only has a few K on the odometer so I guess time will tell.

 

[SMAlset]

Could it have been from being parked near a sprinkler and got overspray? We had something like this happen to us when staying at a bed and breakfast with limited parking. Got stuck next to their flower beds. We also try to be careful at home in the driveway due to lawn irrigation that while not aimed in that direction, gets blown that way sometimes by the wind. Hard water areas really bad for deposits on the car.

 

[Kilotango74]

@Davey I found a picture of Model 3 paint issues on Twitter that quite closely matches your phenomenon visually though in a different spot in the car:

Kevin Trinh on Twitter

That looks like a clear coat failure to me.

 

[03DSG]

I get why people don’t like splash guards but I bought the California version of these and will be installing them this week.

Garde-Boues Tesla Model 3 (California Edition) - Antirouille Bolduc

Even cheaper with USD as Eric is in Quebec.

 

[electronblue]

That looks like a clear coat failure to me.

If it was there since the beginning, as the Twitter poster seems to suggest, it looks a bit like a protective foil being removed from the top of the car and it taking some of the clear coat with it in that case? Especially the vertical stripes on top left look like something being ripped off caused it...

That wouldn’t necessarily apply to this thread’s OP @Davey though as he says his issue appeared only later, wasn’t there from the start.

Could be similar softness of the clear coat while the actual abrasion/cause could be different?

 

[ddwilson7725]

You can try Ceramic paint protection.

 

[Davey]

So I took it to a paint guy and something acidic or something got sprayed onto the clear. He used compound on it and buffed it out but said I should coat it to protect whats left. I was planning on ceramic coating it anyway. I guess you can delete this thread since it had nothing to do with any paint defects. Can you delete your own threads?