White paint discoloration

[pkalhan]

HI Everyone,

This may be me being overly paranoid, but for any Model 3 owners that have the pearl white paint (the color I was wanting to get), have any of you seen some discoloration in the rear bumper as compared to the rest of the car? I only ask because on twitter there are some owners of pearl white model 3s that say the white on the rear bumper is a different white than the rest of the car. Some of the reasons given if that paint on plastic will look different than paint on metal. I have not had any experience with this so I wanted to see if someone has. I am not trying to start trouble or anything just wanted to know if this has happened to any owners on the forum. If this is true, I may have to start thinking about another color.

Thanks All,

Pkalhan

 

[voip-ninja]

HI Everyone,

This may be me being overly paranoid, but for any Model 3 owners that have the pearl white paint (the color I was wanting to get), have any of you seen some discoloration in the rear bumper as compared to the rest of the car? I only ask because on twitter there are some owners of pearl white model 3s that say the white on the rear bumper is a different white than the rest of the car. Some of the reasons given if that paint on plastic will look different than paint on metal. I have not had any experience with this so I wanted to see if someone has. I am not trying to start trouble or anything just wanted to know if this has happened to any owners on the forum. If this is true, I may have to start thinking about another color.

Thanks All,

Pkalhan

Eh... that's not good.

I had an A4 that was dolphin grey that had a similar issue where the plastic painted rear bumper looked noticeably different than the rest of the car body.

I talked to a body shop about it and they indicated that the plastic parts are often painted separately and that paint 'flop' can look different if they don't match up the paints used correctly.

 

[pkalhan]

Were they able to correct the A4 or is there nothing that can be done? I wonder if ceramic coating the car before this happens would prevent it from happening.

 

[AWDtsla]

Every car I've ever owned has had shading differences when switching the backing material, especially when in bright sunlight. Even very expensive ones.

 

[voip-ninja]

Were they able to correct the A4 or is there nothing that can be done? I wonder if ceramic coating the car before this happens would prevent it from happening.

Ceramic coating won’t fix it. It is due to how the paint lays on the part which affects its reflectivity when you look at it. Kind of like if you use a different primer on different parts.

I never had the A4 fixed, I just learned to live with it.

 

[voip-ninja]

Here’s a photo of the Audi problem (not mine but pretty similar). It’s worth noting that Audi eventually fixed this problem, most photos you will see of this color and body style in subsequent years look fine.

 

[Vistan]

I've had a white 3 for three months and have seen no hint of any discoloration between the plastic and aluminum (steel) panels on the car.

Vistan

 

[alseTrick]

HI Everyone,

This may be me being overly paranoid, but for any Model 3 owners that have the pearl white paint (the color I was wanting to get), have any of you seen some discoloration in the rear bumper as compared to the rest of the car? I only ask because on twitter there are some owners of pearl white model 3s that say the white on the rear bumper is a different white than the rest of the car. Some of the reasons given if that paint on plastic will look different than paint on metal. I have not had any experience with this so I wanted to see if someone has. I am not trying to start trouble or anything just wanted to know if this has happened to any owners on the forum. If this is true, I may have to start thinking about another color.

Thanks All,

Pkalhan

I've noticed this exact off coloring on essentially every pic of every white 3 I've ever seen (that showed the rear).

Since i never saw anyone else mention it, i assumed it was just the angle.

I wanted the white, but i will have to pass if this is an actual issue on all white 3's.

 

[pipplo]

Yep similar here. Some are way worse than others, and it's very dependent on the lighting

White Photos

 

[pipplo]

I do have to say that now I see this difference on a lot white cars (even non tesla) I've seen. It's pretty annoying that I can't unsee it now.

 

[voip-ninja]

I do have to say that now I see this difference on a lot white cars (even non tesla) I've seen. It's pretty annoying that I can't unsee it now.

My current ride is white and does not have this issue.

I was debating white again since I'm not wowed with any of the other color choices.

 

[voip-ninja]

This Wikipedia article explains one of the reasons this happens;

One part and two part formulations are often referred to as 1k and 2k respectively.[7] OEM (original equipment manufacture) clear coats applied to the metal bodies of cars are normally 1K systems since they can be heated to around 140 deg C to effect cure. The clear coats applied to the plastic components like the bumpers and wing mirrors however are 2K systems since they can normally only accept temperatures up to about 90 deg C. These 2 K systems are normally applied "off line" with the coated plastic parts fixed to the painted metallic body. Owing to the difference in formulation of the 1K and 2K systems and the fact they are coated in different locations they have a different effect on the "redissolving" of the metallic base coat. This is most easily seen in the light metallic paints like the silver and light blue or green shades where the "flop" difference is most marked.

 

[pkalhan]

Great! Now I am back to deciding between black or red. Leaning towards red.

 

[pipplo]

My current ride is white and does not have this issue.

I was debating white again since I'm not wowed with any of the other color choices.

Yeah I'm not saying they all do but it's just way more prevalent than I ever realized before.

 

[ooandyoo]

There's another thread on this in the Interior/Exterior area. It might be just certain batches as mine (VIN: 17xxx) doesnt have this issue.

White Paint Bumper mismatch

 

[AWDtsla]

It might be just certain batches as mine (VIN: 17xxx) doesnt have this issue.

Try adding more light and angle.

 

[T-Will]

This looks like one of the very early test models, notice the massive panel gaps and silver edge on the Aero wheels.

 

[Venomized]

I just configured two days ago and chose pearl white. This has me a little worried and debating if I should go black. Can I still change colors? My $2500 deposit still showing as pending.

 

[drawfour]

Great! Now I am back to deciding between black or red. Leaning towards red.

Red is stunning.

 

[nvx1977]

I do have to say that now I see this difference on a lot white cars (even non tesla) I've seen. It's pretty annoying that I can't unsee it now.

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