Rubbish paint again

Sorry just have to disagree, if everyone on this forum who has a Ferrari now or owned one in the past goes to their dealer and says "until Ferrari corrects these paint problems from the factory we will never buy another one" The dealer will say sorry to hear that and there are at least (just a guess) 5 times as many people around the world that cant get a Ferrari will now have an opportunity to own one and Ferrari will not have to change production at all. Yes the factory builds something that a lot more people want and will pay for it than they can ever produce. They are in control.......

 

I have to believe that conservatively 1/2 of Ferrari's new car customers are "car guys." Those customers will start walking to Co's like McLaren. If your selling a $400k car, QC should walk around it with a blem light before it goes out the door. And the paint should look better than my 17 year old 355.

 

With Ferrari you pay for the engine and the brand. Everything else was always garbage on these cars, why would that tradition not continue in 2013 ?

 

I am not sure it is 50%. I think Ferrari made a decision that "only" xx (maybe 10%) truly complain, it is easier and more profitable to address that minority then make massive changes, especially when it is cosmetic, not mechanical or safety related.

 

Not defending the factory/dealer in any way, but there is a different issue; a lot people don't know how to recognize orange peel/paint issues, and don't complain.
Doesn't matter what brand car, how many times have any of us met someone showing off their car, that doesn't understand swirl marks/dull finishes etc....
Kevin

 

Its not a paint supplier issue its a paint prep issue.

 

Well, my wife really likes holograms in paint.
I had an M3 that the dealer "detailed" really poorly with a rotary -- holograms everywhere.
My wife loved it...

I spent many hours doing paint correction on it, but once done she said she missed the depth.

I keep thinking maybe I'll attack her Range Rover with some compound and a dirty pad for her birthday, but I just cannot bring myself to do it

 

Order a special paint color like a triple or matte and the finish is excellent.

(because it is outsourced from the factory)

 

This is how you do it. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw2uMpSd1wg]Bentley Mulsanne Painting Process - YouTube[/ame]

Same price points.

 

Yeah but which one do you want to drive?

Ferrari should remedy the paint. I'm not sure Bentley can make their cars drive in the way I prefer.

 

Yes but they can make cars that you would prefer to be driven around in. Different cars for very different purposes. Of course, like everyone is saying here, Ferrari need to sort out paint quality.

Tim- congratulations on the car!! Can not wait to see pics!

Sunny

 

I have corrected orange peel issues on several of the cars I have owned over the years. I can tell you that any auto manufacturer is going to leave some amount of orange peel in the main paint process due to the fact that a "dry spray" is easier to correct than an overly "wet spray." Spraying a bit on the dry side produces the orange peel appearance, but it also pretty much eliminates the possibility of runs in the paint. Runs are much more difficult for a manufacturer to deal with than some orange peel. Unfortunately, only a handful of makes take the time to really dial in their spray equipment or deal with the orange peel post paint process.

It is disappointing that Ferrari doesn't deal with it properly, but my dream to own one someday continues.

 

I thought the discussion was about paint quality on expensive cars, not how they drive. Shows what can be done.

 

@Montpellier- nothing in life is perfect. You always have to choose which trade offs you are more comfortable with. The shot in the originating posting shows too much orange peel but this is more and more common with modern paint processes which is what TexasTodd points out.

 

if there is enough clear coat ( use a meter ), it can be sanded flat- (we used 4000 grit on my black 911) and then polished out and detailed. total price should be under $1000 and end result was amazing. the problem is if there isn't enough clear coat, in which case FNA needs to take care of it.m
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Beautiful gloss on the Turbo.

I gather that in most cases it can be corrected, but you are left with less clear coat, even when there is enough. If it were my car I would then apply one of the new 'semi permanent' coatings to get back some of the effect of a thick clear coat.

 

The TT looks great. I had orange peel on my GT3. But you really never know how many MM's is clear coat, CC is as thin as an onion skin, less around the edges. At least my paint gauge measures base paint and clear together. So, whether 4000, 3000, it is a hit and miss how much clear is being taken off to remove the orange peel, imo.

 

My 599 in grey has the same issues....

 

That's a pretty broad statement. And it is so broad that I have to disagree with it completely. You have not given us that choice to disagree a little bit.

 

Unfortunatly there is a lot of truth to what he says. They are not a quality product. Working on the cars day in and day out, you really get to see much of the crumby parts they install in these cars. Compaired to a BMW or Mercedes which cost less then half for the top line models, Ferrari looks like a collection of cheap parts wrapped in a pretty box with a big bow on it.

I really think the last well built car Ferrari made was the 328. Almost bullet proof.

 

I agree. Disappointing, although my 328 had a fair amount of orange peel, so this isn't a new problem. I guess I just lived with it.

+911.

Actually my current daily driver Audi TT has almost no orange peel, so it's eminently doable on sub-$100K cars.

 

Agree, although as I posted my 328 still had some orange peel showing in the original paint after 20 years. Italian paint seems never to have been anything special.

 

To be fair it's not easy painting over rust.

 

Our '07 F430 in Silverstone is finished magnificently, better than the '11 458. So not all grays are flawed.