Is a repainted car more likely to rust? | FerrariChat

Is a repainted car more likely to rust?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by cohiba_man, May 14, 2004.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. cohiba_man

    cohiba_man Formula Junior

    Jan 23, 2003
    937
    Canada
    Full Name:
    John
    Hi,

    I'm looking at a car, not a Ferrari, but its been repainted, and someone has told me that repainted cars are more likely to rust prematurely (I keep my cars a while + Canadian winters), is this true? Its a decent quality re-paint.
     
  2. infraredline

    infraredline Formula 3

    Mar 15, 2004
    1,036
    San Francisco
    Full Name:
    John
    Factory paint jobs are usually best since they are done in several steps before the car is assembled using chemical baths to clean and prepare the metal. The paint tends to "stick" better when done with this kind of attention to detail. How much better? Not sure.

     
  3. UroTrash

    UroTrash Three Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Jan 20, 2004
    38,863
    Purgatory
    Full Name:
    Clifford Gunboat
    Beyond the idea of rust, I would worry about different fade rates if its a partial paint job as well as possible earlier peeling or chipping depending on surface prep. that something that only shows up months or years later. I guess the very best shops could match the factory for durability, buy these other factors are the wild card.
     
  4. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 20, 2003
    51,459
    SFPD
    Full Name:
    Dirty Harry
    On the flipside, if the paint job was sh!te to begin with due to poor paint prep (read: a freshly minted wünderboy MBA's budget constraints) - then the new primer & paint are a saving grace. Some years, some makes/models were destined to rust/be repainted.
     
  5. ryalex

    ryalex Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 6, 2003
    24,957
    Las Vegas, NV
    Full Name:
    Ryan Alexander
    I wonder about this every time I wash my car - after 15k miles my WRX's front bumper and hood are chipped really bad... the factory paint is suspiciously thin and about as resilient as nail polish. So I think if I keep it, I'd go and get a custom repaint eventually. But that could bring up all the problems considered here.
     
  6. PSk

    PSk F1 World Champ

    Nov 20, 2002
    17,673
    Tauranga, NZ
    Full Name:
    Pete
    Hmmm, I think that cars that have had accidents are more likely to rust. Why?, because panel beaters do not prepare and paint the INSIDE of the panel properly and 99% of rust starts from the inside of a panel and works it's way out. Thus the worst thing about an accident (rust wise) is the cracking and destruction of the factory applied primer.

    Now Italian cars of a few years ago did a very poor job of priming their cars anyway ...

    Thus as long as a proper primer has been used on any bare metal work then the car will be okay.

    The funny thing is you see many people driving around in cars in primer (say patches) and this is absolutely stupid as the primers suck in water and need the top coats to seal out the moisture. Thus for your cars sake, leave it at the painters until 100% completed!

    Pete
     
  7. C. Losito

    C. Losito Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2003
    922
    Metro St. Louis
    Full Name:
    Chris Losito
    Same deal with the C36, chips galore on the front. Hood isn't looking real good from some angles either.

    My first car, a white '89 Chrysler New Yorker, had the best paint job of any car I have ever owned to this point. 15 years, 130,000 miles, left to sit outside most of it's life and it STILL looked as good or better than the Benz.
     
  8. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    Consider the time it took the factory finish to deteriorate (assuming the repaint was cosmetic and not due to an accident) and go from there......

    A 5-8 year old car in your climate, in "original" condition, will be in a lot worse shape in "another" 5-8 years time if you leave it original....so.....you will potentially have to pay to repaint it at that time (if it was a decent ride).......whereas a "repainted" 5-8 year old car obtained at the same time, has the potential to look good for at least another 5-8 years longer at no expense to you if you look after it. I don't think premature rust will be an issue if you compare it to what an original car from your area will look like.

    And....if you decide that the car has to go, you'll be better off at resale time as well.....assuming quality paint and bodywork was done.

    Also....every car built in the last 10 years or so has pretty much exceptional rust prevention in place in the form of both type and use of metals and surface/cavity protection applied by the manufacturer.
     
  9. cohiba_man

    cohiba_man Formula Junior

    Jan 23, 2003
    937
    Canada
    Full Name:
    John
    It was in an accident actually, doesn't matter much I've already walked away.
     

Share This Page