Bubbling paintwork .... corrosion ?

I have seen it on a 430 in the U.K.
It was out of warranty but the dealer re painted it, that was about 8 years ago, and haven't see the car close up since.

 

I am sure you have made a close-up photo, please share as we cannot get the right idea so ...

Must be oxidation on the aluminium .... NOT good imo, treat it asap before it spreads ...

 

I saw it on a white 458 in Nov 2016 at UK Swindon dealer, that car had 'huge' oxidation breaking out in multiple areas. Reminded me of my first car, a 1976 Alfasud 1200 Ti.

 

That was indeed the horrid Italian cars RUST ERA .... you could hear them rust in the showrooms

 

I have some experience with dissimilar metals on sailboats. Aluminum can't touch stainless steel, for example, as it creates paint bubbling.

 

If you could please provide a photo of the oxidation you've detected on your car, it would be a massive help.

I've also noticed some nuts and bolts on my 2011 458 that aren't exactly as sturdy to face rust as I would've imagined. Not on the bodywork though.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

It found it last year on my 2011 458 Italia about 4 months after buying the car from UK dealer last year. I had not spotted the problem during my inspection. The supplying dealer had the car back without question, they had it for 3 weeks due to problems matching the triple layer paint. They found it on the other side as well. All done for free, I think it cost them £4k. I do not know if they pass this charge back to Ferrari.
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If your 458 was sold under the Ferrari Approved program, you may be entitled to a 12 month warranty. And I'm not an expert, so I don't know if that's really rust or not, but that's certainly the spot where you're most likely to have it: wheel arches.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

That's upsetting. Get it fixed and forget it.

 

I haven't known the 458 to be prone/especially prone to rust, nor that rust is a chronic problem on the 458 (or any modern day Ferrari post-2008).

Rust is mainly, if not exclusively, a matter of when and where you drive your car: mainly during the winter? snow? ice? salt? slush? mud? detail and wash your care regularly and thoroughly? If not, it doesn't matter what car you drive: from 500 EUR to 500.000 EUR. You're bound to have rust.

Think of it this way: when you finally get your 458 back, you're set to enjoy one of the best Ferraris of all time again to the fullest! Wish you all the best.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

There is a confidential internal memo issued regarding F12 paint bubbling. Specifically, many F12 experiences paint issues around the rear air intake section on the rear fender area. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a similar memo issued for the 458. Ferrari paint quality has never been its forte unfortunately.

 

Ferrari factory went from first class Glasurit paint to "the more economical" (=cheaper) PPG ....

 

Wow. So In a few years can we all expect a collection of rust buckets?

 

Close to the hatch?

 

Maybe only at places near the wheels which spit the rubble on the metal ...

There, where the factory put the X-Pel small parts ...

 

Yes, there are two air intakes in the back area.

 

My 2013 and 2014 458s had protective film from the factory on the trailing sides of the rear wheel arches, presumably to protect against this problem.

 

Can you describe what way they repaired i.e. Whole panel, small area blended in etc or give the name of the dealership to obtain info from them?
Not sure how to pm as only new to site

 

My 2012 has the oem F X-pell also.

 

What everyone is seeing on the pictures is oxidation but NOT rust. The cars are aluminum so there cannot be rust which is iron oxide. The oxidation in those locations will be related to poor prep before the paint was applied. Has nothing to do with the paint manufacturer but all on how it was applied. There are all aluminum NSX with 200K+ miles without any deterioration. The pictures show oxidation without disruption of the paint which means the process has occurred under the surface, ie poor prep. No surface protection will prevent this process, be it paint or a plastic wrap.

In regards to a galvanic reaction which is where dissimilar metals result in deterioration which is implied in regards to the stainless steel and aluminum, it is dependent upon the amount of chromium in the stainless. When they do body work on an aluminum car, the tools have to be dedicated to aluminum body work and better body shops have dedicated areas devoted to the aluminum cars. These will be the certified shops to work on the Audi R8 or A8.

Unfortunately, I have also seen some surface rust on some of the body bolts. Wipes off and no evidence of deterioration but this would imply either prior exposure to water with high iron content (Hopeful) from when the car was washed or ferrous bolts without adequate coating so it could then be prone to rusting. My 458 hasn't seen rain or salt so I suspect that it is from washing the car.

 

Rust is a matter of whether your car is ferrous (steel) or not. The first gen NSX never rusted because it was completely aluminum. The McLaren will not rust as it is carbon fiber and aluminum. On the lower end of the scale, the Honda Insight is also rust free because it is also aluminum. The biggest issue is whether they use salt on the roads. In much of the US, salt is not used, instead on winter roads, they use sand. It is not unusual to see 20 y/o cars with no rust which have been driven daily. Years ago, there was a push in Michigan to use salt on the roads by the auto makes because this causes rusting and they could sell more cars. In the mountains, they don't use salt because the run off ends up in the mountain lakes and kills sterilizes the lakes.

 

Very nice, useful write up and explanation, Tim.

x2 on surface rust prone body bolts on my 2011.

Kind regards,

Nuno.