Hey guys, I just got my car back from the paint shop on Saturday morning and it looked INCREDIBLE! Looked better than new! I went over it with a fine tooth comb and it was immaculate without a chip on it. I was so excited that I put over 140 miles on it Saturday afternoon in 20 degree weather. When I got back to my garage, there were at least 8-10 mini-chips on the tops of the rear fenders. Then I remembered that I never drove it before with the 15mm spacers on it! Anyone else have this happen with 15mm spacers on the front wheels? Chips on the tops of the rear fenders???
I did not have any problems with the stock wheels and 15mm front spacers on a 348. I also have 25 mm spacers on the rear with no problems. I removed the 15mm front spacers to improve tracking almost a year ago. BT
Do you know what i think, the paint had not yet cured. It was fresh paint that had not hardend yet and was still soft. What do ya think?? Takes about a week to harden.
On the top of the rear fenders? Wow... gravel maybe. I could see it happening lower on the car. Pics?
What tire sizes are you running? Do you have 15mm spacers front & rear? Did the rubbing happen to the front, rear or both?
Makes sense, especially considering the crap they put on the roads up there. Not to sound snide, but there is a reason the wheels are inside the fenders - to keep road trash from flipping up all over the car. New tires, if you have them, would likely make this worse.
You're saying that an extra 15mm of track width on the front tires caused gravel to be thrown up onto the tops of the rear fenders and chip the new paint? Sorry, I don't think so. Are the rear inner fender liners in place? Maybe you had rocks tossed up from the rear tires that peppered the fenders from the inside. Uncured paint sounds like the most likely scenario so far.
It seems to me that if the spacers were wide enough to clear the edge of the front fender, road debris would spray up the edge of the wheel well, and up the door panel to maybe the belt line, but on the tops of the rear quarters? The debris would have to fly out away from the car, and perfectly be kept in the flow and drop out at the quarters. It doesn't sound possible to me. Pics?
Yes. Certainly, uncured paint might be easier to chip, if the paint is actually uncured, but tires sticking out an extra 1/2" + and New York road sand sound to me like the cause. The paint wouldn't chip if nothing hit it. And Notoboy said that his paint was chipped on the tops of the bulging rear fenders - exactly where a direct gravel-blast from the front tires would likely occur.
I don't think he means on top of the fenders. I think he means at the top of the wheel arches maybe. Some pics could be helpful. BT
Then it is pointless to discuss unless pictures are posted to show explicitly where and what the damage looks like.
I only said I don't think it could be on top of the rear fenders because it just seems so unlikely. I could easily be wrong as well. Pictures please! BT
I will post pics as soon as I get back to my garage. I only had a couple little chips on the nose of the car, and nothing really to speak of behind the front and rear wheel where I would have expected them. This is what has irked me. The only noticable chips are on the top portion, above the feature line of the fender, almost in line with the sails of the soft top. I checked after about 90 miles and then again after 120 miles, and then there were more! The paint has had over 60 days to cure, because after painting, the car was sitting around waiting for an airbag module to come in. And, the top of the rear fenders was not painted, but only clear coated. The tires really don't stick out of the fenders, but they are fairly flush with the fenders, so the do stick out when turning. Tire sizes are stock for fronts and rears.
So, it is on the flat / horizontal surface of the quarter panel? Straight back from the sails of the top. That's what I thought you said! Now who was it that was saying you weren't saying that it was the TOP of the quarter panel? Man that sucks, I still want to see the pictures!
