body and interior Gasoline Destroyed New Paint Below Gas Cap. Who's At Fault?

[LimeySteve]

I had EXACTLY the same thing happen to my car, hot day , expanded gas pours out of the filler & compromised the paint until it bubbled & fell off identical to your situation. I put it down to a cheaper paint job, mine was a re paint from a rear ender ! I ( by PO ) repaint with aerosols as it's not a pretty car but I try to keep it clean. It sucked at first I can imagine your disappointment . I know the gas we have now is shit , it's all the ethenol in it that is causing chaos with rubber , I assume it's the same with some paints.

Edited July 24, 2013 by LimeySteve

[c.d.iesel]

first contact the shop that spit that paint on and

express your concern for their reputation

in the collector car community

 

it should not do that

 

in future - do not let gasoline come in contact with any paint

 

fix your tank issue - not venting, cap gasket not sealing

 

sorry for your loss.

 

[jgerry2002]

I had this happen once on my '76 less than 1 week after it was painted when I parked on a hill after filling the tank. It happened to a cheap one stage quick respray. Shop repaired it no questions asked.

 

And this was a budget cheapo paint job back when I was high school.

 

From what I can see, the paint prep on the car was not right. I'm guessing whether it was good paint or not, it was contaminated (badly).

 

Rust bubbles are a fact of life with a 2002, they are either visible or will be soon. Tough to get rid of that stuff unless someone really takes their time.

[TobyB]

yeah, see, a week later, paint's pretty soft.  2 years later, one wonders if maybe they didn't use enough catalyst...

 

...or, you're pretty high up there- I wonder if there are some high- altitude anti- evaporation additives that are more aggressive?

 

t

[lilmo]

That's not right.  What does the warranty you got from the shop say?

[billjecks]

I am in the bodyshop industry for 25 plus years and have never seen that happen. Something is not right here and the shop needs to deal with it . period. Although if gas will do that ,blending the paint may be a problem. 

 

 

Bill

vancouver BC

73 tii

[02fanatic]

Same thing happened to my Malaga '76 back in '99.....brand new paint, hot day, and my car had a full tank of gas...but was parked on a slight incline (toward the rear)...that's all that was needed to have gasoline ruin the new paint below the gas cap...it bubbled but did not come off completely.  But, as pissed as I was, I never thought about the paint being an issue...it's still there, but not nearly as bad as your "run"...my bet is your paint is "water based" since most shops use that paint these days, and it's likely much more susceptable to toxic fluids breakdown than Glasurit or other such tried & true paints.

 

My best advice would be to ask the body shop to give you a break on price under the circumstances, but I'd definitely have it re-sprayed it it were me.  Done correctly, you'll never know it...Oh, and never fill up the tank again! :-)  I always listen for the gas to get close to shut off and stop pumping...looks kinda dumb I'm sure, but that's what I do....who needs fuel in the filler neck anyway!?

 

Good luck,

 

John

[j.rettenmeier]

first contact the shop that spit that paint on and

express your concern for their reputation

in the collector car community

 

it should not do that

 

in future - do not let gasoline come in contact with any paint

 

fix your tank issue - not venting, cap gasket not sealing

 

sorry for your loss.

^ This.

 

What happened to you looks very familiar; the car had been repainted under the previous ownership to my knowledge and the same thing happened to me, a nice section of paint below the gas cap was stripped. I definitely think giving that company a call would be a good idea. Good luck and awesome color too!

 

[peterschop]

Good reason for never topping up tank after hose clicks off.  

[TobyB]

brand new paint, hot day,

 

yeah.  THAT is a distinct possiblility.

 

2 year old paint just shouldn't do that, though, no matter what.

 

t

[Bozeman02]

Thanks everyone for your valuable input. The shop owner said he still thinks it isn't faulty paint or application but rather the gasoline. Apparently, it's a very reputable shop in CA. Depending on how he handles the situation, I may or may not post the shop's name in this forum. 

 

He told me that if I can get the car to him, he'll repaint it. If I can't, there's been no offer to help pay for costs to have it done locally. The rub is that it will cost me just as much to ship it to him as it would be to have the car repainted locally. This is a very frustrating situation to be in. Anyone else ever have a problem like this with an out-of-state restoration? 

[John_in_VA]

The rub is that it will cost me just as much to ship it to him as it would be to have the car repainted locally. 

If this is the case, I'd prefer to have the repair done locally - easier to keep up with progress & communication.  

If you have spoken to a local shop that you'd trust to repaint it, what is their thinking on the paint removal?

[Bozeman02]

Probably will

 

If this is the case, I'd prefer to have the repair done locally - easier to keep up with progress & communication.  

If you have spoken to a local shop that you'd trust to repaint it, what is their thinking on the paint removal?

 

Probably will be in the range of 0.75-1k for repainting the quarter panel. 

 

I found out from the original body shop that they used Matrix paint (a subsidiary of PPG) and Euro Autoglass clear coat. I wonder if Matrix is a water-based paint? Anyone know?

[lilmo]

Thanks everyone for your valuable input. The shop owner said he still thinks it isn't faulty paint or application but rather the gasoline. Apparently, it's a very reputable shop in CA. Depending on how he handles the situation, I may or may not post the shop's name in this forum. 

 

He told me that if I can get the car to him, he'll repaint it. If I can't, there's been no offer to help pay for costs to have it done locally. The rub is that it will cost me just as much to ship it to him as it would be to have the car repainted locally. This is a very frustrating situation to be in. Anyone else ever have a problem like this with an out-of-state restoration? 

Your best bet is to get someone to analyze the gasoline.

[ndog]

that is chit paint ,on chit primer/prep job...I HOPE you can get the car back to "the reputable shop"

 any reputable shop would pay for transport if they insist on doing the re-do work themselves.....

Edited July 26, 2013 by ndog