Chevy / GMC paint peeling years?

[closeanuf]

I think (my opinion) it has to do with the EPA and taking out the good stuff paint used to have in it.  Not saying that's bad just saying paint technology is just now catching up to where it needs to be.  Auto paint is VERY complicated now and it used to be pretty simple.

 

[highdesertranger]

bingo the EPA regulated the old paint out of use.  the new paint is water based and must be clear coated.  however the newer paint does not bond like the older stuff.  the clear coat is only good for about 10 years.  the color coat has a hard time bonding to the primer coat.  once the clear coat goes the base coat is not far behind.  once you are down to primer rust is not far behind because primer will not seal out water.

all the newer water based paints is susceptible to this across all the manufacturers and colors.  I repeat it's NOT just GM and it's not just white paint.


PT Cruiser


Toyota car


Toy truck this one is really bad


Lexus so far this is only on the plastic bumper which is surprising because better paint is used on the plastic parts.


Chevy truck


Harley Davidson


BMW


VW


Nissan


Mitsubishi

I had a pic of a Ford and Mazda too but they didn't come out.  so as you can see it's not brand specific   al the newer water base paint will have this problem.  highdesertranger

 

[KroFlite]

Where did you come up with the idea that clear coat is only good for 10 years?   Is it only a GM problem-no.  But the GM full size vans seem to have more problems with it than anything else from what I've seen.  By far.

 

[highdesertranger]

my body shop guy told me. but if you don't believe me read this,

http://www.howtopaintcars.com/256/how-to-diagnose-and-cure-early-clear-coat-failure.php

now I said it only last 10 years and they say it should last 10 years MAYBE more. so there is a difference there.

my guy also said with GM vans this is very common, but added if you count all vehicles in a manufacturers line up Toyota takes first place.

highdesertranger

 

[KroFlite]

Sorry Ranger, but just because your body shop guy says it's so and some website I've never heard of mentions it does not make it true.  

I'm looking out on my 19 year old Ford that I polished up last week, and it looks like it just came off the showroom floor.  And it's lived outside it's whole life without the best of exterior care in a harsh rust belt environment.  Paint peeling off was a common problem back in the 80's to early 90's with certain makes and models.  I had a '91 Caravan that had it bad.  But it seems most manufacturers worked out the problems, as I don't see much of it anymore.  But it was always certain makes and models, so a quality control issue, not an indictment of the use of clear coats as a whole.

I imagine being at higher elevations with a lot of bright sun, which seems to be where you are at, is particularly hard on any car's finish.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

In the Southwest, sun damage to clear coat affects all vehicles as shown by HDR pics. The sun is brutal.
Heard that more UV protection added to the paint for cars sold there by some manufacturers.

Chrysler was infamous for it's paint peel in the 90s. White, 2000s GM Vans are also infamous for paint peel over the hood and windshield in the Southwest and appears more so than other makes from what I've seen on Craig's. Looking for the definitive answer for perfect paint? Keep researching, the answer isn't here. Keep it out of the sun in the shade, wax often and move to the PNW with their liquid sunshine and free car washes. Sun won't kill the paint but the paint might get eaten by rust.
Can't win. Only Earth and sky last forever.

 

[doublegregg]

I think (my opinion) it has to do with the EPA and taking out the good stuff paint used to have in it.  Not saying that's bad just saying paint technology is just now catching up to where it needs to be.  Auto paint is VERY complicated now and it used to be pretty simple.

>>>thanks for all the photos. but the paint damage looks different than the 'classic' white cargo van paint fall-off. your pictures show paint that seems like it's deteriorated, eventually failed........i guess the 'clear coat' failed.... the 'classic' cargo van paint failure, to me, is the paint looks pretty good. oh, except relatively large patches have just failed and are now exposed. no apparent problem, not much deterioration.

it's like the paint just peeled off in sheets. no rust... clean edges...........just bare metal. 

i'll probly end up getting one of those white cargo vans. if i buy a really recent transit or similar, those next step ups from cargo vans --- THAT'S when i don't want to be 'the guy' on whose dumb van the paint fell off.

 

[tx2sturgis]

The website linked above doesn't mention 'raildust'. Almost all new cars are transported by rail from the manufacturers.

Raildust is the fog of tiny, hot particles of steel that get tossed up by railcars as they roll along the track. Sometimes these glowing hot grains of steel start fires around the tracks, and they can easily melt right thru clearcoat. Of course, later, the microscopic particles embedded in the clearcoat begin to rust. 

If you ended up with a vehicle with severely oxidized paint, raildust was often the cause back in the very early years of clearcoat. It continues to some extent even now. 

Today, most rail transport cars have more complete coverage and screens to help keep raildust from damaging the clearcoat of the vehicles inside the railcar. But even so, new cars will sit for weeks sometimes in a railyard and are subject to hot raildust falling on the paint.

This is not the same thing as peeling due to poor quality paint or poor application methods, but some of those pictures above look like raildust damage to me.

BTW...that failed paint on the Harley was not caused by UV or clearcoat failure....its something else. Possibly a bad aftermarket paint job...Harley has some of the best paint and methods in the industry. To my eye, it looks more like fuel damage and sanding, on sub-standard paint...but hard to tell for sure.

 

[doublegregg]

I happened to be at Walmart and saw this unlucky, but not that atypical American-made white cargo van. It looks kind of new, although I can't date my vans. Paint is peeling from all four sides of this sad, but not that unusual state. I guess it started over the driver roof, which is now rusted. 

so I guess the thing slowly unpeels itself, like a banana.  Such is the state of the white van? If you're this guy (or gal) --- tuff? or just enjoy being able to pick your van out of a bunch of other identical white vans??? if there are 10, 20 or 30 of them in the area, then 2 or 3 are probably in similar condition.

couldn't figure out how to upload rear door photo, which also has paint that's fallen off. sorry, i don't no how to describe how this white paint vacates the metal it used to cover. i don't know if it peels, falls, lifts, jumps, flies, or simply flakes off.

 

[Artsyguy]

I haven't had any problems on my white 2015 Express, but I can see that the paint seems to be VERY thin when compared to my cars. I'll be keeping it clean and waxed to last as long as I can make it in the NE winters and salt on the road. Thinking of putting some type of adhesive clear plastic on the leading edge of the hood and around the wheel arches as added protection. I've noticed my 2004 Lexus has this and there isn't any rust to be found on the car.

 

[bullfrog]

I told you stickers would work! Ruined a tire once because the tire store failed to take off a sticker and it was stayed on there long enough to cause an uneven wear.

 

[doublegregg]

I haven't had any problems on my white 2015 Express, but I can see that the paint seems to be VERY thin when compared to my cars.  I'll be keeping it clean and waxed to last as long as I can make it in the NE winters and salt on the road.  Thinking of putting some type of adhesive clear plastic on the leading edge of the hood and around the wheel arches as added protection.  I've noticed my 2004 Lexus has this and there isn't any rust to be found on the car.

i don't see any lexus's with peeling paint, especially the peeling where the paint just exits the surface in large blotches with no rust or bubbling, other damage. you're fine with that vehicle, and it's been 14 years!