Lets hope not and think positive. That's the worst thing (complaint) I have about Corvette is the paint and quality of the SMC panels. with the new Caddy being built in the same plant you would think there would be a big improvement in that area.
Does anyone know if the new vette will be given the same paint with all the complaints of orange peel/waves since 97??
I thought that was SOP for Corvettes.......When we toured the plant last fall and got a behind the scenes tour of the paint area, we found out that orange peel/waves was a setting in the computer. The operators said they thought that was the way we wanted it painted....................They said they could do much better, but thought we wanted it that way........................
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Mississippi Mike
'82 Collector Edition - My First Corvette
'02 Black/ModRed Z - 11,000 Miles - Gone to Live in Georgia
'01 Speedway White/Mod Red - 1 of 137 - Getting Better Every Day
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Lets hope not and think positive. That's the worst thing (complaint) I have about Corvette is the paint and quality of the SMC panels. with the new Caddy being built in the same plant you would think there would be a big improvement in that area.
Nah- the General will be inducting the Caddy into the orange peel club... for the sake of consistency- the good Gen. is also training the GTO paint techs on the finer points of this faux glass finish technique (AKA orange peel) so as to maintain consistent finishes on all the marquee vehicles.
Seriously- I hope they fix it by the time the C6 Z06 begins production.
I would bet money that after all the complaining about the C5 Z06, the C6 will be considerably better. I know this is wishfull thinking on my part but i think the General has heard enough of our complaints. I hope all filled out cards if you bought new and told them all you wanted changed. We will know in a couple of months, fingers crossed and waiting for the next Z.
hey,look at the bright side.so far,they haven't charged extra for orange peel.last may i saw a very early cadillac xlr at a show at a caddy dealer.it had mfg.plates on it.the blue paint on that car made the vettte paint jobs look like show winners.i asked the gm guy about it.he said he didn't know what i was talking about.
Go check out a MB SL500. It's loaded with orange peel too. It must have something to do with EPA requirements. Paint just doesn't seem to lay down the way it used to.
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"'tis better to have zoomed and failed, than never to have zoomed at all." - Zoomin, 2001
^ that or they just don't take their time w/ the mass production and 2-stage paints. With older cars (one stage) You could just buff the car smooth b/c the color and gloss were one thing.
^ that or they just don't take their time w/ the mass production and 2-stage paints. With older cars (one stage) You could just buff the car smooth b/c the color and gloss were one thing.
I bet that is the main reason for it. Can you imagine them buffing the cars between coats? It would take a bunch of people, and the robot union would not like that at all.
I don't think that the new water based paints are worth a crap compared to the older paints. The paint on the newer cars is not only worse quality, but it's a lot more delicate.
There was a blue XLR at the Boston auto show last fall on a turn table. The panels were wavy and the paint looked really bad. The fit of the panels seemed to be better.
Maybe just the price we pay for having a glass car. I'm in the process of detailing my Z for the first time, and I'm pretty happy with the paint that the General laid on mine.
It's the price we pay for letting the EPA control everything in our lives that THEY consider detrimental to the environment. Vehicles coming out of other countries have a better chance at a smooth finish due to the higher content of thinners in their paints. I read this someplace recently, I didn't just make it up. I'm sure that GM and the rest of the manufactuers that must live within the EPA's rules are trying to walk that narrow line between a quality finish, and meeting the letter of the law. Maybe technology will leap ahead from sheer need to meet EPA standards and come up with a process that will meet or exceed the EPA requirements, and still produce a brilliant, smooth finish. Until then we just have to put up with vehicles that look like they were painted with Tang or Orange Julius.
By the way, my Town and Country has just as much orange peel as the Vette, maybe worse. Those are some large straight body panals on the van compared to the Vette's curvacious lines that have a tendency to somewhat hide imperfections.
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