White ZL1 paint issue

[turboguy327]

The doors and bumpers are not painted at the factory. Part of GMs great thinking I guess.

[Midnight Rat]

Exactly. That's why there is the possibility of a slight miss color.

Originally Posted by turboguy327

The doors and bumpers are not painted at the factory. Part of GMs great thinking I guess.

[DangerZL1]

The bumpers have the flex additive in them and can't be painted with the rest of the car. I think that white would be the most sucseptible to the color variation whereas black would be imperceptable.

[davej]

For what it's worth, my neighbor works in BMW quality and as we discovered what seemed to be a miss match on my Silver Ice Z, commented that they had the same problems especially with light colors and light metallic's. He further said that in running tests on parts that looked like different shades actually proved to be exactly the same color. Since the different curvatures presented different color reflections they looked to be a different shade. He proved this to me by comparing the color of the door to the rear fender. As we walked from rear to front and focused on the door jam the colors seemed to match as we shifted our angle of view. I also notice in the Camaro Brochure the colors dont appear to match in the photo of their Silver car.

[f5journal]

This is not proof, but is my actual experience and opinion. I think the parts match when painted, but the plastic parts yellow later due to offgassing of the plastic...I'm saying the offgassing affects the base coat color from the inside out.

Now, before you say BS......my white '11 bumpers and fuel door matched when I got the car. I inspected it thoroughly for that reason. 5-6 month later they did not match exactly and continued to slowly get worse. I had the bumpers painted white again when I painted my stripes on the hood and trunck and front bumper cover. They matched at first, and later yellowed a bit.

I later hit a deer and replaced the front bumper with new GM ZL-1 bumper and painted it. It matched at first, but is now yellowing a bit.

My fuel door has never been painted, nor the rear quarter. The fuel door is now the worst paint match of all.

[URBAN LEGEND]

My rear wing is definitely a different color than everything else. Looks bone white color. Ill live. The people behind me are the ones that should be concerned.

[slick rick]

Isn't the ZL1 painted the same way as the $23K 1LS?

Here's the TSB from GM: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42941

Paint Process

At the time of vehicle manufacture, the complete sheet metal body of the car is painted at the same time (the body, hood, decklid and doors). The panels (doors, hood and decklid) are attached to the vehicle and in the proper position when it goes through the plant paint process. All of the panels receive the undercoat layers and top coat finishes using the same material, application process and final bake process. This continuity of process ensures a uniform paint application to the entire vehicle. The result of this extensive process is a seamless paint match over the entire vehicle. The only major exterior panels that do not get painted during this process are the bumper fascias. The bumper fascias receive a flexible paint application using a unique process. All of the paint used in the paint process is matched to a paint color standard, ensuring that the colors are consistent from batch to batch. This color standard also ensures consistency from vehicle to vehicle.

[diverkr]

I wouldn't be as concerned with this problem on my $39k SS, but there is no way I am buying a $59k ZL1 with these kind of issues.

Kudos to those buyers that can just "deal" with it, haha.

[qniknam]

Lol... I bought it to drive it not to make sure the shade of white is exact on the plastic and on the metal. Give it a rest guys, ill take a picture of my decklid and it seems like there was some serious overspray.

[Dega Man]

I have a 13 in white and all of my panels and clips match, there was a slight variation on the gas cap cover which seem to have a brownish tint. But my body shop guy repainted it to a perfect match.

[strych9]

Originally Posted by diverkr

I looked at a white ZL1 this weekend and noticed something very odd for a brand new $60k car. The paint on the front and rear clip did not match the rest of the body. The salesman even acknowledged the difference in color. Is this normal or just a bad egg?

I own a white 2011 SS and my car does not have the same issue.

It's painted exactly the same as the $20k cars.

[boondocksaint]

Coming from BMWs, I wasn't expecting perfect paint. I didn't get perfect paint. As long as it's not a completely different color, I can deal. The front end looks slightly different now, anyway, thanks to the clearbra. Only in a certain light and from a certain angle.

I'm in it 95% of the time. The only paint I can see is a slice of hood and the spoiler. They seem to match fine.

An old friend of mine in Detroit once told me this, since I'm usually rather obsessive about exterior maintenance as well as mechanical. He said: "If you find a car with a perfect paint job, take a picture. Once you drive it, it will never be perfect again. Either get over it, or respray it every two years."

I still polish/seal/glaze/wax/etc. to keep the paint in as good a shape as possible. But the little things don't get to me anymore. Mine is white and the insert is painted (thank God). I'm already over the rock chip in the bumper I got on day one, before I could have the PPF installed.