Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting paint problem?

The paint on the bottom of the sides where it goes from smooth to a "rough" feel, right
above the side molding is chipping/cracking, only there, nowhere else. There were
quite a few on one side, not so many on the other. I touched up the spots but it looks
as if more might occur. I know some have had problems with the paint, manily
the darker colors, over most of the car but it is there only. Anyone else have problems
specific to this area? Color in sig.

I'm not too sure as to where you are talking about, but on my Red 95 GL the paint chips and peels rather bad around the front license plate. I'm probably going to end up repainting, cause it just looks like crap.

It is down at the bottom of the doors on either side, about the last four inches from the bottom but above the side skirts. The surface there goes from smooth to lightly textured. It is on that slightly textured part that the paint is chipping off and in a few small areas, about the size of a pencil eraser, you can see faint cracks.

The bottoms of the doors on mine have that same "ripple" effect like too much paint was put on and it sort of pooled up down there. My '86 truck has the same thing. The paint hasn't started chipping on either vehicle though. Both vehicles are black.

Karl

That rippled texture is intentional, it is known as orange peel. It is caused by 'thick' application of paint. It was done by some manufacturers to create resistance to chipping (which doesn't seem to be working for Keith W.). Unfortunately I don't know how many people have had problems with paint chipping on the lower portion of the doors.

As a side note, you may notice an 'orange peel' appearance on many late model cars. Many manufacturers started trying for this look because it hid some paint application problems.