Non x1/9 question about paint defects

[engelme]

Hi guys. I need some insights and advice from all of you smart people. I have a 1997 Ford Probe GT With the Mazda 6-cylinder engine that for personal reasons I am trying to preserve. I know it’s not worth much, and you probably think I’m nuts for expending any energy or resources on it, but it means something to me. Recently the car was struck in the rear quarter panel while parked and I was able to convince the insurance company to repair it rather than total it. In order to do that required that the existing panel be repaired rather than replaced. I took it to a body shop that has done one other job for me and did a great job, so I was expecting a similar high quality job. Indeed, I picked it up tonight and the repair looks fantastic. The shop Was getting ready to close so I hopped in and drove home without looking at the car too closely. When I got home I noticed multiple areas of discoloration in the paint, not in the area that was prepared, but instead on the rear deck lid under the spoiler and on the front and rear bumper. I’ll try to attach pictures. To describe them, they are more lightly colored than the rest of the car, which is red. The areas are more pink, like they were bleached somehow. They are not scored or scratched in any way. They are just as smooth as the newly painted quarter panel. They have smooth but irregular contours. They were not present when I dropped the car off with the shop. Let me be clear, I believe this is an honorable business staffed by honorable people. I’m just trying to figure out what happened, and also how they could not have noticed these areas and explained where the came from. I’d be grateful if someone with experience with body and paint work could offer some possible explanations.

 

[engelme]

Incidentally, there is no glare here. What you see is the actual color and shape of the defects. And it doesn’t represent peeling of clear coat either. The surface feels just like the adjacent areas with normal color. Any help appreciated. And to the moderators, I apologize if this is not the right place to post. I just know the people here to be such a helpful bunch. Thanks.

 

[JimD]

Recently the car was struck in the rear quarter panel while parked.

Was it parked at carl's house? You can tell us.

 

[DanielForest]

I have a car with similar blemish. I parked it outside for the winter under a tarp and the tarp was not sufficiently tight and rubbed on the body. But I don't think this is your case. This is probably more like some chemical products that was "splashed" onto the car. The fact it is all in the same area is supporting that theory. That, or the possibily of an employee working on the car that had some products on his hand (or gloves) and didn't wash them properly before attempting some work on your car.

If you go back the the garage and show them, they may do the repair for free. I hope...

And the Probe GT was a really nice car that is increasing value. There is nothing wrong with your willingness to invest time and money on it.

 

[engelme]

It does seem odd that one of the places that was most obviously affected was under the rear spoiler where one places their hands to close the hatchback. Pictures 2, 3 and 4 above (which are upside down.

 

[engelme]

The last photo is of the top of the front bumper surround on the passenger side of the car. Why would the defect obey the boundary of the bumper surround? If it was a slash incident that seems very odd. And I can’t think of a reason why they would remove the front bumper surround to fix a dent involving the ipsilateral rear quarter panel and door.

 

[patchelect]

Perhaps something was on the skin of someone at the shop? My wife uses sunscreen and/or other items whenever we go out for top down motoring in my Miata, and while it is only against the interior and the vinyl bits, I see similar residue marks wherever she has leaned or touched. Did you try using a cleaner to remove those marks especially in the places the shop wasn't painting?

 

[engelme]

An interesting suggestion. These are not on the surface per se. they seem intrinsic to the paint in those places. There really are a lot of areas that were not painted that have problems. I’m starting to think that they took off the front and rear bumpers and the rear hatch and pot them together out of the way where they got exposed to something that created these lesions. The unpainted areas were exposed when they put things back together. The things they painted look fantastic. It’s the other parts that look terrible.

 

[Bjorn Nilson]

Wow, another member here with a Probe GT. And Rio Red as well, just like mine. I had mine since new 1994.
My experience is that the paint on this car is very soft. It also has no clear coat. Could be that the car got a splash of a bleaching liquid or similar. I would try a heavy duty polish/cleaner or even rubbing.
BTW... I have the probe during summer for longer trips. The X is too small and noisy when going far. At least my wife says so because she doesn't like the X much, but the Probe is accepted.
Here it is:

 

[kmead]

The Probe and its sister the MX6 are both great cars I would be proud to own. The V6 is sweet, the handling for a FWD car is very good, they are attractive and the design is reasonably functional.

 

[engelme]

Wow, another member here with a Probe GT. And Rio Red as well, just like mine. I had mine since new 1994.
My experience is that the paint on this car is very soft. It also has no clear coat. Could be that the car got a splash of a bleaching liquid or similar. I would try a heavy duty polish/cleaner or even rubbing.
BTW... I have the probe during summer for longer trips. The X is too small and noisy when going far. At least my wife says so because she doesn't like the X much, but the Probe is accepted.
Here it is:
View attachment 36398

That is a beautiful car! Mine has the ordinal swirlies but I am thinking the car would look fantastic with 5 spoke AR907s. I think I will go that way once I get the mechanicals sorted out. The car needs a new EGR sensor and the valve cover gaskets need to be replaced as well. The brakes could use being gone through and then there are some more minor and cosmetic things that deserve attention. I think was and is a beautiful design, and it’s reputation was marred by circumstances and wrestling with one of the three rails of American muscle cars, the mustang. Judged on its merits, it has a lot to offer. I don’t know about it’s increasing value, I just really like it’s combination of style, performance, reliability and practicality. I’m glad to see there are others out there who recognize it’s virtues.

 

[engelme]

That is a beautiful car! Mine has the ordinal swirlies but I am thinking the car would look fantastic with 5 spoke AR907s. I think I will go that way once I get the mechanicals sorted out. The car needs a new EGR sensor and the valve cover gaskets need to be replaced as well. The brakes could use being gone through and then there are some more minor and cosmetic things that deserve attention. I think was and is a beautiful design, and it’s reputation was marred by circumstances and wrestling with one of the three rails of American muscle cars, the mustang. Judged on its merits, it has a lot to offer. I don’t know about it’s increasing value, I just really like it’s combination of style, performance, reliability and practicality. I’m glad to see there are others out there who recognize it’s virtues.

Oh, and one other thing...I took the car back to the shop and the didn’t hesitate to take ownership of the problem and agree to rectify it. Originally they thought they could buff out the defects, but then called to tell me they are going to paint the affected parts. An honest and honorable business. I plan to return many times.

 

[Bjorn Nilson]

I don’t know about it’s increasing value, I just really like it’s combination of style, performance, reliability and practicality. I’m glad to see there are others out there who recognize it’s virtues.

First of all, good that the problem is solved. Seems to be a honest company.
I kept my Probe for the same reasons as you. It was standing still between 2001-2016 when I decided to take it on the road again. My car is one of total 37 PGT's in Sweden so it is very rare here. I think it is one of the most beautiful cars Ford ever manufactured. The V6 loves to revv but it suffers from hp just like the X. With the aggressive looks it deserves more than 165 hpowever. An easy way to get 200 hp is to make it breathe a little bit better by having a cold air intake (create space for a cylinder air filter by relocating the battery to the trunk), headers, high flow exhaust system and a race cat.

I also lowered the car with D2 coils and 19x9" wheels. -Looks and performs very well.

I also have a spare part PGT and I had an idea to make an engine swap on the X similar to thats been done with the Afa Rome Busso V6. After a lot of thinking I came to the conclusion that Italian pasta together with Japanese rice isn't my favorite dish so I went for an Uno Turbo engine instead. But I like the concept with having a V6 in a X in a way:

 

[dragonsgate]

Nice looking car. Glad for you that the shop worked with you. The blems could have been from solvent spill or maybe one of the guys had deet bug spray on their hands and clothing that got on the paint from touching it.