Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

[Gooner]

I have two new doors being fitted today ... keeping my fingers crossed they dont bubble - has anybody had bubbling after swapping?

There is one report I’ve seen of a replacement door then bubbling. Think it’s on this thread, but may be on Facebook.

 

[Steveo]

This sounds horrific and is exactly the kind of thing I am worried about!!!

Definitely not what I expected from lotus,the door should have come painted instead of ruining the whole side

 

[PJS]

Got my car back from jct lotus Bradford and to say I’m angry is a massive understatement,firstly they’ve only replaced the passenger side door and they’ve blended in the whole side which has left buffer trails the car was in an inspection bay which was quite small so I couldn’t really see until I got home, they didn’t even put the Emira badge on
I’ll be contacting lotus about this because now I have to pay my detailer to correct this and ceramic coat again

Ah sorry to read this, mines just been examined there ( blisters appeared only a few weeks ago on mine - it's an early one) and it's awaiting sign off from Lotus. haw the chuff do you miss a badge...

 

[Man.v.Cars]

That sucks, did you manage to get a professional spray job or are you attempting to do it yourself.

Did it myself. Its a 3 part paint so quite hard to get a really good match via DIY, I painted the roof and bonnet with a black similar to the Raptor paint you can get. I used a brush to apply and went over with a foam roller, it looks better than it might sound .

I wouldn't want my Emira painted in it though.

Got my car back from jct lotus Bradford and to say I’m angry is a massive understatement,firstly they’ve only replaced the passenger side door and they’ve blended in the whole side which has left buffer trails the car was in an inspection bay which was quite small so I couldn’t really see until I got home, they didn’t even put the Emira badge on
I’ll be contacting lotus about this because now I have to pay my detailer to correct this and ceramic coat again

Not good, who did you deal with there? Was it at the accident repair place up the road from the dealership? Got mine in in October to be checked over for the bubbles on the passenger door.

Did both doors need doing or was it just the paint on the one door?

 

[Steveo]

Think it was a lady called Angela,was told by previous owner that both doors were being replaced but jct600 denied this.
Yes it was at their accident centre

 

[frazzer]

Agreed! They did the pump yesterday and I can see on the tracker that the car is now with the paint shop! Sadly the courtesy car is a Vauxhall Corsa!!

Yup, I've had that Corsa from B&C, a gearbox made of sponges, it's awful!

 

[dobber82]

Had the two doors replaced as of yesterday by Oakmere - so far, very impressed just praying they dont bubble again.

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Had the two doors replaced as of yesterday by Oakmere - so far, very impressed just praying they dont bubble again.

Colour matching okay?

 

[dobber82]

Colour matching okay?

Very very impressed. I was concerned but looks great.

 

[m30rpg]

My car went in on Monday for annual services, plus to get both doors replaced due to blistering. Taken 3 months to get doors to the garage. After which cars getting the ceramic reapplied at lotus cost all approved. So can’t fault that and got a nice merc courtesy car in meantime

 

[Speedy Emira]

There is one report I’ve seen of a replacement door then bubbling. Think it’s on this thread, but may be on Facebook.

If mine has more blisters come out on the doors I am driving it off a cliff Thelma and Louise style!

 

[frazzer]

My DV doors are finally going to be replaced next week. Originally they'd told me multiple panels will be replaced, but now they are saying they will blend in the other panels. Has anyone had experience of this?

Also they are saying it'll take 4 weeks!! This sounds excessive, how long has it taken for others?

 

[MikeG]

Was at a Lotus Drivers Club meeting last weekend at the Lakeland Motor Museum. Approx 10 Emiras there and all 10 of us have bubbling on either one or both doors. Relatively small sample granted but 100% of us!! Spoke to quite a few owners and we are all on various dealer lists waiting for replacements but unaware of timescales, certainly no sense of urgency to sort. I’m waiting for JCT600 and now quite worried based on others experience of them on here

 

[frazzer]

Was at a Lotus Drivers Club meeting last weekend at the Lakeland Motor Museum. Approx 10 Emiras there and all 10 of us have bubbling on either one or both doors. Relatively small sample granted but 100% of us!! Spoke to quite a few owners and we are all on various dealer lists waiting for replacements but unaware of timescales, certainly no sense of urgency to sort. I’m waiting for JCT600 and now quite worried based on others experience of them on here

I reported mine in Feb and got the call yesterday

 

[MikeG]

I reported mine in Feb and got the call yesterday

Wow… whilst I thought there would be an obvious delay re the parts not sure I was expecting an 8 month delay!

 

[frazzer]

I'm a bit worried about the other panels being blended in. Has anyone else had this done?

 

[m30rpg]

I'm a bit worried about the other panels being blended in. Has anyone else had this done?

So had my doors replaced after a 3 months wait, paint matches perfectly which is a plus point and cars booked in this weekend to get ceramic put back on (covered by lotus)

 

[Man.v.Cars]

I'm a bit worried about the other panels being blended in. Has anyone else had this done?

Just had mine assessed at JCT600 and speaking to them there appears to be a 4-6 months wait for the doors, then 2 weeks for the work to be done. He did say Seneca Blue was pretty easy to match and may not require blending, Verdante green is a pig and the hardest he said.

A lot of time colour mismatch can happen when new paint is going on an older car with colour fade, none of us have that to contend with at least.

 

[tankski]

My car has blistering on one door but Lotus Silverstone are going to replace both, presumably as a precaution because I didn't see blistering on the other door. I was told the longest part of the process for them is waiting for the body shop and not for the doors! If that's true the way the waiting is broken down must vary a lot between the dealerships.

 

[Y Cymro]

As someone interested in buying an Emira I called recently to my nearest dealer in the UK. The salesman raised the issue of paint blistering (I was unaware at the time) and explained that the cause was due to the use of panel wipe cleaner before paint was applied. Is this the generally accepted view?