Poll for Those with Paint Blistering / Bubbling Defect

[ADC]

Same here. Had the car for just over a year, fine so far, but of all the Emira defects reported this is the one which would bother me the most. I noticed yesterday that the Lotus extended warranty specifically excludes paint or bodywork defects, so if any of us get these blisters after 3 years we are screwed.

Yeah, this definitely troubles me the most out of all possible issues...

I would bet that these are weather/country dependent, also depends if it’s stored outside or inside. It’s a matter of time, eventually they will appear if the panel has a defect.

... and this is why it troubles me. It blows my mind that leaving your car out in the rain could increase the chances of such a nasty issue. I'm actually starting to think it might be better to leave the car outside for the first year, just to try and force any lurking defective panels to show themselves within warranty.

 

[Wonza]

Yeah, this definitely troubles me the most out of all possible issues...


... and this is why it troubles me. It blows my mind that leaving your car out in the rain could increase the chances of such a nasty issue. I'm actually starting to think it might be better to leave the car outside for the first year, just to try and force any lurking defective panels to show themselves within warranty.

Mine was one of the first ones to have this issue. I live in a town where it rains most of the year and the car lives outside on the drive way.

 

[Go Kart]

I read somewhere that maybe the panels weren’t cured or dried enough during manufacture, and maybe should be left to cure longer… but I don’t think that’s it at all. You could probably bake these panels for months and still have this issue later.

I suspect this is caused by water inside the door, even if only a tiny bit, then the door absorbs it into it’s unpainted surfaces… after warm/cold day fluctuations the water evaporates and tries to escape wherever it can in a gas form. Causing the bubbling on the painted side if it can’t escape any other way. I wonder if leaving the windows rolled down on a hot day would help the water evaporate out

These are basically fiberglass/plastic panels, correct? Maybe not enough epoxy in the door panels at the time of manufacture created a porous panel, or maybe certain panels have micro cracks or minor damage from handling that allows water to soak in, then weep out later. Water always looks for a weak point and will find its way in. It is insidious, then progressively gets worse if you don’t notice the water damage right away.

 

[ADC]

I read somewhere that maybe the panels weren’t cured or dried enough during manufacture, and maybe should be left to cure longer… but I don’t think that’s it at all. You could probably bake these panels for months and still have this issue later.

I suspect this is caused by water inside the door, even if only a tiny bit, then the door absorbs it into it’s unpainted surfaces… after warm/cold day fluctuations the water evaporates and tries to escape wherever it can in a gas form. Causing the bubbling on the painted side if it can’t escape any other way. I wonder if leaving the windows rolled down on a hot day would help the water evaporate out

These are basically fiberglass/plastic panels, correct? Maybe not enough epoxy in the door panels at the time of manufacture created a porous panel, or maybe certain panels have micro cracks or minor damage from handling that allows water to soak in, then weep out later. Water always looks for a weak point and will find its way in. It is insidious, then progressively gets worse if you don’t notice the water damage right away.

Following this train of thought, and besides keeping the drain holes clear (or drilling more!), I wonder if sploshing something around inside to seal/waterproof the inner skins of the doors would help

 

[Go Kart]

Following this train of thought, and besides keeping the drain holes clear (or drilling more!), I wonder if sploshing something around inside to seal/waterproof the inner skins of the doors would help

An aerosol spray may work better for this purpose. I think whatever waterproofer you’d have to use would need to coat ALL unpainted surfaces within the door. Otherwise, it’s possible some water will evaporate, can’t find its way out as a gas, then turns back into a liquid as condensate when temps cool. This could then absorb into the upper part of the unpainted door. After baking the door in the sun for a couple days, if you could basically set off a waterproof aerosol grenade in the door that would be ideal imo.

If you notice, most of these paint blisters occur at the top of the doors (or other panels) where I suspect the water is trying to escape in gas form. When it can’t, it ends up blowing bubbles in the paint from heated air pressure at the top of the door.

My opinions anyway

 

[Go Kart]

Any sort of waterproofing measures would need all of this taken out along with the glass. Not sure if the composite door panel is glued together or not, but doing this type of thing wouldn’t be for the faint of heart.

 

[Green]

I love how people are talking about sloshing around water proofing in the interior door panels of their 100k car like it’s okay

 

[ADC]

I love how people are talking about sloshing around water proofing in the interior door panels of their 100k car like it’s okay

Don't mistake "being ok with this" with "trying to make the situation less shit" .... I am definitely not thrilled about this, but be damned if I'm not still smitten with this car. Tragic, I know.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

maybe certain panels have micro cracks or minor damage from handling

This. Teijin Automotive was chosen as the panel manufacturer because they had a resin formula that uses less Calcium Carbonate. Lotus hoped this would prevent micro cracks that cause paint pops and blistering.

Teijin Automotive Technologies’ Ultra Lite technology uses proprietary, treated glass bubbles to replace some of the CaCO3, allowing the resin to adhere to the matrix and increase the interfacial strength between the bubble and the resin. This treatment technology results in a more robust resin mix making molded parts more resistant to handling damage, preventing micro-cracks that cause paint pops, pits and blistering, and improving paint adhesion and bonding characteristics.

 

[Speedy Emira]

When my car went in for ppf I was told by the company there were 4 blister dots on my quarter panel. I mentioned this when I took it for a service last month. They were the only ones on the car so I wasn’t too bothered because my ppf installer said whenever Lotus can sort it they will ppf and ceramic coat the rear quarter free of charge.
When I washed it today I found more than 40 blisters have come up on the top lip of the passenger door. We have had a lot of rain recently which worries me a lot, especially as I’ve only had it for 500 miles. I just can’t see how 40+ blisters can come up in 3-4 weeks.
Let’s see what Lotus say on Monday and I’d appreciate any feedback from owners.

 

[Wonza]

When my car went in for ppf I was told by the company there were 4 blister dots on my quarter panel. I mentioned this when I took it for a service last month. They were the only ones on the car so I wasn’t too bothered because my ppf installer said whenever Lotus can sort it they will ppf and ceramic coat the rear quarter free of charge.
When I washed it today I found more than 40 blisters have come up on the top lip of the passenger door. We have had a lot of rain recently which worries me a lot, especially as I’ve only had it for 500 miles. I just can’t see how 40+ blisters can come up in 3-4 weeks.
Let’s see what Lotus say on Monday and I’d appreciate any feedback from owners.

You had it for 500 miles. Curious to know what month and year the car is so we can understand the issue a bit more?

 

[Speedy Emira]

You had it for 500 miles. Curious to know what month and year the car is so we can understand the issue a bit more?

It was new March 2023. Being in the UK it probably wasn’t made that long before being sold.
I’m going to request the information on previous repairs in case it’s already had blistering issues that were sorted and the reason the previous owner sold it back after 8 months. I was told it didn’t suit them which I hope was the truth.

 

[Nova]

It was new March 2023. Being in the UK it probably wasn’t made that long before being sold.
I’m going to request the information on previous repairs in case it’s already had blistering issues that were sorted and the reason the previous owner sold it back after 8 months. I was told it didn’t suit them which I hope was the truth.

The manufacturing date is on a label in the door jamb.

 

[Wonza]

It was new March 2023. Being in the UK it probably wasn’t made that long before being sold.
I’m going to request the information on previous repairs in case it’s already had blistering issues that were sorted and the reason the previous owner sold it back after 8 months. I was told it didn’t suit them which I hope was the truth.

From all the recent posts and on Facebook. Most of the earlier Emira’s from Nov 22 to May 23 (guesstimate) have these blistering issues. It’s takes nearly 8 months to a year for these bubbles to come out depending on weather conditions. First of all you notice on one door, then the next door and then the rear panels. Complete nightmare!!! I’m not kidding.

 

[T6061]

View attachment 41951

Any sort of waterproofing measures would need all of this taken out along with the glass. Not sure if the composite door panel is glued together or not, but doing this type of thing wouldn’t be for the faint of heart.

Could I just throw big bag of silica gel in there to suck up the moisture?! Make it part of the routine maintenance to swap out the bags every so often?

 

[Nick in Sydney]

The manufacturing date is on a label in the door jamb.

I think this is a USA regulatory thing? My car doesn't have this label, only the label with the tyre pressure information.

 

[SweptVolume]

OK.. so MAYBE I am lucky - or a fool.... So looking at my 'blister' - It looked very similar to a touch up you would do with touch up paint.. so I wondered whether when it went to the dealer- they did a couple of touch ups for me that this was one I didn't notice... rather than a blister - Using Scratch X, I 'polished it' - blister gone !
Now if it's a blister - would scratch X (or any scratch compound) have removed it ? so I have just set myself back until another one appears - or am I a very lucky boy.....

 

[Porter]

How difficult is removing the door cards on this car? I wonder if it might be prudent practice to pop them off after a drive in heavy rain, in order to suck any moisture out of the bottom of the door with a wet-dry Shop Vac.

 

[Nova]

Someone enterprising should invent quick release clips for the body panels of the Emira so that they can be taken off the car after a day of driving and hung on a rack for drying, maintenance, and inspections.

Edit: I am only half kidding.

 

[Magma]

OK.. so MAYBE I am lucky - or a fool.... So looking at my 'blister' - It looked very similar to a touch up you would do with touch up paint.. so I wondered whether when it went to the dealer- they did a couple of touch ups for me that this was one I didn't notice... rather than a blister - Using Scratch X, I 'polished it' - blister gone !
Now if it's a blister - would scratch X (or any scratch compound) have removed it ? so I have just set myself back until another one appears - or am I a very lucky boy.....

Touch up paint would be a build up of paint to cover up a chip. In order to remove that paint, you'd need to sand it. Scratch X is a very mild polish, so it's hard to imagine it removing paint unless you were using it with something super abrasive.
When you say "it's gone" what exactly do you mean? The paint is gone and you're left with a chip? Realize that if a blister pops, it will look similar to a chip because it's the paint separating from the panel underneath. The blisters seem to come in multiples.