Another cosmetic problem on my 08

[viperrrr]

This has not been a great week for for me and my Venom Red 08.
First in an earlier post this week I talked about the mistake I made using a wheel cleaner that discolored the rotor hubs on the car.....my mistake. New rotors on order...that will fix this problem.

I looked at the car today and noticed that both the left and right front quarter pannels behind the front wheels look like they were sand blasted. The car has less than 600 miles on it.
I had a 2000 GTS and a 03 SRT vert and about 11 vettes including a 91 ZR1 and an 06 Z06 over the last 24 years and never had damage like this.
I will have the panels refinished but not until I find a way to protect them.

Does anyone know of a remedy for this problem?
I know 3M makes a plastic film. Will this stuff take the heat from the exhaust system?

All advice appreciated.

 

[rcl4668]

I had clearbra (actually it was a product called Ventureshield) applied to the side sills on both my 2006 and 2008. On the 2006, I think the side sills were hotter and there was slight amount of hazing on the very bottom of the sill (not visible unless you looked under the car) caused by the heat. On my 2008, the side sill temps feel a bit lower and so far (after about a month and half) the clearbra material has retained a very glossy appearance, even under the bottom of the car on the sills.

/Rich

 

[PET SNAKE]

Ok Mr..........now You Did It!!!!!you Mentioned "corvette" On Here, I Just Got My A## Chewed Out By Almost All Member's For Doing That,lol,lol...and Had The Ball'$ To Say You Had 11 Of Them!!!!...........

Just Joking,......well If It Make's You Feel Any Better I Scratched My Wifes Rim And Front Quarter On Her 08 Blue Vert......screwing Around And Got Bit By The Snake!!!


Sorry To Hear That Viprrr.........i Should Also Do That......

Pet Snake..........see Guy's Im Learning!!!!

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

Clear bar the **** out of your Gen III & IV. It's the nature of the beast.

Pun intended.

 

[SnakeEye]

'Clearbra' would be a nice factory option...
Check with your local vca members for a qualified dealer/applicator in your area.

 

[RTTTTed]

Ouch. Myabe the paint's still soft? Don't have any problems like that on my 'old' one.

Good thing a new car comes with a warranty.

Ted

 

[past ohio]

If you put a product on your rotors, was it "thrown" up on the fenders ?? And maybe affected the clearcoat ??

 

[wallbanger]

Anyone remember the board member here from east texas (longview i think) who installs clearbra?

 

[Fast Too]

Clear bar the **** out of your Gen III & IV. It's the nature of the beast.

Pun intended.

What he said. To late for me unless I pull the sills off and have them repainted. You should see the bottoms of them

 

[Boxer12]

Probably from soft tire compound. Were you running on any gravel or sandy roads when tires were hot? That would do it.

 

[viperbilliam]

Do the clearbras start to yellow as they age?

 

[Les Quam]

Mine seem to be fine??????

 

[viperpat]

i have the 08 viper, and i did the clear bra and clear film on the back its a must. I have a back up camera and its on all the time you would not believe how much dirt and sand the 345 tires throw up on the back of your car it looks like a sand blaster back there you can get a camera at costco for 89 dollars it works awesome my friend with a ford gt said i should put the plastic on my wind shield like he did i didnt think i need it a week later a rock made a nice chip in the wind shield the viper is low to the ground and takes a beating do all you can to to protect it its a war zone out there for the viper and even more at high speeds.

 

[texas_venom]

I have been doing Clearmask installs in the SoCal area for almost 3 years now. I have had it on my 04 SRT-10 and after 20,000 mils there was not any yellowing or cracking (and most importantly no rock chips). The material holds up well under heat and it really made a huge difference in protecting the rocker panels. I HIGHLY recommend you getting this put on your car ASAP. Its a great investment for your car. Let me know if you need any help finding an installer in your area... or have any questions about the product.

 

[Jeff Monheim]

I am having the same problem 259 miles on ssg coupe I called the factory and the dealer I am waiting for HELP VERY DISAPPOINTED

 

[texas_venom]

The guy in Longview Texas is Hal Pettigrew. His screen name on here is NoWayForYa. He installs a product called ClearMask. If you have any questions about it let me know. I also know how to get in touch with him via phone.

 

[wallbanger]

i tracked hal down ... he recommended an installer and the work was done just this last tuesday

 

[texas_venom]

Great. I would love to see some pics of the install. Do you have any you would mind posting?

 

[wallbanger]

sure... i am out of town until sunday.. so maybe next week... i haven't actually seen the install yet but my wife said it was a great job

 

[texas_venom]

Great. I hear you are joining the club to. I am sure I will meet you since I get back that way often for work/family.

 

[softuff]

i have the 08 viper, and i did the clear bra and clear film on the back its a must. I have a back up camera and its on all the time you would not believe how much dirt and sand the 345 tires throw up on the back of your car it looks like a sand blaster back there you can get a camera at costco for 89 dollars it works awesome my friend with a ford gt said i should put the plastic on my wind shield like he did i didnt think i need it a week later a rock made a nice chip in the wind shield the viper is low to the ground and takes a beating do all you can to to protect it its a war zone out there for the viper and even more at high speeds.

The rocker panels on my 06 Viper look like crap after 6k miles...
We also have a Ford GT & after 3k miles the rockers still look factory fresh..go figure.

 

[Racer Robbie]

I have said this many time, the paint on vipers is the worst i have ever seen. my 2003 has more pits than paint under the side sills and there are chips in the paint on the body everywhere. This on a car that now cost us bear $100,000.00 out the door. there is no excuse and DC has done nothing for me as they state in the warranty that there is no warranty for chips. Hell I had a 1988 Ferrari that I sold recently that had just shy of 50,000 miles on it and it has zero paint chips anywhere on it. My wifes 2006 Grand Cherokee has no chips in the paint and it has 25,000 miles on it. My brother in laws 2008 Corvette Z06 has no paint problems with over 20,000 miles. Chrysler should step up to the plate and repaint all of our cars just like Ford had to do back in the 80's with their lousy silver and blue paint jobs. Why should we as owners have to pay for clear bra's? Dc should have installed this at the factory as they know they have a problem.

 

[Phoenix SRT]

I have said this many time, the paint on vipers is the worst i have ever seen. my 2003 has more pits than paint under the side sills and there are chips in the paint on the body everywhere. This on a car that now cost us bear $100,000.00 out the door. there is no excuse and DC has done nothing for me as they state in the warranty that there is no warranty for chips. Hell I had a 1988 Ferrari that I sold recently that had just shy of 50,000 miles on it and it has zero paint chips anywhere on it. My wifes 2006 Grand Cherokee has no chips in the paint and it has 25,000 miles on it. My brother in laws 2008 Corvette Z06 has no paint problems with over 20,000 miles. Chrysler should step up to the plate and repaint all of our cars just like Ford had to do back in the 80's with their lousy silver and blue paint jobs. Why should we as owners have to pay for clear bra's? Dc should have installed this at the factory as they know they have a problem.

My sills were chipped something awful within a few hundred miles. Yes, it pissed me off. But, I don't think it's a paint problem. I think the design of the sills makes them vulnerable to being sand blasted by debris thrown up by the car's own tires. I'm not sure why that is, but my Gen 1 didn't have the problem at all.

As for the cure: I'm having the sills repainted and AutoForm's side sill extensions installed. My thought is that the extensions will act to keep stones from being thrown up onto the sills, which is almost certainly true for all but the first 12 inches or so behind the front wheel wells. We'll see once I start driving the car. The underside of the extensions and the part of the sills below that will be coated with a rubberized material that is supposedly impervious to stone chips. That will keep the underside of the sills looking nice for when it's on a lift.

For that first 12 inches behind the front wheels, and also the usual vulnerable areas of the nose and mirrors, I intend to have clear mask applied. To deal with the heat issue, I had free flow cats installed in place of the OE cats. According to my Viper tech, that will reduce the hottest area of the sills by about 30 or 40 degrees. Hopefully, that will eliminate any heat issues the clear mask may otherwise have had.

Actually, the car is already done. It's now just sitting in my garage waiting for sufficient time to pass (30 days) until the paint is cured sufficiently to apply the clear mask. To avoid stone chips during the drive home from the shop, I heavily taped vulnerable areas with blue painter's tape. It was a PITA and quite a sight, but it beat spending a lot of money for shiny new paint and then having it damaged before I clear masked it.

 

[RTTTTed]

The 08's are painted by Saleen. I really don't think there's any paint problem with them - it's all high quality. Sand, dust, rocks?

I drive my Stealth R/T TT in the winter as well as the summer. It's time to paint the car. It's covered in Rock chips and the windshield is in serious need of a polish.

My 30,000mi. '01 Viper has flawless paint. I use a Mopar Vinyl bra whenever I take my highway trips to save the paint. Zero rock chips and only the bottom of the sills have any paint problems. Imagine that, they actually painted the bottom of the car! I wouldn't put any rock guard paint there as it may burn from the exhaust heat. It doesn't matter since I lowered the car there's no way to see under it anyway.

AND ... I live 1.3mi. down a gravel road with a 1/4mi. long gravel driveway. To save rock chips I drive really slow on the gravel and don't spin the tires. Seems to work.

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Ted

 

[KenricGTS]

That is why when I recieved my VCA coupe I had every spot clear coated with 3m. I have to say the paint does **** way too soft.

 

[Racer Robbie]

Here is another option call Line-X. They can match the factory color and I was told for about $300.00.

http://www.line-x.com/