Are Viper wet sanded at CAAP?

[agentf1]

I know all of the panels are painted and then shipped to CAAP and assembled. Are these panels wet sanded after the car is assembled or before they are shipped to CAAP or not at all? I am guessing they are sanded at some time as the paint is so much nicer than Corvette paint for instance. Also curious about what brand they used on the Vipers back in 01?

 

[dun4791]

I cant imagine anyone saying the doors on the gen 2s look good. I think the panels are good, except for the doors. Anyone agree?

 

[Martin]

I've always thought everything on mine looked fantastic. The body shop at the dealership where I used to get my '97 B/W GTS serviced once told me that almost all the body panels were painted in different locations and then all assembled at CAAP with only very minor touch-ups. They said it was a marvel of distributed manufacturing - and really a first in the industry because normally you can't get any kind of consistency in typical car manufacturing. Typically, you get different cars of the same year and color code that had slightly different colors - but with the Vipers they were dead nuts on throughout the entire color code run.

 

[dun4791]

I've always thought everything on mine looked fantastic. The body shop at the dealership where I used to get my '97 B/W GTS serviced once told me that almost all the body panels were painted in different locations and then all assembled at CAAP with only very minor touch-ups. They said it was a marvel of distributed manufacturing - and really a first in the industry because normally you can't get any kind of consistency in typical car manufacturing. Typically, you get different cars of the same year and color code that had slightly different colors - but with the Vipers they were dead nuts on throughout the entire color code run.

I agree the paint looks good and matches well, I think the doors are too "wavy" and the prep on the composite doesnt look anywhere close to how good the quarters and the hood looks like.

 

[dun4791]

Just did a search, looks as if Jerry Dobson agrees with me. He went so far as to have his doors sanded down and repainted so they matched the rest of the car. There is no excuse for the doors to look like they do in my opinion..............

 

[PDCjonny]

Viper paint is 1000 X better than the crap GM sprays on a Vette. Talk about orange peel. I had a brand new '04 Z06 that was embarrassingly bad.

 

[Lake Murray Viper]

I agree the paint looks good and matches well, I think the doors are too "wavy" and the prep on the composite doesnt look anywhere close to how good the quarters and the hood looks like.

The paint quality on my 98 is GREAT including the doors. Is the "waviness" your referring to in the paint or the fiberglass itself?

1998 was supposedly a bad year for paint on the viper, especially "bubbling" on the red cars. The paint on my car appears to be as flawless as I have seen from a factory.

 

[JKVIPER]

My 2001 GTS in sapphire had a terrific paint job.

Same thing for my 2006. No orange peel at all.

 

[Asp Man]

Def. no peel on mine, the doors look as good as the rest of the car.
The only thing I've noticed is that on the Saphire cars the B pillar allways looks a bit wavy, not orange peel but more like a problem with the panel.

 

[agentf1]

Yes, my doors are very wavy too but it is the panel that is wavy not the paint.

Asp Man, it is probably the dark color Sapphire that shows the wavyness in the pillars better than some other colors.

Jon, yes, the vettes are both wavy and loaded with orange peel. I think they should take extra care when painting them, if not all of them atleast the Z06 with its higher price tag or even offer it as an option, premium paint for an extra 2g or something.

 

[dansauto]

orange peel is due to low pressure spay that just psses the paint on. The wavy look on the doors and qty panels is due to the molds. They do not wet sand and buff at the factory unless there is serious paint issues (dust, runs, ect) and even then then just send it back to be refinished. The paint is ok, but comparted to a Porsche, Toyota, or Honda it *****.

 

[dun4791]

The paint quality on my 98 is GREAT including the doors. Is the "waviness" your referring to in the paint or the fiberglass itself?

1998 was supposedly a bad year for paint on the viper, especially "bubbling" on the red cars. The paint on my car appears to be as flawless as I have seen from a factory.

Im referring to the quality of the fiberglass finishing, or lack of quality that is. The door panels on my car, and every gen 2 that I have seen has wavy doors. Maybe Im just too particular?

I have no complaints on the paint quality...........

 

[cayman]

Does some of the red 98's have visible sand marks?

 

[SERPENT INDY]

...in all my trips to CAAP, I have never seen the paint touched except the final detailing

 

[C O D Y]

Here is the factory polished used in 2002......

 

[agentf1]

3m is excellent polish. I also like Menzerna a lot.

The problem with the vettes is caused by space. When all the panels go through the spray booth the do not have enough room to lay all the panels on their carts horizonally so a lot of them go through vertically and the paint cannot flow as good and has to be sprayed differently. On the XLR's they have or should I say make the room for all the carts to be horizonally so in essence not just the top panels look awesome. Ever wonder why the hood, roof and trunk usually don't look as bad as the sides, this is why. I am guessing all the Viper panels are painted in the horizonal position off the car.