Flaky Paint

[DorisDanbury]

Following on from my other issue with the paint cracking on the Reimo roof which was repaired under warranty but needed 2 x 350 mile round trips to drop off/pick up and a lot of wrangling to get travel costs reimbursed, I’ve now found another issue.

Our van was originally ascot grey but has been made into a two tone at conversion with the other colour being starlight blue. When washing the van yesterday I noticed what I originally thought was a chip on the underside of the van, on closer inspection the paint has peeled off from the underside in numerous places. The paint is thin when peeled. The nearside is worse than the offside. The van has only ever been washed by hand, no pressure washing at all. Before I go into battle any ideas what has caused this and how to proceed. This is the 3rd issue we’ve had and I’m keen not to have to waste a load more time. Pictures below,

 

[phazer]

Looks like bad prep, the white underneath still looks dirty where the paint has come off

 

[DorisDanbury]

Funny the roof issue was due to bad prep, where water had been present when the roof was sprayed and so over time it cracked.

I should have said the van is 2.5 years old but I’ve had it since new.

Should there be some undercoat? I don’t know anything about spray paint but know it shouldn’t flake like this.

 

[phazer]

Funny the roof issue was due to bad prep, where water had been present when the roof was sprayed and so over time it cracked.

I should have said the van is 2.5 years old but I’ve had it since new.

Should there be some undercoat? I don’t know anything about spray paint but know it shouldn’t flake like this.

Doesn't necessarily need primer depending on what prep is needed but almost new paint can usually be scotched, cleaned, painted and clear coated. Where it's come off underneath especially just looks lazy tbh

 

[Micktheplasterer]

Lack of prep, not adequate key, dirt, dust or water on the surface prior to paint.

 

[DorisDanbury]

Interesting update. Took the van to local body shop who have quoted circa £800 for both sides to be resprayed and confirmed that poor prep and/or contaminants had caused the issue. I have e-mailed Danbury who have now been bought by Vanworx as the van is still under warranty.

The managing director said he would “bend over backwards” to help me but wanted me to update my 1 star Google review on Danbury to reflect that they had paid my £300 expenses for when we took the van back with a roof issue (hire car plus fuel) which I am happy to do. He also wanted me to delete the same review I had put on the Vanworx website as they were not the same company. When I pointed out that the person we had dealt with in relation to the previous issue did work for Vanworx and I didn’t like being blackmailed he accused me of being aggressive.

So now we’re in a stalemate that unless I take down the review he will not address the paint issue. This was an unexpected plot twist!

 

[phazer]

Depends how far you want to go but you could have a word with trading standards. The warranty will not have wording in it that requires positive reviews for work to be authorised.

I would be tempted to write to them outlining the issue and document everything that has happened and set out expectations for what you want to happen, offer a reasonable time frame to get back to you with an offer off resolving the paint issue. If no joy or no response, follow up with a letter before action and suggest you'll go to the small claims court for the value of the repairs. Get the other bodyshop to write up the faults and the rectification necessary and keep that should you need it.

 

[Sasquatch]

There's no stalemate. There's small claims track of the county court.

Your statutory rights aren't something the be bargained with or blackmailed over. They are statutory.