Tiny Bubbles ....not the Don Ho kind though

[Red Rocket]

After a beautiful Summer of nearly continuous sunshine here, and some pretty warm temps for this part of the planet, we had to put the GT away (because it always rains like hell in November here - you might've seen the salmon swimming in the streets the past few days on the news!).

So I take the car to the storage shop, with the very bright (and flaw-revealing) mercury lamps - and what do we see? Tiny bubbles on the passenger side rear haunch over the wheel; and on the driver's side a little bit more just behind the upper flank air inlet. Since I hand wash the car myself (up until the last few weeks) and never noticed it, it seems like it is a very recent development. :ack

Now, it was pretty hot here this year and the car was always between 200F and 220F. But it seems unusual. Has anyone else noticed this, and is it a paint flaw in the base coat or is it something that can be fixed by wet sanding the clear coat? Should I just get the whole clamshell re-sprayed? Your feedback most appreciated.

 

[canuck]

I noticed a few minor bubbles but left them.

 

[Roger Vincent]

Are they "fisheye" spots, indicating oil contamination in the paint, or do they look like blisters in the clear coat? Can you take a detailed picture and attach it? I have some paint defects at the edge of the rear wheel clam shell where the paint ran just a tiny bit, but nothing I would correct.

 

[fjpikul]

Yes, these are little paint flaws. Most of them seem to have been in the '05. They are covered under warranty and some people have had them fixed. Look at the blog at edmunds.com. There are some old posts about this as well. Most people just left them as part of the "originality." I have a few arounf the front brake ducts.

 

[Red Rocket]

Are they "fisheye" spots, indicating oil contamination in the paint, or do they look like blisters in the clear coat? Can you take a detailed picture and attach it? I have some paint defects at the edge of the rear wheel clam shell where the paint ran just a tiny bit, but nothing I would correct.

They are tiny blisters, maybe in the clear coat (I'm not a paint expert). But they cover an area the size of your hand. Unfortunately, it's in a very noticeable area.

 

[Red Rocket]

Yes, these are little paint flaws. Most of them seem to have been in the '05. They are covered under warranty and some people have had them fixed. Look at the blog at edmunds.com. There are some old posts about this as well. Most people just left them as part of the "originality." I have a few arounf the front brake ducts.

Thanks - I did a search of the forum before posting this, but did not find anything; maybe I used the wrong search terms. Anyway, will check edmunds.com too.

 

[Red Rocket]

Jeepers Mr. fjpikul - edmunds.com has a lousy search engine! :eek Looking at a site like that makes one appreciate the power and presence of this Forum all the more! If you have any files on this issue from edmunds, please e-mail me with them. Or shoot me a direct link to a decent page. Becuz life is too short to spend flipping through edmunds, where a search for Ford GT turns up every Mustang GT link too. :ack :ack :ack

 

[Kayvan]

I noticed a slight almost edge or kink in my nose, in flat portion below radiator inlets. Can only be seen in directsunlight reflection. Looks like the nose peice got twisted at some piont or looks like a ping from the inside (eg, no surface or paint damage).

Its not enough to bug you on nice day; more like "that's mine". :biggrin

FYI: i am having my '68 Mercedes Roadster restored by an elite shop here on the east coast that won its class (60's Ferrari California Roadster) in Pebble Beach this year. I told the owner about the bleed on stripes & other nits. His fully qualified response is in 30-50yrs thats how we will decide what is factory original, and add $100k to value. He had an original Shelby Hertz from the 60s and showed me same issues. :willy

 

[Neilda]

That sound worrying Red. Would you keep us posted on how this develops? N

 

[Red Rocket]

FYI: i am having my '68 Mercedes Roadster restored by an elite shop here on the east coast that won its class (60's Ferrari California Roadster) in Pebble Beach this year. I told the owner about the bleed on stripes & other nits. His fully qualified response is in 30-50yrs thats how we will decide what is factory original, and add $100k to value. He had an original Shelby Hertz from the 60s and showed me same issues. :willy

This is a very interesting point Mr. Kayvan - thank you. I had someone else make this comment a few months ago about a rub-through on the rear bumper (which I intend to totally remove at some point). I don't know if I'm going to be around in 50 years, but I am more concerned about what the paint is there for in the first place - to protect the body. It's in storage so I was intending to monitor it over the winter.

Neil, I think this may have something to do with the fact the red cars are so much faster that they tend to peel the paint back on the leading edges of the airframe. What's your opinion? :cheers

 

[Neilda]

:lol

The main problem with my car is that I have to adjust my watch (as does any passenger) after a quick ride. It would appear that the time-space continuum shifts, a disturbance in the Force somehow.

It was demonstrated many years ago that, in general, two observers, each using the same techniques of observation but being in motion relative to each other, will disagree concerning the simultaneity of distant events. But if they do disagree, they are also unable to compare unequivocally the rates of clocks moving in different ways, or the lengths of scales. Clock rates and scale lengths of different observers and different frames of reference must be established so as to assure the principal observed fact. Each observer, using his or her own clocks and scales, must measure the same speed of propagation of light. This requirement leads to a set of relationships known as the Lorentz transformations.

In accordance with the Lorentz transformations, both the time interval and the spatial distance between two events are relative quantities, depending on the state of motion of the observer who carries out the measurements. There is, however, a new absolute quantity that takes the place of the two former quantities. It is known as the Red Ford GT effect.

I know it, you know it, Gierkink knows it.

Spread the word. :biggrin

 

[Red Rocket]

Superb. Now that you have explained it in layman's terms I completely understand what you are saying. Although, may I suggest that you slightly modify the Lorentz equation to take into account the well-known quantum physics effect incorporating the dazzling handsomeness of the driver and his sparkling white teeth? Probably worth an extra 200 HP at least.

 

[fjpikul]

Neilda, you need to lay off the StarTrek and get back to driving! BTW, what happened to the bubbles on the magnesium floor panels inside your car? Did you get it fixed? Has it gotten worse? FJP

 

[Empty Pockets]

About 3 months after I bought mine, I noticed a small area (an area about 3" or so in diam) on my car's roof within which is what appears to be metal flakes that didn't quite lay down flat in the paint here & there within that area (... or maybe the paint was applied a little too dry). Maybe they ARE bubbles, I don't know. BUT - you have to get the light "just right" to see 'em - and you need to know just where to look too! Knowing what an absolute MESS a body shop can make of the whole car "fixing" this tiny flaw - HECK WITH IT!!!! I'll live with it ... at least for now. (In bright sunlight they "disappear" anyway unless you get your nose right down ON 'em and move your head this way & that trying to find 'em.)

 

[Empty Pockets]

'Just read "Kayvan's" reply wherein he comments that things such as these paint imperfections are one way an "origional" is spotted... and the extra $$$$ they could bring. Don't know about the rest of you, but that ends my own internal debate about repainting!

 

[ENZO BTR]

Totally agree Empty. I was agonizing over what to do for awhile about a year ago, then I remembered two important things:

1. You have to know exactly where to look, in just the right light, to see them.

2. A car's paint job is only totally original once.

After that I stopped even thinking about it, and had forgetten about the whole thing until I saw this thread. Here is a picture for those who care (and can't find it using Edmunds' superb search engine):

 

[fjpikul]

Enzo, please point them in the right direction to edmunds.

 

[dbk]

Edmunds.com? I love that site. :biggrin

Seriously, I find myself watching the videos all the time. And some Karl dude has a decent weblog on there...

 

[Empty Pockets]

Enzo:
Your pic of the imperfection you found in your car shows a situation faaaaaaar more pronounced than what I see on my own rig... but, the tiny, TINY, TINIEST specs in yours are about the same as mine. I don't think I could even photo the thing real easily. If we just say your pblm is a "10" on a 1-10 scale ... mine would be about a "3". (You must have gotten pretty creative to get the light just right for that shot! :thumbsup )

 

[Roger Vincent]

To repaint toward perfection or remain original, that is the question.

That sure looks like contaminated paint known as "fisheye" where the contaminant causes the paint to separate. It is a result of poor surface preparation. As to repainting versus maintaining originality, that's up to your artistic soul and your investment value of the future.

I had a small chip (caused by the dealer) on the edge of the driver's door repainted. Had I to do it over, I would have just touched it up instead. Why? Clear overspray settled on the entire car (buffed out, but a pita) and the blend of the clear into the rest of the door is detectable at certain angles. AND future prospective owners will now see that, and wonder what kind of accident the car was in, when in reality it was a paint chip no larger than half the size of a match head that was repaired. Why buy one like this when one that is untouched and totally original can be bought? Just my ramblin thoughts.

Totally agree Empty. I was agonizing over what to do for awhile about a year ago, then I remembered two important things:

1. You have to know exactly where to look, in just the right light, to see them.

2. A car's paint job is only totally original once.

After that I stopped even thinking about it, and had forgetten about the whole thing until I saw this thread. Here is a picture for those who care (and can't find it using Edmunds' superb search engine):