Interior Exterior
Q:
Has anyone else heard of paint being peeled off with the starshield when it is removed? I'm working on a warranty claim with starshield, and apparently this happened to my car when the dealer removed a piece from one of my mirrors to submit to the manufacturer for the claim.
If paint peeled off of my mirror, what's going to happen to the rest of the car when/if I need to remove it?
A:
A:
This has happened to my car on a couple of occasions. The paint adheres better to the starshield than it does to the clamshells.
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When my car was delivered, the starshield had a few bubbles and some grains of dirt trapped underneath. Affected pieces were the driver's rocker and the right rear bumper piece. The guy who came out to fix it removed it without any problem from the car.
YMMV, of course. Starshield or Lotus should cover it if it was the package offered with the car, regardless of the age. Otherwise, the installer should cover it. (That's all IMO. It would suck to have to fight with them over this.)
ed
A:
I'm thinking that if this is a common thing, I should probably have all of it removed before the warranty is gone? It would really suck to try replacing the film a few years down the road, only to find that most of my paint is going to come off with it, and I'm on my own to pay for the respray.
A:
When the starshield was removed to repair my cracked clam paint came off with it. HOWEVER, when I took my car in last month for service and warranty the siderocker SS (had compound under them) they peeled them off with no paint damage. Granted Mike at Midrivers took his time, he heated them and slowly, agonizingly slowly peeled back the SS.
A:
I recall a while back having a conversation with a Lotus Rep. My car does not have starshield, but another brand that the dealership had put on. The Rep was telling me one of the reason Lotus went with Starshield was the fact that they would guarantee the paint. At least that was my understanding.
Jacob
A:
I'm thinking that if this is a common thing, I should probably have all of it removed before the warranty is gone? It would really suck to try replacing the film a few years down the road, only to find that most of my paint is going to come off with it, and I'm on my own to pay for the respray.
This is something that I would press hard to have Lotus/Starshield cover even if the car is out of warranty. This isn't normal behavior for this stuff.
ed
A:
This is something that I would press hard to have Lotus/Starshield cover even if the car is out of warranty. This isn't normal behavior for this stuff.
ed
Starshield warranty is 5 years IIRC so that is not an issue yet. In my case the removal of the front clam starshield was careless and hasty on purpose, it was going to be repaired and repainted anyway. However, as I said above, the side rockers were removed with care and no paint damage.
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I have had the Starshield replaced on the front and sides and no paint damage.
I have also crudely yanked on the 2nd Starshield installation on the very front and there still was no damage to the paint.
I would wonder if the paint had a problem, or if it was not cured long enough prior to the film being applied.
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They replaced my rocker starshield at Rothrock and did not damage the paint to my knowledge, FWIW.
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Could have to do with the diff paint on the cars? Which colors are failing and which are not?
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It is to be put on original paint only, not a repaint. Perhaps the areas peeling were repainted?
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My car is krypton green.
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It is to be put on original paint only, not a repaint. Perhaps the areas peeling were repainted?
?
I bought my car new. If it was repainted, I'm not going to be happy.
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Two different bodyshops (don't ask) have told me that they can get the Starshield off without any problems, its the re-applying of it that they are worried about. Both were pretty scared that they wouldn't be able to get the new pieces on without trapping stuff underneath it. One said that they would remove it by "grinding" it off with a wheel, sounds worse than it really is.
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Was it one of the dealer's techs or a starshield rep/installer that removed it?
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The paint peels with the starshield IF the paint had not had proper time to cure on the body panel.
I have seen this happen several times. It was almost always because the body panel had been replaced and the body shop had not left #s of days (not hours) in there for the paint to cure (not just "dry") in between paint and SS install.
A:
Probably one reason why starshield was installed at port, to give the time for the paint to fully cure on the ship ride over.
Chris
A:
Probably one reason why starshield was installed at port, to give the time for the paint to fully cure on the ship ride over.
Chris
Exactly correct...
Also because they are using a US based installation company (selling StarShield, not Armourfend).