Paint bubbles in misc places!

I was doing my first full wax on Saturday and noticed paint bubbles in misc places on the body. The one I particularily noticed was one around the center of the hood.

It's about the size of a few grains of sand stuck together. It kind of has me worried in general. Have any of you had experience with small bubbles on your paint?

I'm thinking that next spring it will be a rust spot when the bubble eventually breaks leaving bare metal.

You think I could get any satisfaction from the dealership? Or perhaps this is within their "paint tolerances". Ok I'm done over-analysing a paint bubble....

Any thoughts? I've heard bad prep can be a source of pain bubbles etc etc. I'm sure there are a million reasons for them cropping up.

i think someone else had a similar problem w/ a black RL as well. from how he described it though, it seemed like only one side of his truck was affected. do a search, i don't remember who it was.

I would take it to the dealer, that should be something they will repair. And if the first one says no, go to the next one and see what they say. They get paid for warranty work so I doubt they will turn you away. Let us know how you turn out.

I agree with bellteck....you should take your truck back to the dealer and express your concerns. But, you don't take it from place to place until somebody does something about it..... you make sure they (The dealership where you bought the truck) take care of it. If they don't, ask them for the direct Customer Service line to Honda Corp. and tell them you are going to complain that you are not being taken care of. I'll guarantee they will start singing a new tune.....

I was "spucing up" my Ridge yesterday..... I've only had it for a week, it was a little dusty and dirty, so I took it through a local "touchless" car wash, I hand dried it, and then used some spray "quick wax" to shine it up a little.... and I noticed a few tiny bubbles in 3 or 4 different places in the paint. They don't look like they would affect the adheasion of the paint or anything like that, and they are almost invisable, unless you look REALLY close.

With that being said, I am gonna take a few minutes, note where all the bubbles are and, the first time I have it serviced (First oil change), I am ask for the service manager to take a look at them. I dunno.....I've owned a 1/2 dozen new vehicles in my life and NONE of them have had bubbles in the paint. As a matter of fact, the Pacifica I traded in for the Ridge had the nicest paint job of any vehicle I have ever seen.

A friend purchased a new Mini. It was black. Suddenly it was covered in pin point rust spots! Darnedest thing I've ever seen. He took it to a dealer who told him they have been having a great deal of trouble with black paint lately. He ended up getting a new vehicle. I don't blame him, who knows what other problems would pop up if he just got it repainted (aside from the loss in resale value).
I don't know much about modern paints (I've painted several cars with both single and dual stage paints but am no expert). Anyone work with these exotic things and knows what he's (or she's) talking about? I'd really like to know how widespread this sort of problem is. Seems to be more than just where they were made.:confused:

I have a bubble on my right rear panel. Just noticed it today

Hmmm.... I noticed it doesn't seem to be a particular color (People who have noted bubbles in the paint have green, black, and silver Ridges). I'll have to check out where/when mine was assembled/painted. When I find that out, I will note it here.....

I haven't found any bubbles yet (09/05 build), but I did find what looks to be a rock chip on the front of my hood. It's time for the touch up paint.

(People who have noted bubbles in the paint have green, black, and silver Ridges)
See, silver Ridges do have paint! You read it on the ROC forum so it must be true. :D

See, silver Ridges do have paint! You read it on the ROC forum so it must be true. :D
Primer, paint...whatever! ;)

I would like to make sure my definition of a paint bubble and your definition of a paint bubble match before I can offer any advice.

Paint Bubble - A small portion of the painted area where paint does not adhere to the material underneath. A bubble in the paint can be as small as a pin head or as large as a watermelon. This condition will ALWAYS result in peeling of the paint where the bubble is located. It is caused by improperly preparing the surface to be painted. Seams (adjacent body panels bolted together) or the edges of panels are most commonly affected due to the challenges of sanding and cleaning these hard to reach areas. Paint bubbles are just that...bubbles. There is nothing in the middle of them. If you have one of these, take it to your dealer and have it repaired soon or you will have a place with no paint!

Dirt in paint - Commonly confused with a paint bubble. This can be identified as a small depression or a raised area (usually very small) with a hard point in the middle of the blemish. This is a very common occurance in paint work coming from a body shop and also common, but not as noticeable or numerous, from the factory. I have a number of them on my ridgeline. This is caused by a particle of dust, dirt, lint, hair, etc, that will float in the air. While it might detract from the beauty of your paint job, it generally will not result in any adhesion problems. If the contaminant got in the clear coat, sometimes a light wet sanding followed by a buffing will take care of it. If it happened during the color coat process....it has to be sanded out and repainted.

Like I said, I have probably ten or so specks (and one piece of lint) in my factory paint. I am the only one to notice them and they do not bother me one bit. I have no bubbles and If I did I would take them immediately to get them fixed.

hiPSI.....Yes, I know what you are saying....you are talking about paint "bubbling up" as opposed to a defect in the paint. I guess I should have been more clear....

But, I have several small defects in the paint.....small bubbles in several different places in the surface of the paint. The paint is not "bubbling up", but it has bubbles in it.

Does that make more sense?

May need a poll of vins, mfg date/loc & colors to see if a trend is developing?

I just finished a hand waxing detailing of my RL in preparation for winter. I was pleased with the quality of the paint job on my truck, but I did find 2 dirt paintovers and luckily they were down low in front of the rear wheel wells and not noticeable without getting on knees and looking directly at them. They were definitely in the color coat as I tried to compund them out hoping they were in the Clear portion. This is normal on all new cars to have a couple of defects. It is not the highest quality paint job available but better than most in this price range. I have painted cars professionally and I could not achieve this level by hand so I have no problem with the quality, but I do find defects in most paint jobs on all cars because my eyes were trained to see them. A real good paint job is like an expensive diamond, even an untrained eye is drawn to the quality. Today's cars under $50,000 just do not have that kind of paint job.

I have one spot on the column behind the drivers side passenger door. It is like a grain of sand in the paint. Not noticable unless your addicted to your ridgeline. Other than that here is one small (miniscule) chip on the passenger door handle.

Also on the passenger side window there is a small tint blotch within the window.

I did not want the repair, as it would be hard to match exact paint and probably look worse after a touchup.
The Dealer gave me a jar of touchup paint and knocked 100 bucks off on hitch and wiring install.

I am happy and can live with the miniscule defects.

:)

Just got done driving 1800 Km to visit my son here in Pickle Lake, part of the great white north. Put the truck in a heated garage ( hard to wash outside at -35C ) and gave it a good wash to get all the salt and grime off.

After hand drying I did notice 2 paint (bubbles ?) on the front of the hood just above the grill, one on the left side, and one on the right just where the hood starts to transverse from vertical to the horizontal plane.

Also noticed a few stone chips all ready..... bummer

Anyway will bring it to the dealers attention when I get back to Orillia next week, will let everone know how I make out....

Has there been any info on hood covers or bras for protecting the front of the beast?

Thanks again for a great club

ALfer

Paint bubble in the middle of my hood, Steel Blue. Honda will take care of it.

After hand drying I did notice 2 paint (bubbles ?) on the front of the hood just above the grill, one on the left side, and one on the right just where the hood starts to transverse from vertical to the horizontal plane.

ALfer


I have 4 bubble in the same spot...on the rim of the hood above the grill. It is Silver with 2k miles on it. I will be taking it to the dealer as soon as I get back in town!

Just finished hand waxing my Ridge (2 weeks old) and found 2 paint defects. One was on the top of the cab and the other I forgot where it was. I will look at it more closely in the morning sunlight.

roc

I found these Saturday while she was in the air for maintenance.

:(

UGH:eek:
Where are they located Lady?
Oh I would crawl under a rock if I saw these on my truck. Especially after the 2 days spent washing and waxing this past weekend... :mad:

UGH:eek:
Where are they located Lady?
Oh I would crawl under a rock if I saw these on my truck. Especially after the 2 days spent washing and waxing this past weekend... :mad:
Rear bumper.

I have a run right under the door handle. Do you think that means it was hit before I bought it or is it possible that it was during the factory paint job???

I have a bubble on a door and some drips that they literally cut away with a razor blade.

I'm totally ticked about the lack of quality in the vehicle. Cosmetics is a big thing and I think Honda dropped the ball.

Spent 8 hours for a simple steering wheel crank last week, cost me 1 day annual leave, total time I've lost since buying the truck about 40 hours easy.

At this point I think if the resale wasn't so low I'd sell her and get the Tacoma.

I had less trouble with my 13 year old Toyota than I've had with the last two RL's I have owned in the last 5 months.