# Flaking paintwork and wheel arch rust



## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

There are a few small areas of my TT's bodywork where the paint had flaked off and there is also some bubbles that have appeared on one of the rear wings. This has gradually got worse over the last few months and now looks like it's starting to rust.

Is there anothing I can do about these 2 issues?


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## Graham'sTT (Dec 6, 2014)

The top picture looks like clear-coat peeling. I have had this on a earlier silver VW, and as it was only small and an isolated case I just "looked after it" the best I could. You don't say what age the car is - if under 3 years it should be covered by paintwork (not bodywork) warranty. If it continues to peel a re-spray of the affected area (A post?) will be required.
Whilst the body shell of a mk 2 is predominantly aluminium (doors and tailgate/boot lid are steel), I believe there is some steel also in the construction of the otherwise aluminium rear wheel arches. The question is has this resulted from stone-chips on the outside (easy to get) that haven't been noticed until corrosion has started, or is it what's known as edge-fold corrosion? We had that on a (steel bodied) VW and even though the car was within its bodywork warranty period VW did not accept the repair as warranty work. They did however help with the cost of repair as a goodwill gesture.
Depending on the age of the car you may be best to see the warranty guy at an Audi dealership in the first instance.


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

Could be from a previous repair... lacquer adhesion issues l would 99 percent put money on previous paint wor and may have lifted when it washed more so if a pressure washer has been used


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## TT-driver (Sep 14, 2010)

From what I can see on the second picture, the paint is peeling away from the edge of the rear bumper. This is the sign that body repair work was done. It could very well be that the metal work on the wheel arch was done with tools that are normally used on cars made from steel. Steel particles on aluminium cause aluminium corrosion. That in turn could explain why the paint and filler is starting to come off. Since the area around the rear wheel arch was painted, it is likely that the rear wing was painted all the way to the a-pillar where now the paint is peeling off too. Look a bit lower and you can even see 2 dimples in the paint that could be caused by remains of silicone. So called fish eyes.

I'm afraid getting all this put right again isn't going to be cheap.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

Graham'sTT said:


> The top picture looks like clear-coat peeling. I have had this on a earlier silver VW, and as it was only small and an isolated case I just "looked after it" the best I could. You don't say what age the car is - if under 3 years it should be covered by paintwork (not bodywork) warranty. If it continues to peel a re-spray of the affected area (A post?) will be required.
> Whilst the body shell of a mk 2 is predominantly aluminium (doors and tailgate/boot lid are steel), I believe there is some steel also in the construction of the otherwise aluminium rear wheel arches. The question is has this resulted from stone-chips on the outside (easy to get) that haven't been noticed until corrosion has started, or is it what's known as edge-fold corrosion? We had that on a (steel bodied) VW and even though the car was within its bodywork warranty period VW did not accept the repair as warranty work. They did however help with the cost of repair as a goodwill gesture.
> Depending on the age of the car you may be best to see the warranty guy at an Audi dealership in the first instance.


How can I best look after the clear coat peeling? Ive noticed a few more spots around the car. Its on an 08 plate. Its a shame because the rest of the paintwork is immaculate apart form these few issues.

I dont think the bubbling is the result of stone chips. When I bought the car a few years ago it didnt have a mark on it but I noticed the first bubble appear about a year ago. Since then a few new bubbles have appeared every few months which then seem to burst and result in it looking like its corroding.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

Templar said:


> Could be from a previous repair... lacquer adhesion issues l would 99 percent put money on previous paint wor and may have lifted when it washed more so if a pressure washer has been used


I've no idea if the car was repaired before I bought it. It was immaculate so I wouldn't have thought it had been repaired. Unless the job was perfect and you couldn't tell.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

TT-driver said:


> From what I can see on the second picture, the paint is peeling away from the edge of the rear bumper. This is the sign that body repair work was done. It could very well be that the metal work on the wheel arch was done with tools that are normally used on cars made from steel. Steel particles on aluminium cause aluminium corrosion. That in turn could explain why the paint and filler is starting to come off. Since the area around the rear wheel arch was painted, it is likely that the rear wing was painted all the way to the a-pillar where now the paint is peeling off too. Look a bit lower and you can even see 2 dimples in the paint that could be caused by remains of silicone. So called fish eyes.
> 
> I'm afraid getting all this put right again isn't going to be cheap.


What sort of price would I be looking at to get this fixed? Is it even fixable?


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

mikewilson said:


> Templar said:
> 
> 
> > Could be from a previous repair... lacquer adhesion issues l would 99 percent put money on previous paint wor and may have lifted when it washed more so if a pressure washer has been used
> ...


I agree it would be difficult to tell initially by the naked eye on some repairs, using a paint thickness gauge on the local area would confirm this or not as would other tell tale give aways. Most people wouldn't do this of course when buying a new car unless something obviously looked wrong.
You are where you are now and a resolution is sought so get yourself to a decent bodyshop for an assessment and take it from there ;-)


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## Graham'sTT (Dec 6, 2014)

mikewilson said:


> Graham'sTT said:
> 
> 
> > The top picture looks like clear-coat peeling. I have had this on a earlier silver VW, and as it was only small and an isolated case I just "looked after it" the best I could. You don't say what age the car is - if under 3 years it should be covered by paintwork (not bodywork) warranty. If it continues to peel a re-spray of the affected area (A post?) will be required.
> ...


The clear-coat peel I had was small (half the size of a 5p), in an area not very obvious and never subject to effects of a pressure washer. I lightly waxed the area from time to time and kept an eye on it. It did not deteriorate in the time I kept the car. On your A pillar it is going to get significant "weathering", and is probably just going to worsen.
As far as what caused the rear arch corrosion and what it may cost to repair you should get some estimates. Ideally you should find a body shop that specialises in aluminium work, as TT-driver said steel and aluminium body repairs should be kept separate. A lot also depends on what you want to do about "a few more spots around the car".


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## ashfinlayson (Oct 26, 2013)

Rusty arches is a worry, never heard of that before on a TT. How old is it?


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## TT-driver (Sep 14, 2010)

Sometimes immaculate paintwork should make one wonder... depending on age and mileage.

Is this fixable? Yeah, but not with just some local repairs. You'll be looking at a full sand down and respray of the left rear wing, the roofline and the A-pillar. Any local repair would always be visible. On the other hand, that may look better than it does now.

That rear wing is aluminium. Aluminium rusts differently from steel. Steel typically rusts all the way through, creating holes in the metal work. Aluminium corrodes on its surface and it spreads over the surface. So more bubbles will continue to form and you can't stop it by applying something from the outside. The metal has to be cleaned all the way, followed by fresh paint.

I couldn't tell you what such a job would cost. Guess it depends a lot on the quality you're after. My expectation is that it kicks off at around 400 pounds for a cheap 'we'll see how long it lasts' respray up to at least 1000 pounds for a like new paint job with warranty.


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## TT-driver (Sep 14, 2010)

ashfinlayson said:


> Rusty arches is a worry, never heard of that before on a TT. How old is it?


There are a couple of rust issues mentioned on this forum. It does happen, but mostly on the front wings. However once accident repairs have been carried out, all bets are off.

My TT is over 10 years old now. It has various spots where corrosion started on aluminium parts. So far I managed to stop most of them by removing the paint and corrosion to the bare metal, clean it thoroughly and then apply new paint again. It doesn't look pretty. But I learned the hard way that hoping it will stop by itself isn't the way forward. It just doesn't stop.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

Templar said:


> mikewilson said:
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> > Templar said:
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Yeh ill have a look around and try and find a reputable one.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

Graham'sTT said:


> mikewilson said:
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> > Graham'sTT said:
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I'll keep an eye on the clear-coat peel and hopefully it wont get any worse. Its not really noticeable if you're not looking for it. As for the wheel arch corrosion, well im gong to get that looked at.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

ashfinlayson said:


> Rusty arches is a worry, never heard of that before on a TT. How old is it?


Its an 08 mate.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

TT-driver said:


> Sometimes immaculate paintwork should make one wonder... depending on age and mileage.
> 
> Is this fixable? Yeah, but not with just some local repairs. You'll be looking at a full sand down and respray of the left rear wing, the roofline and the A-pillar. Any local repair would always be visible. On the other hand, that may look better than it does now.
> 
> ...


At least £1000 wasn't what i was expecting. Its now making me think about getting rid of the car even though I love it. I'm in a no win situation. Leave it and it'll eventually get worse and be an eyesore and also devalue the car. Or bite the bullet and fork out all that money on getting it fixed properly [smiley=bomb.gif]


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## Craig_09 (Jul 20, 2015)

Not sure what area you are from but I wouldn't expect to pay anywhere near £1000.

I would want change from £500 for that work easily. Prices by me are around £150 for bumpers etc

Have a few quotes. Not worth getting rid of a otherwise immaculate car!!


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## TT-driver (Sep 14, 2010)

mikewilson said:


> At least £1000 wasn't what i was expecting. Its now making me think about getting rid of the car even though I love it. I'm in a no win situation. Leave it and it'll eventually get worse and be an eyesore and also devalue the car. Or bite the bullet and fork out all that money on getting it fixed properly [smiley=bomb.gif]


No need to worry just yet. Get some quotes to see what can be done at what price. Your local body shop might be cheaper, who knows? And this kind of work can wait till demand on bodywork is low. So perhaps some negotiations are possible too.


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

TT-driver said:


> mikewilson said:
> 
> 
> > At least £1000 wasn't what i was expecting. Its now making me think about getting rid of the car even though I love it. I'm in a no win situation. Leave it and it'll eventually get worse and be an eyesore and also devalue the car. Or bite the bullet and fork out all that money on getting it fixed properly [smiley=bomb.gif]
> ...


And request what difference to the price if you pay cash :wink:


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## mickee92 (Mar 2, 2016)

I have a similar problem with a potential rust issue on my rear arch. It's a bubble of paint no bigger than a centimetre and I can only take a good guess and expect rust underneath that bubble.

£1000 seems a lot!! I had paint stripper poured front to back on my previous 5 door saloon which resulted in bonnet. Roof and boot lid to be sanded back to bare metal and re done along with a big dent in the wing to be pushed out and resprayed. The result was amazing and couldn't tell and it all cost me £550!

I don't keep cars for long and the TT won't last longer than 4 years in my possession so the paintwork isn't my concern.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

Craig_09 said:


> Not sure what area you are from but I wouldn't expect to pay anywhere near £1000.
> 
> I would want change from £500 for that work easily. Prices by me are around £150 for bumpers etc
> 
> Have a few quotes. Not worth getting rid of a otherwise immaculate car!!


I'm from West Lancs. I'll get a few quotes. I dont mind paying up to £500 for a decent job.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

TT-driver said:


> mikewilson said:
> 
> 
> > At least £1000 wasn't what i was expecting. Its now making me think about getting rid of the car even though I love it. I'm in a no win situation. Leave it and it'll eventually get worse and be an eyesore and also devalue the car. Or bite the bullet and fork out all that money on getting it fixed properly [smiley=bomb.gif]
> ...


There's quite a few places in the area but I dont know anyone thats used any of thee places so I guess ill just have to go with instinct when choosing one.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

Templar said:


> TT-driver said:
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> > mikewilson said:
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Good idea.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

mickee92 said:


> I have a similar problem with a potential rust issue on my rear arch. It's a bubble of paint no bigger than a centimetre and I can only take a good guess and expect rust underneath that bubble.
> 
> £1000 seems a lot!! I had paint stripper poured front to back on my previous 5 door saloon which resulted in bonnet. Roof and boot lid to be sanded back to bare metal and re done along with a big dent in the wing to be pushed out and resprayed. The result was amazing and couldn't tell and it all cost me £550!
> 
> I don't keep cars for long and the TT won't last longer than 4 years in my possession so the paintwork isn't my concern.


Thats how mine started out and has spread about 10cm in about a year. I was planning on keeping it another year due to the mileage clocking up so I dread to think how much worse it will be by then if I dont get it fixed.


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## mikewilson (Jul 14, 2015)

As a side note I was interested in how much my car was worth and was gutted by some of the quotes coming back from the online cay buying websites [smiley=bigcry.gif]


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## GaryG (Aug 21, 2016)

Everyone is disappointed by what the sharks in the "car-buying-website" world offer - bottom book price.


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## Graham'sTT (Dec 6, 2014)

Have a look at this thread...
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=300300


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