Prior to the repaint, I noticed there is some bubbles on the wing's surface.
After the repaint, I noticed that the air bubbles started to show up 3 weeks later.
Called the bodyshop and they informed me that the problem is not the paint, but the fiberglass aging over time and creating air pockets.

Any suggestions?

 

Seems they should prep first, and then paint.

 

I noticed they did sand it/etc. I don't know what else they can do on a fiberglass piece. It's just that damn rear piece on the wing that's starting to show bubbles.
Does fiberglass age over time and start producing bubbles/air pockets? that's what they told me.

 

There should be absolutely no bubbles for any reason, regardless of how old the wing is. Have them repaint it after properly preparing it. He is trying to find excuses for the poor work he did.

 

not if it is prepared properly...you need a more experienced painter

 

Your body shop is full of crap! Fiberglass does not start to have bubbles as is ages. If it had a blemish, it would have shown right away when it was made. Regardless, if there was a problem with the composite, they should have ground out the problem and fixed it before they repainted it. You never paint over blemishes. The point is to make it look right, not the same.

 

Think about this, there are multi million dollar yachts that have hulls made of fiberglass. I can't imagine they develop air pockets over time - if they did - they're sunk!

 

When I bought the factory Aerokit for my then new 996 C4S, it too came with those bubbles to which you are referring. This on a factory Aerokit bought at my local Porsche dealer. Now, the body shop that installed it took the time and care to prep the wing and I had the car for over 2 years and the work on it was flawless and still looked as fresh as the day it was painted. I would have to agree with the others who have said to find a more experienced or more competent body shop if your case is similar to mine.

 

I visited the shop today to show them the air pockets. When he saw it, he reassured me that the problem is with the fiberglass (the rear wing). His argument was that their paint is not the problem and also that there are no bubbles anywhere else on the car.
Does anyone know if the rear wing (center piece) on factory aero comes off without removing the whole wing?

 

They probably did not use the right primer on the fiberglass. There is some very special primer that needs to be used to between fiberglass and paint or it will look like crap in a few weeks.

 

Not true... (we've worked with fiberglass for 20 years). Lots of different primers can be used. It's really impossible for anyone here to tell where the bubbles are, till you dissect a bubble. Is it in the wing (not the paint)? I believe factory Porsche wing to be a type of plastic... but not sure. The wings we've done are a white plastic looking part, from Porsche. Anyway, with an exacto or something similar, the paint can be peeled away to see where the bubbles are located. Between which layer & which layer. Porsche doesn't make perfect parts (how's everyones carbon fiber factory dashes looking after a few years?) All it would take is sitting out in the sun for a little bit in HOT temp. and that'll expand the air (wherever it is)... in cooler temps the bubbles will probably totally disappear. What's a bodyshop supposed to do if they prepped the tail indoors, out of the sun. Then painted it. Then take it outside after the paint job? Unfortunately sh*t happens. Sometimes the finger can't exactly be pointed at only one person.
Just a gentle suggestion: Ask the shop what could have happened? If you are super cool to them, they might be super cool to you and do some work for free for you. Just to put their good name out on the street... (they made you happy). If they do that for you, do them a favor and recommend them to everyone you know. A guaranteed way of not getting the problem corrected is to blame them, and get mad. Because you already know what might have happened (and probably did) from my explanation up above. Just my 2 cents.

 

I forgot to add: When a shop (a smaller one) does 4-6 small spot jobs (a fender or bumper etc..) a day (which adds up to over 1000 every year). And maybe 30 complete paint jobs a year, and never sees bubbles in the paint... then sees this happen (bubbles in your tail). I think they might have a pretty good educated guess at what the problem might have been. ;o) I'm just saying....

 

Did you point these out to them?

 

Not yet. I asked them to repaint the center piece and told them to drill air holes from the bottom of the tail. Hopefully that helps. It's interesting, your screen name is the same as their name.

 

Where did you buy your aerokit? I am interested in one for a C4S but trying to find one at less than full dealer cost. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.