Under bonnet paint

[cdgthreesalmons]

Whilst cleaning the car today it again struck me that at how very thin the paint covering is under the bonnet and around the engine bay. The top "Pacific Blue" coat/gloss only JUST covers the edge of the bonnet and the top of the wings. It's as though the paint robot was running low at this point (joke!)

It is interesting to see how the quality in some areas has been decreased over the Golf years. My 2000 Model Bora (Golf 4) was top coated/gloss coated in the entire engine bay/under bonnet area. My previous Golf 6 was lacking the gloss coat but had top coat at least. Now Golf 7 has lost the top coat - what next on Golf 8!

It is not for aesthetic reasons that I comment - although a few people have looked under the bonnet and asked "what's happened to your paint!" - the reason is that of longevity. Today whilst cleaing the car I found VERY minor orange (rusty!?!?!) stains around the bolt heads holding the front wings - on a 9month old car. Easily polished off BUT - longevity????

[dickt]

Over the years, two things have happened with paint. Firstly, the transition to "water based" paint rather than solvent based. Whilst I am not a chemist, a friend of mine who is a chemist says that the water based paints will not perform as well. However, they are, allegedly, better for the environment. The water based paints don't kill the robots so easily as the solvent ones. Secondly, much of the genuine innovation has decreased in the world of paint as there is much less competition amongst OEM and Car refinish paint makers, and those that are still in the business are not too keen on the R & D costs.
Then, as in many other businesses, the OEMs push their suppliers for cheaper and cheaper paint. You want cheap paint, say the suppliers, you can have it. So we all get cheap paint. Not all manufacturers take this approach. Ford are the worst.

[vwcabriolet1971]

It's not just the problem with the water based paint ( easily chipped) but the lack of the old protective PVC layers and wax body injection that is the main corrosion potential problems.

[chody]

Isn't the golf made with galvanized body panels ,if so it doesn't need the same amount of protection, and very few owners still actually lift the bonnet these days so its an easy cost cut to make

[maisbitt]

Yes, all galvanised. A £2 saving in 20 different places x 3000 cars a day soon adds up: £36m quid a year on the assumption of 300 operational days a year. Some of the savings are the simplest.

I used to work at the Ford Transit plant in Southampton and they used to routinely add 3 gallons of fuel to all the vans, whether they be petrol or diesel. Someone came up with the idea of only putting 2 gallons into the diesels, seeing as they were 50% more efficient - both vans can then do the same number of miles before you need to fill up. One employee idea saves £6.30 per van, by todays prices. Every little helps - especially if it doesn't affect the performance or looks of the car/van.

[vwcabriolet1971]

VW Galvanised panels are coated at the sheet metal body stage before any blanking and forming stages. Thus the edges of the panels are not coated. The old complete body "dip" type galvanising process was much effective as an anti corrosion measure. The early Audis had this type of dip process and would last 20 years + without corrosion.
I'm not sure if all VW panels are currently coated . VW do not now appear to claim all panels are fully treated in their advertising.
INMHO th old wax fill ( as on MK2 Golfs) was superior to the current process - my old MK 2 is still on the road and looking good- 23 years old !

[maisbitt]

I don't imagine any of our MK7s will be looking as good as a tidy 23 year old MK2 in 23 years time. VW don't make cars like that any more - no-one does. The MK3 was a complete rustbucket, the MK4 was a little better, too early to tell for MK5. I see far more MK2s on the road than MK3s.