Help with un-painted engine bay in new Fiesta

LeadFoot81 · 08-12-2010, 05:41 PM

Hi all, just wondering if the WS/WT owners can confirm whether their engine bays and inside of their bonnets are painted or not?

Mrs LedFoot81 picked up a new Zetec on Monday and I thought it was just normal cost cutting, but my father in law reckons it's not right. He works at a dealership and checked 4 Fiestas and none of them had unpainted engine bays.

I'd like to see what the deal is with other members cars before I go to the dealership tomorrow and have a go at them.

dannyhilton · 08-12-2010, 10:23 PM

Mines painted. Definitely not like the exterior finish, it has a rough texture and look to it, but it's painted. I suppose there is no need for exterior quality paint in the engine bay, but no paint at all? Strange. See below.

LeadFoot81 · 08-12-2010, 11:43 PM

Hey Danny, thanks for the pic.

The paint in the engine bay is more like overspray on undercoat than a paintjob that's not as nice as the exterior. Most of the bonnet is a light grey undercoat color, the area where the strut towers are are kind of blue but the rest of the bay has metallic flecks over undercoat at best. The area on top of the guards (that aren't visible when the bonnet is shut) the paint gets thinner until it's metallic flecks on undercoat.

I can't tell if it's cost cutting or accidental half assed job. If it's not meant to be this way shouldn't it have been noticed somewhere along the line?

dannyhilton · 09-12-2010, 10:48 AM

I take it the car in question is Vision in color? Let me know if you need any close up pictures of any particular area (struts, bonnet etc) and I'll post them up. Definitely is painted though, and I can't find any areas were there is no paint. It gets a bit thin around the struts, but that's the extent of it.

LeadFoot81 · 09-12-2010, 10:55 AM

Here are some underbonnet pics:

The paint in the door sills is the same quality as the outside of the car, and the paint in the rear hatch (while not being as glossy and smooth as the outside) is thick and very blue.

My father in law had a look at a August '10 build Vision Blue WS at his dealership and the paint quality under the bonnet was the same as ours (Sept '10) So it looks like it's a case of cost cutting. Non metallic paints (like red, white) seem to not have this problem, although the ones at the dealership were WT's so maybe the cost cutting is on Euro only Fiestas?

LeadFoot81 · 09-12-2010, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannyhilton

I take it the car in question is Vision in color? Let me know if you need any close up pictures of any particular area (struts, bonnet etc) and I'll post them up. Definitely is painted though, and I can't find any areas were there is no paint. It gets a bit thin around the struts, but that's the extent of it.

Hey Danny some pics would be great, I've posted some of ours as well (see above) if you could get the equivalent pics off another vision Fiesta that would be ace. Cheers.

dannyhilton · 09-12-2010, 02:56 PM

Have asked a friend (Tenille, a form member, who has a WS Fiesta in Vision) to tell us what's under her bonnet! Haha.

In the mean time, my solid white Fiesta is fully painted. Even the side walls, the beams, the latches, you name it.

Cheech · 09-12-2010, 03:27 PM

I have a WT in black and it is fully painted in the engine bay and under the bonnet.

You must have a "Limited Edition" model.

shroomies49 · 09-12-2010, 07:40 PM

Hey I have just checked under my bonnet!! hah heres whats under the hood =)

Lights poor .. I'll take some more pics tomorrow in the sun

Tenille

LeadFoot81 · 09-12-2010, 08:23 PM

Thanks heaps Tenille!

Looks like the problem is confined to vision blue Fiestas! (ATM) I wonder if other light metallics are affected?

The bodywork is sealed with undercoat so Im not worried but it doesn't look very pretty.

trento · 09-12-2010, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Thanks heaps Tenille!

Looks like the problem is confined to vision blue Fiestas! (ATM) I wonder if other light metallics are affected?

The bodywork is sealed with undercoat so Im not worried but it doesn't look very pretty.

I have a Nov' 08 built WS 3 door in moondust silver, and my engine bay is exterior quality paint. Maybe its just a vision thing???

LeadFoot81 · 09-12-2010, 09:26 PM

Ok so it seems very much a Vision thing. Which begs the question why just the one color?

shroomies49 · 09-12-2010, 09:40 PM

It would be interesting to see if the Squeeze is the same as the Vision

gtfpv · 09-12-2010, 09:50 PM

a little good with the bad here . the bad is its a little incompetent on behalf of the manufacturer. the good is it's consistant with others , so yours isnt unusual , on that basis i would except it , unless you find others in that colour fully painted . seeing that it seems to be in one colour only , i would say there has been a major stuff up on a line with that colour and quality control has missed or overlooked it .

LeadFoot81 · 09-12-2010, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shroomies49

It would be interesting to see if the Squeeze is the same as the Vision

Just found out a Fiesta is in at my father in law's dealership in Squeeze that's the same in the engine bay as ours; the dealership has agreed to respray the door sills as the coverage is very poor (no word yet on whether the engine bay is getting resprayed as well)

shroomies49 · 11-12-2010, 12:32 AM

here's some more i took today.. i hope iy helps . certainly doesn't appear as bad as urs leadfoot =)

Tenille

JClarke · 11-12-2010, 10:51 AM

Mine's the same as Danny's - but my car color is in silver so don't see any difference as far as I recall.

Festy · 12-12-2010, 12:56 AM

Yep.....Squeeze has that problem as well. Just plain "penny pinching".

csv8 · 12-12-2010, 02:00 AM

Friday built cars???? be interesting to get FORD's answer. Not a dealers. I have a WQ in Frozen White and its all painted in the engine bay.

Festy · 12-12-2010, 11:33 AM

Doubt it's a Monday/Friday issue. Too deliberate. Seems to be an issue related to "prestige" paint jobs.
Spray the colored base coat in some areas of the engine bay to give the appearance of painted...but don't add the clear top coat. As for the underside of the bonnet. Out of sight, out of mind.

kiwijohn42 · 12-12-2010, 12:17 PM

My tango WQ is the same. You pay extra for the metallic paint & they cut corners under the bonnet.

fat4D · 12-12-2010, 12:43 PM

At first I was going to say if it's like ba falcons depending on the under coat your engine bay was either body coloured or black undercoat for the darker metalic colours, but seeing that doesn't look right the engine bay should be the body colour since it's a light metalic, as the under coat thy use is vertually a non metalic version of the fnal paint. I think that's how it works? Feel free to correct me thou