Hi, i went to see an exige for sale at the weekend, to be honest it seemed lovely, mechanically it was the best i’ve seen , the only thing which put me off it a bit was the paintwork, it was chrome orange, which i have to say looks awesome! but it was really badly stone chipped at the piece where the rear clam sticks out, the line which follows down from the door shut, the fibregalss was destroyed in places. Also the paintwork did’nt seem to match up all that well in places. Is this normal? or am i just being really fussy… and would it be a huge job to get the paint work tidied??? any advise would be much appreciated…
If you are referring to the way in which the rear clamshell overlaps at sill level, this is pretty normal, since that piece is very exposed to stones etc…
Most owners fit a strip of protective plastic to solve the problem…
Mine solution was plastic u section with little metal u shapes embedded in it so you can bend it to fit with pliers - someone will tell you its proper name and where to get it !!
As to the paintwork not matching, it is hard to say much, but Lotus paintwork is normally pretty good so any unusual effects should be investigated - did you ask the seller ??
What was the reg and where was it / - we may well know the car and be able to put your mind at rest …
if you are on aboout the seem that runs down from below door to sill i went to lotus and they had a rubber strip for about ten quid a side .sod that, so i have sourced a supply for it and can get my hands of metres of the stuff if anyone is interested stacks cheaper and its a better fit
Not mine I might add
But the Chrome Orange is one of the water based colours and does show the stone chips
JohnC
mike have you any pics as to how and where and what you used?