blistering paintwork on the roof fairing panel

[MichaelB]

My local VWCV dealership is planning my repair. Luckly they have their own paint shop which seems to have a good reputation so I hoping all will be well with my repair. Fingers definately crossed though.

In some ways the number of other Cali's is a releif. VW will have put more effort into guidance for repair and there is a body of evidence should you problem occur out of the main 3 year warrentee.

It still make me a bit sick ever time I think about it though.

I will report back on how my repair goes.

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Replacing the roof panel is not a difficult job to do, just time consuming. The only roof replacement that we have done took us just over 7 hours of labour. The real part that takes a lot of time is fitting the bellows, and it also hurts your fingers!

I would advise to have your local dealership look at any warranty problems as soon as you have found them so that they can be actioned and repaired in a quick and reasonable time.

cheers

 

[MichaelB]

Hi Alex

Thanks for the info. The thing that worries me is the process of removing the front fairing as it is glued on. Does this cause a lot of damage as it is removed or is there a special process for doing it?

As there seem to be a few Cali's with this problem do VW know what is causing it?

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Never done a fairing, but as it is glued on it shouldn't be an issue to take it on and off. All the surfaces will have to have a good clean before it is refitted though.

cheers

 

[CaliGreg]

Our old 2008 Cali was done by Listers in Coventry.

Last year, just before we left for Italy for 2 weeks, I was giving the Cali a good wash and polish and noticed the smallest 'bubble' on the front roof panel, just in the corner.

Listers Coventry were good as gold, as always, with VW happy to repair just after 3 years old.

However, VWs first reaction was prescribe the 'repair scope' of removing the roof, debonding the front panel, rebonding a complete new panel, paint and rebuild the van. Which, if you had seen how absolutely tiny the bubble was (where the water hangs in the corners near the awning rail trim) was complete overkill.

VW did relent, Listers shot blasted, etched and painted the roof header, then interestingly sealed the complete panel above the windscreen to prevent water hanging in the corners. 1 years on, it's still perfect.

 

[Andy]

Good to hear it is still good CaliGreg. Do Listers in Coventry have their own spray shop ? I gather some dealers do not & farm the work out.

 

[CaliGreg]

Andy, yes, it's not on the Listers van site but about 3 miles away near the VW car dealer in Cov.
They do all the accident repairs and warranty work for all of VW/Audi/Seat Listers in the Midlands area so they seem to know their stuff. The site is a bit 'industrial' and not as polished as the dealerships but there was an Audi R8 in the day I dropped it off - stone chip damage being done at customers cost........

 

[MichaelB]

Got Poppy back this weekend. She looks fantastic despite all my worring. I will post a run down of events when I get the chance but anyone who wants to know more can message me.

Bottom line if you have found blisters it needn't be a drama to get them repaired.