[Joe-drum]

ok, I went to close the passenger side door today and found something i'm really not liking.
i'll try to explain til i get pics.
if you look at the passenger side door for example ,
the vertical strip to the left of the door glass ,it seems to be some sort of tape type material and its bubbling up.
what a cheap covering design.
if you cannot figure out what part i'm talking about yet
it's the part of the door you most likely are using to close it.
it's flat black looking .
i'm surprised to noticed it's actually covered w/ a tape type material and not painted.
i'll monitor it but, it's obiously over time with the elements it's gonna get bubbly ugly.
how dumb?

 

[Joe-drum]

lol every post i give drop ,drop letters i my words. what's up with that?

 

[desgnconcpts]

Hey Joe-drum,

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I've got a few pics in my gallery of the drip marks on this material. I have learned that this is indeed covered with a plasticized tape-type material instead of paint. The drip marks are not from anything that happened at the dealer but are drip marks of "adhesion promoter" -- a liquid material that is applied to allow adhesive-backed material to be applied. In my case, it was the adhesion promoter they put on the door frame in advance of actually putting on the triple rubber seals on the doors. Some of that was sloppily applied and never spotted by anyone at the factory -- so it left that way. I have now discovered some really big drip marks on the passenger's side doors.

I know that this can and would be replaced by Buick at the dealer under warranty. However, my wife is not too keen on turning a mechanic loose to peel off this plasticized/coated tape that covers all of the door window frames -- the reason being that there's some disassembly involved and she believes that no matter how careful, they will be unfamiliar with the process of doing this and make the repair look even worse than it does now with the drip marks. I've got time to decide.

But I brought this up in this post of yours because I don't think many folks here that do own realize that this is exactly as described -- a tape material used to cover the frames! This is the 1st time I can recall seeing this on a vehicle -- and certainly at the price point a lot of us are at, I don't think you would not find this on an Acura, Mercedes, BMW, Audi or Lexus. Someone correct me if I am wrong on this point. I am really wondering why the decision was made to use this tape material instead of paint? The only thing I can think of is to achieve the right level of flat/sheen/feel on those parts without making it too expensive by using another paint process.

 

[Smokin SRX]

Say it ain't so!? I go to a car wash every week! Will tape hold ? This sounds like trouble! Hope it's rare problem. :'( I'm gonna scrutinize mine tommorow!

 

[Joe-drum]

i personally don't care what they were trying to acheive with this.
at this price level it's pathetic!
i also agree about bringing to the dealer,for now anyway.

I'm really starting a Love-Hate relationship with this car.
It would be nice to go 2 weeks without finding something annoying.
i hardly drive it as it is and don't even look for this stuff but,
it's surfacing more then i like.

 

[Joe-drum]

Heh, carwash!
geez i didn't even take that into future consideration.

 

[desgnconcpts]

I'm not trying to alarm anyone, just want to make sure I inform and present the facts as I know them. I can't speak for what they were trying to achieve -- in fact, when I found out it was tape and not paint is when I really had to look close and then I found/saw the seams!

I suspect that my drip problem is pretty isolated -- I'd think normally this stuff is caught before it's shipped and if they had to take it off and replace at the factory, THAT would be a different story! I guess I could always try to ask if I could do that, drive up to Lansing to have it replaced by the people that do this all the time. Before I do that, I did a little research and supposedly acetone is one of the solvents that 3M lists for their adhesion promoter. I figured I'd try a small spot to see if it in fact does remove the drip mark without otherwise making some other mark from the chemical.

You would think that they have used this kind of material before in other vehicles with a good track record -- I mean, there's no reason to use something that you believe is going to be the cause of tons of replacement work and translate into a lot of unhappy customers. I just think, like other things, that there's always going to be some isolated cases of issues with things. In the grand scheme of things -- I'd rather have my drip marks if I'm to have any issue, than to have a problem with the engine/transmission or electronics! Everything is relative and so far, everything else is great.

 

[osli]

When I first noticed this material, my first thought was "cheap." Then my second thought was "hey, good way to keep fingerprints off the painted surface when closing the door." My third thought was to turn around and look at the seven year old Benz ML sitting next to it, and I noticed what looked like essentially the same thing. Strange I never noticed it on the Benz before.

Biggest difference is the Buick does look like a thin adhesive covering, while the Benz has a thicker plastic piece. Finish and appearance is about the same, but I too am a bit concerned about long term durability.

 

[Ryck]

I have a 6 year old Mazda MPV with the same thing and no bubbling, splitting or curling whatsoever, relax guys...

 

[BuicksRbetter]

hno:You guys need to all calm down. You're getting all crazy about something really stupid. Cars have had this tape for quite awhile now, and it's the best way to achieve the flat-black look above the beltline. The tape is very durable and will never fade. And if it should become damaged, it's easily replaced. Look at other cars that are ten years old and you'll see the fade and sun damage to the rigid mouldings they used to use. This tape material is the best design for this situation and is not a flaw or bad design. The bubble problem does happen once and a while due to the weather, or they may not have been worked out all the way when installed. Sometimes they'll even go away if you give the sun a chance to really heat it up. Please, let's not get all negative just because you think something is a flaw, when in fact it's not.

 

[Don Willems]

I think the idea behind tape is to get the flat black look without using moldings and drilling holes into the door or using another coat of paint and getting the paint too thick.

 

[Smokin SRX]

hno:You guys need to all calm down. You're getting all crazy about something really stupid. Cars have had this tape for quite awhile now, and it's the best way to achieve the flat-black look above the beltline. The tape is very durable and will never fade. And if it should become damaged, it's easily replaced. Look at other cars that are ten years old and you'll see the fade and sun damage to the rigid mouldings they used to use. This tape material is the best design for this situation and is not a flaw or bad design. The bubble problem does happen once and a while due to the weather, or they may not have been worked out all the way when installed. Sometimes they'll even go away if you give the sun a chance to really heat it up. Please, let's not get all negative just because you think something is a flaw, when in fact it's not.

Thx for the info. My '97 Ford Expedition had faded door post trim in the 2nd year! It was a hard plastic and looked terrible. Glad to know the tape has been used awhile now. As I said, hope it's a rare problem. Mines looks OK!

 

[XRAYMAN]

You guys need to all calm down. You're getting all crazy about something really stupid. Cars have had this tape for quite awhile now, and it's the best way to achieve the flat-black look above the beltline. The tape is very durable and will never fade. And if it should become damaged, it's easily replaced. Look at other cars that are ten years old and you'll see the fade and sun damage to the rigid mouldings they used to use. This tape material is the best design for this situation and is not a flaw or bad design. The bubble problem does happen once and a while due to the weather, or they may not have been worked out all the way when installed. Sometimes they'll even go away if you give the sun a chance to really heat it up. Please, let's not get all negative just because you think something is a flaw, when in fact it's not.

Here Here! I second that emotion!! :thumb:

 

[coopermine]

ok, I went to close the passenger side door today and found something i'm really not liking.
i'll try to explain til i get pics.
if you look at the passenger side door for example ,
the vertical strip to the left of the door glass ,it seems to be some sort of tape type material and its bubbling up.
what a cheap covering design.
if you cannot figure out what part i'm talking about yet
it's the part of the door you most likely are using to close it.
it's flat black looking .
i'm surprised to noticed it's actually covered w/ a tape type material and not painted.
i'll monitor it but, it's obiously over time with the elements it's gonna get bubbly ugly.
how dumb?

I don't know how you guys are beating me with the problems/issues I am facing.

I know exactly what you are talking about, however, I dont have a bubble, its like a crease where that tape thingy meets the chrome trim near the base of that panel (on B Column).

 

[Smokin SRX]

After 18 carwashes, 3700 miles, and some nasty rain storms........the panels/trim looks great! looks like some some isolated problems are occurring. (Sorry for the "winners" !) but most of us should be OK!

Even the "Great Toyota" had camshafts snapping on the new Tundra V-8 , they brought out this year! (the TV commercial shows it saving a fallen truss by pulling it back over a ledge) # month repair time as new shaft comes fro Sushi land! My neighbor is wishing he'd bought the Silverado I recommended! Seems about 2-3% of the Toyotas are affected.

Anybody can have some limited issues I guess.

 

[osli]

I meant to post back days ago and couldn't find this thread. Who would have known it had stayed in the general forum and wasn't in exterior? hno:

Anyway, took a closer look at our 2000 ML430, and it also has tape and not a moulding. Hard to tell if you aren't really, really looking for it. Because of its door and window design, it doesn't have a seam like the Enclave so you really have to look. Anyway, 7+ years later it still looks great.

 

[Smokin SRX]

I meant to post back days ago and couldn't find this thread. Who would have known it had stayed in the general forum and wasn't in exterior? hno:

Anyway, took a closer look at our 2000 ML430, and it also has tape and not a moulding. Hard to tell if you aren't really, really looking for it. Because of its door and window design, it doesn't have a seam like the Enclave so you really have to look. Anyway, 7+ years later it still looks great.

the different forum catagories drive me a little nuts too! But thx for the good news ! guess we're not all doomed yet

 

[jerlem1]

Actually, does anyone know if you can buy this material aftermarket and if it is difficult to apply? There is a small modification I would like to make to mine and this would work well.