[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

There is absolutely no way this is a factory miss; there are several coats applied during the painting process and the panels and robotic arms are swung 360 deg several times to ensure a complete and even paint.

This is entirely uncommon for cars out of the factory. Whatever can happen, may happen during transit / at the dealer.

Yes, such miss is unlikely from the factory. But if this is observed on all four doors, it shall be rare in transit and at dealership. And if not from the factory, then it indicates a major incident that can potentially cause other structural damage too.

Originally Posted by NPV

I
Just curious, did you do a PDI before registration ? (hopefully you did another PDI when taking delivery ?). That could/would have helped with narrowing down on the cause.

Such examples highlight the importance of PDI; Team-BHP's recommendation is PDI inspection in broad daylight.

Originally Posted by kiku007

I hope so too. Because if this car walked out with the "All OK" tick at the factory Quality Control inspection checkpoint then KIA has a BIG problem at it's hands.

Either way I hope the customer is duly compensated.

Whether it happened at the factory or in transit or at the dealership, what kind of compensation is possible now? The dealer shall repaint all four doors. Neither the dealer will offer anything more nor the customer seems to be entitled to anything more. And no question of replacing the car. Even the doors won't be replaced if there is no damage to them; these will be just repainted.

It is a serious affair if there is any structural damage and repair. Such situation may demand car replacement (which too is unlikely to be entertained by the company).

So the lesson learnt; there no alternative to PDI in broad daylight. Time to get the doors repainted and move on. If that silver isn't the steel but the silver paint, then the OP also has choice to skip repainting to avoid any paint shade mismatch or sub par paint quality.

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

It is a serious affair if there is any structural damage and repair. Such situation may demand car replacement (which too is unlikely to be entertained by the company).

Actually, I’m concerned about this more than the colour.

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

If that silver isn't the steel but the silver paint, then the OP also has choice to skip repainting to avoid any paint shade mismatch or sub par paint quality.

Is there a way to determine if it's the steel or some paint? I'd definitely skip repainting if that's a safe option.

More than a solution to the colour mismatch, I'm trying to find out the cause. I want to ensure there is no structural damage.

The same issue can be found in many other hidden areas, which makes me think it's a factory issue.

Please see the attached photos of door hinges, boot lid hinges, and the sides of the engine bay. I'm sorry if it's hard to see but I've tried to markup them.

[Akshay6988]

Hi, I've the same paint defect (?) on my 2021 Creta's bonnet hinge. Here's the pic on lhs hinge
I think this is a factory robot paint process defect as I can't see this pattern anywhere else on my car.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

Is there a way to determine if it's the steel or some paint? I'd definitely skip repainting if that's a safe option.

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

The same issue can be found in many other hidden areas, which makes me think it's a factory issue.

To find out if it is a Silver paint or not, you can compare the shade with that in a Silver color Sonet, in the same area. Though the steel looks silvery, the Silver color on car will be quite distinct. This is a safer option than trying to scratch to see if there is a layer of paint.

And if this is indeed a factory issue, it is a bit of relief amidst this unpleasant surprise. There won't be a structural damage; not even a door replacement.

This could be a factory issue in one case. If the company took a Silver car and painted it black because of high demand + shortage of black color. If the company paints the BIW (Body In White), which is welded body without paint, they are unlikely to skip painting in any area.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

Is there a way to determine if it's the steel or some paint? I'd definitely skip repainting if that's a safe option.
More than a solution to the colour mismatch, I'm trying to find out the cause. I want to ensure there is no structural damage.

Can you try and see if it rubs off with a wet cloth or car wax? They could also be hard water deposits and they will be more obvious on a black car. Also, they are on the bottom portion of the doors where the water usually accumulates.

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by nitkel

Can you try and see if it rubs off with a wet cloth or car wax? They could also be hard water deposits and they will be more obvious on a black car. Also, they are on the bottom portion of the doors where the water usually accumulates.

I cleaned that area using ProKlear, it's the paint I think. Also, the car only had 3-4 washes and the water is not hard here.

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

To find out if it is a Silver paint or not, you can compare the shade with that in a Silver color Sonet, in the same area. Though the steel looks silvery, the Silver color on car will be quite distinct.

I'll try to visit the dealership to check with a silver car. The silver color is exactly the same as the one I see around the hinges and other hard-to-reach areas. Like the one @Akshay6988 showed on his Creta.

Update: The S.A just messaged me that he can check another black car and share a video of the same. From his words, It seems like he had seen this issue in many cars.

[MSC]

Hyundai and Kia being sister concerns, it is expected that both follow similar steps to cut costs.
This is the wheel well of my Venue. It absolutely doesn't has a drop of the body shade. Its just plain whitish/silverish primer like paint.
At the same time, Venue has a significant paint difference between the outside body, and inner sides of panel which are invisible to eye.

Wheel well




Paint difference between the inner and outer sides of the front fender



There has been absolutely nil tampering or damaging as the car was unloaded right in front of me from trailer at 6:30 pm and delivered to me next morning at 10am.

[shancz]

I doubt they'll repaint a glossy silver to black, not very competent on painting but wouldn't the black paint not bind well to the already glossy silver. They'd have to sand down the surface at least and then repaint which would make it more expensive than just producing a black car. Its not like they have any deadlines on car waiting period.

Cutting corners(literally in this case) to either reduce costs or speed up the production at factory is what it seems prima facie after reading through the above posts by other Hyundai/Kia owners.
A pretty bad way to do it and how did this pass their QC ?

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

Actually, I’m concerned about this more than the colour.

More than a solution to the colour mismatch, I'm trying to find out the cause. I want to ensure there is no structural damage.

Check with a paint depth measurement tool if you can source one. This will help determine if unable to do so visually. You don’t have to go into the crevices, the bottoms of doors should do. Other option will be to go to a FNG paint shop and ask whether the silver bits are painted well enough.

BTW these pictures of your car look as if they’ve been shot in the dark again. Others have been able to post much clearer pictures by now. Not sure if it’s the camera you’ve used, but daylight pictures will really be useful in others being able to help you with this issue.

See this post for reference:

Originally Posted by MSC

Paint difference between the inner and outer sides of the front fender

Attachment 2178161

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by VeluM

BTW these pictures of your car look as if they’ve been shot in the dark again. Others have been able to post much clearer pictures by now. Not sure if it’s the camera you’ve used, but daylight pictures will really be useful in others being able to help you with this issue.

I agree but I’m not able to get a good picture. Trust me, it’s really tricky. It’s a curvy spot and there’s a lot of reflection. It’s almost impossible to see this in daylight (maybe that’s the reason I didn’t notice it during the PDI). I saw this first when there wasn’t light and I was using a handheld LED lamp to finish the cleaning.

This shows up better under the light.

I absolutely understand the quality of the photos I shared are not so good, and I felt the same when I saw the photo of Venue shared by @MSC.

But I think the video I shared shows it better.

https://youtu.be/secPQOR66es

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by VeluM

BTW these pictures of your car look as if they’ve been shot in the dark again

Those pictures are shot in daylight but this defect shows up when the area is lit up. It’s very difficult to see in the daylight. Those are okay, but I’m just trying to show other areas with similar colour.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

Those pictures are shot in daylight but this defect shows up when the area is lit up. It’s very difficult to see in the daylight. Those are okay, but I’m just trying to show other areas with similar colour.

Just to reconfirm, have you checked similar areas on other door ? If its same, then you can be assured that nothing hanky panky was done at dealer end.

Moreover, the amount effort it took for you to notice this indicates that it's deliberate attempt by KIA to save paint area. That said, its not just KIA but most of the OEMs that do such 'optimizations' for cost cutting. Seems like KIA stretched it bit too much.

[Raghu M]

I doubt this could be a hit at the delivery center. This could not have been missed at the factory. It's just my speculation that the dealer might gotten a shabby paint job done. I would suggest you check this properly with them.

[Chetan_Rao]

Are we sure this isn't a case of cost-cutting by skipping painting non-visible surfaces, taken to an extreme?

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Just to reconfirm, have you checked similar areas on other door ? If its same, then you can be assured that nothing hanky panky was done at dealer end.

Yes, it's exactly in the same area on all four doors. However, the intensity is different. The driver-side door is almost fine, the rear-right door has the worse, that's the one in the video I shared.

Originally Posted by Raghu M

I doubt this could be a hit at the delivery center. This could not have been missed at the factory. It's just my speculation that the dealer might gotten a shabby paint job done. I would suggest you check this properly with them.

Yeah, I'm checking with them. They have contacted me just now and they were about to arrange a pickup to check and fix the car. But I'm not comfortable with the dealer pickups, and I don't want them to fix it without finding the root cause. So I'm planning to visit them asap, their body shop is 70kms away from my home.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Are we sure this isn't a case of cost-cutting by skipping painting non-visible surfaces, taken to an extreme?

From all these discussions, it looks like it could be. But, in that case, it should be there in all the cars, right?