[SS-Traveller]

Update: I received another call from MSIL this morning (it's a Sunday), offering me a discounted cost of ₹9,000 for the rust repair and painting without changing the door. And a second call in the evening, asking me to hold off the repairs for some more time.

Too late, sorry MSIL.

Frustrated about the whole thing, having lost my patience completely, and taking @Jeroen's advice:

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Take the doorcard of and check on the inside. If it is wet inside, it is not a paint issue as such.

I decided to dismantle the door card and check the inner cavity, apprehensive of what I might find. Visited my favoured FNG and had him take the "gattha" (as it is called locally) off and inspect.









The factory-installed plastic sheet was intact, so I let it be. Removed the speaker to inspect the inside of the cavity, and there was no rust - it was dry as a whistle. No wetness, no muck, no chemicals, no acids, nothing!



With the door card off, the rust under the door did not look so terrible after all. It was all surface rust. What looked like perforations in the pictures were actually bubbles of paint and rust flakes.





Started to scrape off the rust on the sill, and that too turned out to be surface rust. No major pitting and no perforation at all, whether on the sill or under the door. Even had the rubber beading (locally called "gola") removed to inspect the area under it. All fine there too.



Applied a thin coat of Tufkote Converust RC800 (bottle visible in picture above), (actually a thick coat that was wiped down with a rag) to all the areas where paint damage was seen and rust was showing through. For good measure, a little rust converter was also applied to the door cavity (yeah, I love treating cavities ), though there was no visible rust there.





Now for the rust converter to dry for 12–24 hours. Tomorrow morning, I'll check and apply another coat to the area. The present coating has already turned black. And on Tuesday, I'll complete the repair process by having the door card removed again, and have the area painted in a shade-matched Prime Stargaze or Nexa Blue or whatever it is called. Please stand by for that final finish.

So it IS definitely a paint issue that even paint experts from Axalta or Nerolac have failed to explain - never mind my limited knowledge of the chemistry of car paints. At this point, I am just upset that this had to happen and MSIL didn't own responsibility, but it turned out not to be a major job, and certainly did not warrant a door replacement as advised at MSM Okhla.

[Mr.Wanderer]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Steps to follow:
Removal of superficial rust as much as possible.
Application of rust converter.
Primer
Paint
If inner panels then after paint an anti-rust and cavity protection coating.

Noted. I will make sure the body shop will adhere to above mentioned procedures. Does any one know a good body shop in Bangalore? and if the rusted panel is repainted already is it good idea to peel the old paint layer and repaint?

[dass]

Originally Posted by Mr.Wanderer

Noted. I will make sure the body shop will adhere to above mentioned procedures. Does any one know a good body shop in Bangalore? and if the rusted panel is repainted already is it good idea to peel the old paint layer and repaint?

Depending on where in Bangalore you are located, look up Kriti car care. Run by a Bhpian and has pretty good reviews.

[Mr.Wanderer]

Kriti car care is located on the other side of bangalore. I am located in BTM. Any other nearby trusted bodyshops would be helpful.

I am bit worried about selecting the body shops due to my past experiences. Although the paint job looked great while receiving the car after repaint, the imperfection shows up gradually after an year.

[shancz]

Quite unfortunate and surprising. My last view of rusting was with the Padmini, Ambassador, Maruti 800 and some Mahindras of later years with the lone modern day examples being an Amaze and another Tata car(can't recall the model) which was shared on the forum.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

How many Team-BHP members can report rusting in a similar area which has never been damaged or repainted? And if this is not a manufacturing defect, what is it?

I haven't seen any in our 2016 40k kms wagonR.
This is unusual for any car and especially a Maruti. Their argument of external compound corrosion happening on only one door defies common sense and this is the point MSIL have chosen to overlook.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

So it IS definitely a paint issue that even paint experts from Axalta or Nerolac have failed to explain - never mind my limited knowledge of the chemistry of car paints.

Expert is one of the most overused and abused words in today's times
While I can see why they claim some external acidic reaction as the cause but they failed to check if something during the painting process could've caused it.
A compound which got exposed and reacted when it came in contact with water ? Point being that the questions were substantive enough to trigger a repair under warranty for their NEXA customers.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

At this point, I am just upset that this had to happen and MSIL didn't own responsibility, but it turned out not to be a major job, and certainly did not warrant a door replacement as advised at MSM Okhla.

This is the sad part. MSIL had been known to resolve issues through their escalation matrix and incidents like these definitely dent their reputation. I hope they they realize that the "fuss-free ownership experience" is as important as their fuel efficiency numbers for their sales.


Waiting for the final pictures

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by shancz

Waiting for the final pictures

So that's the final result:





Cost me far less than what MSM and MSIL had quoted (about 20% of their discounted quote), no door replacement needed, and I am quite confident that rusting would not recur in that particular area in the future (or at least till the time I shall continue to own the car).

At the end of the saga, however, I find I have wasted a lot of time and effort trying to chase after MSIL to own responsibility, trying to pinpoint why the rusting occurred, and trying to get them to do a good repair job. I do not think I have the ability to fight a giant corporate entity that not only refused to acknowledge their fault, but tried to make a smart profit out of me by telling me that the door requires replacement, and quoting me 'discounted' prices for repair that are astronomical.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Cost me far less than what MSM and MSIL had quoted (about 20% of their discounted quote), no door replacement needed, and I am quite confident that rusting would not recur in that particular area in the future (or at least till the time I shall continue to own the car).

Looks good and I share the same opinion
Door replacement only meant an attempt to fleece.
If I think about it that repair shouldn't have costed more than 3-4k at worst. But knowing MSIL's "top dealers" I won't be surprised at anything.
But the worst part was MSIL being in on this. That was surprising and has dented their image in my books.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

At the end of the saga, however, I find I have wasted a lot of time and effort trying to chase after MSIL to own responsibility, trying to pinpoint why the rusting occurred, and trying to get them to do a good repair job. I do not think I have the ability to fight a giant corporate entity that not only refused to acknowledge their fault, but tried to make a smart profit out of me by telling me that the door requires replacement, and quoting me 'discounted' prices for repair that are astronomical.

Hats off to your effort but this is something I can't do. Hence MSIL used to be at the top end of my list owing to their image which isn't anymore.
The only saving grace they have is spares availability and existence of MASS.
This also shines a light on why Maruti needs a mindset change before entering the premium segment.

[scorpian]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

So that's the final result:
.

I would strongly recommend you wax these areas and the entire car to further create a thin barrier between direct contact of water.

A good quality wax should suffice.

[Mortis]

I also had to repaint pretty much my full Dzire this year when it was little over 5 years old. Lots of rust in the nooks and crannies of most of the panels. Got the usual crap from Maruti about "coastal area" and bad water etc so I got it painted my usual painter anyways because my previous experience with Marutis painting was crap even after complaining and getting the panel repainted twice.

[vinmechanic]

More than half of the paint problems occur due to inadequate surface preparation before painting. Your case is unusual, your entire car is rust free except the part of the door seal. there may be a possibility that this part may have been damaged during production and not reworked properly. Manufacturers always cut corners to meet the delivery deadline. In any case, Maruti dealer/company executive should have taken an ownership of this issue. Continue keeping an eye on that reworked patch. Repaints are successful only when you strip the painted surface to the bare metal and apply the paint.

[scorpian]

Adding another rust proofing method.
Use of cavity wax. Can be done by self at home.
Here's the link.

Deal of the day: tuf-kote® Dinitrol 3852 Penetrant - Cavity Wax Vehicle Rust Prevention,Corrosion Protection, Stops Existing Rust, Aerosol Spray 400ML https://amzn.eu/d/3PHxoL0

This can be used to spray from the bottom of the door in to the rain water drainage holes to coat the inner surface providing additional rust prevention.

[KL20]

It appears from the pictures that the door alignment is causing paint chipping and rusting at the contact point. It might be worth inspecting the door hinges for any misalignment or looseness.