Mattel Disney Pixar CARS: The Apple CAR Alert
Al of MiceChat was looking over his Speedway of the South set and noticed a disaster in the making (not his doing obviously).
The paint is FLAKING OFF.
The basic diecast process is that after the metal bases are “flashed,” (polished), they are cleaned and spray painted, dried and water labels applied, dried again and then a protective clear coat is applied. Something has gone wrong.
Since all CARS of that era presumably got the same clear coat, it seems we can eliminate that as a cause.
So, I went to take a look at mine, hoping the same wasn’t happening but I did discover something else weird … “paint rash,” for lack of a better description. I fiddled with the contract and color so you can see it a little more clearly. It’s not 100% obvious but if you look, there are pin-prick like paint rashes in several spots across my Apple CAR.
Now, I cannot say 100% that it was not there in 2008 but I think I would have noticed – as you all know, the quality of the 36 Piston Cup racers when released seemed beyond reproach – unlike most typical retail releases – the 36 Piston Cup racers in the MSOS set seemed to be extra detailed and special. I cannot say 100% certain but I find it hard to believe I would have missed the “rashes” back then.
The clear coat on mine is still smooth and buttery. If you close your eyes and run the fingers along the places with the paint rash, it’s still smooth … is it just for now?
Arggh.
So, walk or run to your MSOS Apple CAR – what do you think?
I made a call to the Grand Poobah of CARS, Martin A. who think it’s a pigment/paint issue – that it was the too much lead-not enough lead era and the paint was not up to par.
I looked at the only other two CARS that are mostly white, Duff Wrecks and Antonio Veloce Eccellente and they look normal – normal production nicks and anomalies but nothing obvious like a paint “rash.” And no other CARS from that era before or after seem to be exhibiting that malady AND since white was rarely used – it seems they made a batch just for the MSOS Apple CAR and it’s gone/going bad?
So, go look at yours and report in – does yours look perfect? Fine? Flaking? Rashy? Any other symptoms?
(Just to note, mine was in a case sitting in a room out of direct sunlight – again, no other CARS with any issue. I keep the rest of my MSOS still in its box so also note if yours was/is in the original box? On a shelf?)
Send me pics – metroxing (at) gmail.com.
Thanks for the heads up, Al.
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1 September 2015
11 Comments
My vote is still bad paint although all of the above comments are also true as well. If is was bad castings any other character that used that same body style would have that same issue put I can’t remember if any other racers or characters used that same casting as it’s been years since I headed up the Line.
I just feel bad for all the Collectors out there who are going to lose the value on something that really shot up in value quickly. Remember, Mattel had issue with paint at the time and this racer is the ONLY white one which means the vendor could have lowballed the pigment hence it’s failing by either cracking or bubbling underneath the clear coat.
Bummer either way, it’s a lose, lose situation.
Just checked my 2. One is out on display with all the cars fully set up and the other is packed away in the original box that I take out to check from time to time. Both appear to be ok and still silky smooth. Hope they stay that way. Checked the others too. They seem alright.
My MSOS set has been packed away since about November of last year. We moved back from Germany to NC and our current house doesn’t have a good spot to display it. Previously it was always displayed out of direct sunlight. My Apple CAR looks like its starting to have the same issue. I can see crack lines in the finish along the roof and the back spoiler similar to the above pictures but not nearly as bad. The date code on the bottom is 2847 EA.
My apple car also has what appears to be early” lifting” of paint on windshield and front bumper. It is stored in its display case out of sunlight. Awful if this will get worse.
I found this paper online, it gives some ideas and such on potential causes:
http://bit.ly/1JKX0el
The relevant quote:
“Very small levels of some elements have a severe effect on casting quality and may affect the long term performance of the alloys. Lead, tin and cadmium are typical of these; being controlled down to a maximum of 50 ppm or less in zinc alloys. The grain structure of a zinc alloy allows these elements to sit at the grain boundaries. If one or more of these elements is present above the maximum specified in the standard then certain conditions (warm with high humidity) will promote inter granular corrosion within the casting. This is engendered by the formation of a minute galvanic cell stimulating the zinc to sacrifice itself at the grain boundaries. The effects in severe cases of this can be catastrophic evidenced by the total collapse of the casting structure – effectively converting the casting to oxide dust.
In less severe cases corrosion stress cracks are formed promoting premature part failure in service. The presence of these impurities is often indicated by hot shortness cracks during casting.
If my comment above ever gets moderated, it explains what the issue may be.
why are the series of silver dots way crooked on that one (on the deck lid very top photo)? I understand the paint is peeling, but would it also cause graphics to ‘shift’?
-John
I’ll go with bad metal. Occasionally in the zinc die-casting process, the metal isn’t mixed well or hot enough and if the body was made too soon after turning on the melt-pot, the resulting casting can get rotten after time. This used to happen a lot (like 100% of the time) with cheaper Zamac castings in the 1950’s and 60’s, and still occurs occasionally on toy trains from Lionel, etc.
I’ve talked with BMW (member not the car) about this problem. And it is definitely not an isolated case. My guess as to the cause is that the underside of the casting is not painted at all. allowing exposure to air & humidity. Leading to oxidization of the pot metal (zinc alloy). Which can lead not only to a separation of the paint. But the possibility of the metal itself becoming more brittle.
+1 to the moisture issue too. Zinc castings can actually “grow” a kind of crusty oxidation if they aren’t properly created. At that point, the casting is pretty much shot.
The emperor has no clothes.