Diagnostic Approach to Aesthetic Defects Caused by Blistering on Carbon-Look Components for the Sports Car Industry

This master's thesis was developed during a six-month internship within the Quality Department at Maserati’s Modena Plant. The work focuses on the analysis and evaluation of blistering, an aesthetic defect observed on painted carbon fiber components with a matte carbon-look finish of a specific model within the Maserati’s range, with the aim of identifying its root causes and defining effective corrective actions. The internship provided the opportunity to operate in an industrial context with high quality standards, collaborating with different company functions and deepening topics related to quality management, industrial processes, and structured problem-solving methodologies. The thesis includes an overview of the product and its production process, with particular focus on automotive coating systems and painting processes, providing the technical framework for the blistering case study. Regarding the case study, the incidence of blistering was initially evaluated across destination markets to identify potential correlations between defect occurrence and environmental exposure conditions during transport. Subsequently, a structured Root Cause Analysis was carried out using the 4M Method combined with the Ishikawa Diagram, quality tools employed to systematically identify potential root causes of the defect. During this analysis several activities were conducted, including accelerated tests under high-humidity conditions, the use of characterization techniques such as FT IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and SEM‑EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy paired with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy), along with an audit at the supplier’s painting line. These activities allowed the identification of the main root causes of the phenomenon and the definition of the corrective actions aimed at mitigating the occurrence of the defect.