Paint chips waaaay to easy

[AjaxUSA]

THis might be a re-hash, but I own 2 Mazdas, both 2008s. Mine is an MS3 GT and my wife's a CX9 GT. Mine is white, hers is brilliant black. As I was washing the cars this weekend, I noticed that not only is my MS3 chipped to hell already (1600 miles only!!!) but so is hers (5500 miles).

Is it Mazda making bad paint or is it industry wide with the new dumb @ss laws involving paints, stains etc... I had a 2003 1500 dodge ram quad cab. It had 50k + miles on it and the paint was almost perfect! I drove it from NY to Ft. Knox, drove around the back area of the base for a few days (nasty dirt roads) and NOT A THING. THe 2 Mazda's get driven around Long Island and a little of the borrows and they look like jr. was pelting them with a BB gun! what gives???

[oaklandopen]

yea there was another thread about this a while ago...i believe the popular stand was that mazda's clear is really not the best out there. i really wish i had the money to put into some 3m clear tape protectors, but alas cannot

[UHATEIT]

yes I would agree that the paint quality is very shitty for the MS3. Just putting on my front lip i clipped up the paint on the front bumper with absolute ease. Its like there is a finely thins layer coat of paint and thats it. It just chips away. So for those out there with cars that commute or you see the guys living in the backcounrty areas their front ends are all fucked up from tiny rocks. The paint is very thin and absolute crap on the front bumper of the ms3. as well as some other areas on the car

[AjaxUSA]

I smell "class action" coming soon... LOL

I have chips not just on hood and bumper, but even on the windshield pillars! My wife's CX9 is the same way...NOT GOOD.

Will any wax help this? ANd if so, how frequest does it have to be applied?

[whitespeedthree]

One reason paint could be peeling on ANY brand car is the fact that as of 2006 the United States government put and end to all lead in car paint. The result was paint from the factory becoming very soft and weak. I was told extra care must be taken these days to always keep fresh wax on your ride to compensate for the new found sh!t paint. Hope this helps.(rtfm)

[stockms3]

One reason paint could be peeling on ANY brand car is the fact that as of 2006 the United States government put and end to all lead in car paint. The result was paint from the factory becoming very soft and weak. I was told extra care must be taken these days to always keep fresh wax on your ride to compensate for the new found sh!t paint. Hope this helps.(rtfm)

You sir are corret they use so called economic paint now.

[UHATEIT]

fucking government(notcool)

[controlo]

yeah guys. it's every car. the only and best thing you can do is try your best not to tailgate people. and stay away from suspicious looking, rock hurling trucks. :) i have my fair share of chips even trying to prevent them. it sucks but you have to drive your car. :/

[bluelion]

i have only had my car since march and have a few chips on the front end....but when i realized i have shitty paint is when i noticed i have a rock chip on my ROOF!!!!

[AjaxUSA]

I was driving in to work this morning on the cross island parkway and they are ripping the road up to repave...I was crying cause all the guys in the lane next to me were flying! All there "rock wash" was bouncing off my front end...I cant even bring myself to look! How many MORE chips will we find.

Isnt there ANYTHING else to add to the paint to make it harder? Same happened to stains and poly's. HTey removed a chemical and now it's less durable. Lets all drink to "feel good laws"!

btw, thanks guys for responding.

[terbow]

I know i dont have a MS3, but i have the same problem. on top of it, my primer is black so u really see the chips.

the best thing you can do is get that 3m clear bra stuff applied. it wont get rid of the chips you have now, so u might need to get it fixed but its really good at stopping future chips.

[controlo]

I was driving in to work this morning on the cross island parkway and they are ripping the road up to repave...I was crying cause all the guys in the lane next to me were flying! All there "rock wash" was bouncing off my front end...I cant even bring myself to look! How many MORE chips will we find.

Isnt there ANYTHING else to add to the paint to make it harder? Same happened to stains and poly's. HTey removed a chemical and now it's less durable. Lets all drink to "feel good laws"!

btw, thanks guys for responding.

i feel the same way man. i hate the way people drive. i feel like they're out to get my car. hehe. :(

[serialtoon]

I have a rock chip on the top of the gas tank area. WEIRD, but its there.

[daonly1around]

blazing yellow MS3 in the future anyone?

[NCZ13]

blazing yellow MS3 in the future anyone?



As much as i tell people to wax your car often (1-2 times every 2 months at the least) wax will not prevent rock chips.

[redspeed3tk]

3 words water based paint.. almost all auto makers now use it and it just doesn't seem to have the same bite and flex that the solvent based paint has. i was told at Dupont school that the paint doesn't chip easly because of being "not hard enough" but that it chips from not being flexible. which the more expensive clears are more flexible and if you use the system that they recommend there is a chemical bite in between each coat to help prevent chips. but as they do with everything in a new car if you cant tell what its made of it means its cheapest stuff they could find aka oils, paints ect

[strytnyne]

yea i have alot of rock chips =( bought some touch up paint though

[ericrapp]

Just saw this. i seriously have a rock chip on my hatch. Right above the Mblem. Not one scratch and about 30 or forty chips. And no clear coat. right to metal, every one of them. They sent me touch up paint the third month or so! color does not match. Very strange.

[dominoy2k1]

thought waterborne wasnt in full use. only place i know that was using it is california. you cant even get it here in dallas. you sure all manuf are using it?



3 words water based paint.. almost all auto makers now use it and it just doesn't seem to have the same bite and flex that the solvent based paint has. i was told at Dupont school that the paint doesn't chip easly because of being "not hard enough" but that it chips from not being flexible. which the more expensive clears are more flexible and if you use the system that they recommend there is a chemical bite in between each coat to help prevent chips. but as they do with everything in a new car if you cant tell what its made of it means its cheapest stuff they could find aka oils, paints ect

[DeanSweet]

2003.5 Protege5 - Vivid Yelllow- speaking up for my crummy paint on it. Same deal, paint is way too thin. I now have 3 Mazdas, the older they are the better the nose looks(ed). '92, '01 and the '03

[controlo]

Just saw this. i seriously have a rock chip on my hatch. Right above the Mblem. Not one scratch and about 30 or forty chips. And no clear coat. right to metal, every one of them. They sent me touch up paint the third month or so! color does not match. Very strange.

thirty or fourty chips? sounds like your hatch got egged...

[ericrapp]

I drive alot of country roads and some punky flew past me on freshly stoned road I accidently turned down and as I tried to move off and flag him I hear the tickticktocktick of stones...etc. Really wanted to kill the kid, all tiny chips and no scratches or dents. sucks. alot.

[controlo]

I drive alot of country roads and some punky flew past me on freshly stoned road I accidently turned down and as I tried to move off and flag him I hear the tickticktocktick of stones...etc. Really wanted to kill the kid, all tiny chips and no scratches or dents. sucks. alot.

dang man. i'm sorry to hear about that.

[Silver Ecstasy]

Maybe i'm just getting older and less anal. Maybe it's because I can't spend as much time washing my car and detailing constantly, to obsess over the fact that all that hard work goes to waste when it rains, snows, or I get rock chips.

I've grown to accept that paint chips are just going to be a part of life. The MS3 particularly does sit on the rather low side of most cars, and it's just going to happen when you drive such a smaller, lower car.

Save your money on a clear bra, and put it towards a fresh new paint job in 5 years. The clear bras are just as annoying to keep clean and fresh, and don't forget that it won't stop a huge rock from ruining your bumper anyhow.

I share the passion of keeping your cars looking brilliantly clean, but it's one of those things only you will notice, so relax and worry about other things, like not getting pulled over for having too much fun!

[controlo]

Maybe i'm just getting older and less anal. Maybe it's because I can't spend as much time washing my car and detailing constantly, to obsess over the fact that all that hard work goes to waste when it rains, snows, or I get rock chips.

I've grown to accept that paint chips are just going to be a part of life. The MS3 particularly does sit on the rather low side of most cars, and it's just going to happen when you drive such a smaller, lower car.

Save your money on a clear bra, and put it towards a fresh new paint job in 5 years. The clear bras are just as annoying to keep clean and fresh, and don't forget that it won't stop a huge rock from ruining your bumper anyhow.

I share the passion of keeping your cars looking brilliantly clean, but it's one of those things only you will notice, so relax and worry about other things, like not getting pulled over for having too much fun!

i agree man. but it's easier said than done. haha.

i mean... the best you can do is try to prevent those things. things will still happen and it'll suck but atleast you tried. most things are out of your control.

my best advice is not to tailgate people and stay away from big trucks.

what's cool about this car is that people have a hard time cutting you off. all it takes is a downshift and they're not getting over.

[Spee-d3]

I have 3m clear bras on both my '04 cobra (5K miles) and MS3 (6K miles). Mostly interstate driving--zero chips on either cars. My miata had no clear bra and was peppered with chips within less than 5k miles in the same environment. Cost of clear bras (full coverage kits)= 500 bucks. Cost to properly paint match front end of miata= considerably more than 500 and its still not protected. Clear bras are more than worth their initial expense in my opinion. Just keeping the original factory paint intact for resale value outweighs their cost, again, my opinion.

[xxmikkoxx]

Its funny you bring this up because I'm have a problem with my Honda the clearcoat and cracking away and its 2 years old! lets not forget if you look at the front the wrong way the paint will chip as well lol...damn industry environmental standards!

Now that I think about it my PR5's paint was pretty solid...

About clear bras I had that installed on my Honda when I purchased it, I had to remove it in order to get the front end repainted since the clear is going, and I have to eat the cost to have it reinstalled. Its nice to have but I wont put it back I fear the clear will start to crack away even w/o it

Edit I hate my Honda....

[Boost'dBeta2]

Don't own a Mazda yet...but my wife drives an '08 CR-V, it was purchased new in November...has to be at least 20 chips in the front end of it...I have an '03 Tiburon...front end and hood look like a warzone quite possibly the worst paint in the hostory of mankind...I also have an '07 Acura TSX...which has fewer than both the others but a 3M clear bra was installed 2 months after I bought it. But on the TSX I have 3 or 4 large ones in the hood and even one on the roof where it meets the windshield.

[DaleNixon]

I used to obsessively check my old Protege5 for new chips after every drive. I'd cringe when I would wash the car and notice new paint chips. I was pretty skilled with the touchup paint.

I had rock chips everywhere, a shopping cart dent from wal-mart, a scrape down the passenger side door from a tree piece falling and sliding down my car 1 week after I got it, and a scraped rear fender from some jerk in a parking lot that required me to loosen a bolt and pop the fender out and bolt it back up.

I had the car looking perfect unless you got up close to survey the exterior blemishes.

Now that I have the MS3, I'm not going to worry as much. It was just a huge headache with the P5, and I drive on probably the worst roads in America.

The street my neighborhood connects to has been under construction for about 2 years (2 lane to 4 lane widening project). The interstate is constantly under construction. Big rigs flood our city streets and wreck havoc on the pavement.

I just can't win. Good thing I got the MS3 color I wanted least (True Red). I'll get it painted a sleeper color in a few years when it looks like the Bonnie & Clyde car!

[Silver Ecstasy]

I forgot to mention one thing too.

Even if Mazda covers the paint under warranty, most dealers' body shops will do a really half ass job, and you're right back in the same situation. And that paint job won't be anywhere near the strength of the factory paint. They arn't going to do an extra special job for you just because you had this problem, they'll just repaint that area and probably not even paint-match it.

My dad's been in auto body for the past 30 years. If anyone's allowed to paint my car, it's him. No one else can touch my car. He's absolutely amazing.

[Alexsered]

I want to paint my car matte black, I love the way that looks on cars, and no, i don't mean flat black, there is a difference there. The matte just looks sick and the flat looks cheap. But at least I don't have to worry about chips anymore, that stuff is durable.

[dominoy2k1]

I want to paint my car matte black, I love the way that looks on cars, and no, i don't mean flat black, there is a difference there. The matte just looks sick and the flat looks cheap. But at least I don't have to worry about chips anymore, that stuff is durable.


What's the difference? Both are the same dull color.

[Silver Ecstasy]

You mean the "murdered-out" look?

Rob Dyrdek's 07 Tahoe
http://i19.tinypic.com/6hee2s6.jpg

[controlo]

I want to paint my car matte black, I love the way that looks on cars, and no, i don't mean flat black, there is a difference there. The matte just looks sick and the flat looks cheap. But at least I don't have to worry about chips anymore, that stuff is durable.

dude, YES!

[controlo]

What's the difference? Both are the same dull color.

dude, NO!

[controlo]

i'd love to do a matte silver paintjob on my car. i posted a thread on it awhile back.

all they'd have to do is colorsand the clear off and reclear with BASF satin clear, i THINK.

i love matte paint jobs.

[ericrapp]

Check out Brabus Bullitt with matte black option. They also have a silver option

[controlo]

i know that there are single stage matte paints. but there is also a matte clear or you can just add a flattening agent to a gloss clear. so if i just recleared my whole car, i could make it matte. :) i wonder how much that would run me...