Wondering about the paint durability of the CX-5?? I noticed a small area pencil eraser size on my drivers side mirror that the paint has been knock off of. It seems to me if a rock or other hard object had done it I would have probably heard it hit. I do live in a rural area and the bugs are really bad at night. Unless you have seen it you can't believe how bad. Sounds like you are driving in the rain at times from the sounds of the bugs hitting. If a bug knocked the paint off, this vehicle will look like it was sand blasted in a couple of summers. By the way my CX is white.
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Paint??
- Thread starter Kyote
- Start date
I can't see Bugs hitting hard enough to take the paint off, but I could see them possibly etching the clear coat. We have a 2007 CX 7 that is in good condition after 70k miles(and a bunch of 2k mile trips). The front has some small chips and only a couple scratches that were there when we purchased the car(used). I have to believe that the CX 5 will hold up as well even though the rules on what kind of chemicals you can use in the paint have changed so drastically.
We've got paint protection kit for the entire front end and mirrors. Recently took a 600 mile trip. Washed car and found no damage except for on the hood near the windshield I noticed a really tiny chip. Not sure how that happened. After about 2-3 years I'm having a pro do only minor touch-ups as I'm pretty good with maintaining a car's paint job.
I've heard that pearl white paint is a bit thicker. If so great thats what we have.
I've heard that pearl white paint is a bit thicker. If so great thats what we have.
We've got paint protection kit for the entire front end and mirrors. Recently took a 600 mile trip. Washed car and found no damage except for on the hood near the windshield I noticed a really tiny chip. Not sure how that happened. After about 2-3 years I'm having a pro do only minor touch-ups as I'm pretty good with maintaining a car's paint job.
I've heard that pearl white paint is a bit thicker. If so great thats what we have.
White/silver cars make the paint chips less noticeable too since the color under the paint is light.
White/silver cars make the paint chips less noticeable too since the color under the paint is light.
Yeah on metal areas white/silver paint hides chips well since the metal underneath is silver.
However on plastic areas (like front bumpers) darker color paint tends to hide chips easier imo since the plastic under the paint in these sections are usually black.
Side note: CX-5 is cleaned/prepped waiting for me in the garage at home. Will lay Collinite 845 wax on it to protect the paint over the weekend. You guys should check it out its some good stuff!!!
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After some thinking on the matter. I or my wife noticed the ding after a trip to my dealer for the installation of the splash and bumper guards. I was given a complementary car wash after the work was completed. I asked the shop foreman to have the driver side mirror checked do to shake at highway speeds. I am not accusing the dealer but I am wondering if they might have been tapping on the mirror housing to try to duplicate the shake and possibly chipped the paint. It is a possibility but no way to know for sure. I really hope that is what happened and not from some lite road debris or bugs.
We've got paint protection kit for the entire front end and mirrors. Recently took a 600 mile trip. Washed car and found no damage except for on the hood near the windshield I noticed a really tiny chip. Not sure how that happened. After about 2-3 years I'm having a pro do only minor touch-ups as I'm pretty good with maintaining a car's paint job.
I've heard that pearl white paint is a bit thicker. If so great thats what we have.
What is the paint protection kit??
What is the paint protection kit??
I purchased Clearmask AR from http://www.clearmask.com/index2.php.
Bumper plus black grill piece= 144.92
Hood, fenders, and mirrors= 107.49
At time of purchase of both kits they had a special- free headlight, foglights, door edge protection, install kit. Also came with instructions on a DVD.
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- Mazda CX-5 Touring w/bose-tech
yeah i was washing mine a couple weeks ago and there were a couple chips in pax mirror housing from bugs i was scrubbing off...its extremely thin paint, there at least
I purchased Clearmask AR from http://www.clearmask.com/index2.php.
I am interested in your experience applying it youself. How did it come out?
I am interested in your experience applying it youself. How did it come out?
I rewinded and rewatched the install DVD until I was comfortable doing it. Highly recommend to have a 2nd person help you with large peices. My wife helped me. You need access to a garage. Car must be washed/cleaned.
I've installed only headlight kits on 3 cars before but never body kits. The product is thin yet offers good protection. Its an improved version of 3M film since its more invisible. The alcohol mix is used to apply the film to the paint once your satisfied with the placement. The soap/water mix provides lubrication when applying with a squeegee. Constantly spraying you fingers is a must.
The first peice we installed was the hood since I thought it would be easy. Wrong. This was very hard!! Start with something easy like the fenders for practice. We had to remove and redo the hood 3 times. There is a tiny cutout indicator to mark the center. Just couldn't get it right.
We took what we learned installing the hood to do the front bumper. Again the front bumpers were installed with 2 people and this time it was a perfect fit. I actually cut the front bumper peice in half then applied left first then right. Very good coverage area for front bumpers with this product. Took a 600 mile trip and zero chips. Very happy!!!
Mirrors. They provide maybe 45% coverage. Very poor. I know you're suppose to stretch the film but they could've just made the film larger. Did not fit right but installed anyways.
Fenders. Good coverage fairly easy to install.
Foglights. Full coverage easy to install.
Headlights. Hard to install. I have experience with headlights so I was able to install despite the odd shape of the CX-5 headlights by stretching and using my heat gun. 1st timers should hire a shop.
Door trim. CX-5 already came with door trim from dealer. I used the supplied door kit for my car instead. Very easy to apply.
Black grill peice above logo. Fairly easy to apply.
Final thoughts- Have to purchase bulk film to redo mirrors and I want to redo hood. Bulk film is cheaper than pre-cut film. But for under $300 we have 98% coverage of front bumper, 98% coverage headlights, 99% coverage foglights, 45% coverage mirrors, 95% coverage of lower hood section (I installed wrong) and 98% coverage frontal fenders.
Thanks for the update. I'm going to give it a shot. Shop wants $629.
Thats a decent price- but for what sections?
CX-5um, nice write up on your experience. I thought about trying this myself but decided against it for several reasons. Very little time these days to spend on the cars and when I do I need to spend it on the 66 Mustang GT or the 70 Mach I. Mine will be wrapped by a local shop when the car comes in, buried the cost in my loan that way. The shop does not use the kits, they wrap it themselves with large sheets and custom cut it. This will be the entire front end to include the entire hood. I went to the shop and looked at their work and was very impressed. The custom cuts made it nearly impossible to see. Hats off to all you folks with the skill and patience to do the job yourself! (first)
CX-5um, nice write up on your experience. I thought about trying this myself but decided against it for several reasons. Very little time these days to spend on the cars and when I do I need to spend it on the 66 Mustang GT or the 70 Mach I. Mine will be wrapped by a local shop when the car comes in, buried the cost in my loan that way. The shop does not use the kits, they wrap it themselves with large sheets and custom cut it. This will be the entire front end to include the entire hood. I went to the shop and looked at their work and was very impressed. The custom cuts made it nearly impossible to see. Hats off to all you folks with the skill and patience to do the job yourself! (first)
Thanks. Yes it took me the course of two days and lots of swearing to complete since I only kinda new what I was doing. As a matter of fact in the middle of the project I almost quit. In retrospect I 'd prefer bulk film for the mirrors and hood with a custom cut like you did.
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Thats a decent price- but for what sections?
Hood, bumper and mirrors with 3M. I thought it sounded okay, but decided to try installing myself.
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