Machine Gray paint durability

after the buffing horror of crystal soul red in another thread, I wanted to ask about the Gray paint that you can get on the CX5

Mazda charges an extra $300 for it, so regular Silver is cheaper, but how well will it hold up?

any experiences?
 
after the buffing horror of crystal soul red in another thread, I wanted to ask about the Gray paint that you can get on the CX5

Mazda charges an extra $300 for it, so regular Silver is cheaper, but how well will it hold up?

any experiences?

I read everywhere that the other colours arent much better. (Although many seem to agree that the other colours are slightly thicker/tougher than the red). It seems to be the case with many other manufactures as well. Seems to be do to with the fact that car paint these days are more environmentally friendly.

Im going to get PPF for the front of mine when I get it, as I do a lot of motorway driving.
 
the environmentally friendly thing is the use of water-based paints - they lay very flat with little orange peel or ripple too

but lots of manfs. (all??) use them now & they came out in the late 1990s - Mazda must have effed this up somehow
 
It is fine. Don't blame the paint, blame the detailer.

I have a machine grey CX-9 and had PPF applied and the car ceramic coated right after purchase. The guy at the shop said the paint was not thin at all - not like a Tesla - and thought it was similar to other cars.
 
Is there any real documentation of thickness of the Mazda paint? What is considered a good thickness of paint?
 
Methinks the machine grey is a problem.
I have it on my 2017 6.
It is less than two years old, has less than 15,000 kms on it (less than 10,000 miles), and gets driven mostly by my wife to Costco and Walmart.
It already has dozens of tiny chips (white spots) on the hood, front fenders, front window frame, etc.
It is not driven on the highway behind construction trucks or transports. Strictly suburban environment.
It has more chips in less than two years than my 17 year old Nissan Pathfinder has with 325,000 kms on it.
The paint also scratches incredibly easy. I accidentally put a scratch in it with my fingernail. It's ridiculous.
I know I should do something about it, but I just can't be bothered anymore. I just don't care.
I have fallen out of love with this car due to this issue, (as well as the way the rear rotors look after less than two years), and I don't get excited to drive it anymore.
If I have a short errand to run, I usually jump into the Pathfinder over the Mazda.
I'll probably get rid of it sooner than later. I'm already thinking of alternatives.
 
just to add my two cents...... I think the paint is to thin or soft......
I had a 99 ranger for 30 years, we have a couple of indoor cats ...
never had a scratch on the truck from them....... first time I brought
the cx5 home....... next morning , small cat claw scratches........
they came out with micro fiber and polish , with little pressure, but
has happened several other times now... So, now I cover the hood
with a light but strong blanket .. after it cools............
No problems since.......... whew......

OH, forgot , I have the white snowflake paint........
 
My 2018 Touring with Machine Gray is getting chips on the hood but otherwise holding up good. Been using Dr Color Chip with good success. Would have to agree that I have had more *white spot* chips in 9 months than I did on my 2014 Mustang after 4 years.
 
My 2018 Touring with Machine Gray is getting chips on the hood but otherwise holding up good. Been using Dr Color Chip with good success. Would have to agree that I have had more *white spot* chips in 9 months than I did on my 2014 Mustang after 4 years.

Japanese paint.

My light blue 2015 had the same issues. At did my 370z and infiniti.
 
I was going to buy the Machine Gray, it's my favorite color, but I bought the Silver instead because I was afraid of scratches and chips. BTW, the Silver gets the same scratches, they are just less noticeable.

Mazda's unique paint technologies
Mazda's unique paint technologies that significantly reduce emissions of polluting gases

https://www.mazda.com/en/innovation/technology/env/other/paint_tech/

technology_env_other_paint-tech_3rd-row_img.ts.1602150248471570.jpg


IMHO the clear is too soft and too thin, I always used a 2 part urethane clear coat and used three good coats of clear. Here's a picture of the my hardtop I painted for my 2003 Miata. You can scratch it with a key and I can wet sand and buff it out. The OEM clear is so thin if you barely scratch it, it goes all the way down to the primer. If you touch it up, you have to be REAL careful when you wet sand it even with 2000-2500 grit paper, or you will cut through the clear.

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It's a car...chips happen. No way I would spend another $1k to adds some protection that might only last 5-7 years. I like a new vehicle, yes, but normal wear over the life of it does not bother me.
 
It's a car...chips happen. No way I would spend another $1k to adds some protection that might only last 5-7 years. I like a new vehicle, yes, but normal wear over the life of it does not bother me.

Yeah, but when rust happens it can get expensive fast. I had a 2010 Jeep, bought in 2014 that had some rust that was starting in on the roof line where a rock hit. Cost me $300 to fix it. The CX5 rusts just as easily. Also, headlights. Wrap those bad boys and preserve the clearcoat and thus quality of headlight performance.
 
Japanese paint.

My light blue 2015 had the same issues. At did my 370z and infiniti.

New member here.

Dont feel too bad about the Japanese paint. I think many manufacturers are struggling to maintain quality and performance with modern paints. I suspect its due to environmental compliance but I dont know how much cost controls are also playing into it.

I will say that my new-ish Chevy Colorado (black) also has a very soft clear coat. It chips badly, too. After dealing with that monster for a few years and realizing how badly modern paint performs compared to my last truck from the mid-2000s which truly had excellent paint, I decided to nip the problem in the bud and had a ceramic paint sealant applied to my wifes new CX-5.

Yes ... the sealants are expensive and you have to find a truly skilled installer... and they require a little bit of maintenance... but its just a personal decision about how good you want the vehicle to look, and for how long.
 
I have a 2018 CX-9 in MGM. I don't regret my colour decision, I love the way it looks, especially in the sun. But, like most (all?) paint found on modern Japanese cars, it's not very durable. I have PPF on a portion of my hood, and the protected portion looks good up close. The unprotected portion closer to the windshield, not so much. I've got a dozen tiny chips just on half of the hood. To be fair, I do take it on road trips, and I did drive it in Calgary, AB for the first year I had it (lots of highway driving). I also noticed a couple of odd paint chips in the roof after washing the car the other day. Doesn't bother me because you don't see any of these chips unless you're looking for them, and its also a car I drive every day, so I know it's going to see a lot of wear. I'm just glad I don't have any door dings (yet).

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My 2018 Touring with Machine Gray is getting chips on the hood but otherwise holding up good. Been using Dr Color Chip with good success. Would have to agree that I have had more *white spot* chips in 9 months than I did on my 2014 Mustang after 4 years.

Would you mind posting some up close pictures of the chip repairs on your hood? I just want to see how they came out. I'm considering Dr. Colorchip since the OEM paint pens don't match for s***. Thanks.
 

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A couple of comments about the Machine Gray paint on my new CX 5: I washed the car yesterday and wanted to "clay" it before applying wax. I used one of the Mothers Speed Clay 2.0 tools rather than the traditional clay bars. The factory paint was very smooth with hardly any contaminants. Previously the car received one hand wash by me and the dealer prep wash when I bought it and I doubt they clayed the car.

I also got a paint chip on the hood. I tend to stay way back from dump trucks and cement mixer trucks as they are known offenders in dropping rocks behind them. I was about 50 yards behind a cement truck, changed lanes to pass and as I was overtaking him WHACK a stone bounced off the hood and also put a tiny chip in the glass. GRRRRRRRR....

I bought the Dr. Colorchip kit. I followed the directions implicitly. I thought about using some 2500 wet/dry on the chip area first as it was a little jagged around the edges but was afraid to do that.
The kit worked as advertised regarding leveling out the paint (I used three thin coats to build up the height in the chip) but the paint color was not a good match. Yes, I stirred and shook it up well but the repaired spot is noticeably darker in color.

One tip is to forget the use of a latex gloved finger to smear the paint over the chip. I used one of those little silicone squeegee wedges that come with most cell phone screen protector kits. Worked like a charm.
 
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after the buffing horror of crystal soul red in another thread, I wanted to ask about the Gray paint that you can get on the CX5

Mazda charges an extra $300 for it, so regular Silver is cheaper, but how well will it hold up?

any experiences?

That was the fault of an amateur hour detailer, not the paint.
 
I can tell you the silver is much more durable on the silver than it is on the red. I can*t tell you about the grey but it is a similar application process.
 
This thread is of interest to me. Picking up my brand new 2019 3 tomorrow in machine grey. Having protex protection film applied on the entire hood and roof of the car as well as a portion of the bumper and headlights.

Seems like its a mixed opinion on the paint quality. I'm expecting typical Japanese car quality but I'm hoping for better.
 
The
A couple of comments about the Machine Gray paint on my new CX 5: I washed the car yesterday and wanted to "clay" it before applying wax. I used one of the Mothers Speed Clay 2.0 tools rather than the traditional clay bars. The factory paint was very smooth with hardly any contaminants. Previously the car received one hand wash by me and the dealer prep wash when I bought it and I doubt they clayed the car.

I also got a paint chip on the hood. I tend to stay way back from dump trucks and cement mixer trucks as they are known offenders in dropping rocks behind them. I was about 50 yards behind a cement truck, changed lanes to pass and as I was overtaking him WHACK a stone bounced off the hood and also put a tiny chip in the glass. GRRRRRRRR....

I bought the Dr. Colorchip kit. I followed the directions implicitly. I thought about using some 2500 wet/dry on the chip area first as it was a little jagged around the edges but was afraid to do that.
The kit worked as advertised regarding leveling out the paint (I used three thin coats to build up the height in the chip) but the paint color was not a good match. Yes, I stirred and shook it up well but the repaired spot is noticeably darker in color.

One tip is to forget the use of a latex gloved finger to smear the paint over the chip. I used one of those little silicone squeegee wedges that come with most cell phone screen protector kits. Worked like a charm.

I have not noticed the Dr Colorchip OEM MGM color being darker. I will post some pictures, but need to read up on how to do it in this forum :)
 
FWIW Im shopping for a 2017 CX-5 in machine gray and have looked at about 4 in person and neither had a chipping problem. There was one with a couple chips, but the rest were flawless. And Im talking 18-30k mileage specimens. I inspect closely due to these threads, but am not at all worried about buying a machine gray.
 
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