Bleser

So my '06 TSX is at the dealer for a couple of things - the biggest being a mass quantity of rock chips on the hood and front of the fenders. I wasn't sure how open the dealer would be to fixing this under warranty... I guess I'll find out. I just said that it is covered with rock chips (they call it “hazing”), I don’t live on a rock road and I’ve had cars with 5x the mileage with half the rock chips. I’ll probably get a call later today to discuss.

Here's my question: what is the best fix? Have a professional touch them all up and then clear-bra it, or have the whole hood repainted? I hate to re-paint a brand new car, but I just think this will get worse and worse with its current paint job.

Thoughts?

nj2pa2nc

welcome to the club. the paint on the acura seems to chip easy. I also seem to have alot of rock chips on my 06 milano red tsx. The dealer gave me some touch-up paint. it seems to match very well but leaves a slight tell-tale sign. I agree it seems to get more rock chips than my 05 hyundai elantra and 05 honda civic. even with a clear bra which will help you still will get chips above where the bra ends. the only way to avoid them is to completely wrap it. I wish acura would have a more durable paint.

rb1

Honda's big on being green, and I've heard the paint process is chosen more because it's environmentally friendly than for durability.

(On the other hand, the paint on my VW Jetta suffered only 2 chips in 5 years )

Keeping a few car lengths between you and the the person in front of you will go a long way to reducing rock chips.

dereksmalls

Honda's have never had very durable paint. My 97 Civic took a beating with chips (either from gravel or even salt). Now I live in a place where they use gravel instead of trying to remove the snow. I've got the 3M stuff on the front of my hood, and it seem to do a decent job over the past winter, but even that stuff can get damaged if the impact is hard enough. You can also get that 3M stuff for your side mirrors, front bumper, headlights and fogs as well.

BAYAREATSX06

Touch up paint makes the job look blotchy so I would just get a new bumper for it...thats what I'm doing it costs less than repainting it:

http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...FACE_%28DOT%29

S14 n Tsx

Dealer isn't responsible for this...just live with it. We all go through same problem and nothing you can do. I personally won't recommend the touch up paint either because you are just going to make more mess. If you really want to fix that problem then get repainted and put clear bra.

jwood_06TSX

yea, but i'm like 99.99% positive that it does not come pre painted. So, in that case you almost may as well get it repainted!


PS: Its cheaper here http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

BAYAREATSX06

Yeah actually I just realized that this morning...damn

Bleser

Yep, as suspected the dealer took no responsibility. They gave me a conatact for a local guy that comes to you and repairs rock chips at a decent price. I'll look into that.

It didn't help my case that I had a couple rock chips in my windshield, too.

Daffunda

One nasty impact did nick the clear bra though, but hey, the clear bra took one for the team, so that the paint didn't. Eventually, the clear bra will be filled with holes.....

It's part of life.....unfortunately.....

1Louder

I had *some* success with this.

http://www.langka.com/chip-scratch-repair-c-21.html

The "Blob Eliminator" allows you to essentially work away the paint thats bulging over the surface to get it flat. My paint is metalic, and the problem seems to be that with the touch-up paint the quality of the "sparkle" varies. However it's better than just touch-up paint alone - expect it would be better with more solid colors. If you get it re-painted, several have mentioned difficulty with the color match on some colors (pearl white for example).

You may want to try the $40 DIY fix before dropping a lot on a hood repaint. When I asked my dealer how much to fix a 1/2" scratch in the bumper, they said $300.