Have owned a white 2001 CL-S since July 2000. Love the car, but my dealer and I are in a huge disagreement over the paint.

Have water spots all over my car...if I don't have it detailed at least twice a year (dealer is telling me to buff/wax 3 times/yr now) my car looks like it has spots/streaks all over. The dealer is tellling me that this is acid rain, but my previous car was a 89 Prelude driven in 3 large metro areas for 6 years with a spot-free exterior (waxed regularly by me). I know no other Honda/Acura owners with this problem, including early 2000 TL owners.

What's worse, the paint is now peeling just underneath where the trunk latches to the back bumper (not visible unless you open the trunk).

They have offered to bring out a factory rep to look at the paint, and of course want to fix the peeling before the rep arrives.

I need advice, quick!!

 

my car was repainted right before i bought it cause the clearcoat was too thin or something, and the paint oxidized, so it's not a new phenomenon

 

u mean this???...

 

Acura paint flat out sucks! I know people argue that the paint on all new cars is bad due to EPA regulations etc., but I really believe that the Acura paint is horrible. Just add it to the list of CL problems......tranny, brake rotors, paint.......

 

The only way you can get Acura to do anything with the paint is if it is too thin or uneven. They have a device that can check the density of the paint..

 

any detailer should have this device...i forget what it's called, but it's a pen-shaped magnet where the cover sheeth has measurements on em...once the magnet lets go, that's how thick it is...Acura paint is thinner than most others b/c of amount of layers of paint used...we have a 3-coat/1 bake process...many German/European paint jobs are in the 4-6 coat/3+ bake processes...plus the baking temperature differences...i believe Acura uses a low temp bake for "total curing"...other makers bake at extremely high temps for the same purpose...my baby has a couple underspray spots covered by the clearcoat, like on the side mirrors and the passenger side rear quarterpanel just below the rear side fixed window

little offtopic...many people say Acura paint sux and that paintjobs like BMW and MB r awesome...i personally disagree b/c the "awesome" paintjobs still use the water-based paint, they just have more layers/bakings to LOOK better...fact is water-based paint is water-based paint, and it is very much weaker than the old urethane-based industrial strength paint that'll outlast the car perhaps with the new GE Lexan SLX body panels with scratch-resistant technology, the color, luster, and brilliance will b taken up a few notches

 

From someone on the inside, visited a PPG plant in Canada.

"A plant I worked at manufacturers OEM paint for GM, Honda, Chrysler, Toyota and Mitsubishi. All of the Honda base paints were water/latex based. Honda's clearcoat was solvent based. Honda's clearcoat is a very expensive product and was subject to strict QC and production restraints (dedicated equipment, heavy documentation, etc...). Honda's clearcoats are extremely sensitive to contamination and formulation problems. They also have a short shelf life (the clear coat begins to gel). You are basically covering up mediocre latex paint with a high end clear coat. If the clear coat fails, the paint is toast. If the clear coat works, it looks great, has a nice shine, deep color. Solvent paints are older technology, not environmentally friendly, but work well. Application of the paint is extremely important in determing the final quality. $1000/gallon paint is worthless unless applied correctly.
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Superior Honda Paint formulations mean nothing if Bubba the operator does not follow them correctly. Dirty totes + dirty process vessels + improper raws = bad paint. Does not matter if it says Honda on the container."

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