sc354

I noticed that the TL-S paint in general is a very soft compound. This results in many scratches and stone chips all over the body. Today I bent down near the car, and the tip of my glasses caught the pillar parallel to the a-bar on the windshield, and it left a nice white scratch. What the hell is wrong with our paint? It wasn't a jagged edge that hit the car, and I put hardly any pressure on the car. I spoke to the Acura dealer, and the service manager stated that he drives an '01 Odyssey, and he finds the same thing happens with that?

is there a product we can add on top of the paint to not only restore and protect the shine, but to protect it from future knicks and scratches?

thanks guys.

@cUr@-TL

yeah the paint on acura suck. i need 1500$ to get my bumpers and hood painted...




@cUr@-TL

fsttyms1

yea me too!
as far as something to put on to help protect it. NOPE. as far as i can tell from my knowledge painting they didnt prep very good (not a good enough etching primer and not enough clearcoat) i repainted my front bumper once and it held up alot better than the factory job. i need to respray my hood so im going to do my bumper while im at it to make the car look NEW again

Ianbiz3

paint does suck on acura and its only 2 coated.

i and get my freind to give me another clear coat would this work on preventing chips and sh!t like dat

fsttyms1

it would help a little, part of the problem is the base, it doesnt bond to the metal real good thats part of the cause of the chipping

thsiao

The paint on our Acuras suck. I had a manufacturers paint problem that got fixed and then I had another one that I spotted a couple of months after the purchase (black lines inside the coating). I took it to a paint specialist and was told that it was not worth repainting the bumper for that. Why the hell does the pain suck so badly to begin with? All those damn scratches are proof.

SK2003TypeS

Worst paint I've ever had to deal with so far. I've had Nissan and Volvo with less maintenance and better luck. My hood has lots of nicks.
As far as "added" protection, another layer of clear may help a little (if done correctly).
Also, anyone look into the Armourglove, Xpel or anything similar ? If you get a lot of nicks and dings on your front end from highway driving, it may be worth looking into. It's something you probably want to get done professionally since it's a rather involved process. I know a guy with a Lex roadster that got his front end done for like $1000.

`ill*tl

I thought putting too many clear cloats on our or any car is bad?

fsttyms1

NO. well unless you went overboard and had like 15 20 coats. that would be bad- unless you planed on wetsanding and buffing the living he!! out of it i usually put 3-5 coats of clear on. i put 5 on if i plan on wetsanding and buffing. 3-4 if i dont plan on wetsanding. the problem with our paint is the primer. i dont know if acura diped the metal for there etch or if they included it in there primer(im thinking the later) it doesnt etch to the metal causing a not very good bond.

Tom Blasing

Any car I've ever had never stood up to highway road-rash. One of the first things I bought for this car was a nose mask.

SK2003TypeS

fsttyms1, what's your process/materials for doing the clear yourself ?

fsttyms1

if i were to just spray more clear over the existing to add more? i would wetsand with 600-800 grit to prep the existing clear. then i would spray right on top of that. i personally HATE (im really empasizing on the word HATE) PPG i dont like the way there product sprays! i use Dupont and Akzo Nobel (lessonal, sikkens) cheaper than dupont same quality.

scottiew

Repainting your nose really hurts the resale value

fsttyms1

and why would that be?

SK2003TypeS

fsttyms1, kool, thanx for the tip.

fsttyms1

any time!

scottiew

fsttyms1,

Maybe because people think it was in an accident. I'm not sure if the applies to all situations but I tried to sell my Z06 at CarMax and they gave me an insulting price for it and said the front was painted.

I assume the horrible price was due to the nose being painted. I bought the Z06 used and know I didn't paint it so maybe it was bs. The horrible price might have been a combo of things but I think generally a paint-job hurts the value. If I'm wrong please let me know

Scottie

fsttyms1

it should only affect the value if it was in a accident.

scottiew

Yes but is it easy to prove either way?

fsttyms1

easy to prove that it was in a acident or repainted? you are supposed to disclose if it was in a accident but if you never were and you had it repainted you shouldnt have to disclose that. if the body shop is good it should be hard to tell if it was repainted

scottiew

Yeah that's right. I forgot it was required to be disclosed hehe. And you are right if you get a good body shop it will be hard to tell.

copland007

Also add to the exterior the sand blasted windshield. I'm going to have to replace my windshield sooner or later. My icescraper even left three large scars in my windshield, WTF!!!

I ditto what everyone is saying about the paint chips, it plagues the car. But it isn't just Acuras, there were laws changed regarding not using any oil based paints. So cars from recent years now all have water based paints which is obviously more prone to chip

The StonGard kit is a great choice, my roommate has it on his TSX. It's something you need to get before you take delivery of the car really. Once you drive away and get that first rock chip it'll be there forever if you put StonGard over it. Sure you can touch it up, but it'll still be there.

Any of those clearbras kits are great, they all use the same 3M material. I looked at a bunch, and the kit from StonGard had the best coverage with the least amount of relief cuts in the pattern. If you go through your dealer it should only cost ~$600, if you contact a StonGard representative yourself it usually costs $100 or $200 more.

njtls

yeah..you guys should just get a clear bra if it bothers you so much...i personally havent experieces chipping..not that i drive my car that much...but bugs..i get alot of dead bugs...im thinking aobut eh clear bra

2001TL4KCdude

if you think ours is bad, you should own a Mazda MPV. It scratches when you stare at it funny

fsttyms1

DRDDA

a

fsttyms1

b

Mr Hyde

Listen up guys, the soft paint is not an issue with just ours cars, or just Acura. ALL new cars have issues with their paint being much softer than years ago. The reason being that EPA regualtions have caused major changes in paint formulation making them water based for newer cars that have made the paints softer than they used to be which is affecting ALL major mainstream car manufacturers.

Acura/Mercedes/BMW/Nissan/Lexus/Toyota; all the owners of newer cars have noticed the same problem in comparison with the paint of their older models they may have owned or traded in. My older Accord, Volvo all have tougher paint, but they were painted using older paint formulations.

While auto manufacturers specify painting processes and specific colors, they dont make the paint, or even mix it themselves. companies like Dupont do.

The Soft paint is not an Acura issue, its a paint issue that we will all have to live with until newer more durable formulations are found which have less of an environmental impact. Till then proper hand washing, detailing, sythethic polishes/sealants and avoiding automated car washes will be the best way to protect your finish from chips, swirls, and scratches. Clearbras like X-pel are also an option for protection.

scottiew

Good info That is more comforting.

copland007

I hear an echo

fsttyms1

thats not necessarily true. the paint i use is much stronger than the paint that is on the car and its the same as what the manufactures use or can use.. the manufacturers are using less paint to cut costs and the etch they used to use on the bare metal is a toxic material thet they are getting away from using. the etch i use bonds the paint to the metal better than whatever acura used. thats half the problem. when the paint is impacted (by a rock) it pulls away from the base which doesnt have a good bond to the metal. the other half is that they dont use enough material like i said before (cutting costs?)

Mr Hyde

Actually, so do I.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ght=soft+paint

Monte TLS,MAX

i agree many owners in many froums complain, I know the Maxima has this issue as well as the 350 and many of them haev complained and the Max guys tried to put together a class action. My 03 Max has chips on it and scratches easy so does my 350 my wifes TLS did as well until I sold it to my brother 3 weeks ago.

groebuck1

I can see how that affects US made cars - but my 02 Maxima was built in Japan - where the EPA has no authority...and that paint was horrible too - there were places on my hood where the paint came off to the bare metal!

ruacop2

Repeat

Clear bras are the way to go these days with the paint issues we are having today. StonGard does have the best kit, but you can try RockBlocker as well. They have great prices and look a lot like Stongard kits which they sell too.

TimN88

If you pay $600 for Stonguard (this is the correct spelling, i think) then you are being hosed.

carswell

yes...i've been tracking this subject...the paint on TLs is not very good...chips very easily

here's a "challenge" ... take a close look at your paint jobs...see if you notice little "dust lumps" both under the clear coat and above (actual bumps in the paint) ... according to the dealer and a few body shops, it's dust in the paint...

thanks

groebuck1

when I got my repaint from the acid rain damage, I went over the paint with a fine tooth comb - had them take care of most every bump I could find -- three times they had to take it "up the hill" come back and let me inspect it again...guy said I should be their QA guy for paint jobs.