GbosilTLS07

Noticed that my front end the other day and looks like a shotgun went off on it! I do some highway driving of course but this is ridiculous! What does Acura use one coat of clear coat and one coat of paint on the TSX? Acura's paint quality has gone down hill and sux! Anybody else notice their paint chipping very easily and lack od clear coat? Not sure what to do here. I have only 11K miles on the car. Front end looks like crap!

HHCZ

it is a known issue. My car has 5000 km and it looks crazy. Few washing, some hi-speed driving and it looks really bad.

GbosilTLS07

Honestly a car that costs 30K+ and the paint is paper thin! Acura is definately cutting corners!

GbosilTLS07

Now my 07 TLS paint is like "bullet proof" in the front. I have 60K on it and it doesn't look nearly as bad as my 2010 TSX!!

Mavrax

I recall the dealer telling me that Acura uses 8 coats of paint on each car. I had a Camry and he said, they only use 5 coats. I dont know if to believe him or not.

hondu

I have 5500 miles on mine, with highway driving everyday and not a single chip on the front end at all. Of course I Zaino'd my car right after I bought it, which I think helps resists rock chips.

LuvMyTSX

It is not specific to Acura, I've seen others complain about this as well. You can blame the EPA for requiring manufacturers to use more environmentally-friendly paint. The current stuff is not as hard as in the past, hence more chips.

If it's a problem, I'd say get a clear bra. Not much you can do about it, unfortunately.

GbosilTLS07

Yeah it sux! Black is hard to keep clean period either way I guess but I have had Black cars in past and this never happend so soon? I keep hearing good things about Zaino. Is it really worth it?

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

zaino is mainly a car show finish, so yes it will make your car look good but with out a solid wax, the polish will in fact not do to much for your paint and rock chips. That being said I had my hood replaced and I have only gotten one rock chip in 5000 miles from a huge fucking brick.. so yeah its the factory paint that blows

Tannis

Same gripe here. Hell, I've never owned a car before that if you accidentaly let the back of your finger nail lightly glide across the paint itll leave a nice whitish mark that cant be easily removed. THAT pissed me off. Think I might clear bra the entire damn car, after I replace the front bumper and either replace the hood or get those chips fixed too. And how does a little pebble take it all the way down to the metal? At 62 mph. Anyone?

LuvMyTSX

Zaino is the best. I've been using it for 5 years on my 1G.

Alee:)

i caught the side of my treadmill on the front bumper a few weeks ago, took the paint right off! right down to the plastic..

Tannis

- Ouch



Screw this. I might just get my whole car re-painted (with good paint) before I wind up with rust from freakin' rock chips. Last thing I want to see is rust bubbles coming up from my hood after only two years of ownership. Don't these manufacturers realize that when they cut too many corners they wind up spending more to fix the errors in the long run? Guess not. Still proud to own an Acura. Just wish they wouldn't skimp on a $30k car. Or a $45k car! I'm sure a loaded out TL received the same paint. So sad.

hondu

Zaino has new formulas, Z-AIO is more a wax and the Z-CS is also a protectant (I use both). The Z-2 and Z-5 are polishes and not waxes.

I used Z-AIO, then Z-5 and Z-CS. Driving my Civic the same way I drive my TSX I had chipping on the front bumper/hood (looked like a shotgun blast). My TSX so far has had zero (knock on wood).

hondu

Ouch, that would suck. By the way, why were your treadmill and TSX close together? Parking your TSX in your bonus room? (just kidding, LOL)

nj2pa2nc

I either use meguiars or mothers since it is available in the stores. I plan on trying out the zaino product since there is a store in Howell, NJ. Will be in the area next week.

Mavrax

This thing is expensive...

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...roduct_Count=2

hondu

I don't think Acura was skimping at all on their painting (of course the RL does use a more expensive/higher quality paint process). I think EPA changes have forced all car manufacturers to change their painting process (i.e. not as good/not chip resistant) to reduce emissions/VOC's (of course the TSX is painted in Japan), but you also have to consider Honda chose the paint process to match the price point of the car (can't expect to get the same paint job on the RL and TSX, when there is a $15-20K price difference in the car). Chipping paint is pretty common now on all cars, regardless of manufacturer. I've heard similar complaints from owners of BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, etc.

Alee:)

Do people really keep their treadmill in the bonus room? LOL.

& yeap, completely sucked but we got some touch-up paint, sliiiighty sanded it, touch-up paint, touch-up, clear coat, buffed it, and now it's good as new!

acuratsx2010

I too think Acura's paint process sucks. I have friends that drive newer Fords and Chevys and their front ends have little if any chips.

Nicky Pass

I love my Acura, but (atleast to me), Ford is the only car company that cares anymore. Check out this video....its alot of car nuts worst nightmare!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_HLgGLxylY

Alee:)

LuvMyTSX

I accidentally molested my 1G a couple weeks ago with a pitch fork I just bought at Lowes. I was having a very difficult time steering the heavy flatbed-type cart around to the back of my car, and the stupid pitch fork scraped several inches of the rear bumper, towards the bottom at least. All the way down to the black plastic in a couple sections. Luckily, I was able to scrub off most of it. Poor car. At least it's difficult to see if you don't know it's there.

GbosilTLS07

Thanks guys! For a minute there I thought I was going crazy or something... Acuras are a great auto but the paint and hardware just suck! Acura should repaint all of our cars COST FREE!!! YEAH RIGHT! U ACURA!!

Nedmundo

I've noticed the poor paint quality too. Mine is nine months old with 11,000 miles, and it already has several scratches. I just griped about this to my wife the other day. Our 2006 Mazda might be even worse, but it cost only $17k. I was surprised to experience this on an Acura. My 2001 Saab's finish was bulletproof in comparison.

nj2pa2nc

That is probably the main reason we have a basic truck for those tasks. Comes in very handy

panta_

I don't know guys. My TSX has 27K mostly highway miles and I just wax it with Meguiar's NXT (This is the first time I use it ,just to give it a try and actually it came out really good. I just need to wait and see how long this wax will last). Before I only have used Colonite insulator wax (marine wax good for automotive too, this wax last the longest from any other one) and my paint looks great with just one small spot chipped on the hood and a few coat scratches that are my fault and they disappear with proper waxing.
Well, what I have heart, it is good every 3-4 years to take the old clear coating off and put new one on. There are shops that would do that for like 200$.
Even with the poor paint quality of the new cars I believe ,that if you take care of your car properly and maintain it right with good products you can avoid some of this processes!

Tannis

Well, I suppose I might be in for a free paint job due to some hard water spotting and various blemishes caused by contaminants that my $700 environmental protection package coating didn't prevent like it was supposed to. Hmmmm!!! Bye bye rock chips. Hello full body 3M clear bra. ;-) Don't know if it'll look good. But I'm willing to try anything at this point. I like my paint too much for it to look like garbage.