Ramse

I purchased a 2004 in December of 2003 and I am very disappointed in the quality of the paint. I would expect some chipping from winter driving but this goes beyond what should be normal chipping.

I have had parts of the car repainted under warrantee already. I will complain again next time I need service. Is this normal for Nighthawk Black Pearl?

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

cant say without seeing what you are talking about

ndx2

why would you expect chipping from winter driving? more rocks in the winter where you live?

acura paint does suck somewhat. clear bra would be great for the front, but i dunno how it would look with swirl marks and whatnot.

Ol Blue Eyes

clear bra works a little.....but i still have chips all over my hood/pillar/etc.

and yes, recently this week after a wash I noticed alot of swirls and alot of little scratches. i used meguires scratch X about a month ago, but man my car is in serious need of some TLC.

not really sure what to do?

I also have NBP, and am curious to know what is chipping, and what was covered under your warranty.

TBone2004

Well, the only thing I can say - you are not alone. Just got done with first coat of wax - been awhile due to finally out of winter etc. on my Anthracite and it is covered in chips. I would have had to clear bra'd the whole friggin car. Some are high and some are low. The front bumper - to the left and right of the plate is really bad. I guess instead of salt in NJ they just throw down rocks. No, I have no pics, it is 11pm and I am tired...and depressed. But I do think that the paint is pretty thin. My windshield isn't much better tho - really pitted already - ... its only been 1 year 19k miles...

subinf

I havent experienced too many problems, but I only have 23000 miles on the car. I have a few paint chips on the hood, I thought I would have had more...what bothers me is that when a rock does chip the paint it, its really easy to see...but otherwise I havent experienced any problems elsewhere...I got rid of my swirl marks with that nxt shit or whatever that wax is called.

JoganJani

I've had my clear bra on by NBP for about an year now and only had one chip before I installed it. That too on the left quarter pannel. Other than that have not had any problems with the paint and minimul swirls. 21K miles now.

jobes

My paint above the mufflers tips is discolored (about 8” worth)

Ol Blue Eyes

jobes, where u at in chicago? i live on lill and halsted.

cliff

the car kicks up so much dirt that the rear end is my most gritty part of the car with the most chips...thats why i clayed it yesterday

arparp

we went away for 3 days, came back and we had bird crap on the hood I went to wash it off, but it actually burned the paint off the car!!!

boltjames

My problem with Nighthawk Black Pearl is that the owner could have chosen Anthracite instead and been much, much happier.

BJ

Ramse

I have chips about the diameter of a pencil eraser on both sides of the car...three or four of them! I can see primer paint.

I claybar and use Maquire products. The car only sees professional cleaning products.

The chipping on the front of the car is from 55 miles per day of high speed freeway driving. I expected this to occur as I have seen this on all previous vehicles. However, I didn't expect it would be to this extreme on an Acura. I am disappointed to point of considering a trade on a different brand. Of course, everytime I get behind the wheel for some spirited driving the smile returns.

From what I have seen so far, maybe I am being too picky about this issue.

EMF213

No complaints so far...

rtowse11

I love my ' 05 nighthawk TL, wax my on a monthly basis and only very few paint chips, a little TLC goes a long way on a black car

RSA_Secure

subinf,

what swirl marks removal stuff did u use? i mean the exact name??? Was it able to completely remove the marks? I have fairly deep swirl marks and am looking for a decent remover.

I do have few chip on my hood, but i think thats normal.

jobes

tjker

No, I'm way out in the western burbs

EpiK

Makes you wonder what the bird ate...

Seriously though, never heard of that happening. Take it in and see what the dealer says. Shouldn't happen like that.

JoganJani

That is true. Bird crap is very abbrasive since they eat grits to digest seeds. It eats up the paint fast. Never ever let bird crap sit on the paint. Wash it as soon as possible. One should never wipe it but wash it.

Xpditor

My car is a year old. No chips. I have a 3M Clear Bra. I use Zaino. In direct sunlight, I see some very light fine scratches but they go away when I use my PC orbital polisher and Scratch X. I use it on the clear bra also.

DarkWraith33

You live in FLA! That's cheatin!

Bring that bad boy to Pittsburgh in January and take a stroll around our lovely dirt paths... ROFL!

I have a few hood chips, but mostly I run with just the hood portion of the full nose mask... That helps some...

And as I have posted before, I am disappointed with the windshield. Many more lil chips than other car I have ever owned.

Xpditor

They must be southern birds if they eat grits! I love grits, too.

You are correct that bird doo is caustic and rough. It is rough on paint. Get it off as quick as you can- even if you have to use coffee or something temporarily. Not Coke.

Before you park, if you look on the ground/asphalt and it's all white and under a tree, you know it's a bird Johnny-On-The-Spot. Avoid that place.

Having a good sealer or coat of wax on the car will offer some protection.

Xpditor

Yeah, I have never been off of a paved road. And I only have 3700 miles on my TL in 13 months.

My rear bumper behind the trunk lid is the first thing to get dirty/dusty after a car wash. It only takes a few blocks.

chipplaysdrums

Yeah I'm having problems too. Just washed my NBP yesterday and when I was drying it off I saw paint chips galore... a couple on the hood, one on the roof, a couple along the sides. Thinking of getting some touch-up paint maybe. And the swirl marks.....geez Maybe these paint chips show up easier on Black?

MarbleGT

I have a cl but i think the paint is horrible too. Ever tiny piece of anything that hits it scratches it. It sux man.

Nodoze2004

I am curious if those of you mentioning the quality of the paint have ever owned another Honda product? If so this should be no surpirse. Honda gets by with the minimal acceptable standards on all models (i.e. ultra ultra thin coverage). The paint on Honda vehicles is so notorious for being poor, that they had to have the marketing team for the RL drum up some hog wash about the advanced paint procedure that they use(see below). This is one area where the Germans ALWAYS outshine the competition. Have you ever seen the thickness of the BMW paint? I have encountered 10+ year old BMW's that dont have ANY chips on them.

I find no difference whatsoever in the paint on Acura vehicles when compared to Honda's, In fact in some cases it is worse (WDP bumper mismatch anyone). This issue really has little to do with the color of the car (I own NBP) but more instead to the nature of the beast (i.e. Honda saves money anyway they can especially paint).

BS marketing information about RL paint

The exterior paint on the 2005 Acura RL uses an environmentally conscious water-based process. The painting procedure begins with an electrodeposition (ED) primer, which is electrically charged in the paint bath. After the ED primer is applied, it is cured at high temperature to improve corrosive durability.

Next comes a primer-surfacer (PS) that is hand sanded to ensure a smooth surface for better appearance. After a waterborne color basecoat (BC) is applied, a pair of clear coats provide depth while helping to protect the base coat from air pollution, acid rain and fog.

DarkWraith33

FWIW... I just switched to Blackfire... (See my thread and review in Wash and Wax) and I have been super pleased with the results...

The Blackfire polish (1st step in 2 step process) got rid of 90% of the swirl marks on my car... Even with no sealant on my car, the finish felt super silky smooth. The Blackfire Paint Protection itself left the car feeling and looking awesome.

1995hoo

I have no paint chips; generally I have been happy with the NBP, although of course keeping it clean requires some effort but that's an issue with black cars generally and not with the NBP per se.

I did notice a few swirl marks, however. In particular I had a nasty one on the rear door and the C-pillar just below the roofline. When I gave the car a full spring detailing last month I easily eliminated those with very little effort using a new paint sealant product from Griot's Garage. It gave a very nice shine, too--see below. Kindly SPARE THE FLAMES on the pinstripe--I don't flame people for having heavy tint or spoilers, even though personally I don't care for either of those, so I request the same courtesy in return (recognizing that many folks here dislike pinstripes).

JetJock

I had a NBP 2002 TLS and had serious problems with the paint. One summer, while my garage was occupied with construction workers cutting tile, I had to keep my TLS outside. During one summer afternoon, we got a brief rainshower then the sun came out and burned acid rain spots all over the hood and trunk. Somehow the roof was spared. I took the car to the dealer, and they said the only way to remove the spots would be to "wet sand" the entire hood and trunk, thus removing most of the clearcoat. I declined obviously. To keep my happy, the dealer gave me a Comptech exhaust system installed free of charge, but that did nothing for the paint. After many months looking at my "new" car with acid spotted paint, I decided to sell it and purchase a "04 TL. Having had so much trouble with the NBP paint, I went with Anthracite this time around. All I can say is the Anthracite is much easier to maintain. It doesn't seem to get the swirl marks I had before, and after 5 coats of Zaino Z-2, and many applications of Z-6 and the new Z-8, I've got a shine that rivles the NBP. Anthracite certainly isn't as flashy as NBP, but it's a lot easier to keep looking good. I love the look of the NBP paint that Acura uses, but the formulation is certainly not up to German car standards and is a nightmare to keep clean. I think Acura should call NBP....Nightmare Black Pearl, because it's a real pain to maintain. As for chips, I've got them even with Anthracite. The NE USA is horrible, especially Pennsylvania during the winter. The road crews don't seem to care about anyone's vehicles and instead of plowing the highways, they just dump tons of crushed stone and salt on the roads. Good luck keeping up with the chips.

TBone2004

Same here - My winshield is really pitted. Let's see...I have been driving on same roads, same driving style - only thing different is the car - hmmmm....

Xpditor

I'm not gonna flame your pinstripes.

You showed me yours, so I'll show you mine:

DarkWraith33

Your dogs name is PINSTRIPE?

J/K

Looking good...

1995hoo

You have made a fine choice in vehicle color there!

Looks good!

linson

looks great ...

Is it tinted ..? if so, % please ..

Linz

EpiK

Wow! Nice polish job there Xpditor. I can't wait for "Green Weeks" here in Raleigh to be over so I can clean my car without it covered in pollen again 10 minutes later. It's just begging for a shine.

Prolanman

I've got the chips also. Same as everyone else in the NE. I think I'm just going to have the car repainted in a few years. I though about getting a clearbra for the car, but i've got chips outside of the area where the clear bra will cover. Otherwise I love the car and the color.

EpiK

I keep hearing about this "Clearbra". Does anyone have a link to a picture of a NBP with one on? Thanks!

csilano

I have an 03 NBP and I want to cry everytime I look at all the chips on my hood. I remember the salesman telling me about the quality of the Acura paint and how durable it is. BULLSH*T!!

Xpditor

If you're asking me, the car is not tinted in that picture but it is here. The percentages are in my signature.

Xpditor

Thank you. And thanks to Sal Zaino.