I hate cars

My TL is turning white in spots from the millions of rock chips. The front bumper, fender flares, and doors are turning white. I can even see the spray pattern from the front tires in my doors. There are literally millions of chips. Even spots at an angle to the air like the hood all the way to the windshield have tons of chips. Anyone else have this problem? My '84 GN known for bad paint with 24 year old, 200,000 mile paint is literally in better shape.

I'm the original owner of the car so I know it's history and it's never seen hail or anything to damage the paint the way it is.

enigmaos

iTrader: (4)

Acura Paint

skd2k1

iTrader: (1)

Damn right...all the clear coat on my AM hood and fenders is cracking...there are small white chicken feet all over the front of my car

Aman

the curse of NBP

juruki

iTrader: (2)

Wow... Is it really that bad? I can relate to the rock chips but never had problems with the clear coat cracking. Maybe you should take it to the dealership and have them take a look.

powerflow

Honda paint does suck, older jap made models were a little better. Sure it can look good but it doesn't weather well at all on DD'ers.

I've seen quite a bit of factory flaws as well. They definitely cut cost in the paint dept.

Honda isn't the only mfg'er slackin though. Just shows how OE paint isn't all that.

SweetJazz

I would rather have Acura paint over Ford or Chevy anytime.

I have no issues with Acura paint other than the excessive orange peel. The rock chip issue is easily solved with a clear bra. There is no OEM paint that will stand up to constant peppering of rocks and road debris.

scv76_

Blame the EPA....bastards

TLCanuck

Similar here, 05 NBP lots of micro size chips on the hood and lower part of the front doors. I bought mine used and in that condition a couple months ago, but if I'd bought it new, I'd find the lack of paint quality harder to accept.
Still, I love the car...the 6MT is fantastic....best car I've ever driven, let alone owned.

vincethe1

speed is what that's called....goin to the grand canyon a while back doin 140mph+ on dusty and dirty roads made the front of my car look pixelated...so many small white dots you can't count them....what sucks is i was hearing the small rocks and sand hit my car, sounded like a rainstorm.

otherwise the factory paint is very good from my experience, way better than what a body shop does if it has to repaint it.

i had a dent in my fender with a sharp edge, we staighend it out and the paint didn't even crack, it's very flexible and sticks to the sheetmetal very well...all i did is wipe it down and it looks completely fine....i've seen aftermarked paintjobs crack wayyy before that point, but it depends on who does the paint job too.

acuraowner4life

Have you thought about using a clay bar to clean it up some? I used the Zaino clay bar from the show kit and it cleaned up my grill and body panels like a champ. Took every bit of road debris away. Although I dont think I had the "damage" that your describing. That sucks man

Bearcat94

You are correct.

Lower emission limits means:

- Less HAP solvent, even HAP solvent-less paint
- Thinner Paint Films

==> Less durable paint

It's not just Honda/Acura. BUT with their goody-goody environmental stance, they may push the envelope more than some others.



I Hate Cars: You might PM Deltaboxxx. He got his TL Repainted due to sand/sand-storm damage. Not sure how - insurance, dealer, etc

timmahh

WDP looks good.

Sclass88

Wanna see bad?






Cost my Dad about $1,500 to get it back to normal. This was all at 50,000 miles. He had to have the entire front end repainted from the front doors all the way to the bumper. To prevent it from happening again, he applied a clear bra and it's stopped the problem. However, Acura paint is absolutely, by far the worst.

I've had a clear bra on my TSX since new and I swear by it, I'm sure my paint would be a mess too if it weren't for that bra. Good luck with the repairs.

jeff442

I'm totally with you on this! I used to buff and Zaino (sealant) my 98 4runner religiously, and the paint was like new when I sold it. When I bought my used 05' TL, I took it to have it detailed and the professional that worked on it said the clearcoat is VERY thin (he used a paint meter). When he clayed and buffed the front of the car, removing the grime and swirls, there were millions of rock chips underneath. In a way, the front actually looked worse after the detail.

I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND to anyone purchasing a TL to get the clear bra installed. It's too late for me to do one, unless I get a repaint.

I hate cars

I find it weird that a twenty year old Buick has less damage than a two year old Acura... There is a problem.

I hate cars

Thank you. It's good to know that I'm not the only one with this problem.

skd2k1

iTrader: (1)

Trust me I tried that already...they refused to repaint. Acura corporate claimed that it wasn't a defect and that someone put something on the fenders and hood that is causing the clearacoat to crack...bullsh*t!

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/about-yesterday-175743/

ChrisQ1980

My fathers 05 Carbon Grey Peal TSX has billions of rock chips as well on the bumper, hood, fenders. No problems along the doors though. He use to commute, and takes the car on LONG highway vacations 2x a year. It definatly needs a re-paint, then clear bra installed.

My 03 Satin Silver TL-S has held up much better, but I keep a safe distance, avoid highways with trucks but I still have some on the bumper/hood area. I see other cars that are worse, some that are much better. I feel Honda/Acura could improve on paint quality, but at some point any car that is driven will receive rock chips.

csmeance

I agree with the posted on the EPA garbage, the new paints that acura USA is putting out is crap. The RL has the best paint of any car I have seen on modern acuras...

Jesstzn

Look something like this? The one on the right.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

dude I can simpathize... matter fact here is a picture
the little specs aren't lighting or camera
rock chipz ftl

AndyRu27

Carbon fiber air dam looks awesome. Was it hard to do??

korrupted

I thought it was just my bad luck that I got all these chips on my hood.
Been trying to use touch up, but it looks horrible, going to have to repaint or buy another hood.

skd2k1

iTrader: (1)

You asked me the same thing in the thread I started! (one on the right)

4thof5

Thank God...I thought it was just me...

Paul_2007S

My old 350z is just about as bad, try bmw next time. haha..

x rsx 2 env x

iTrader: (1)

when anypaint can withstand 80mph tiny rocks hitting the bumper without chipping let me know

I hate cars

You're an idiot. You don't get it. Stay out of this thread.

millarduck

I had a 2003 BMW 530i, orient blue. While Germans do great paint, they are not immune to 80mph tiny rocks. The plastic bumper and skirt in front was bleached with road rash, and the hood had its spots. So road rash is an issue with any car, but cracking of clear coat and flaking off of paint in large chips is not acceptable. BMW owners have had success with this product. http://drcolorchip.com/touchup-paint.html

I hate cars

I understand that 80mph rocks won't do the paint any good. Mine is not just chipping at the bumper, but the sides, hood near the windshield, even the rear decklid. That one has me scratching my head.

ross7778

The Black 2005 I just purchased used has the same cracking clear coat. Hood, trunk, roof and front fenders. Sounds like a defect to me.

skoolboi

I know im about a year late on this thread, but I searched it up because I realized how shitty acura paint was.

My car has 9700 YES JUST 9700 miles on it 2008 NBP.

But when I washed my car and got up close I noticed a million little rock dents all over the front bumper, it looks like permanent dust just covered my front bumper.

I noticed this on my friends 2000? prelude, it was pretty bad at 80k miles.

Besides that, I get some fairly nice sized rock chips probably 2 on my hood, and 4 on my bumper. I look at my roommates 06 G with 45000 miles, no chips??!?!

And the last thing, when I was parked on the street someone backed into me when I wasn't there. Left some sizable damage, but is the paint supposed to be able to be chipped like that? It's like I can pick at it with my nail and more of it will come off .....

I asked the guy at the parts dept as I was trying to get a new coin holder (yea, mine got stolen... go figure) he said nope I've never had any complaints really about the paint... liars! I don't know how I feel about sierra acura sometimes

thanks

I hate cars

That's how I would describe mine, people thought it was dirty even if it was freshly washed.

Kind of an update but I got both fenders, hood, bumper, and doors repainted and the windshield replaced. The bodyshop said the new paint would be nearly twice as thick as the OEM paint and I've had excellent luck so far.

I was told that black paint is applied thinner than any other color regardless of manufacturer.

txTL1019

wow i thought i was the only one with this problem. my first TL had the white chicken feet cracks on the hood, bumper, and fenders. i thought it was just that one car. i bought my 2nd TL and it had the same thing. im getting my car repainted soon to fix that tho

cellph titled

My front bumper has so many white marks. My hood looks like space. Nbp, with tons of white marks everywhere.

shftl

Clear Bra!
Clear Bra!
Clear Bra!

CMCx2009

I would def try it, after my new panels are painted-has anyone heard anything about them? (the 3m clear film masking)

shftl

I should begin by saying that there are several threads on this, you should search and read them. I have had a 3M clear bra for more than three years and over 100,000 miles. I believe it is the best available answer to the problem this thread addresses. I have a few spots where something has struck hard enough to get into the paint underneath, but only a few, and my daily commute even includes a quarter mile of gravel road. I also had the headlights covered and they show no evidence of clouding so far.

This stuff actually does what it says it will do. If the state of the paint on the front of your car is an issue for you, this is the way to go. Insist on 3M film and have it installed by someone who knows how. It's not cheap, but you'll be glad you did it.

CMCx2009

Thank you, my searches that I did try were useful, but i was looking for a comprehensive overview, and i got it. thanks