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Best Paint Finishes
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I have a '98 Honda Accord EX V6 Coupe which I love. Its a wonderful car, and I've had no (as in Zero) defects including those listed in postings on this forum. Or so I thought.
Being that I wanted to protect the finish and have a great shine, I used the Zaino line of products (ie: Z1, Z2, etc.). And the results were great. But then I noticed a slight problem on the front hood (only). If you really look closely at the hood on a very bright day while wearing polariod type sun glasses (to cut through the Zaino shine), there are several places which look slightly darker. They seem to follow the curves in the hood. Its not the Zaino which is absolutely clear. And it (upon really close examination) appears to be below the clearcoat. My only conclusion is that Honda spread the original coat of emerald green paint somewhat uneven fashion.
That should have been 'in a somewhat uneven fashion'. I'm not real angry because 99% of you (ie: critical observers) will not be able to spot the slight differences. But I know it there, and that brings Honda down a few notches in my estimation. So, I'll disagree with your original statement that Honda's paint quality is the best.
Now we can rant and rave!
That got me to thinking, and noticing, that I can't remember ever seeing a Mitsubishi with a bad paint job. None of that clearcoat delamination that was so prevalent in the early 80's. No fading, no orange peel, no color mismatch between steel and plastic parts. So I put my vote in for Mitsubishi as having great paint jobs.
Mr. Vivona
I do think that paint and application technology has come a long way over the past 10...even the last 3-5 years.
I've noticed a big difference comparing paint finishes from the '93 BMW 3 series that I had to a '99 Toyota that my wife has and '00 Pontiac that I have.
I'm very careful and critical taking care of my cars. I had blemishes on the BMW right off the show room floor that my wife's '95 Accord did not have. That said, we had a lot more orange peel on the Accord than the '00.
I feel that this is more brought on by the advances that paint companies and manufacturers have made.
When we were looking to buy new cars (it seems my wife and I both go well over 100K miles on our cars in the same year) we together looked at many different brands. Those included Acura TLs, BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 & 6, Chrysler 300M, Honda Accord, Nissan Maxima, Lexus 300, Infiniti I30 and VW Passat. I couldn't tell any significant difference in any of the finishes on any car we looked at compared to the ones we bought (an Avalon for my wife and a Grand Prix for me)...again, I was very critical, too.
Differences were mainly limited to the newer pearl coats (which all looked pretty cool) and those were usually extra cost options since it involved a paint that is more difficult to apply or involved an extra paint step. My wife ended up with a pearl coat on her Avalon.
As far as GM is concerned, any of their cars that have been redesigned in the last 3 years, all seem to have better finishes.
Just as an aside, do others look at the specific paint job on their vehicle before purchasing?
BTW - The paint finish on my '93 Sable is very good. I think the paint jobs on the really new Ford products is wonderful. They look very glossy and high quality.
Some over the road trucks offer this as an option-wonder if any automakers will ever offer this type of paint.
Floridian
February does not warrant special factory show-models. In fact, 3 or 4 years ago an Oldsmobile dealership was bold enough to display
car with the trunk lid mounted not exactly square
to the rest of the body. The crowd had a good
laugh when the salesman approached me and I made
this observation vocal although you would have to
be blind to miss it.
I do agree about the show-car theory. I was at the "World of Motion" in Disney World back in the
late 80's or early 90's and I can guarantee you'ld
never find a GM in a showroom that looked like
those beauties.
Then bought a Sata (paint resovoir on top) gun, and used DuPont Centari-what a difference. This paint is pricey-@ 150-200/gallon and you have to wear an approved mask-it used an isocyanate to harden the paint. But the results are spectacular. I would bet most auto body shops will not even use this type of paint. When I repaint the rest of my VW van I will use this paint. Will call a few body shops to see if they even offer to paint vehicles with this type of paint. Shame it is not an option on high end autos.
Floridian
I think GM removed their show-cars from display there. A decade ago GM was giving out videos
of their cars that were on display. I will have to watch it again for a good laugh.
There had to be 100 people placing their hands
on the body of the cars at the end of the ride
yet not one smear or scratch did I see on the
finish. Perhaps they were a special
General Motors Porcelain Limited Edition.
In contrast, I can't say that I've ever seen a BMW with the paint peeling off. I understand that the BMW's cost twice as these domestic cars, but there is no reason why the paint should just peal off, no matter how neglected.
In my garage I have 2 Honda products, a CRX, and a Legend. Although the finish on the Legend appears to be much 'thicker', deeper, and glossier to that of my CRX, neither paint looks faded or deteriorated.
Also, in respect to paint 'thickness', I believe that this is where a paint job can really excel. BMW used to say "..22 pounds of paint used on every car..", and I believe it! That paint looks so deep and glossy, with absolutely no hint of orange peel. The paint on my Legend is very similar to this. Then I park my Acura next to my buddys Dodge Ram; '...22 pounds of paint used in one factory in 1999.."; His truck is orange peel heaven. It looks like I tried to paint it with a can of Krylon!
I know that most cars will not have a BMW paint job, but I do believe that the paint should stay on the car and resist fading, even if neglected. A neglected paint job should just look dirty, and dull, but should be able to be restored.
By the way, I'm a Meguiar's Medallion man myself. I hand wash my cars weekly (my CRX has seen an automatic wash only twice in 9 years!), and wax every 3 months (even through the winter). My neighbor's all think I'm crazy.
Boltguy
For comparison, a guy has a Rolls-Royce in the parking garage of my building. It's white and it is like looking at milk. As smooth a surface as I've ever seen. By contrast, a brand new Toyota Avalon showed up and it is like looking at an orange peel with a coat of mop&glo on top. There also seems to be quite a bit of variance based on colors of the same models and manufacturers. Wonder what the quality control is?
dark INTERIOR colors will make the interior of the car hotter.
i think the placebo effect is strong here...
look into window tinting; this can be a great help if you have to leave your car out in the sun.
Tom
Auto Body Tech
Honda which of course has a clear coat finish. Apparently, the garage
it
was parked in at the dealer was painted and there were many light, very
tiny white dots of paint that had misted on to the car from the paint
spray. I was reluctnat to accept the car, but the dealer said they
could
be detailed off -- however, now I find out that they had to send it to
a
body shop to be wet sanded. They say it looks perfect; but I'm upset
about the situation (the salesman was supposed to call me before doing
anything like this). I can not imagine how the clear coat would
withstand "wetsanding" of any form. Should I ask them to put another
layer of clear coat on that half of the car? (Is that even possible?) I
am at the point where I do not want to accept the car because of this.
The dealer says they will put a "free" sealant on it and that doing so
will return the car to normal. I've always heard that these sealants
are a waste of money; moreover, can a sealant truly replace a sanded
clear coat? Am I overreacting? Do you have an expert there on this
stuff or similar experiences. Need help ASAP. Thanks!
What is free sealent....I know they tried to sell me the stuff on my ODY when I bought it in Az. They said it was the desert package preotection. Try paying 295 for a sealeant. I found out that they took it and got a wax job. Never paid for the sealant.
Just purchased a new 2000 Sentra, and they tried to sell me a Paint Sealant. Got the song and dance on why I should but it from them. it will protect the paint. Well, it is till on thecar and I got it for free. Again, they paid someone to wash and wax the car.
No you are not over reacting. ars are expensive. That is why I go over the car with a fine tooth comb before I pay for it, and tell thme the problems. At times, they have given me a substantial discount....
paint that made the finish on my car feel like 80
grit sandpaper.Works great on glass and mirrors
without scratching.
I would bring a trusted body guy to check the paint out.If it's ok let the dealer give you a better deal.
My questions: What does it cost to get a quality paint job on a car like this? Will the results be satisfactory long term? We'd like to keep this car till the wheels fall off. We got it for thousands less than most out there because of the relatively less desireable color and paint condition. So we have some cash available for paint work.