tonkabui

here i was thinking i am all special cause my paint didn't get scratched even after i drove it from california to arizona.

low and behold, i wash my car after camping over the weekend and guess what i find? a big *** paint chip on my hood... bad thing is, it's where the magnetic bra would have fit! so i'm pissed cause i was thinking about buying one. then i wash the rear quarter of my car, and guess what i find again? another paint chip! this one is bad. real bad. it's right over the wheel well and sticks out like a sore thumb. it's clear down to the metal. i guess it must have been from one of those dirt roads i took. dammit! then to add insult to injury, on the passenger side sideskirt, i find many significant "hairline" scratches... my girlfriend and her anklets! dammit, could it get any worse??? gosh, yesterday was a bad bad day. shouldn't have washed my car

i did a search on touch up paint, but nothing really definitive popped up. it was mostly to the effect that touch up paint will make it look worse. anybody know any way to fix this? or should i search under some other keyword?

ZZOOOMM

I caught a rock in the side of my door today. Don't try to use the touch up paint. I ruined my hood using it. I am going to get the car repainted. I think the color will be just like the red/pink of the inside of a watermellon. MAZDA'S PAINT SUCKS It is thinner than a piece of cheap paper.

Mac Daddy

I tell you, this paint is extremely thin. Your nail can scratch the hell out of the paint

tonkabui

i've spent the last hour or so online reading about the crappy paint that is on our beloved proteges. gosh, i feel really bad for those who have it much worse than me... and that includes you, foxymazda. so i've come to the conclusion after reading these posts that rock chips will happen and happen frequently. my car is only 6 weeks old, so i have tried to baby it, but what's a car if it doesn't get used? so now i'm over it. i'm going to drive it as carefully as i can and avoid as many chips as i can, which includes buying the magnetic bra, but i won't crap bricks when more paint chips off. i checked out the australian mazda protege 5 and there's this one color that looks SWEET! it looks like the dark gunmetal grey that the audi TT comes in... i think i might get that color once the paint chips become more numerous than the paint. friggin mazda paint. on a brighter note, the drive up the mountain was a blast... going 55 around a turn marked for 30 was definitely a blast! i finally get what you guys mean when this corner was meant for the turns instead of the straight lines. THANKS FORUM!!!!

tonkabui

hey foxy... that's one mean scratch! ouch! i feel like such a little whiner now! anyway, on protege5online.com, mitch has the magnetic bra for the p5 for 41 or something cheap like that. it's not a full on bra like the one that goes over the whole front end, just over the tip of the metal hood. check out the photos of it, i don't think it will look bad, especially on your dark green color. plus, it will hide some of those nasty scratches and chips. i'm looking forward for some more money and i'm going to buy one! talk to you later!

VDubBoy23

The best thing to use when applying touch up paint is a toothpick. Never I repeat never use the little brush that comes with the bottle. Use the toothpick and lightly apply. Take you time. Than wait for the first coat to dry. If it needs more reapply. Than after about a week use some polishing compound that is made to work with clear coats, like what the detailers use. That will help blend in the colors. You could never get an exact match because the touch-up paint is from a differnt dye-lot. I use it and it makes those ugly scratches easyer to live with. Good luck and have patience.

mnkyboy

You think that sucks, i HAVE a magnetic bra, and about 3 mths ago, a 18wheeler threw a rock at my hood and guess what...it missed the magnetic bra by about 1/4" !!! That fu$king sucks!

Pro_fan

Don't use the brush that comes with the touch-up paint. The end of a paper match works well. I went out and bought a very fine paint brush ($5.00) for my touch up paint.

www.autopia.ws and http://www.carcareonline.com/howto_articles.html
have some good tips for touch-up paint application.

Rock chips happen...it sucks, yes, but it's gonna happen.

I'd rather have a bad touch-up job than rust.

Oh...try www.langka.com . I've never tried the stuff, but apparently, Mother's is marketing the stuff now (www.mothers.com).

skyhawk174

Hey Foxymazda, did you check out what I call the "invisible bra"? It is a product called Stoneguard. I think there is a big tread going on this board about this.

I think this pic shows it or not :. My own is not Stoneguard but something equivalent. Also, if you don't have it as yet you should also look at getting something to protect your fogs. I got the thicker clear coating for mine and will be putting it on shortly. Replacement costs are $175 CDN ($105 USD?) each.

tonkabui

wow... that does suck... i wonder if we should install video cameras in our cars to catch the stupid mothers who do this! there are some tiny cameras that yahoo! is pushing right now. seems perfect for the job!

this whole Stoneguard thing sounds quite interesting. does anyone know how much it would cost to get it installed? i am currently reading some stuff on this forum about it. sounds promising!

foxy, the Stoneguard will be good for you since you don't like the look of bras (heh heh, get it?)... but what about all those chips? it'll still be all over your car! thought about repainting yet?

fraay

skyhawk174 - is there anywhere in edmonton that I can get ahold of one of those Stoneguard things? How much do they cost?

Dawn

tonkabui

just went to their site and it was $400+ for the full front kit for our P5's. they also sell one that doesnt' cover the whole front end for ~200. this doesn't include installation. for something this big and this important, i wouldn't want to do it myself in case i mess it up! so i'm looking at roughly 500 bones for this thing... anyone want to say if it's been worth it or not? how much is a full paintjob that is actually a good one? i'm weighing my options. 500 dollars is a lot of cash to come up with, especially since i'm paying out of state tuition right now!

skyhawk174

Hi Dawn

Give European Auto Tinting, on 5625 104 St, a call at 438-4676. They install this for Weber Motors. I think they do the front of the hood, the headlights, and fogs. Not cheap or at least through Weber but give a call anyway. Probably looking at around $400 CDN. spikeyC's Blue P5 had this done there when he bought his car and it looks great. Very good job.

fraay

Gaaaah 400 bucks?! You think it's worth it?

European was recommended to me for tinting too.. wonder if they would give me a package deal..

Aaaah and I need winter tires.. geezus.. I need a second job..

Dawn

skyhawk174

I don't want to repaint my hood and I think it is a good investment. I know it has saved me getting chips on the front end but unfortunately I picked up some just above where it stops. Oh well.

With my yellow P5 if I took chips it may not show up so bad but on the darker colours I am not so sure.