hmmm, just wondering, are the paint problems that you guys are mentioning applicable to all colours? or just to specific ones?

Chips ahoy, for me...
Oh well, there is the "preforation" blurb in the warranty, which means if and when the chips & pits rust out (w/n what, 3 yrs?), then big-daddy Mazda will fix it.
Since i like the natural look, and thus abhor bras, i am just going to keep it waxed and cross my fingers. If the paint continues to be a problem, then I just get a nice, new custom look when I have it re-painted

HA!
 

I find it funny that I just got a packet in the mail from the dealer that said they would send me a free bottle of touchup paint if I answered some basic question on how I liked the car. This was seperate from the dealer questionnaire.


It's like they knew the paint was shit. I just ordered a white magnetic bra from protege5online.com. I hope that things works well. I hate rock chipped front ends:(

Curt B. Shumaker

My yellow p5 has more non painted chiped surface than painted surface. This yellow paint job sucks.

Mazda's paint is notoriously thin. We Miata guys gripe about it all the time. Unfortunately, it's one of the things that helps keep overall cost down on the car...

As for specific color problems, the clearcoating on the VY is a subject of debate. From all information that I've gathered (I'm in charge of a Vivid Yellow registry for Miatas, and I talk to a lot of owners), the paint is a one stage process, meaning that a tinted clearcoat is mixed in with the base coat, then applied to the car. It appears that some cars (Proteges and Miatas...it's all the same paint) got hit with paint that wasn't mixed well with the clearcoat, and because of this, owners can pull some paint from certain parts of the car when they wax. I, fortunately, have no problems with my Vivid Yellow Miata, though I know of some owners who have, just like Protege owners. To the best of my knowledge, all the other colors are a two stage paint process (base then clear). I know the Mica colors are for sure.

The base coat pretty much sucks from seeing the chips on my car. One little scratch and I can already see the primer coat.

But you are pretty much correct. This is probably one of the ways to keep cost down and for Mazda to sell that aftermarket paint protection.:rolleyes:

THAT explains why i pull paint off the roof, but nowhere else when i buff, even though mazda emailed me and told me we were clearcoated when i complained..

SO.. now that we've established our paint SUX.. what can we do? Is it possible to go to a bodyshop place and have them lay on a GOOD coat of clearcoat? Will it affect the look of the metallics in my paint?

about 3 days after i bought my car i had a chip come out of my front bumber when i was washing it with a sponge, and there was a place on the hood that was chipped. i took my car back to the mazda dealer and told them i wasnt happy with it, and complained until they got some profesional paint guy to come and look at it. he declared that the paint was crap, and that was the only problem, and he could repaint the hood since it seemed to be the worst. the lady in charge of that stuff at my dealer told me that she could have touch up paint done to cover it till i could get it painted and i told them not to bother since it was just two small places. then i walked outside and the paint guy was scratching at the place on the hood, and a chunk of paint came off. :mad: i got really pissed, and made him touch it up. i finally decided not to bother with having the hood repainted cause i saw that thing in the warrenty about if the paint looks like crap before it runs out, they have to repaint it, and im hoping that i might be able to get it painted for free. id really like to have it painted the same blue as the mp3's. since then ive developed about 20+ chips on the front bumper, around 7 on the hood, and one on the part right in front of the drivers side mirror that is deep into the undercoat. that one was from a 18 wheeler that threw up a rock as it passed me on the highway. i almost chased the guy down. also i found about 3 or 4 chips in my windshield the other day when i was cleaning may car.

Actually, no...it doesn't. Your Midnight Blue should be a two stage process. Please note that my comments were directed specifically towards the Vivid Yellow, and that to the best of my knowledge, all other colors are 2 stage. I also noted that all Micas are definitely two stage. The Midnight Blue is a Mica. They have to be two stage due to the metallic flake in the paint; the clearcoat apparently can't be mixed with this.
If you're having a problem pulling paint from your Mica car, you need to visit your dealer, because something isn't right.

Heh.. guess i should read right to the last sentence before hitting reply! ;)

Yeah, I think the dealer will be hearing from me as time goes on and the chips collect and my buffer turns more blue...

I'll wait for the the warranty to get closer to expiring and have them handle it.

If mazda wouldn't cut corners with their paint process to save money, they wouldn't have to lay out for it down the road when it becomes a warranty issue... IMO it probably costs them more because now they're paying humans to do the work whereas in the factory paintroom they've likely got a bunch of robots doing the job.

Careful...you mentioned a buffer. They might blame it on you using that (user error...burning through the paint/clearcoat, applying different pressure/process than on the sides/hood/rear, etc).

The longer you wait, the more of a chance you're taking in failing to prove that the paint may be defective from the factory. If you're just doing this to hold off on the amount of chips on your car, I'd have to say you're just fooling yourself into trying to delay the inevitable. No offense intended of course. Every car gets chips; we just kinda have to deal with it. Besides, they may only paint the part of your car that exhibits the problem anyway (the roof), making waiting to get all the chips taken care of on the front/hood a moot point.

Ack!

I'm getting so sick of people complaining of rock chips. Show me a car that is immune to them.

Why do I see so many cars w/ bras, hood deflectors, 3M film, etc on the front? Old cars, new cars, it doesn't matter.

Good points.. well, i'll talk to the dealers and see what they say.. if they say wait, i'll wait... but i'll get it in writing..

Agreed 100%. I have yet to see a car that is imune to rock chips. The hood and front bumper of my '97 Altima (black) looked like the Milky Way...it almost looked sandblasted. The paint on that was very thin as well, with several scratches showing primer. I put Stongard on my P5 about a week after I got it. 2 months and about 2500 miles later I have ZERO paint chips :)

I have had my P5 for almost a month now and it already has some scratches showing the E coat (down to metal) I am going to reclear my entire car and throw in a color coat or two just to keep the problems of th paint chipping down ot a minimun