2017 CX-5 Soul Red Crystal Metallic

Check the door jambs. They probably did not paint them and this is where any difference would be most obvious.
 
I think most people would have trouble distinguishing Soul Red and Soul Red Crystal unless they were side by side and in different light. I*ve actually seen the attempts of a so called professional paint shop to paint SRC and it was like a patchwork quilt - darker and full of orange peel.
 
So looking forward to more post-painting stories, specifically those who are not happy about their repaint, and what Mazda is going to do about it. I'm dropping my car off at the dealer this afternoon to be repainted. I'm very apprehensive.
 
Thought I'd throw in my .02. I worked as an auto body tech for about 7 years. Cars with colors involving tinted clear coats (called tri-colors) can be very tough to match exactly, especially reds in my experience. You basically have to match them by eye, knowing how many coats of tinted clear to put on before the color gets too dark. There are written guides from the car and paint manufacturers, but often times they are wrong. Also there can be up to three or four different shades of the exactly same color, with the exact same name and paint code. The shade can depend on the date of production or which plant the car was manufactured at. Chrysler is notorious for this. I haven't worked on enough Mazdas to know if they do that as well.

Also it is unrealistic to expect a 100% perfect match on parts like bumpers, as they are plastic and the paint adheres to them differently than it does to metal panels. Often times the original factory paint on the bumpers won't quite match the rest of the car.

My advice for everyone, don't be too critical. Auto body isn't a perfect art. Again, just my .02.
 
Thanks for posting that link dc16.

Having four coats total 100 microns with the right amount of the paint absorptive and paint reflective layers brightening the tinted color coat and clear coat has got to be something that can really only be done accurately using robots. It is easy to see why Mazda is so proud of this process, because it does produce an incredible finish (which we all paid extra to get).

But it is also obvious it would be impossible to duplicate this process outside a factory setting. Today marks seven weeks our car has been at the dealer. After watching this video I wonder how many tries the body shop has made to get the SRC paint right?
 
So looking forward to more post-painting stories, specifically those who are not happy about their repaint, and what Mazda is going to do about it. I'm dropping my car off at the dealer this afternoon to be repainted. I'm very apprehensive.

All one can do is keep at Mazda until they get the repainting right...
 
After watching this video I wonder how many tries the body shop has made to get the SRC paint right?

I had a Cadillac CTS come into my shop that was a lease that was going to be turned it. Needed a quarter panel painted. It was a tri-color red pearl and it took me four attempts to get the paint color to match correctly. The way that GM/PPG said to do it wasn't even close.
 
Thanks for posting that link dc16.

Having four coats total 100 microns with the right amount of the paint absorptive and paint reflective layers brightening the tinted color coat and clear coat has got to be something that can really only be done accurately using robots. It is easy to see why Mazda is so proud of this process, because it does produce an incredible finish (which we all paid extra to get).

But it is also obvious it would be impossible to duplicate this process outside a factory setting. Today marks seven weeks our car has been at the dealer. After watching this video I wonder how many tries the body shop has made to get the SRC paint right?

Maybe you do have lemon law case. One of Minnesota's lemon law considerations for refunding or replacing is "A car that has been out of service due to warranty repairs for 30 or more cumulative business days.", and the market value of the vehicle has to be substantially impaired. I assume California has similar or more consumer friendly laws. It would of course depend on what is deemed a substantially impaired market value.

We are considering going through arbitration mainly because they will not paint the entire car and we can't get a specific answer from Mazda on how they will warranty the defective paint that will remain on the car. When I asked about a buy back I was told by two different sources from the Mazda corporate office that I would have to go through my state since each state has different processes. For arbitration you don't need to meet lemon law requirements. What would we have to lose?
 
Eight full weeks at the body shop today, and it still isn't right....

I have Machine Gray, but it is also a multistage Mazda paint. My wife was on the freeway when an accident occurred in the lane next to her. The debris from that accident caused some considerable damage to the front bumper of our CX5. We brought it to a body shop I've used out here in Simi Valley and their first attempt was horrible. They actually had the PPG guys come out and showed them how to mix and apply the paint. It came out perfectly the second time. It might be something you mention to your body shop.

First attempt :
20180507_161250.jpg


Second attempt :
20180511_163040_HDR.jpg
 
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It's Mazda's body shop, not mine. I have no idea where the work is being performed.

I have a really good body shop I've used many times in Chatsworth, and when I told him about the Mazda four layer process totaling 100 micron thickness, he said that it would be almost impossible to duplicate the process on an entire car outside a factory setting.

I sure like your choice of wheels. They look sharp with the machine gray paint.
 
It's Mazda's body shop, not mine. I have no idea where the work is being performed.

I have a really good body shop I've used many times in Chatsworth, and when I told him about the Mazda four layer process totaling 100 micron thickness, he said that it would be almost impossible to duplicate the process on an entire car outside a factory setting.

I sure like your choice of wheels. They look sharp with the machine gray paint.

I sure hope you get this sorted out. Can you find out where the work is being done and go speak with them? I can't imagine your frustration level.

Thanks for the wheel comment!
 
I have Machine Gray, but it is also a multistage Mazda paint. My wife was on the freeway when an accident occurred in the lane next to her. The debris from that accident caused some considerable damage to the front bumper of our CX5. We brought it to a body shop I've used out here in Simi Valley and their first attempt was horrible. They actually had the PPG guys come out and showed them how to mix and apply the paint. It came out perfectly the second time. It might be something you mention to your body shop.

Good to know wrxray...i've got the Machine Gray as well. Thanks!
 
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