Paint Problems - Please make sticky - HUGE Concern for us all

[mooS mooS]

Paint Problems - - HUGE Concern for us all

Hi all , just wanted to get a poll going to see how many others out there are having this same problem.

I just got my Scarlet '02 P5 barely a week ago and it was immaculate ... like a proud father ( or typical protege owner ) I was all over this car looking for any minor imperfections that it may have prior to buying ... but now.. I'm already starting to notice little Pits / Craters on the hood area , and wherever those craters are, I can see BARE METAL

... this is a huge concern for me as I live out here in the Las Vegas desert and am expecting sandstorms and such. I haven't even touched a "real" sandstorm yet, and this is already happening , I Shudder to think of what will happen WHEN I do ....

by contrast, after 2 years here in the desert, my old '94 Civic does not even have anything similar to this... Yes, I have gotten pits and craters, but these are all from instances when I actually recall rocks/pebbles hitting the car ... no such thing has happened YET to the P5 , yet I'm still acquiring paint damage ( could it be that pebbles that I can neither see, hear, nor feel ( not being sarcastic, I mean actual really small pebbles ) are actually doing this much damage to my paint ?... I sure hope not

I'm now starting to consider getting the plastic rock shield ( even though I Hate the way it looks ) to protect my baby. ( Bras are not an option here in vegas as having it on regularly in this heat will cause MAJOR Discoloration in the paint )

Please respond if you are also having this problem, if it's just me and you have any suggestions, please feel free to impart knowledge, but if it's a lot of us, then maybe together we can do something to have Mazda help us all .. thanks, everyone.

 

[KYREDP5]

Yeah, we all have thin paint.

 

[uclap5]

yeah this has been discussed before.

good for environment = thin paint.

the more auto makers are doing to create less toxins the weaker the paint is.

have you tried painting models with waterbased paint? its ass. oil based is soo much better, but is more toxic.

 

[BlueMP5Dave]

I'm in LV we have thin paint it sucks life goes on. I talked to Mazda they say it is normal wear item and unless it bubbles or something weird they will not repaint. The tech also suggested I not use a pressure washer or take it through a auto car wash. Total crap but it is just a quirky Mazda thing I guess. I still love my car but not my paint job.

 

[johnjay5]

There's nothing you can do if your car is a daily driver and you can't avoid every little projectile coming at you!

 

[MP3_PR5]

I have many chips in my hood, that's why I'm getting a CF soon!!!

 

[fkmp5]

and lets hope you won't get chips in your CF hood (in the clear coat).. good luck!

 

[clownphish]

Yeah, this is really the one thing that bothers me most about this car - aside from that I love it. But it still sucks that my first new car has an appearance problem... :wtf: :bs:

 

[MP3_PR5]

and lets hope you won't get chips in your CF hood (in the clear coat).. good luck!

No kidding, I'm sure it will be somewhat better, at least not as noticable as on my YELLOW hood!!!

 

[fkmp5]

that's true!

 

[P5Alive]

Just noticed my first nick while washing the car last week.:mad:

Maybe that's why Mazda sends the free bottle of touch-up paint when you send back the survey.

:wtf:

 

[azeli73]

I feel your pain... I live in AZ. Drive 40 miles a day and dust storms and the monsoon season is right around the corner. Oh and I drive a black P5. It sucks! :mad:

 

[mooS mooS]

hmm... I don't know about the whole life goes on thing .... Base Metal = Oxidization = Rust = Shorter life span ( not to mention just plain Ugly ) ... i

f that's something you're comfortable with being complacent about, then more power to you .... I personally like to think that our Mazdas are of a higher quality ( paint-wise at the very least ) Compared to a Hyundai ..... my neighbor and I were comparing craters and you can see a noticeable difference in the thickness of the paint , with his Hyundai having a thicker coat than ours ...... just kind'a put a damper on my P5 pride ...

 

[dosle]

i would happily pay the extra money for a better paint job when i ordered the car knowing what i know and see now, after only 2 months its pretty bad.

matt

 

[mooS mooS]

I have sent emails to Mazda Via MazdaUSA.com concerning this problem, and would encourage everyone else to do so as well. After all, they won't know about what problems we're having unless we tell them.

 

[z00mer]

That was one of the first things that I noticed when I first got my Black Mica MSP. After two weeks time, I spent 4 hours putting on really nice thick coats of meguire`s 3 step waxs. Paying most attention to the front and the hood. So far the wax is doing its job, and holding up just fine. With the exception of that damn rock hitting my hood, while driving to Red Rock!!!:mad:

Also, stick to hand washing....never send your ride through an automated car wash!!! Those things do nothing more than fine sand your paint!!!

 

[Dimitrios]

Has anyone noticed a trend with regards to this and the build dates? The Spec V owners over at www.b15sentra.net had similar issues for a while (I am unsure how many were resolved); basically certain build dates had problems (apparently also associated with the QR25DE and oil-burning).

Nissan repainted a few cars, but some of the Sentra's were never even touched (a 'wear' item). Part of the reason I bought a Mazda (Protege5) was because I wanted to avoid paint issues. Now I'm feeling bad - only had her for a month.

Granted, I'm not expecting 5 layers of paint vis-a-vis Mercedes or BMW, but with a Civic and base Hyundai getting more consistent and quality coats I don't know what to say.

I agree - I would have paid an extra couple of hundred for a "quality" job.

 

[mooS mooS]

lol.. don't even get me started on Mercedes paint jobs ... I banged my old '76 450 SEL 6.9 years ago and was utterly awestruck by how thick the paint on it was ... I'm talkin about
this thick ... | | , no exaggeration ... but yes, it's not a fair comparison , then again, neither should it be a fair comparison between an MP5 and a $6000 Hyundai

 

[MrFoggy]

No kidding, I'm sure it will be somewhat better, at least not as noticable as on my YELLOW hood!!!

That exactly the same reason why I am considering a CF hood as well.

 

[TexP5]

I feel like I'm evil...almost 17k miles and literally NO chips in my Midnight Blue paint??? I'd like a color poll? Which ones are worse? and the build date idea is interesting too