Subaru's paint still sux.

I think someone over at i-club said that paint chips were a way to reduce weight on your car.

 

While trying to remove a stubborn bug from my bumper my thumb nail dug in and left a scratch. Stone from a 18 wheel dump truck that refused to yeild the left lane (80mph+) left a sizable chip/chunk on the hood. I'm sure there are many more to come.

 

My WRX looked liked it was sand blasted after 35k miles. Maybe I shouldn't tailgate(sorry draft) so much? Does Subaru use 1 coat primer, 1 coat paint, & 1 coat clear, in an effort to again save weight?

Its a savings alright, but not in weight. By cutting corners on the paint they are saving expense and increasing profits. The number of people that will notice that the paint is shit is much smaller than the number of people who go to automatic car washes and dry with bath towels. They are playing the odds that not enough people will notice that the paint scratches when you look at it.

Your right, I'm afriad if I stare too hard at it the paint might just start to flake off. I try to keep my cars looking nice, wash, wax, etc... not an easy thing to do with New England weather. I'm sure I'm not up to OCD's standard but I try. Subaru's paint is just not good. (remember Chrysler LeBaron's w/hoods & roofs down to primer?) I know I bought it for the engine again, I just was hoping for more this time.

Just found my first paint chip, does subaru offer a good touch-up paint?

 

I have had good success using a toothpick to put touch up paint into paint chips, in past vehicles. You have to do it when it isn't real hot out (so the paint isn't real thin). I usually just dip the tooth pick in the paint and then just touch the center of the chip and let the touch up paint run into the rest of the chip. when I have done it this way, you can usually see the differance in height but at least it is the same color oand the paint isn't real rough looking..

i have 7000 miles on my obsidian black pearl LGT and it looks like i put sandpaper pants on and slide over the hood all day long like they used to do on corvette's in 80's movies hahaha

Subaru just gives you a bottle of DupliColor touch up paint. Its not worth it because the color match isn't very good. www.PaintScratch.com is probably a better option for a good color match. You've got more choices in how you get it too.

So your saying there isn't really a "Genuine Subaru" touch up paint??

 

I called my subaru dealer and they said they can match it to my fender? wander if they do something above and beyond what subaru does?

All I know is that when I went to the dealership to get some touch up paint they just gave me a bottle of DupliColor paint that had my paint code on it. It wasn't mixed specifically to my paint at all. In fact, the color match is really poor on it. Its fine for toothpick style touch ups, but any scratches or chips that I use this paint for is going to be a really poor color match. I'll stick to toothpick touch ups until I get a better color match.

 

If your dealership is going to mix some paint based on your paint and not just your paint code then that would be a good thing. Good paint shops will take a paint sample from your gas cap and mix it from there. Kind of like when you bring something into Home Depot and they mix a can of paint to match. They have some sort of machine that reads the color and knows what to mix to achieve a perfect match. If your dealership will do that for you then they are better than mine is. My DupliColor says Regal Blue on it, but its definitely not the same color.

Ive had good luck using this stuff for post touch up

 

http://www.langka.com/

 

Another thing to remember about the paint is government regulations both american and japanese have stepped in here, A lot of the bonding chemicals they used to use in paint they cant use anymore. While I agree the paint should be thicker, some of the problem isnt subaru being cheap. This seems to be a re-occuring theme with japanese cars and paint. If you go to the acura tsx board i used to hang out at http://tsx.acurazine.com/ you will find a ton of posts of people bitching about acura's paint.

Okay I am following you!

 

I had an Acura before and it was "brillant Silver Metallic" for that paint I got an "acura genuine" touch up paint. I guess it doesn't mean it wasn't made by duplicolor in the first place but I have no idea?

 

Now I am starting to wander if I should use the Acura touch up paint if all they do is use Duplicolor (assuming my dealership does the same thing yours did?)

and I will agree with gfxdave69 that tsx paint wasn't much better if at all!..

said this once not sure were the message went.. (but I am kind of a newbie at this message board and boards in general)..

 

but agreeing with gfxdave69, I had a TSX and the paint on that car wasn't much better if any better.

I would just suggest testing it in an inconspicuous spot. Perhaps under the hood or in the engine bay. Just do a dot to check the color match. The engine bay isn't clear coated, so the paint match should be similar.

 

I'll second the Langka products. You can get it from our forum Vendor www.premiumautocare.com. It makes touch up work much easier. There is a bit of a learning curve before you have it down really good, but once you've got it then it is a much better way of doing touch up work.

 

The thin paint is really a problem. I took off my bug guard this weekend to clean under it and I noticed a huge paint chip on the lip of my hood. Its over an inch long and it doesn't look like somethin caused by the visor. The visor isn't even touching it in that area. The car isn't old enough to look like this. I'm going into the dealership soon to get my oil changed and I'm going to ask them about the paint issues that I'm seeing. Its just not acceptable to pay $30K on a car and have the paint flake off. Its going to hurt the resale value of our cars if the paint is shit after 5 years.

Another thing to remember about the paint is government regulations both american and japanese have stepped in here, A lot of the bonding chemicals they used to use in paint they cant use anymore. While I agree the paint should be thicker, some of the problem isnt subaru being cheap. This seems to be a re-occuring theme with japanese cars and paint.

 

yes. i've turned in many years with the automotive industry and have seen many changes in regulation that have lessened the quality in cars, paint being one of them.

I would just suggest testing it in an inconspicuous spot. Perhaps under the hood or in the engine bay. Just do a dot to check the color match. The engine bay isn't clear coated, so the paint match should be similar.

 

that is a good idea.. I will try that tonight. so your saying just drop a little touch up paint in the engine bay and they SHOULD or should not be the same color? what does clearcoat do to the color of paint?

 

sorry about the extra posts.. I am a a bit ignorant and you all got the pleasure of seeing me try to figure out a message board! luck you!

A drop in the engine bay should be close. Clear coat adds the glossy look that the car has. For little toothpick touch ups its not really that important that they be clear coated. Actually, I wouldn't use clear coat on anything that I brushed on. I only clear coat after I have airbrushed an area. Anyway, that is an issue for a different subject. For purposes of little rock chips in the hood, it's not necessary to clear coat. The chip will be less noticable if you just dab it with paint. if you have a scratch that you are trying to cover up then a perfect color match is more important.

got it, I will try that tonight! thanks

Okay tried the Acura Brillant Silver on the car in the engine bay. Not the greatest.

 

So I was wandering what is the "paint code" for the dupli-color that you would get if you went to a subaru dealership?

 

I can maybe pick one up at my nearest Advance Auto Parts and test that the same way and see which one is closest?

Chip/Scratch # 3 above driver's side headlight. >5000 mi on car. I think CT DOT uses straight gravel to coat roads in winter. Not as corrosive as salt but tuff on paint and wind shields.

 

Used Subaru touch-up paint on WRX (WR Blue) did not match well at all. Darker and left blobs, but did hide chips from 25ft away.

it blobbed? did you use a toothpick? if you used the crappy brush that comes with, I would suggest not!

it blobbed? did you use a toothpick? if you used the crappy brush that comes with, I would suggest not!Today 10:30 AM

 

It did. And I did.(crappy brush) A little goes a LOOOOOONG way. But if you squinted really hard you would hardly notice.

well don't squint really hard:)

well don't squint really hard:)

 

Not my problem any more, traded in WRX for Legacy, but Subarus seem to be a magnet for stones. (conspiracy theory)

Since about 1997 almost ALL MFG's paint had to change. We breath easier and might not burn the planet up as quickly, but the paint is more susceptible to chipping. We sell a lot of 3M clear bra's as a result. They are not DIY as they cover pretty much THE ENTIRE front bumper and the hood piece goes up PAST THE SCOOP on the GT's! Not for the faint of heart, but if you are going to protect the car you might as well get the professional extended coverage version. If you don't you are still going to get a lot of chips where the film isn't, so you are still going to take a hit when you trade/turn in the lease. Staying a couple hundred yards back will help but that isn't really practical...

There is something wrong with this world if you have to cover your new car in plastic in order to keep the paint from falling off. If they can't make the paint not chip off then they should start installing this kind of stuff at the factory and save us the problem. The folks like myself that wouldn't buy a car that I couldn't maintain would like to know in advance if the paint is going to fall off. If the car comes covered in plastic then we'll know that we should buy a different car.