# easy paint chips?



## sparkman (Oct 15, 2015)

Yeah, I have a few here and there on mine. I bought one of those GM touch up paint pens and I'll see what I can do in the spring to fix it up. 

Sticks out like a sore thumb on a red car. 


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

here at work we have like 3 of them in stock lol. perks of working at the dealer, im really shocked how easy the paint chips off.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Common observation from many. Best solution is paint protection film.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

Agreed, but man i hate having paint chips on a brand new car. ill touch up and hopefully get over it lol.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

sparkman said:


> Yeah, I have a few here and there on mine. I bought one of those GM touch up paint pens and I'll see what I can do in the spring to fix it up.
> 
> Sticks out like a sore thumb on a red car.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes, it really does. The front of my Cobalt looked like swiss cheese after I was done with it. Maybe I should leave more space between me and the cars in front or something......


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

pandrad61 said:


> Agreed, but man i hate having paint chips on a brand new car. ill touch up and hopefully get over it lol.


Two rules of life:
1. Don't sweat the small stuff.
2. EVERYTHING is small stuff.


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

Got my paint chip cherry popped a few weeks into ownership on my way to Richmond VA (2 hr drive) to have it professionally detailed. Oh, the irony!! The chip was basically in the middle of the **** hood!! I wanted to cry when the detailer discovered it and sent me a picture! The bad thing is, I never heard any kind of ping or anything along the drive and I was driving super careful and didn't tailgate anyone when I had the option not to once I got in the heart of the city. I got the paint chip addressed but it does piss me off that the paint is so thin on these cars!


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

The paint really isn't that thin........the relative ease of getting a chip is more a result of the EPA forcing manufacturers to use water borne paints to reduce pollution during manufacture.

As we can see though, water borne finishes are somewhat brittle when struck and chip easily.
The upside of this product is that it is flexible enough to allow quite a deep ding without cracking......and this is why the PDR guys are successful at straightening a panel.....the paint flexing saved it.

So, it can tolerate a door hit or dimensional change in the panel it is applied to fairly well.

But, as we all have seen, a 60mph hard edged stone can shatter the material at point of impact, not unlike a windshield.

All manufacturers are using water bornes now....have been for over ten years.....the finish manufacturers are always changing the mix a bit, usually in the hopes of reducing the hardness......no joy, yet.

Rob


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

yep

common complaint, water based paint


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

well im gonna buy a paint pen from the parts dept in a bit. im not sooo ocd i notice them but when i do i want them gone, not only for ascetics but primarily so rust cannot build up.


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## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

Part of the problem is the paint on the Cruze is a water base paint.

I hope GM improves the paint quality on the 2nd gen Cruze.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

First and last black car I own. This paint is terrible.


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## zen_ (Mar 15, 2015)

I noticed in the fall when I went over my car with an all-in-one light polish + sealant (Poorboys) on a DA that quite a few tiny chips became much larger, plus I have chips on the rocker panel and door edges where lots of Cruze owners get them. No getting around it that this isn't great paint, but it's a lower end car, not a Mercedes S-Class. 

I'd say look into Dr. Colorchip or professional chip correction, then put a clear bra on the front end and door edges. That seems to be the route most people go to protect daily drivers.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

I'm a big fan of the clear bra.


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## sparkman (Oct 15, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> First and last black car I own. This paint is terrible.


Third and last red car I own. Lol


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

sparkman said:


> Third and last red car I own. Lol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Don't be hating on red cars. They're clearly more fun.


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