# Take note chevrolet...paint sucks!



## ChrisWorldPeace (Jun 24, 2013)

terrible paint jobs comes standard on all Chevy Cruze Models

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## chevycruze2012 (Nov 13, 2012)

Diesel14 said:


> This thread is directed towards the TERRIBLE paint Chevrolet has put on my vehicle. (Sorry, I don't know where to post this) I have wanted and waited for Cruze Diesel since driving one in Australia. When it was available here in the states I bought mine, Summit White. I now have 17k on my car (I drives 120 miles a day) and I have multiple paint nicks in EVERY panel on my car, don't have a clue how Ive even got them on my trunk lid also??
> 
> This is the newest car/Chevrolet Ive ever owned. I have had Chevrolets since I turned 16 and bought my first car, a 1957 Belair. I am 57 years old and know how to take care of my vehicles, it is waxed every 3 mos. I have classic cars with original paint on many of them and have no issues like I have on this 2014. Whats the deal Chevrolet? How can you offer a new vehicle which "Water Color" paint?
> 
> Does anyone else have this problem? I am very dis-appointed in Chevrolet for offering such a poor product to all of us


 *Its not just Chevrolet/GM using this type of paint. ALL/most manufacturers are using the water based paint from PPG because it user and environmentally friendly. As a professional detailer, when your dealing with water based paints that have clear coat, you MUST use synthetic products. Any cheap knock off will start to deteriorate the paint. Trust me.*


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## tracepk (Aug 20, 2013)

It is truly unfortunate. At least you have the summit white, Its paint defects show the least of any available cruze color. the black granite, rainforest green, and blue topaz make it a pain to keep detailed 24/7


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

i have a tiny chip on my bonnet and both my wings and one on my driver door . even my mr2 turbo 1995 dosent have chips in the paint


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## 99_XC600 (Feb 24, 2013)

It's not just Chevrolet, it's across the entire industry. Water born paints are simply not hard enough to protect themselves from chipping.


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

99_XC600 said:


> It's not just Chevrolet, it's across the entire industry. Water born paints are simply not hard enough to protect themselves from chipping.


wrong companys like bently Mercedes audi BMW use water based and they are much stronger. but it reflects in the price i suppose . wonder if chevy uses stronger paint on the corvette


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## Tim Adams (Apr 20, 2014)

This is common on the Camaros also. My 2010 has only a few chips, but it only has 12,000 miles to. Lots of complaints over at Camaro5.com since the 5th Gen came out.


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## chevycruze2012 (Nov 13, 2012)

stamas said:


> wrong companys like bently Mercedes audi BMW use water based and they are much stronger. but it reflects in the price i suppose . wonder if chevy uses stronger paint on the corvette


 *This is because manufacturers like Mercedes, audi, and BMW use a paint strengthener that is called Carran. It is a bio-based additive for water based paints and coatings to help make the paint stronger. *


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## Cruzin' 6th Gear (Mar 12, 2014)

This is a pain I know all to well. Just bought my 2014 this January and it already has a bunch of chips on it. Doesn't help that I live in PA and several of the townships decided to save their crappy roads over the winter by putting down chip~n~tar last fall.


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## Cruzin' 6th Gear (Mar 12, 2014)

Has anyone noticed a poor paint job on their Cruze? I worked as a painter for a few years so maybe I'm just keyed in to it but it looks like someone fell asleep while painting my roof. The paint is very thick, so much so as to give it an orange peel appearance.


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## trevforever (Feb 20, 2014)

I treat my car better than I treat my girlfriend but still have scratches and marks everywhere. Truly pisses me off


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## chevycruze2012 (Nov 13, 2012)

trevforever said:


> I treat my car better than I treat my girlfriend but still have scratches and marks everywhere. Truly pisses me off


 *What color is your cruze?*


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## chevycruze2012 (Nov 13, 2012)

Cruzin' 6th Gear said:


> Has anyone noticed a poor paint job on their Cruze? I worked as a painter for a few years so maybe I'm just keyed in to it but it looks like someone fell asleep while painting my roof. The paint is very thick, so much so as to give it an orange peel appearance.


 *Mine looks fine. I have a pretty good eye for the most part, and while I detail my car almost every day, I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary. Fall asleep while painting lol....that's a wild card right there lol. Im sure you probably being sarcastic, but if you weren't, cars are painted with robots nowadays to speed up the production time. If someone had to paint a car by hand using what the body shops use, it would take them forever. At the factory, they paint the whole car before they put ONE part in it. *


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Funny, you can find this thread (not the OP) on every car forum on the web. People have been whining about factory paint finishes for decades. It is what it is. That's why I always request a bottle of touch up paint from the dealer with every car I buy. After over forty years of car ownership (some of them Chevys), I have yet to have one that didn't chip or pit from driving. If you want a trailer queen paint finish, don't drive it on the street. This winter, I had to pass a salt truck spewing the stuff across three lanes of traffic. I expected the entire side of the car to be peppered with chips, but nothing. Yes, the front has a couple after a year on the road, but I'll get to them when the weather is warmer.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Cruzin' 6th Gear said:


> Has anyone noticed a poor paint job on their Cruze? I worked as a painter for a few years so maybe I'm just keyed in to it but it looks like someone fell asleep while painting my roof. The paint is very thick, so much so as to give it an orange peel appearance.


Last I heard, robots don't fall asleep during their shift.


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## Cruzin' 6th Gear (Mar 12, 2014)

chevycruze2012 said:


> *Mine looks fine. I have a pretty good eye for the most part, and while I detail my car almost every day, I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary. Fall asleep while painting lol....that's a wild card right there lol. Im sure you probably being sarcastic, but if you weren't, cars are painted with robots nowadays to speed up the production time. If someone had to paint a car by hand using what the body shops use, it would take them forever. At the factory, they paint the whole car before they put ONE part in it. *


I am aware of the process, merely my method of expressing the problem. I understand that as a car manufacturer you're turning out tons of cars every week things can get missed but where's the quality control guy that's supposed to reject defects? I guess as a consumer I just naturally expect more from a brand new product.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Actually, robots were implemented to improve the painting process. When they were first introduced, there was a panic due to them using more paint than the human painters. Turned out the humans had gotten so good at laying down an even layer of paint, they were using too little. Look at the cars from the 70s and 80s and notice all of the faded, peeling paint after just a few years. The robots actually produce a more even paint layer if programmed correctly and they do it over and over. Yes, the water borne paint is truly different and a bit trickier to apply correctly. I've sprayed all of them over the years.


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## Cruzin' 6th Gear (Mar 12, 2014)

Jim you're right about people complaining about paint jobs but yet I have a '95 K1500 with not a chip on it and I take that off road.


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## Tim Adams (Apr 20, 2014)

Porsche still hand paints. Saw it on one of those How It's Made TV shows. The main reason is because money is no object with them, you can get any color you want, at least on a 911.


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## 99_XC600 (Feb 24, 2013)

stamas said:


> wrong companys like bently Mercedes audi BMW use water based and they are much stronger. but it reflects in the price i suppose . wonder if chevy uses stronger paint on the corvette



You're in another segment all together. Do a search on Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Dodge, Jeep, Chryser and you will see pages upon pages or threads in the same types of forums with them same issue.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My cruze is covered in paint chips, worse than any other car I have owned.


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## MiamiMichael (Mar 12, 2014)

My Chevy new car salesman, gave me a tube of GM touch-up paint as a gift, after I had mentioned to him I was about to order it from his Parts Department.

Saved me about $14.

My Cruze turned 3 months old today, and has approx 4,500 miles on it...and, not a paint chip, so far.


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

99_XC600 said:


> You're in another segment all together. Do a search on Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Dodge, Jeep, Chryser and you will see pages upon pages or threads in the same types of forums with them same issue.


this is what you said (It's not just Chevrolet, it's across the entire industry. Water born paints are simply not hard enough to protect themselves from chipping.)
I was just stating a fact that there are other brands that have utilized a chemical to add to water based paint that makes it much stronger , so strong infact that you will have a very hard time trying to polish it with a machine . furthermore I bet the skyline has that chemical in the paint to make it stronger being such an expensive car . that is why I referred to the corvette


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## nodule (Apr 26, 2013)

I dont mean to be blunt here, but come on guys...We are driving compact, economy budget cars! What do you expect!? They are ALL the same paint quality...Cruze, Civic,
Elantra, Corolla, Mazda3, Focus, Forte, Jetta.....all the same these days! its somethine we all just have to live with. If you want closer to flawless paint job, buy a new Lexus! Not a economy car and expect perfection!


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

nodule said:


> I dont mean to be blunt here, but come on guys...We are driving compact, economy budget cars! What do you expect!? They are ALL the same paint quality...Cruze, Civic,
> Elantra, Corolla, Mazda3, Focus, Forte, Jetta.....all the same these days! its somethine we all just have to live with. If you want closer to flawless paint job, buy a new Lexus! Not a economy car and expect perfection!


 yes and I would of rather paid an extra what ever amount for them to spray the car with the stronger chemical in the paint . wouldent have been more that 100 £ extra


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

nodule said:


> I dont mean to be blunt here, but come on guys...We are driving compact, economy budget cars! What do you expect!? They are ALL the same paint quality...Cruze, Civic,
> Elantra, Corolla, Mazda3, Focus, Forte, Jetta.....all the same these days! its somethine we all just have to live with. If you want closer to flawless paint job, buy a new Lexus! Not a economy car and expect perfection!


LOL but I did kinda pay more for BGM... at the end of the day the same year Escalade in the driveway paint is holding up fine even w/o mudflaps.

You also have to take into consideration some LTZ and Diesel were priced $30 before finance charges.


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## nobog (Oct 25, 2011)

Look at your windsheild after 10K miles - it looks like its been shot with a shotgun. That same debris is hitting your paint, I'm amazed it's as durable as it is.

JK


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## 2013LT (Jul 3, 2013)

I dunno man my civic with 220k has only a few chips. My cruze with 26k is quickly approaching the number my civic has. Not sure if they used water based paints in 2005.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

2013LT said:


> I dunno man my civic with 220k has only a few chips. My cruze with 26k is quickly approaching the number my civic has. Not sure if they used water based paints in 2005.


Oh yes, even my '97 EX had water based paint. My '88 323 did too as does my current '03 Protege5.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

My Subaru is an 05 and that paint never had issues. I put the Rally Armors on for the looks and keep the car cleaner longer. White cars get dirty so fast leaving the car wash. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

My 2002 Corvette and my wife's 2011 BMW both have FAR superior paint to the Cruze.

Regarding compact cars, I don't know if this is Cruze specific or not, but there's no way to tell paint durability before buying the car and putting miles on it.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Blue Angel said:


> My 2002 Corvette and my wife's 2011 BMW both have FAR superior paint to the Cruze.
> 
> Regarding compact cars, I don't know if this is Cruze specific or not, but there's no way to tell paint durability before buying the car and putting miles on it.


I guess find a gravel parking lot on the test drive.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Blue Angel said:


> Regarding compact cars, I don't know if this is Cruze specific or not, but there's no way to tell paint durability before buying the car and putting miles on it.


Well, there is sort of a way, but not very scientific. You can spend months prowling the various forums for the issue. You can also check the various sites like NHTSA and others for paint complaints. Or you can do like I did in addition to the above and go talk to a couple of body shops to get their experience. I also stopped by my Trusted Independent Mechanic and sought his opinion on things. Take all of that together with a pound of salt and you get a pretty good overview of what is what. I realize that is waaaay too much effort for most car buyers, but it has worked for me.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Good advice Jim, though for a new model there will be little history to go by unless you're sure nothing changed with the paint process/materials since the previous model that was painted in the same paint shop/assembly plant.

I can only hope GM is improving things for the next Cruze. Paint quality isn't everything, but it's a pita for someone like me who likes to keep their car in very nice shape. I found a few small stone chips on the drivers side doors this spring... I've never had stone chips on doors like that before (middle of the door).


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Blue Angel said:


> Good advice Jim, though for a new model there will be little history to go by unless you're sure nothing changed with the paint process/materials since the previous model that was painted in the same paint shop/assembly plant.


Yes, but I would never, never buy a first year production from any car maker. FWIW, my intent was to replace the '97 Civic with a '12 model of some car, so I watched the '11s. When the '12s came out, I didn't care for either of the two on my short list. One was still having teething problems and the other was a new generation with some real short comings. Fortunately, the old car was well on it's way to many more years of reliability, so we waited another year to see how things sorted out. Gave us plenty of time to get all questions addressed and we made a decision on a '13. Some will question spending two years deciding on a car purchase, but the intent is for it to be ours for a decade or more, so I consider it time well spent.


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## trevforever (Feb 20, 2014)

chevycruze2012 said:


> *What color is your cruze?*


 blue ray metalic


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

lol I feel you dude, I baby my car extremely....hardly drive it and I don't get how these mini scrapes and such get there, ive learned to just go with the flow, pretend like it aint there haha :sad:


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## silver2kws6 (Jul 6, 2013)

Next car is being bought new or as new as possible clayed polished and coated with a resin so itll have extra thick protection. Im done messing around with crap paint. But as long as you keep it nice 95% will look better than most. Its a daily driver not a show car

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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

yes, mmmmmmm....wax


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

silver2kws6 said:


> Next car is being bought new or as new as possible clayed polished and coated with a resin so itll have extra thick protection. Im done messing around with crap paint. But as long as you keep it nice 95% will look better than most. Its a daily driver not a show car
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Next new car I'm going to splurge on 3m spray on film or vinyl wrap the car.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

I personally think the paint is great and one of the better I have had with my cars. The 96 hond civic was awful and had tons of chips, our mazda 3 isn't much better. and the toyota corrolla I had was just crap there was nothing good about that car and had tons of chips when I got rid of it. It was a rough winter and the cruze came through it with no chips with the exception of a door ding. But I think the paint is great on the cruze. My hood has zero chips but I do have some on the front bumper cover.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Major objections to water based paints, more porosity, and a get of a lot more difficult to clean than solvent based paints. In particular, insects. 

But improvements have been made since the latter 70's when the EPS said no more solvent based paints. But ironically, can still buy them in a grocery store shelve. Don't get caught with a can like this in your plant, stiff fine.

88 Supra still has solvent based paints, can wash that in a small fraction of the time then the Cruze, bugs just rinse off. But was made in Japan with different laws. Not sure which are worse, but if this car was in Japan, at 30K miles the users had to install a brand new engine. Water based paints were really bad in the 80's here, layers would fall off, think they solved most of these problems. And were sold without any five year rust through warranty. 

Not having any paint issues with my Cruze, maybe its because my wife purchased it and wasn't done on a Monday morning. But is a first class PITA to wash, helps to put a double layer of wax on it. Then have to pay a lot extra for this bug removal stuff.

Ran mine though a car wash, that was a waste of nine bucks. Supra comes through nice and clean.

Just saying, don't blame GM or any other vehicle manufacturer, address your complaints to the EPA, but watch out for a tax audit.


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

My friends dad owns a classic rolls Royce and Bentley garage where they have split the shop up into two where the dad and a couple other work on the classics and the son and a couple others work on modern cars , he has the license to spray the old style solvent paint for the bentleys and rollers . So if he's doing a respray he can spray a newish car with solvent paint and get away with it no problem . He has some amazing rolls come in there so we'll built its unreal , if they were building them that good 100 years ago I'm really confused how the can **** up so badly now days .


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## sublime1996525 (May 9, 2013)

stamas said:


> wrong companys like bently Mercedes audi BMW use water based and they are much stronger. but it reflects in the price i suppose . *wonder if chevy uses stronger paint on the corvette*


No they do not. Look up orange peel paint on corvette. It's pretty bad, even with the new C7's.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

sublime1996525 said:


> No they do not. Look up orange peel paint on corvette. It's pretty bad, even with the new C7's.


Orange peel is a completely different issue. The paint on my '02 C5Z is miles better than the paint on the Cruze. The paint on our '11 BMW is maybe even better than my Vette, but it's black and shows everything so it's a tough call as to which is actually better.

These cars are both new enough to have water based paints, so there's something else going on. As with most things it's likely no more complicated than cost. Cheaper cars use cheaper paint.

On the Corvette Forum there was a thread where a guy wet sanded and pushed his brand new black C6Z because he hated the orange peel. It looked absolutely incredible when it was done, but he was a guy with lots of relevant experience. I've polished and sanded quite a bit but wouldn't trust myself to do a whole car, even my blue Z.


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## sublime1996525 (May 9, 2013)

Yeah I've seen that. I wouldn't trust myself to do it either. But you are right it's a different issue but something that still bugs a lot of corvette people.


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## phpsteve (Jul 15, 2014)

Cruzin' 6th Gear said:


> This is a pain I know all to well. Just bought my 2014 this January and it already has a bunch of chips on it. Doesn't help that I live in PA and several of the townships decided to save their crappy roads over the winter by putting down chip~n~tar last fall.



I'm in PA and bought mine in July.. now not even 1yr later and I too have succumbed to the dreaded paint chipping. I had a 86GT Mustang that I beat the crap out of and barely had any type of wear on the paint or chips.. last winter really hurt it.. afraid to see what next winter brings.. ughh


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## Beelzebubba (Apr 3, 2015)

My Mazda had the worst paint for chips. 

Ironic because it was built in the exact same factory as the Ford Mustang.

Hard to believe that the bean counters let that one slide. 

As far as the Mercedes Benz, my brother in law special ordered a Mercedes Benz E350 4-matic. It came with sections of orange peel. Brand new special order. To the dealer's credit, their body guys did an exceptional job of removing it but I wonder how much thinner the paint is in those sections now.


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## Beelzebubba (Apr 3, 2015)

My Chryslers have both had exceptional paint which is funny considering their bad reputation for peeling paint. 

The PT-GT had almost zero rock chips, and it had a lot of front fender exposed. I only waxed it once a year and you wouldn't believe how much that "Cool Vanilla" would shine. The 200S has an equally good finish.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Beelzebubba said:


> My Chryslers have both had exceptional paint which is funny considering their bad reputation for peeling paint.
> 
> The PT-GT had almost zero rock chips, and it had a lot of front fender exposed. I only waxed it once a year and you wouldn't believe how much that "Cool Vanilla" would shine. The 200S has an equally good finish.


My dad's Liberty is 11 years old now and the paint looks brand-new - and hasn't really been taken care of well. Cherokees had bad peeling paint problems on their hoods, I think largely due to the fact that they got REALLY hot at idle.

But the paint on newer vehicles ALL sucks - our '12 Toyota has chips too, as does my parents 07 Honda, as well as a friend's BMW and the VW he had before that.

As long as my Cruze doesn't end up looking like 2000's Hondas where it's all peeling off in 10 years, I'll be ok with a few chips here and there.


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## Beelzebubba (Apr 3, 2015)

I would think that the PT-GT would have been just as susceptible to the paint peeling as the Cherokee was with an SRT/4 engine crammed into that tiny compartment. I guess there was enough air gap between turbocharger and hood.


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## goinovr (May 6, 2013)

You know the paint is bad when you have to carry a black sharpie in your glove box.


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## wasney (Mar 3, 2015)

I have a blue topaz. Glad I am not the only one with the problem. I have a bottle of touch up paint I keep in my car. Usually after washing it I walk around it dabbing the small spots. Lol One day I will get it painted a Lime green color.


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## wasney (Mar 3, 2015)

Sadly I didn't notice the clear coat peeling on the front bumper when I bought my Cruze. I live in Michigan so the winters ruin it.  It bugs the **** out of me to this day, wish I would have went with the sunburnt orange color. I wasn't a big fan at the time but I look back and liked the "different" color.


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