AKDSLDOG

Agree, junk! My 02' is black, and the paint is chipped all over the place. You think for the money they would at least paint the rigs better!

I will be getting mine painted in a couple years, allready been quoted $7,000.00. This is high, but the kind and style I am having done is not cheap, and it's being done by the best in the state with a heavy clear coat.


Thumb's down on factory paint jobs!

Iron Horse

My silver 02 is getting to be the same way, every time I do a walk around and check things over I see new chips. The rear quarter panels look like someone took a sandblaster to them even with the husky mud flaps I have. Before long it will be down to bare metal.

I guess the only solution is to leave a good coat of mud on it to protect the poor paint underneath.

Hemidad

I was thinking about this paint problem driving home from work the other day.
Does Chrysler specify in their sales literature or anywhere the process of their paint system???
How about in the warranty department, is there anything specified there???
After this is known, maybe there is a SCIENTIFIC way to determine;
The thickness of the clear coat/basecoat
The hardness of the clear coat/basecoat
Maybe some of the paint experts would know a way to determine this.
If Chrysler is not meeting their process specs, there could be the possability of a class action.

Another thought in a different direction; would it be possable to and a little cheaper to spray on another coat of high quality clearcoat while the vehicle was still realtively new?
Maybe this would protect it & stand up to the elements.

HOHN

Paint on my '02 is lame. It's Flame Red. Paper thin, scratches REALLY easily, and had swirl marks in it from the factory.

Justin


You want good paint? Try the House of Kolor paints. They are a fortune, but worth every penny. I was also impressed with the Sikkens and the PPG I have seen.

HOHN

For the record, the paint on comparable Ford and GMs is not much better at all.

blackjack

I do not know much about paint but I was speaking to a guy that installs paint systems in the big 3 and he told me the paints could be leaps and bounds better if they could use the proper chemicals to appy the paint. I guess there are many EPA restrictions governing the process some prolly even for the good.

AlpineRAM

Over here the industry has to adhere to stricter regulations regarding emissions during painting a vehicle than in the USA ( I know since I was in the market for painting systems for a customer and the systems that comply to the EPA and other regs in the US wouldn't pass the tests here).
With the new paints that are used over here the vehicles need some time under UV rays to fully harden the paint before they may be buffed or polished. If you use a good wax (including an UV block) on a too new vehicle this is contraproductive to overall paint stability.
Some dealers over here do buff and polish new vehicles and the paint fades and scratches quickly on them. If the vehicles had their lot time preferrably in summer the overall paint quality is better.
Just my 2c

AlpineRAM

magnum

Alpine- the Europeans have been so far of ahead of Detroit on paint for many years. They were the ones responsible for the Clear coat. Much as I hate to admit it.

The curing you are talking about is sort of the same over here. With hardeners used in today's paints over here however, the curing takes place with or without UV light. Normally after mixing paint, we have a "pot life" of only a couple hours to get the paint on the car in liquid form. Its is going to harden no matter what.

The best way to tell if you car is safe to "wax" after purchasing a new one is to wait until any water that gets on the vehcile does not "bead" up, it just sheets off. The its "safe" to wax. This is why I never use the stuff.

The way I figure it......IMO......Waxing is a waste of time, money, and effort. Give me a good polish any day. Polish won't "seal" the paint, it will let it breath, and still allow you to slide off the hood.

AlpineRAM

AFAIK the way it's handled over here we do also have a pot life of about 10- 30 mins, some thixotropizer to make it stick and form etc- but also a small portion of accelerator that will activate the hardener- the rest of the curing that gives full stability will take some more time, heat and UV- the paint is useable (won't fall off if you shut the door) but will still not be as hard as after curing fully. Paint manufacturers will tell you (at least it's like that over here) that the paint will have a pot life of 30mins, and be fully cured after 90 mins. After these 90mins it will have reached the stability that the mfg guarantees. One of my friends at the university tested the post curing on lots of paints and found that the scratch resistance can triple over time in some cases.

AlpineRAM