Seriously, what's with the paint on our cars?

[Winners Eat Pho]

I've had the car for about 7k miles and I can already see the chips I've gotten on the front, hood, and even some on the doors. I'm thinking in 20k miles I'll do a full respray of the hood and front end and some touching up followed by a clear bra.

Thin paint on these cars??[headbang]

[EMAXX]

I have a clear bra on the front of my car, so the bumper, hood, and part of the fenders are fine, but what isn't is starting to get chipped already. My doors, fenders, and even roof has some rock chips. I only have 17k miles.

[Zebman]

My paint's fine! 38k. Distance distance distance! NEVER stay behind semis/big trucks/vans if avoidable, even if they're 100 ft in front of you. Although i'm from a suburban/rural state, there are no crowded freeways here so it may be easier said than done for others.

[pw211]

My paint's fine! 38k. Distance distance distance! NEVER stay behind semis/big trucks/vans if avoidable, even if they're 100 ft in front of you. Although i'm from a suburban/rural state, there are no crowded freeways here so it may be easier said than done for others.

x2

[Blarg]

Clear bra certainly helps. I have really small pits all over the paint, it's not from rocks because it's on every panel but I have no idea where they would come from. You can't notice them but under my inspection light (bright LED flashlight) you can.

[killerb7]

my paint is pretty bad, i blame tree sap however

[dblock110]

audi is known to have one the hardest paints of any manufacturer . .

[bsrpilot44]

audi is known to have one the hardest paints of any manufacturer . .

lol...any facts to back that up? seriously interested.

[shinbumee]

haha my paints are chipping out too.
for those of you who has clean paint, you must have some nice roads :)
driving on paved roads makes me feel sad about the car....

[sl2.oturbo]

my paint is like the best thing on the car only thing that will last lol not joking..i wish these car could take the mods you throw at it 15 k and i know alrady having problems

[Tusin]

lol...any facts to back that up? seriously interested.

He means hardest clearcoat. And it is true. Hard on paper facts? hahah no. Spending twice as long, and using much more aggressive compounds/pads to remove swirl marks? I have first hand experiance:) lol. In the professional detailing world, Audi's are known as hell. Go over to autopia.org and do a search for Audi. You will quickly have your answers;).

Before you decide on a respray. Look into some of the rock chip repair options out there (Lankga for one). If it is really really really bad, then I guess go ahead. But do it as a last resort.

[Jer]

audi is known to have one the hardest paints of any manufacturer . .

This is utter and complete bull$h!t. My B7 A4 at 30k miles has more chips and nicks in the paint than ANY other car I've owned at this mileage and it's not even close. I disagree 100% with your claim and have first hand knowledge to back up my opinion. I wish you were right though because the front end of my car wouldn't look like the surface of the moon.

[LDetter]

Biggest problem is all the new paint produced has to be enviromentaly friendly, which takes away from the adhesion of it. Its not just Audi but all cars. My Dad has his own autobody shop and no matter how perfect you prep the car, it still chips. Theres not much you can do about it, clear bra is the best bet, i think there ugly however because you can see where it stops.

[SilverBullets]

i have one chip on my hood but it came in the center of a dent from a rock off a dump truck... other than that its been damn good

[dblock110]

i meant hardest clearcoat - from detailing experience lol

[Subaru71]

im at 22k miles.. just took off my clear bra because it started fogging... if you don't wash your car every week or at most every 2 weeks... clear bra will fog..

[CBRmatt600]

My hood looks like shit. And my paint looks like shit.

[ItsDubC]

Actually, having a hard coating or paint doesn't necessarily mean it won't chip easier. A lot of harder materials require more force to break but when they do, they shatter or chip instead of bend.

Anyway, I have about 7k miles on my B8 and I already have a few spots where the paint has gotten chipped off on the hood. Sucks [:/]

[sinned]

Actually, having a hard coating or paint doesn't necessarily mean it won't chip easier. A lot of harder materials require more force to break but when they do, they shatter or chip instead of bend.

Anyway, I have about 7k miles on my B8 and I already have a few spots where the paint has gotten chipped off on the hood. Sucks [:/]

x2, a softer clear coat resists chipping but are more prone to scratches. which is usually the case for european paints, with Audi and some select european brands being an exception.

American cars usually tend to have hard clear coats which is less prone to scratches but tend to chip easier.

This is what I have read even from classic motoring before...

[Jay B7]

i have 25k on the clock, and many chips on the bumper and hood. What took most of the damage was my painted filler plate. i have paint stored at my body shop so he repaints small parts like that for me for $25 bucks

[Tusin]

This is utter and complete bull$h!t. My B7 A4 at 30k miles has more chips and nicks in the paint than ANY other car I've owned at this mileage and it's not even close. I disagree 100% with your claim and have first hand knowledge to back up my opinion. I wish you were right though because the front end of my car wouldn't look like the surface of the moon.

Do more research than saying someone's claim is bullshit. Because now you kind of look like a fool.... :)

[Jer]

Do more research than saying someone's claim is bullshit. Because now you kind of look like a fool.... :)

Yeah? Well.... welll... you live in Alaska! [:D]

I'll admit I was wrong but initially I thought you were calling us all high for having more chips than other cars until someone explained the difference better so it still makes sense.

[sinned]

Do more research than saying someone's claim is bullshit. Because now you kind of look like a fool.... :)

I wish you took your own advice sometimes [confused]

[flyguy327]

My paint is also crap. There are places on the bumper i can scratch with my finger nail if i wanted to! I LOVE my audi but not its paint. My moms old 92 Lexus LS400 has less scratches and looks better and its has 150K miles and has never seen a garage.

[AofC_RR]

audi is known to have one the hardest paints of any manufacturer . .

I used to work for Infiniti and they have the softest paint. You can scratch through their paint with your thumbnail. And I mean through, prime or metal would be showing. Same pressure on an Audi does nothing. I would never buy a black infiniti because their obsidian black is the thinnest paint i've ever seen. Ask a bodyshop sometime about paint.
Paint is softest on the plastics because it bonds differently than to metal.

[jriddle11]

Sorry to bring this topic back, but this is my 4th Audi and the first time I am starting to see paint issues. Recently I noticed some very small rust looking spots around my car. I had my car professionally clay barred and waxed to see if the sports would go away, but they didn't. I'm planning on taking the car to the dealership tomorrow so they can see the problem. I'm sure if it is early rust Audi will take care of it, but I wanted to know if anyone else had this type of problem?

[Larson7.62]

Could be sap. Happened on mine. Looked similar to rust spots, and did not come out. Got a respray on the entire car, and it was covered under comprehensive insurance.

[swoardrider]

And the worst part is that they use light color primer so when you do get a chip on a dark car it sticks out like a sore thumb. F'n lame!
Dark cars should have dark primer IMO.

[s-man]

it seems every time i wash my car, i discover a new chip.......

[SEXICÄN]

i don't have rock chips in 66k but i am smart enough to get the clear bra on my car!

I know not to cry about rock chips when i don't take the preliminary efforts to take care of my ride!

[Tusin]

Clear bra's should not fog, doesn't matter about washing. I guess bad installation or cheap material would cause it though.

Sometimes rock chips just cannot be avoided. I try to keep my distance on the highway, but there are always those jackasses that will cut you off, or the big trucks with way to many wheels;)

I would like to see a picture of those rust spots. Where exactly are they located?

[xULx]

it seems every time i wash my car, i discover a new chip.......

x2 WTF? Although most chips happen on the top of my trunk lid.....[confused]

[mmarktfsi]

This is utter and complete bull$h!t. My B7 A4 at 30k miles has more chips and nicks in the paint than ANY other car I've owned at this mileage and it's not even close. I disagree 100% with your claim and have first hand knowledge to back up my opinion. I wish you were right though because the front end of my car wouldn't look like the surface of the moon.

He is right. Most modern german brands use harder, scratch resistant ceramic based clearcoats. While it doesn't warrant any anti-chipping, it is more difficult to scratch than the paint of say a Japanese car, which is usually softer.

[felondnb]

I've just touched up my stone chips & fixed a couple of scratches caused from taking it to a hand car wash outfit.

First, I washed & clayed the car. I'd bought some touch up paint from Audi & so carefully filled in the chips, etc. Then wet sanded with 2000, 2500 and 3000 grit paper (left to soak the night before)... I was at my parent's place & they thought I'd ruined the car - it did look a mess! However, out came the DA polisher & I spent hours working the various grade polishes with corresponding pads. Then I worked around the whole car with the DA & once I'd chosen an effective polish & pad combo, the Phantom Black really began to sparkle. Then for protection, I gave it a good coat of CarLack 68 Long Life Sealant & then 2 coats of Victoria Concours wax.

The lacquer/clear coat Audi use is very hard & even tough compounds hardly touch swirl marks. One of my DA compounding pads died in the process!

[Tusin]

What pad/compound combo ended up working?

[mmarktfsi]

What pad/compound combo ended up working?

Not to jack felondnb's answer but usually for a DA polisher a very aggressive pad will make the quickest work of Audi paint as it takes a very long time for a DA polisher to remove deeper scratches. So a purple wool pad would be best. As for compounds I would use some Menzerna Super Intensive Polish or Megiuar's M105.

[Yahdatshim]

3k on mine, and i have 8 chips... than i decided to stop the bleeding and purchased the 3m invisimask... 125.00 and easy to install... whoever said audi is known to have the hardest paint is outta his mind... you can see how flimsy and thin the paint is when you see the chipped out area... my brothers g35 has 3 times the thickness... great investment on the invisimask

[Tusin]

Yahdatshim um dude. Before you start calling people "out of their mind" you probably would want some proof to back that up, wouldn't you? Because if not, then you would be kind of a jackass.... ;)

Fact: Audi clear coat is one of if not the hardest clear coat used. Also it is considered to be "thick" (as in a good amount of clear). What you (and some others) are failing to understand, that in general factory paint is not "thick". We are talking microns of primer/base/clear here. The norm that I have seen on new Audi's are anywhere between 150-180 microns (I own a paint thickness gauge). Want to know one way to tell if a car/panel has been re-painted? Take a PTG reading, and generally if it is 300microns or higher it has been repainted. Maybe your brothers G35 has been resprayed? G35's are known to have some of the softest clear.

Now there is a argument about having hard clear and soft clear. Hard clear can be nice and all to resist scratches, but can be a PITA to polish out. While soft clear may scratch a little easier, but will be MUCH easier to polish out. Chips are what they are. Try to put some distance between you and the person in front of you. Let's see, a car going 80mph picks up a rock and flings it at your car. How fast do you think that rock is going by the time it makes contact? Yeah really freaking fast!

Mmarktfsi no worries dude. I was just curious on what he found to work well. ONLY thing I have found to remove moderate swirls and light rids is a 4" PFW and M105. I have a flex now and just got a bunch of hydro-tech pads and will be testing (and documenting) how it works.

[mmarktfsi]

Mmarktfsi no worries dude. I was just curious on what he found to work well. ONLY thing I have found to remove moderate swirls and light rids is a 4" PFW and M105. I have a flex now and just got a bunch of hydro-tech pads and will be testing (and documenting) how it works.

I have also only found Menzerna SIP and Meg's M105 to do the trick as well, using a Makita rotary. I have been using Lake Country Flat polishing pads and they aren't as powerful as a PFW so I suppose PFW is one of the most effective pads. Let me know if you need any extra gear as i'm selling all of my gear on Autopia.

[Con]

interesting.

my front hood / bumper is pretty clean.

45k miles

[a4b7smallturbo]

put it this way i got 87,000 miles never gotten a respray but i shore do need one