Why does car paint suck so much?

[0roo0roo]

parents old 89 camry with dealer paint sealant = no dings from rocks or anything really, its in good damn shape. 2001 camry without the sealant stuff, dings all over hood and front bumper from rocks. why isn't this sealant stuff standard? pathetic grr

 

[d33pt]

i have no idea what this sealant stuff is and if you paid for it from a dealer it was probably a scam...kind of like underbody coating

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: d33pt
i have no idea what this sealant stuff is and if you paid for it from a dealer it was probably a scam...kind of like underbody coating

Bingo.

There is no special "sealant" stuff that the dealer uses

 

[CraigRT]

hm, yeah man, like the others, i have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[cressida]

himura

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: d33pt
i have no idea what this sealant stuff is and if you paid for it from a dealer it was probably a scam...kind of like underbody coating

So you are saying underbody coating is a scam?

Underbody coating is a saver for cars here in Illinois and anywhere else that has snow. They use nasty salt and this just kills cars.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

what exactly does underbody coating do for the car? I had doubts about it so didn't do it, especially after the guy insisted we do it and would give us a discount on it. Seemed too persistent and I didn't understand his true intentions, so I refused. Lucky I did? He quoted me $1100Cdn

 

[freebee]

Undercoating is a sealant....cars don't need it, it comes from the factory with a coating already. There is actually paint sealant that can be applied after a finish has been washed, clayed, etc. But its basically just another clear coat finish...and the original paint already has one.

It used to be the old acylics didn't have clear coats so it oxidized and got chalky. With the application of clear coat, the color is not even exposed to the surface. In your case the Camry hood design is at fault, exposing more of the hood towards incoming rocks and debris...not necessarily the paint itself.

 

[amdskip]

Obviously you guys don't know about Z-bart. It's sprayed on and it's almost a rubber membrane. This is not clear junk either and you have to have it applied like once a year.

 

[DrumminBoy]

Maybe its just a difference in manufacturing. My parents had a 90 camry before their 2000 and it never had any dings or dents. They've had their new camry for 6 months and it already has a bunch! I dont feel the solidity as much in their new car as their old one either, I hope Toyota's quality isnt slipping...

 

[0roo0roo]

its what freebee was talking about, another clear coat on the old camry. not some wacky undercoat or whatever. theres one tiny spot where the coating is starting to peel, its like some kind of plastic almost.

its the same way with my civic without protection, paint chips everywhere.

 

[Desslok]

Paint sealer?? OH MAN I am sorry but your parents got taken. There is no such thing. There are rubberized undercoatings, but most dealers do not use that. 9/10 it is just a ploy to get more money. If you want to know how far a dealership will go to make money off of you read this. When the Corvair came the dealers were charging people for a coolant flush.

 

[0roo0roo]

so the flexible crap peeling off is the clear coat?

 

[Desslok]

Sounds like you got a bad paint job. I would take it to a paint shop first and get a quote.

 

[tcsenter]

parents old 89 camry with dealer paint sealant = no dings from rocks or anything really, its in good damn shape. 2001 camry without the sealant stuff, dings all over hood and front bumper from rocks. why isn't this sealant stuff standard? pathetic grr

Actually there are paint sealants, which are essentially just long-lasting synthetic waxes. All of these products like Nu Finish, Diamond Brite, and a dozen others I can't think of right now, are called paint sealants not 'waxes', even though the concept is in fact just a durable wax.

But there is no wax or sealant that is going to protect your finish from dings, dents, scratches, and chipping from rocks.

 

[jrichrds]

'00-'02 Lexus IS300 (Toyota) owners are complaining about soft paint too.

As for the dealer protection packages, skip 'em.

 

[T2T III]

Undercoating is a sealant....cars don't need it, it comes from the factory with a coating already.

Actually, it depends on the car. Not all cars come with undercoating pre-applied. However, I would point out that the undercoating is a good insulator for road noise. It's a rip-off to get it applied at the dealership, but there are alternatives - even applying it yourself.

 

[Jejunum]

imho new car paint sucks big time because of environmental standards

car paint from like 1994-96 is the best!

 

[Lvis]

If the earlier car was made in japan, that could explain it. We have different air pollution laws than they do in Japan. One of the issues Toyota had when they opened their plant in calif. was that they had to change the formula for the paint.


This may not be the reason, but it could be. I paint boats for a living, and can tell you that all paint is not the same. The epa laws have had a noticeable effect on the quality of the paints we use.

 

[Zebo]

if you paid for it from a dealer it was probably a scam......

 

[PlatinumGold]

Undercoating and Paint Sealants are ONLY a scam because the Dealerships charge TOO much for them NOT BECAUSE they don't exist or are useless.

another coat of clearcoat WILL help with longevity of paint jobs, Undercoating DOES help reduce rust.

Get it straight fellas. Those things aren't scams because of their UTILITY but because of what the dealerships CHARGE for them.

 

[Lvis]

Paint sealant isn't another clearcoat, it's just a fancy name for a wax job. Although it sometimes is a polymer, rather than a wax, it does the same thing. Making the water bead up on the finish for a few months.

Undercoating can be usefull though. If properly applied, it can prevent rust, and make the vehicle quieter.

 

[littleprince]

Sorry for all those who think its a sham. Maybe you should walk into a Toyota dealer. The standard paint is crap. It always has been, and is one of the #1 complaints on Toyota cars. If you run your hand over the paint on any car w/o their "extra" coating its rough as hell. I dunno if it protects it much, as mine still gets tons of chips and scratches, but it sure is a lot smoother.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: littleprince
Sorry for all those who think its a sham. Maybe you should walk into a Toyota dealer. The standard paint is crap. It always has been, and is one of the #1 complaints on Toyota cars. If you run your hand over the paint on any car w/o their "extra" coating its rough as hell. I dunno if it protects it much, as mine still gets tons of chips and scratches, but it sure is a lot smoother.

hmm yea thats its. supposedly the old camry doesn't need wax ever, so we never did. it was rough feeling from the start, but it looks fine oddly enough.

 

[tcsenter]

If modern undercoating products are applied properly and when the vehicle is NEW or very near to new, it is effective at slowing rust down, but it will not make a vehicle rust "proof". The problem, of course, is ensuring that it is applied properly and before rust is already prevalent on the areas to be treated. The 17 year-old prepping your car at Ziebart probably doesn't pay to much attention to whether he's doing it by the book or not, between flirting with the office girl and goofing off with his buddies.

Unless you live in a climate like Michigan where the roads are heavily salted during the winter, you don't understand how quickly cars can virtually disintegrate in those conditions. Cars come off the dealer lots with levels of rust that it would take 2 years to accumulate in Arizona or California. Every little bit helps.