[blimey]

I posted this over on ScioNRG's Ohio forum also.Anybody else feel their paint quality isn't up to what it should be?

I love my box.I enjoy driving it,the gas mileage and the friendships I have gained because of it.I do however dislike this poor paint quality.I own a BSP xB with just around 9600 miles.Frankly the stone chips and pitting in this paint is horrible.I am very picky about my car andI am starting to doubt I can own this car for much longer if this is how bad it looks after less than a year.I had a Jetta for 5 years and put 75,000 on it on the same roads and honestly it didn't have 10% of the chips that this car has. I can't imagine what this car will look like in 4 years
I am going to give it some serious thought over the next few weeks and will probably even go drive a new Jetta some evening.

 

[backseatchris]

ive had my car just under a year and there is no way that i could ever have a show quality car just because of the paint. My hood has more rock chips that i ever thought. this is pretty noticeable after i give the toaster a good ole waxing and you can see how many chips there are from wax stuck in those chips.The paint chips are aweful. My plan is a custom paint job once i get my tax returns

 

[Mavrichie]

I agree that the paint quality on the xB is poor and the front of my box was in pretty bad shape as far as rock chips in the paint. I am having the front end repainted now and I will have the clear bra installed to avoid the rock chips in the future.

 

[xjeepguy]

When mine gets too bad, she's going Bonsai Blue. That way I get the color I really wanted in the first place.

 

[blimey]

I think I have decided to get a Colgan brand bra for both my box and my wifes new xA(before hers gets as bad as mine).I think on my black box the bra won't be so noticeable.Colgan makes a "carbon fibre" look.Anybody have experience with them?

 

[Misterflipper]

When i get my kit on..its gone be TCM, White and Black

 

[boxd_up]

Yeah, the paint is cheap, but the car is an Economy Car, at $15k, it is about$10,000 less than a new Jetta. I dunno, I didn't buy my car for quality paint, I bought it because my Toyotas have always been great vehicles, giving me many years of reliable service. Just my personal opinion.

I've heard good things about the Clear Bra.

 

[Mavrichie]

My friend has a clear bra on his Mini Cooper and so far it really seems to work great.

 

[ctruss]

It's a cheap car. You WILL NOT EVER find good paint on a cheap car.

And you can't complain about the stone chips, that is just something that happens to every car as you drive it. If you are going to complain about how quickly it collected those stone chips you should first take a look at the shape of your xB. The boxy shape of our cars and the big nose on these things is going to collect more road debris. Thats why I made sure to put a front end mask on my car right after I bought it.

 

[blimey]

It's a cheap car. You WILL NOT EVER find good paint on a cheap car.

And you can't complain about the stone chips, that is just something that happens to every car as you drive it. If you are going to complain about how quickly it collected those stone chips you should first take a look at the shape of your xB. The boxy shape of our cars and the big nose on these things is going to collect more road debris. Thats why I made sure to put a front end mask on my car right after I bought it.

Actually I think paint quality shouldn't be an issue regaurdless of the value of the car.The xB is "cheap" because of the lack of sound deading,cheap seat material,lack of features etc.I mistakenly assumed because it is a Toyota product that it would have some quality to it.Perhaps having owned VWs for all those years my standards are a bit higher.Don't get me wrong I like the car but just can't imagine that the paint should be worse than a Hyundia or a Kia

 

[theelf]

Toyota has not improved on its paint jobs in the years since I had a 1983 SR5 pickup. It was a piece of crap and rusted thru in a little over 3 years. I traded it in on an Ford F150. The Ford dealer junked it. The xB is a cheap vehicle in how its made not the price. Before buying it I had looked at a Ford Ranger and the deaker was willing to negoiate on the price which came out to almost a $1000 less than I paid for the xB. A person should learn from their mistakes but I didn't. I have NOW! This will be my last Toyota product.

 

[Mavrichie]

Well ummm... I really like my box but then again I am not going to have any rust problems in So. Cal so that is not an issue for me. I just had my front end repainted because I hit a mud flap with the metal bracket still on it from a tractor trailer truck at 85 mph and it damaged my front lip, bumper, grills and paint. I will use the 3M clear bra on the front of my box and the mirrors when or if I ever get it back from the body shop and this will solve the problem of little rock chips.

I also have a classic Benz which has great paint on it and this paint is at least equal or better than any new Ford or VW paint job and I still get rock chips on the front end so no car or paint job is immune to this problem.

 

[blimey]

Actually let me clarify the problem a bit here.I realize stone chips can happen but the front of this xB has hundreds of small pits from the leading edge of the hood to the bottom of the lip....almost like sandblasting.In five years the front of this xB will be white.The chips are worse than on any other car I have owned.

 

[1LowXB]

i don't care what kind of car you own if a rock hits your paint it's going to nick it... i had rock chips all over the front of my beetle and thats not a cheap car... i think the paint is great on my xb... i have had my xb for 20 months now and here is how my paint looks...

 

[Mavrichie]

^^^ Nice ride...
What everyone needs to remember is we drive a box with pretty much a flat front face and having said that the rocks and dirt do not glance off like on a more aerodynamic car with a tapered front. You can put the worlds best paint on a flat piece of steel and strap it vertically to your front end and it will still get rock chips and nicks and scrapes just like the box does. I am not saying the paint on the box is great but in my opinion it is adequate and the shape of the front end is the main problem for all of the nicks and chips you guys are experiencing.

 

[blimey]

Maybe parts of the country deal with different issues or maybe color makes a difference etc.I really don't want to start some bad feelings with this.Just expressing an issue.

By the way...my box looks fine from 10 feet and in pictures too.Its when you are next to it that the pits show up.

 

[Mavrichie]

Well I personally will let you slide because I was born in PA and I am a huge Steeler fan. But I have no bad feelings toward you at all and I was just giving you my opinion which is usually wrong.

 

[blimey]

Well I personally will let you slide because I was born in PA and I am a huge Steeler fan. But I have no bad feelings toward you at all and I was just giving you my opinion which is usually wrong.

Got to be tough being a Steelers fan on the left side of the country.

 

[dsimes]

Well, from a painters view... Todays paint is not up to par on any vehicle.

When I was painting cars for a living ( back in the mid 80's to mid 90's) the paint quality was much better then the paint of today.

I had a 99 Expedition that my x took through a car wash (soft touch) and afterwards I had to spend an entire Saturday buffing out the fine scratches the "soft touch" cars wash put in the paint.

as for the box... I think it is both the poor quality of paint and the shape that is the problem. The shape also adds to the pitting in the windshield. In another year we will have to replace the windshield because of the pits in it. This is a common prob with the boxes. Not to mention the debri scattered all over our highways today

I bought a "clear bra" for the Cobalt and ended up throwing it away... next time I'll just have it installed by the pros

We've had our box since Nov. 04... the front looks pretty bad! It's not just the BSP Hal, if that is any help I'll probably have to repaint it in the near future. One of the draw backs to driving a box. If there were a company making bras that could be color matched I would get one, but the traditional bras do not look good on the box (no offense to anyone who has one), just my opinion.

Once I re-paint, I'll prolly have the clear bra installed.

this is my .02 worth

 

[Mavrichie]

Got to be tough being a Steelers fan on the left side of the country.

Not really... I am between Raider Nation and Charger fans but we have no team in LA anymore and even if we did I was born a Steeler fan and cannot change.