Does the RX8 paint seem soft
 

I have about six spots on my hood less than the size of a pencil eraser very small where the paint has been chipped or nicked. I don't remember this happening on my Lexas, Toyota, or Chevy. Anyone notice this to? BTW I had them touched up by a guy who has a mobile service and goes from dealership to dealership fixing these nicks. They look OK now but not perfect.

I've had my '8 for 2 months now, and still don't have any chips. I'm kinda surprised, actually. I figured I'd have at least a couple on the front bumper. Perhaps the white paint or the clearcoat they use with the white paint is harder than the other colors? Just guessing. Or maybe I've been lucky enough to miss the flying rocks up 'til this point.

Best,
Bill

Here's one vote for 'soft paint'... :(

What gets me is all my nicks are on the hood and none on the bumper where you would think they would be.

I had a bumper scratch fixed and the body shop said that they are putting significantly more softener in the paint on the plastics resulting in much easier chipping.

It seems that this paint get scratched a lot more easily then any other car I have owned

The clearcoat is very soft on this car.

The car is low. Try not to tailgate trucks and suvs. Get a clear bra.

People have complained that the windshield is no good too. It's all related to sitting low to the ground and receiving more incoming debris.

Incidentally, harder paints chip more. It's all a compromise. The paint on the urethane pieces is intentionally soft so that it can flex without cracking. Same reason that it is less shiny than the metal parts.

To all who claim the paint is soft, what determines the hardness of a paint? Also I would think that a harder paint would give less therefore chip more easily. I'm not a painter, but it makes sense. I have a 1992 Lumina with composite body panels, and except where it has been bumped there are very few chips or scratches. I also do not believe you would get the shine that these cars have with a poor quality clear coat. Maybe there is an auto painter on the forum who could provide more insight to this question and on my theory.

I 2nd that. I make a conscious effort to keep my distance when cruising at highway speeds from any vehicle in front of me.

I've got two clear pieces of plastic in front of my rear wheel, one per each side. Hope this isn't a dumb question, but should I leave those on? My initial impression was "no - as the car ages, then the paint under that plastic covering will be all new and clean and look different than the rest of the car." I noticed this the day I bought the car, and the dealer, on the other hand, told me to keep it because it protects the paint there from rocks and debris. It is a particularly vulnerable spot, he told me.
Do you understand the area I'm referring to? If not I will try again.
Opinions on this?

I don't think it's the 8's paint, but rather Mazda paint. I park next to a guy who drives an older Mazda something (not an 8 so does it matter?) and he is CONSTANTLY complaining about his paint. He says he complained to Mazda and they won't do anything. He keeps asking me if I've had a problem.

I think I know what area you're referring to, but how would this spot be particularly vulnerable? If it's in FRONT of the rear wheel, what would be hitting that spot? Debris would be thrown the other way...

Definetly scratches easy. If I gently run my fingernail on the paint it leaves a fine scratch.

Unpoco: Don't touch them. Leave them alone. Don't mind the nonsense discussion that it ends up into, (high fives to Morgan and Magellan as well for successfully being the first to push a Show & Shine thread into the Lounge :p ) but read this thread for someone else's similar experience. There are a few other similar discussions that popped up in the Show & Shine section.

BTW, I definitely second the emotion that our paint is very soft (or hard, whichever it is that leads to a lot of chips). When I detailed my 8 last week, I thought I was going to have to clay bar the nose because of all the bug crap and other debris on it. Upon further inspection, turns out it wasn't debris at all but A LOT of little tiny chips. Only one or two chips on the hood, though. I was going to clear bra the front but now can't because I'd have to set aside a lot of time filling in all those chips beforehand.

you've owned a lexus and don't know how to spell it? :p

yamajj
ps i have a chip on the right side of my front bumper. don't know how it happened as i stay away from other vehicles. the paint isn't chipped, it just dug into the plastic.

Hey guys.
I'm currently driving a 2003 Mazda Protege5, which i've had for about 2.5 years, and the front end is getting TORN UP. It looks fine a few feet away but when im washing or waxing it, there are chips galore. Before that i had a 2001 Toyota Celica GT-S and it was kind of the same idea. I called up Toyota to ask them what the deal was, and it turns out that in i think the 2001 model year, the government passed laws making it so there had to be less lead in the paint on cars, which in turn made it less "durable" to rock chips and stuff like that. Don't think the rx-8 or mazdas paint is the only one sucking.

"soft paint & nicks"
 

Lexus, your right :eek: wrong hit on the key board. Lucky spelling is that good.

Blarghman: Not necessarily; at least, I don't think so. Before my 8, I drove '96 and a '98 Chevy Blazers, and I got very few chips on the paint. Most of the painted surfaces were metal, though, so I suspect it has just as much to do with the material underneath as it does with the paint itself, notwithstanding that the 8 is lower to the ground than any SUV (or most other cars, for that matter).