I've had several black cars, but the BMW I have right now is totally ridiculous when it comes to swirl marks. I swear the wind puts them in the paint. So this may be a weird question, but how difficult is Mazda's brilliant black paint to keep looking nice?

I know all black cars are a pain in the ***, but I've found some are more difficult than others. I had an Audi A4 that was actually pretty easy. Looking at an '09 R3.

 

Mazda's paint is somewhat soft but I find Honda, Subaru and Mitsubishi paint to be much softer.

 

wouldn't clear coat have more to do with this?

I mean I don't know, just seems like it would

 

I have a BB and the paint easily chips.

 

+1 to easy chips.
it's soft but there if worse paint out there.

 

It chips easily. I think it's pretty bad, but obviously there is worse out there according to others. It must be really bad...

 

It chips, but my 04 paint still looks pretty good. I still get compliments on how well the paint looks....the biggest judge of our cars paint is us though. It looks much nicer than we realize b/c we look so close...show car quality? Never, but day to day.....my paint still looks great from the naked eye.

 

it scratches easy. Esp what ***** have no respect. A white or gray would be a lot smarter if you want to keep it looking nice and neat. (in comparison of course)

 

My paint looks good from 10' away. The closer you get the more chips you see.

 

The worst is the plastic bumper/fascia. That thing gets the brunt of the damage and looks bad upon close inspection.

 

This.

 

mazda paint is pretty atrocious.

 

chips easily, scratches easily. I polish my paint once or twice a year to keep it good and remove most scratches, but the chips are still there.

 

You think Mazda's paint is bad? Try owning a Nissan...

 

+1, had both Nissan and Honda and the front bumper looked like it was sand blasted after the first year or so.

Trying to take it easier with the RX8, specially since mine is black.

 

Banilejo, Do they use salt and or gravel in Boston during the winter? I have not lived their since 1989 and can't not remember. If they do and you drive during the winter then good luck preventing chips.

 

I sat in a last gen Altima recently and saw how cheap the interior was, it doesn't surprise me the paint would be as bad.

 

My BB has seen two Ohio winters and some pretty forceful impacts with autocross cones... the paint on the wheel well lips is pretty torn up along with the front bumper.... the rear bumper gloss is gone because I've been running catless so long (i assume)

Black looks like crap when its not washed and waxed, but it will make any white or gray look like garbage when they are polished up to impress.

 

That actually depends on the color. The Brilliant Silver on our Infiniti is significantly harder than the VR on the RX8. It is hard, but not too hard for imperfections to be removed with difficulty. We also had a 1993 MPV in green (forgot the name), that also had very hard paint. Unfortunately for modern cars, there are stricter environmental restrictions and economical reasons for the paint to be of less quality than they were back then.

With that said, the paint on my RX8 looks and feels practically brand new. The way it is maintained plays a major roll in durability, look and feel obviously.

 

Do not dry dust

 

and this is y i got the entire car repainted and clear coated at my body shop

 

If I had gotten the car new, I would get the 3M clear protector sheets for the front. Would have helped a lot.

 

Yeah they do unfortunately but I didn't drive in the winter. I don't drive the RX8 in the winter either but I may start next winter since I just miss driving it too much Just respray the front bumper like I did on my other cars if it becomes a problem.

 

I was really referring to swirl marks. How bad does it get/show swirl marks from drying it?

 

Use microfiber cloths.