WRB paint quality question.
 

Hello all,

I was not sure if I should be posting this here or in the paint/detailing section but here is my question for you all:

I own a WRB BRZ. Now, I've heard that this particular color is considered "soft" and "brittle" by most users. I've currently had my car a little over 5 months, just hit 6000 miles and have counted 5 paint chips on different sections of the car.

I drive my car mostly in city...almost never on the highway and when I am, there are no cars in sight in front of me.

My questions is this; are all Subaru paint colors like this or is it just with WRB (and I believe other stated that pearl white has the same problem). I know this might sound juvenile but I am starting to get fed up with this, tired of being worried about driving it and chipping the paint again, and might just trade it in just to get a different color. There are no paint protection wrap places around my area and I wouldn't have the skills to do it myself.

Thanks for everyone's help!

DD? Get over it. I certainly did. Just get a good shop to mix you some waterborne touchup for the chips.

It is not a color specific issue, you only see it more often because wrb is the most common color. Complaints pop up on nasioc all the time about Subaru paint, I wouldn't let it affect you. Get a yearly touch up and enjoy your car

Or get a clear bra if you don't want any more.

Quick point of clarification, but a paint's color can affect its overall chipping resistance. Generally a color with a higher percentage of pigment-to-resin such as WRB or other high-chroma colors are more susceptible to chipping damage, although so many other factors influence chipping performance (substrate, vehicle styling, primer material, e-coat material, etc) that most folks probably wouldn't perceive the difference.

Subaru, along with all the other Asian OEM's, tend to be among the worst in the industry for paint chipping, so I'm afraid you are probably just going to have to live with the chipping.

That all being said, I would echo the other comments recommending you just buy some good touch-up paint and accept that the paint is going to chip.

I was afraid these were the answers I was going to get. Coming from a white subaru legacy for roughly 10 years of ownership that only had maybe 3-4 chips, having 5 already in less than half a year is either bad paint or bad luck!

I'm taking my car to the deal for the auto butler protection next week. I'll see if they have any recommendations for these kinds of things.

Thanks again for everyone's input. I'm very OCD about it and with never chip of paint that happens, part of my heart breaks.

I think luck plays the biggest factor. I had a Miata that with 38,000 miles looked like the front end had been hit with bird shot. That's not too much of an exageration. I have a Firestorm FR-S with 8,000 miles and haven't found a chip yet. Where I drive and how I drive hasn't changed so that's not it. Do a search on these forums for the tooth pick method of using touch-up paint and you will be able to keep up with it.

Even silver gets chips. I have couple

Wrap the car in plastic wrap and never drive it, ever. That's what I do.

There is nothing you can do to protect it against paint chips unless you stop driving it and leave it in the garage.

I'd just get it opti-coated or opti-guarded by a respectable detailer to protect the paint from the elements. For the existing paintchips, just touch it up w/ a toothpick.

The opti-guard might help with protecting against small stone chips because I only have a few stone chips on my bumper and I drive 50/50 highway/city for 2 hours day.

I don't think a clear bra would help much against large stone chips.

All colors of paint can chip. Perhaps WRB shows more. It also depends on how carefully you're looking at these chip. It may be invisible to others' eyes.

Thanks for all the input! As much as I would love to buy a glass garage and just stare at it all day, I need to go to work to pay for the thing.

Desperation is the best motivator to reach goals. I found a place nearby that does the clear bra service so I ordered the cut and it should be in within 2 weeks...hopefully I don't get anymore by then.

Again, thanks for everyone's input.

Try not to follow other cars too closely, they kick up a lot of debris or whip around them.

Keep in mind hte legacy sits up higher, the rocks that did come up probably bopped off the lower bumper. You'll need to stay further back in this car...remember you want to be able to see the tires of the car in front of you, if you can't, you're following too closely.

You should see my front bumper from rallyx and winter driving. Unless its a garage queen show car, who cares. My car is a race car, it's not supposed to look pretty

Anyone with white?
My GF has an '06 Rav4 with what appears to be the same color. It has held up quite well.

I don't think any coating or clearbra will help the chip.
Unless the coat or the paint is harder than the stone when hitting your car.
The clear bra is just going to hold the chipped spot together. It still cracks no matter what. It is just like your windshield.

I do not think opti coat will add hardness layer. It will just refine the surface roughness which significantly reduces scratches.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Actually, anything with less than a pencil hardness of 9H will not scratch the surface so there is a little bit of protection for anything softer. It's also not really fair to compare it to wax since its more of a slightly thicker clearcoat.

I enjoyed the pic! They are using Xpel and it is a pretty reputable place so I'm not too worried about that...also very friendly! Thanks for the advice though!