Subaru paint quality
 

I've read conflicting reports on Subaru's paint quality. But of course, Subarus are built in different factories in different countries. For the AS1, we're specifically interested in the paint quality of cars coming from the Gunma plant in Japan.

How good is the paint on Japanese-built Subarus? I'm interested in texture (orange peel), thickness, uniformity, resistance to fading, etc. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

So basically it's crappy paint, water-based is good for the environment but not good for quality.

I can't speak to their recent quality, but early-mid 2000's Subies had fairly fragile paint and were prone to rock chips on the front bumpers.

Is there really any standard auto paint that isn't prone to rock chip damage? When a sharp-edged piece of gravel comes flying from a truck and hits your car at a relative speed of 25 mph or more I don't think any paint is going to hold up...

I've had WRX, Subaru paint is not very good but so are Infiniti, Mazda, and so on.

Most car paints are generally crappy....thin, not enough layer, poor quality clear coat....but then what do you expect? Even Mercedes and BMW are cutting back nowaday....I know cux I own both....

One of the reasons why I don't even sweat it when my car doesn't look like the shiny ones in a magazine, because I actually drive it. The way it's meant to be enjoyed, not just sitting there looking pretty.

Lexus vs Ford:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO10wV8Qhy4 . Fun test.

I've read Hyundai is now super durable while the Japan crew are subject to more environmental restrictions and have less options in what they can do.

Yup, domestic cars paint is amazing quality. A shame really.

:word:

Go Ford. :)

In my case idc...if the paint fades I'll repaint with custom color like banana yellow, yea stand out....I have deadbeat friends who dont have a real job but real good at mechanic work and painting.....they will do anything for cheap....I exploit their @ss off, they did lot of works on my cars.

A friend recently bought a SWP 2012 Impreza and I have a 2009 Forester in Green. My opinion on Subaru's paint is that if it's a light shade, like it's not a dark color other then black it looks fine to me, but hey I don't have the equipment to do that lab testing for you. But I wouldn't want to run my subie behind a gravel truck lol

WHy not Clear Bra ?
My co-worker Clear-Bra his whole Nismo 370Z
If I get the BRZ I will clear-bra the whole front ... possibly also the hood

Honda does good paint jobs. My 9 year old Acura(Silver) still looks fantastic. I've had it waxed only 3 times in those 9 years and it has been parked outside the whole time in Texas heat.

How much does Scotchgard/Ventureshield cost to do professionally anyways?

paint quality only counts during resale, adding better paint adds maybe 700 dollars to the final production price in reality... fine tuning the rest of the car and developing parts costs $$$ im pretty sure lexus spends more money and time in development in each of their cars than ford spends on 2-3 of their cars, the lexus will always be a better vehicle, at 300,000 miles you'll still have a working lexus, where as the ford, you'll be onto your next car because you're tired of fixing it...

Worth the coin
 

Depends on which shop you go to ... ?
MY co-worker really baby his Nismo 370Z ...
he told me his car's wrap was like 1300..
but he also told me it was worth every penny
since a good paint job cost $,$$$

I hear those tend to turn yellow about 3 years or so.

Ford advertises the fiesta transmission is sealed for life to be maintenance free with an expected life UP TO 150k miles. Considering my car has now has over 100k miles I'd hate to have that thought in my head lol :( I wonder what the "expected" life span of other transmissions are, I find it weird ford advertises that.

Yes the older hondas did have good paint jobs. We have a 12 year old Acura 1.6EL and the paint is still looking good. However, My 2008 Black Civic SI has so many rock chips. It looks like someone dusted it with baby powder. And they too now use that envroment type of paint. Wish they can bring back lead based paint. Nice Hard and last forever.

Expected life span does not mean that once it rolls over 150k that the transmission stops working. That's just what they estimate to be the average life span before major repairs are required. A normal automatic typically will last 200k miles before major repairs are needed, so not much different.

my 20 year old 91 Toyota Soarer has an amazing paint job. so much better than anything you see how days. built to last! i hope the 86 has a decent amount of pearl in the white!

http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/me...283/306032.jpg
http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/me...283/306033.jpg
http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/me...283/306034.jpg
http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/me...283/306035.jpg

Most Japanese manufacturers have crap paint jobs nowadays. My 04 RSX has a ton of chips in the hood, and my wife's 10 Mazda3 is already starting to show sime dings after 18 months, though the front is looking good still. I have heard nothing but complaints about how thin and fragile current Suby paint is.

Your totally right.

Ask yourself: Have I ever seen a rusty Toyota Celica from 1998 to 2003?

I haven't and I live in place where there is more salt on the streets than almost anywhere else on earth. Cars making it through 10+ Ottawa winters with no rust on the body is almost unheard of.

Japanese paint quality is on a steady decline, my coworkers 2009 WRX paint was so bad the dealer had to repaint half the car. My 2004 Infiniti g35 was sub-par in the paint department.

Edit: My friend also has a beautiful Soarer. He has over 250000kms on it and it still looks and drives new. I love his car.

my celica is at 145k miles on it... i beat the shit out of it since the day i bought it, ive changed the transmission fluid twice(once when i got it, once after 30k miles) i havnt seen a single metal shaving come out, my engine runs great i bounce off the redline at least once a day and i do some hard shifting here and there all the time... as a lightly modded car( intake headers exhaust/tune), it handles everything just fine, at 180k miles i dont see the car feeling or acting any different

i drive hard all the time(running a long oil change this time to check how fast the oil turns black im at 6500 miles and theres still color to it...).... this is why i will always buy a toyota... i love my car, my shocks are starting to go, but thats expected in a 145k, 13 yr old car...

my paint chips on the front... but i put prime and small amounts of touch up paint over it... im soo happy with the way it runs... i hope the fr-s will be able to be abused like my celica when it gets to 145k miles 150k miles :D

edit: i dont really mean abused, more like i drive the car like its meant to be driven...

Some of the best paint I've seen were on trucks and off-road vehicles. Maybe because they know the vehicle will go through harsher environments?

That sucks, sorry to hear that. IMO Honda quality has been going downhill for the last 10 years. If I end up buying the Toybaru/Suboyota it will mark my first departure from Honda in over 20 years.

my 08 impreza already has rust showing through the body, in three different places, both rear wheel wells and the bottom of the spare tire well. That's all I know of so far, I haven't bothered looking for more. My FRS will be getting a wrap most likely.

Out of curiosity, do most people that have chipped paint, rust etc. live in cold weather areas with salted roads? I wonder if the environment has to do with the paints.

:offtopic:

YOU sir, are an asshole. They aren't your friends, they are people who you use. Just because they are only good with mechanics and painting, and not "real" work, does not make them dead beat.

:thumbdown:

I thought washing and waxing your car saves the paint's life.

Or are you guys just omitting that?

Unless you guys are factoring it in...

Of course professional detailing will go a long way, but that is very expensive and time consuming. Still, even with detailing, a car that is driven daily and not just stored in a garage will see paint degradation within roughly 5 years. Products are designed around cost and estimated time people will own the product. Probably why most people just buy a new car once it gets past 3-5 years.

I had the front end of my car repainted at 60k miles because of an accident. The hood and fenders have 10x as many rock chips in 30k miles than the original parts/paint had in 60k :(

But IMO if you drive your car then shit is gonna happen, just like door dings, bumper scratches, etc. You have to accept it as an owner.

It isn't the temperature, that makes northern cars suffer worse paint and rust issues. Instead it is the debris caused by the effect of winter temperature and plowing on the road surfaces. The sand, salt, potholes, gravel, etc is rough on paint and overtime contributes to under body rust/corrosion.

Most waxes claim to do this, though I've seen little testing that back it up. I know 3M has a wax/paint sealant that warranties against paint fading/environmental damage though I'm not sure if this is offered outside of car dealerships.

All waterborne paints suck, essentially.

I want lead paint to come back...Please. Only for cars...thats it.

my 07 Si has bad paint also, rock chips and crows feet.

Buy a Kia, I'm pretty sure every other brand uses water based paint now.