WRB paint quality question.

[brzninja]

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!

[OrbitalEllipses]

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

[kbye]

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

[Jayde]

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

[dulaman]

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.

[brzninja]

Originally Posted by dulaman

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.

[whaap]

Originally Posted by brzninja

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.

[sklimo]

Even silver gets chips. I have couple

[DSOmegaX]

All paint get chips no matter the color. Let's not kid ourselves here. Just some colors hide it better than others. Is it especially noticeable on WRB? Yes I believe so. Honestly, you shouldn't be complaining since its a DD. Yes, it sucks when you see it, but you learn to let go. There's no point being paranoid, these cars are meant to be driven every day, and you're really missing a large part of what makes this special if you don't take it out to the track (where yes you can get even more chips! haha). I dunno, just leave it in your garage and never drive it and everything will be good?

[jeebus]

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

[aceangel]

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.

[kash]

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.

[brzninja]

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.

[Brzetto]

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