FD Civic Paint = Crap (or am I imagining it...)

[fab4272]

HI all,

I posted a thread a while ago regarding the pain quality on the Honda Civics (mine is a 2006 VTi). I have the Nighthawk Pearl metallic paint and let me tell you this is the worst paint I have just about ever seen on a new car (we bought it new).

I am comparing this to a Ford Focus I saw this weekend. The Ford had a clear coat that you could see depth in. I ran my thumb nail over it very, very lightly and didn't even mark it.

On my car, the pain looks paper thin and if you do the same thing with your thumb nail and it leaves an impression/scratch. The paint/top coat is softer than a marshmallow (slight exaggerating but you get the point).

Has anyone ever complained to Honda about this and did they recieve a solution that made at least half happy with???? I'd love to find out if anyone has.

Thanks......

[markCivicVti]

Out of interest what colour was the paint on the Focus? I suspect it was a lighter colour... which would show the clear coat easier. But yeah, Honda definitly isn't in the running for best paint quality awards. Not sure if they are any worse than other paints around.

[fab4272]

Out of interest what colour was the paint on the Focus? I suspect it was a lighter colour... which would show the clear coat easier. But yeah, Honda definitly isn't in the running for best paint quality awards. Not sure if they are any worse than other paints around.

Actually, the colour of the focus was what I would call a metallic gun metal grey, or a shade lighter than that.

[Kangaaz]

Out of interest what colour was the paint on the Focus? I suspect it was a lighter colour... which would show the clear coat easier. But yeah, Honda definitly isn't in the running for best paint quality awards. Not sure if they are any worse than other paints around.

Agreed. Mine is a MY08 nighthawk black and I have def noticed that the paint is a bit thin. Having said that it would be the same on any colour, its just that black shows all the scratches whereas the lighter colour hides it.

[twing]

I agree that honda's paint is not the best of all.
This is because Honda is an environment focused company. Honda's paint is a water based paint with low VOC, which is thinner compare to other paint.
Have a read here:
http://world.honda.com/environment/ecology/2007report/000067.html

Show love to your car, with regular detailing :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[fab4272]

I agree that honda's paint is not the best of all.
This is because Honda is an environment focused company. Honda's paint is a water based paint with low VOC.
Have a read here:
http://world.honda.com/environment/ecology/2007report/000067.html

Show love to your car, with regular detailing :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Enviromentally focused or not, I shudder to think what the paint is going to look like in 10 years time. I don't have much confidence in a coating thats paper thin. In my opinion the civics paint is just not durable enough and is subjective to being scratched very easily.

On the topic of water based paints, remember the VN commodores, especially the sky blue ones that their paint looked like someone had hit it with a sandblaster after 5-10 years? They used the water based paints as well....

[twing]

Though the car has good paint, it will be ruined if it's washed using the drive-through everyweek.

It really depends how good the car is treated really. It may looks bad after 10 years, or it may look gleaming with regular hand wash, polish and waxed.

[VTECACCORD]

Maybe the people posting in this thread should actually educate themselves on how to maintain paint.

I doubt any of the poeple who post in this thread know the basics of car washing or paint maintenance.

[Fizz]

I agree that all honda paints are thin, but you can still keep it in tip top condition if you follow the basics in proper car cleaning. Always use a two bucket method when washing your car. Never use old rags or t-shirts to wash, and stay away from the large yellow sponges. Invest in a quality lambswool wash mitt, good quality car shampoo and large microfibre cloth. Bear in mind that black paint will always show even the lightest of swirls so extra care is needed if you want to own a black car and keep it looking good. :)

[fab4272]

Maybe the people posting in this thread should actually educate themselves on how to maintain paint.

I doubt any of the poeple who post in this thread know the basics of car washing or paint maintenance.

VTEACCORD, the point I am making does not relate to the issue of maintaining your cars paint, even though you make a good point and maintenance is a requirement to prolonging the duco's life.

I am questioning its durability with every day running around. I've had various cars over the years and nothing I've had before is so prone to marking as this car.

I spoke to a panel beater recently and I asked him about the process some manufacturers use these days. He pointed out to me that yes, the coating thickness is thinner these days on average and on some cars, if you look hard enough and at the right angle, you can see through the top coat to the undercoat if you know what your looking for.

[denot]

HI all,

I posted a thread a while ago regarding the pain quality on the Honda Civics (mine is a 2006 VTi). I have the Nighthawk Pearl metallic paint and let me tell you this is the worst paint I have just about ever seen on a new car (we bought it new).



Hm... maybe its a lesson for you (and for all of us) to check this BEFORE you buy the car, instead of complaining after you bought them? :zip:

[fab4272]

Hm... maybe its a lesson for you (and for all of us) to check this BEFORE you buy the car, instead of complaining after you bought them? :zip:

Point taken, but to be fair i was trying to establish if any other owners had the same thoughts. If so, then I can say I'm in the same boat. My point about this thread was not to start one 1224487 pages long like the blown motor story, just a point in comparison.
Thats what a forums can be used for correct?

[denot]

correct... and somehow I just noticed that my "bluish" is not as "blue" as the other Bluish silver civics... :(

[aaronng]

Have you applied a layer of wax onto your FD's paint yet?

[fab4272]

Not yet. Something I should do correct?

[VTECACCORD]

If you have had your car since 2006 then yes it was probably something you should have done from day one.

Honda's black paint is especially hard to maintain due to the soft clear coat.

Having said that it's very easy to polish a black Honda back to a nice swirl free shine, if you use a quick detailer such as duragloss aquawax after each wash (its a spray bottle availabel from waxit.com.au ), and seal the paint regularly with some zaino ull be a happy man.

From the sounds of it your not taking good care of the black finish, so perhaps you should visit a detailing web site such as autopia.org and learn the basics on car washing and how to care for your car.

Theres a lot more to it than you think, and it's easy to blame the paint when half the people who take care of there cars don't have any issues. My DC2 is black Honda paint the same as on your civic, i didn't have any issues with it at all, just wish i had a clear bra on the front end.

[Fizz]

i use duragloss aquawax as well after each car wash, and waxing has never been much easier....just mist on and wipe off...done! :thumbsup:

[aaronng]

Not yet. Something I should do correct?

Yes, because it is not only paint hardness which determines whether you will scratch the paint, but also friction. If you have a smooth surface when the wax/sealants fill up the microscopic pores, then it is less likely to cause a mark when you drag your nail over the paint.

[Nax]

if your really that worreid about it get a detailer to do some work on it, cost u a lil bit but in the long run is good for the paint and will probably make it more resilient.

[fab4272]

Thanks for all with the positive comments. I will take it all on board and do something in the near future and let you all how it went.

:wave::thumbsup:

[Nax]

lol i love that u posted that, then realised i said not a single thing about dealers :) good ol outlook express

JUDGEMENT FALLS DOWN UPON YOU!!!!

lol na sall good ive done that a couple times.

[VTECACCORD]

Lol what can I say, I posted then im like far out. You know what they say right, half the reading people do is looking at the first and last letter of the word and there brain fills in the rest.

Anyways you caught me even though i deleted it a split second later lol ;)

[Nax]

lol sall good gave me a chuckle after i realised wat had gone on

[markCivicVti]

I'm skeptical about waxing...

well... not the concept of it. But I'm skeptical whether some waxes actually stick to you car when you buff the excess off.

So who knows a neat trick for figuring out whether there's still a layer of wax on the paint? Some trick for decively telling if there's wax on the car?

[VTECACCORD]

I'm skeptical about waxing...

well... not the concept of it. But I'm skeptical whether some waxes actually stick to you car when you buff the excess off.

So who knows a neat trick for figuring out whether there's still a layer of wax on the paint? Some trick for decively telling if there's wax on the car?


Your kidding right ? Water beading away isn;t a good sign ?

[Fizz]

I'm skeptical about waxing...

well... not the concept of it. But I'm skeptical whether some waxes actually stick to you car when you buff the excess off.

So who knows a neat trick for figuring out whether there's still a layer of wax on the paint? Some trick for decively telling if there's wax on the car?

perhaps you've had experience with crappy wax products before, or perhaps you used an appropriate technique to apply. You should always apply very thinly. There are heaps of quality and affordable wax products on the market, which are all easy to apply and buff off without leaving any residue. Do some research on car detailing forums, tons of information on car waxes available on those forums.

My advise is, if you're not so confident in using paste wax, try using liquid/spray on wax first....its soooo easy. Duragloss Aquawax is my personal favourite. You can always tell if there's still some wax on your paint if the water beads are tight and round. :)

[Kangaaz]

The clear coat is soft. I was just waxing the car before and was sort of leaning over it to do the roof, noticed marks on the paint from the buttons on my clothing. I wash and wax the car about once a month and everytime I just find more tiny scratches on the clear coat, and I do wash the car with the correct procedure and equipment. Smallest force with your nail will scratch it.

[civic_07]

My advise is, if you're not so confident in using paste wax, try using liquid/spray on wax first....its soooo easy. Duragloss Aquawax is my personal favourite. You can always tell if there's still some wax on your paint if the water beads are tight and round. :)

yep... I did that on my first Civic with Optimum Spray Wax...pretty easy and save heaps of times :thumbsup:

[markCivicVti]

perhaps you've had experience with crappy wax products before, or perhaps you used an appropriate technique to apply. You should always apply very thinly. There are heaps of quality and affordable wax products on the market, which are all easy to apply and buff off without leaving any residue. Do some research on car detailing forums, tons of information on car waxes available on those forums.

My advise is, if you're not so confident in using paste wax, try using liquid/spray on wax first....its soooo easy. Duragloss Aquawax is my personal favourite. You can always tell if there's still some wax on your paint if the water beads are tight and round. :)

Thanks mate.
I started off with a meguires liquid wax. Now I'm using a paste wax from turtle wax, which apparently last a long time... but is a real pain to buff off. Though last time my wife applied it to the car... which didn't help as she put way too much on.

Alright... I had previously already researched detailing.. but it might be time to brush up on the knowledge/technique.

Also, does anyone have another nice decisive way of telling whether there's much wax left on the surface? The water bead thing sounds familiar... but to be honest I can't tell the difference... maybe i need to strip the wax off half the bonnet and pour some water on it to tell the diff.

[Fizz]

Thanks mate.
I started off with a meguires liquid wax. Now I'm using a paste wax from turtle wax, which apparently last a long time... but is a real pain to buff off. Though last time my wife applied it to the car... which didn't help as she put way too much on.

Alright... I had previously already researched detailing.. but it might be time to brush up on the knowledge/technique.

Also, does anyone have another nice decisive way of telling whether there's much wax left on the surface? The water bead thing sounds familiar... but to be honest I can't tell the difference... maybe i need to strip the wax off half the bonnet and pour some water on it to tell the diff.

:eek::eek::eek: i'll stay far far away from turtle wax. my fav paste wax currently is Natty's Blue from Poorboys. rule of thumb when applying paste wax is to go VERY thinly and lightly. use one of those small yellow foam applicator pads from meguiar's. If you want to start "fresh", give you car a couple of good washes, gently clay the whole car to remove the old wax, then apply the new wax. Claying will also give your paint a nice smooth surface like a baby's bottom...lol. You can substitute the clay process with using paint cleaners or pre-wax cleaners too. My fav product here will be Pinnacle Paint Cleansing Lotion. You can get all this stuff online at waxit.com.au :thumbsup:

[SPEEDCORE]

The clear coat is soft. I was just waxing the car before and was sort of leaning over it to do the roof, noticed marks on the paint from the buttons on my clothing. I wash and wax the car about once a month and everytime I just find more tiny scratches on the clear coat, and I do wash the car with the correct procedure and equipment. Smallest force with your nail will scratch it.

Shouldn't be wearing any clothes with buttons, rivets etc dude.

Also once a month washes is too long between washes/waxs IMO.

[6-SpeedManual]

i wouldn't bother using wax or polish without getting a detail first, especially on the nighthawk black. clearly the clear coating is weak as piss and black paint isn't exactly the best. using the wax and polish on the civic will most create swirls marks. this is obviously arguable because if you wax it properly then swirls shouldn't appear. but most of us wouldn't know how to do the job properly. especially if we do it by hand.

[Fizz]

i wouldn't bother using wax or polish without getting a detail first, especially on the nighthawk black. clearly the clear coating is weak as piss and black paint isn't exactly the best. using the wax and polish on the civic will most create swirls marks. this is obvcoating whiously arguable because if you wax it properly then swirls shouldn't appear. but most of us wouldn't know how to do the job properly. especially if we do it by hand.

agreed, but if someone doesn't have a proper machine polisher then the next best thing they can do is to adopt good wash and wipe techniques and make sure the paint is free of contaminants (by claying) before waxing. and they can always get waxes suited to dark paints which can also hide minor swirls. they can still get pretty good results this way, and then perhaps send to a professional detailer once a year :)

[6-SpeedManual]

agreed, but if someone doesn't have a proper machine polisher then the next best thing they can do is to adopt good wash and wipe techniques and make sure the paint is free of contaminants (by claying) before waxing. and they can always get waxes suited to dark paints which can also hide minor swirls. they can still get pretty good results this way, and then perhaps send to a professional detailer once a year :)

yup. point taken. this is another good idea. but wax and polish is only temporary. they only last 2 months max. while detailing last years. you'll never need to wax and polish it ever again because the surface is already applied with a layer of paint protection shielding.

[Fizz]

yup. point taken. this is another good idea. but wax and polish is only temporary. they only last 2 months max. while detailing last years. you'll never need to wax and polish it ever again because the surface is already applied with a layer of paint protection shielding.

no offence buddy but you seem to have a misconception of what detailing is. from washing to polishing and waxing its all part of detailing, its just a process. its absolutely incorrect to think that with such "paint protection" you'd never need to wax and polish ever again. even the world's best or most expensive wax/sealant cannot protect your paint for years without needing some periodic maintenance or re-application.

and not to mention that no wax/sealant on the market today can protect against swirls inflicted by poor wash habbits. and once you've got swirls you'll have to correct, polish and wax all over again.

what you've mentioned is typical of what many car dealers want you to believe, and its BS. :(

[Fizz]

Please read this, its a better explanation of what i was trying to say: http://www.guidetodetailing.com/articles.php?articleId=29

[6-SpeedManual]

no offence buddy but you seem to have a misconception of what detailing is. from washing to polishing and waxing its all part of detailing, its just a process. its absolutely incorrect to think that with such "paint protection" you'd never need to wax and polish ever again. even the world's best or most expensive wax/sealant cannot protect your paint for years without needing some periodic maintenance or re-application.

and not to mention that no wax/sealant on the market today can protect against swirls inflicted by poor wash habbits. and once you've got swirls you'll have to correct, polish and wax all over again.

what you've mentioned is typical of what many car dealers want you to believe, and its BS. :(

yes. take out the "ever again". it's incorrect. but paint protection sealant does protect the surface of your paint for many months without the need to wax and polish. as long as you wash your car in a correct way. the thats point i was making.

for the record fizz. try searching Paint Protection "Shielding". its different than just a typical wash, polish and wax.