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Take note chevrolet...paint sucks!

15K views 54 replies 27 participants last post by  wasney 
#1 ·
This thread is directed towards the TERRIBLE paint Chevrolet has put on my vehicle. (Sorry, I don't know where to post this) I have wanted and waited for Cruze Diesel since driving one in Australia. When it was available here in the states I bought mine, Summit White. I now have 17k on my car (I drives 120 miles a day) and I have multiple paint nicks in EVERY panel on my car, don't have a clue how Ive even got them on my trunk lid also??

This is the newest car/Chevrolet Ive ever owned. I have had Chevrolets since I turned 16 and bought my first car, a 1957 Belair. I am 57 years old and know how to take care of my vehicles, it is waxed every 3 mos. I have classic cars with original paint on many of them and have no issues like I have on this 2014. Whats the deal Chevrolet? How can you offer a new vehicle which "Water Color" paint?

Does anyone else have this problem? I am very dis-appointed in Chevrolet for offering such a poor product to all of us
 
#3 ·
Its not just Chevrolet/GM using this type of paint. ALL/most manufacturers are using the water based paint from PPG because it user and environmentally friendly. As a professional detailer, when your dealing with water based paints that have clear coat, you MUST use synthetic products. Any cheap knock off will start to deteriorate the paint. Trust me.
 
#6 ·
It's not just Chevrolet, it's across the entire industry. Water born paints are simply not hard enough to protect themselves from chipping.
 
#14 ·
Mine looks fine. I have a pretty good eye for the most part, and while I detail my car almost every day, I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary. Fall asleep while painting lol....that's a wild card right there lol. Im sure you probably being sarcastic, but if you weren't, cars are painted with robots nowadays to speed up the production time. If someone had to paint a car by hand using what the body shops use, it would take them forever. At the factory, they paint the whole car before they put ONE part in it.
 
#13 ·
What color is your cruze?
 
#15 ·
Funny, you can find this thread (not the OP) on every car forum on the web. People have been whining about factory paint finishes for decades. It is what it is. That's why I always request a bottle of touch up paint from the dealer with every car I buy. After over forty years of car ownership (some of them Chevys), I have yet to have one that didn't chip or pit from driving. If you want a trailer queen paint finish, don't drive it on the street. This winter, I had to pass a salt truck spewing the stuff across three lanes of traffic. I expected the entire side of the car to be peppered with chips, but nothing. Yes, the front has a couple after a year on the road, but I'll get to them when the weather is warmer.
 
#18 ·
Actually, robots were implemented to improve the painting process. When they were first introduced, there was a panic due to them using more paint than the human painters. Turned out the humans had gotten so good at laying down an even layer of paint, they were using too little. Look at the cars from the 70s and 80s and notice all of the faded, peeling paint after just a few years. The robots actually produce a more even paint layer if programmed correctly and they do it over and over. Yes, the water borne paint is truly different and a bit trickier to apply correctly. I've sprayed all of them over the years.
 
#23 · (Edited)
My Chevy new car salesman, gave me a tube of GM touch-up paint as a gift, after I had mentioned to him I was about to order it from his Parts Department.

Saved me about $14.

My Cruze turned 3 months old today, and has approx 4,500 miles on it...and, not a paint chip, so far.
 
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#25 ·
I dont mean to be blunt here, but come on guys...We are driving compact, economy budget cars! What do you expect!? They are ALL the same paint quality...Cruze, Civic,
Elantra, Corolla, Mazda3, Focus, Forte, Jetta.....all the same these days! its somethine we all just have to live with. If you want closer to flawless paint job, buy a new Lexus! Not a economy car and expect perfection!
 
#30 ·
Oh yes, even my '97 EX had water based paint. My '88 323 did too as does my current '03 Protege5.
 
#35 ·
Good advice Jim, though for a new model there will be little history to go by unless you're sure nothing changed with the paint process/materials since the previous model that was painted in the same paint shop/assembly plant.

I can only hope GM is improving things for the next Cruze. Paint quality isn't everything, but it's a pita for someone like me who likes to keep their car in very nice shape. I found a few small stone chips on the drivers side doors this spring... I've never had stone chips on doors like that before (middle of the door).
 
#36 ·
Good advice Jim, though for a new model there will be little history to go by unless you're sure nothing changed with the paint process/materials since the previous model that was painted in the same paint shop/assembly plant.
Yes, but I would never, never buy a first year production from any car maker. FWIW, my intent was to replace the '97 Civic with a '12 model of some car, so I watched the '11s. When the '12s came out, I didn't care for either of the two on my short list. One was still having teething problems and the other was a new generation with some real short comings. Fortunately, the old car was well on it's way to many more years of reliability, so we waited another year to see how things sorted out. Gave us plenty of time to get all questions addressed and we made a decision on a '13. Some will question spending two years deciding on a car purchase, but the intent is for it to be ours for a decade or more, so I consider it time well spent.
 
#41 ·
Next car is being bought new or as new as possible clayed polished and coated with a resin so itll have extra thick protection. Im done messing around with crap paint. But as long as you keep it nice 95% will look better than most. Its a daily driver not a show car

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
Next new car I'm going to splurge on 3m spray on film or vinyl wrap the car.
 
#42 ·
I personally think the paint is great and one of the better I have had with my cars. The 96 hond civic was awful and had tons of chips, our mazda 3 isn't much better. and the toyota corrolla I had was just crap there was nothing good about that car and had tons of chips when I got rid of it. It was a rough winter and the cruze came through it with no chips with the exception of a door ding. But I think the paint is great on the cruze. My hood has zero chips but I do have some on the front bumper cover.
 
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