I spoke my .02 cents to GM about the crappy paint on the 2010 Camaro - kinda sorta...

[oktc971]

There paint is crap and when you ask them to fix it they just patch it .. I have had several Benz cars. next one is going to be a Benz. Would have been another Camaro until I talked to Dennis at the Customer service 800 number.

[BICHN CAMARO]

Originally Posted by oktc971

There paint is crap and when you ask them to fix it they just patch it .. I have had several Benz cars. next one is going to be a Benz. Would have been another Camaro until I talked to Dennis at the Customer service 800 number.

Gm certainly has some issues in their paint line. A lot of contaminates in the paint, poor coverage in some areas, and an adhesion problem. Cars that have excessive chipping could have low mils of paint. That is one possible answer out of many. My car has 9+ mils indicating it went through twice. Your benz will have 4.8 It also has the finest paint on the planet IMO.

[Dack]

Originally Posted by Chief Blackhawk

Another reason a mod should own the car for the site he is on. Obviously this doesnt affect you because you didnt pay $35,000 for a car to have it chip faster than anything you have ever seen.

Id bet when its your money thats chipping away you would be whistling a different tune.


There is no way they had a test fleet of cars....that used the same paint and didnt experience the high volume of chips that people are incuring.

So, you have 3 things that could of happened, and only 3.

1. They cheapened up the paint after the test fleet.
2. They saw abnormal chipping and didnt care.
or
3. They didnt see the chipping.


Im not expecting Rolls Royce paint here guys, but I do expect it to hold up as well as my 2009 G6 that has more miles on it...driven on the same roads plus gravel roads daily.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Chief Blackhawk

Another reason a mod should own the car for the site he is on. Obviously this doesnt affect you because you didnt pay $35,000 for a car to have it chip faster than anything you have ever seen.

Id bet when its your money thats chipping away you would be whistling a different tune.


There is no way they had a test fleet of cars....that used the same paint and didnt experience the high volume of chips that people are incuring.

So, you have 3 things that could of happened, and only 3.

1. They cheapened up the paint after the test fleet.
2. They saw abnormal chipping and didnt care.
or
3. They didnt see the chipping.


Im not expecting Rolls Royce paint here guys, but I do expect it to hold up as well as my 2009 G6 that has more miles on it...driven on the same roads plus gravel roads daily.

Well, it was certainly a shame you weren't on the team that built the car. Your wild assumptions would have been invaluable!


To the OP -- although you spoke to Scott, the best route is to take the vehicle to your dealer. Have them look at it and evaluate its condition. I'm not saying they will do anything for you, but that review of the condition of the car will make it back to the team, since dealerships are most directly GM's eyes and ears.

This goes for anyone who thinks their car may have a paint chip problem.

[deft]

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

man... you guys must drive full speed down gravel roads. I have over 10,000 miles on my car. The tires look great, there are very few paint chips and the paint is basically perfect for a $35,000 car. Yea, there is a piece of dirt in the paint in the fender and a small drip on the crease in the truck lid...do I care... NO.

WOW, that sounds awful to me. No offense to your car, I would just consider that unacceptable---where is the quality control? Seriously, does this happen with other cars? I'm on my 5th car and never even HEARD about anything that ridiculous.

I have a few chips on my "gills" that I don't like, but thats the extent of my paint woes.

[superstockcam]

My paint sucks, sat around with all the whoevers that make the decisions on these things in our area....NOTHING! if there is a class action I'm signing on.

It was my biggest fear in preordering and it came to be, I would not have bought the car if I walked up to it on the lot. They basically told me if I didn't like it I should have passed.

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by bumblebeecamaro

I attended the 2010 F-Body gathering this weekend and I had the pleasure to meet lots and lots of new people. one of those people happened to be Scott from the Camaro team from GM. (I can't remember his last name at the moment.)

he approached my car at the event and he complemented me on my car. his comments were mainly geared towards the black chrome Havoc wheels on my car. he then began to tell me how they originally had intended to have a black chrome wheel option on the gen 5 Camaro but the idea was quickly scrubbed due to the fact that the black chroming process involves a chemical that is not so environmentally friendly.

I then told him this: "so this is for the same reason why my Camaro has such a crappy paint job that chips as easily as when a leaf falls on it?" (well, it doesn't chip that easy but you know my point.)

he then kinda paused for a few seconds and then tells me that GM isn't the only American car maker that has this issue. I find it funny that he said that because I know quite a few people with full sized GM pick up trucks and a friend that has a 2009 Escalade and none of these peoples' vehicles chip nowhere near as easily like mine does.

he then proceeds to tell me blah, blah, blah this and blah, blah, blah that. so the bottom line is this: GM knows there's an issue but according to this guy they can't (or in my opinion, they won't) do anything about it. I then told him how unhappy I was with this issue and that the gen 5 Camaro would have been the perfect car if and when this issue was non existent.

what a load of you know what!

so while most people at this event were kissing this guy's butt, I gave him my .02 cents about this paint issue which I know won't go too far. if anything else it made me feel good letting it out to someone that works directly from Detroit.

Hi BumblebeeCamaro --

Let me clear up a few things....

First -- let me assure you that any remarks I receive from our owners and enthusiasts are important to me - and I return to Detroit with those remarks - and all remarks are discussed. In fact, each Monday, the Camaro engineering team goes over a list of warranty claims looking for any issues and when a problem is detected (several claims for the same issue) the engineering team looks at "root-cause" and works toward a solution.

Second -- I really don't like people "kissing my butt" as you put it....after all, I'm just like most Camaro/Firebird enthusiasts with one exception: I was fortunate enough to be able to work on the team that brings these cars to life....... Further: trust me - people are not shy when it comes to Camaro and Firebird -- if there are problems, I hear about them! One of the reasons I go to these events is to talk to our customers.

Third -- I'm not sure you heard everything I said:

I said that paint chips have always been a problem. Something travelling at 50-70 mph that's sharp and hard is going to be a problem when it impacts something - -

(don't believe me? What happens to windshields with regularity?)

I told you that while old paints (acrylic laquers) may have resisted spotting, the act of painting the car actually made more pollution than today's car or truck will produce in over 50,000 miles. Thus, we are prohibited from using those old paint systems. (and for the record - they had nowhere near the gloss or depth that todays finishes have!)

I also told you that every manufacturer has chipping and spotting problems, but that the chipping is more pronounced with some vehicles based on design -- and an example is the camaro 'gills' -- where the rear quarter panel "kicks out" behind the door -- a lot of what is 'kicked up' from the front tires will make their way back along the side of the car - -and some of it will impact the area ahead of the rear wheel well opening. (and as I recall I may have mentioned a car I had in the early 70s that had extensive chipping after a winter in Pittsburgh) The Camaro also has a large 'vertical' surface in terms of the front end - whereas the 4th gen car was much more 'aerodynamic' (for lack of a better term)

We use BASF and PPG paints - they're high solids water-based 'base-coat-clear-coat' paints and the same paints are used by most manufacturers.

As you can see in this very thread, some have problems, others do not. We do not change the paint systems - so it leads me to believe that it's a case of where cars are driven. Yes, you may never drive on a gravel road, but that does not mean that a smooth asphalt highway does not have debris on it.

I did tell you that the new Camaro has a comprehensive warranty. So, I encourage you to take it back to your dealer and have the paint chips repaired.

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by Chief Blackhawk

There is no way they had a test fleet of cars....that used the same paint and didnt experience the high volume of chips that people are incuring.

So, you have 3 things that could of happened, and only 3.

1. They cheapened up the paint after the test fleet.
2. They saw abnormal chipping and didnt care.
or
3. They didnt see the chipping.


.

We did not 'cheapen up the paint' after the test fleet. In fact, we continue to 'add' to the test fleet. I was just driving a long-term durability vehicle last week (an SS) and I went over it with a fine-tooth comb to look at anything that did not look the way it should. Further, I picked up a 2011 CTF Camaro and will put on a lot of miles - washing it myself thru-out the summer. I promise you that I will be vigilant when it comes to chips. For what it's worth - "Thor" - (shown below) has three chips on his front fascia and several small abrasions on his 'gills' -- that's in 16,000+ miles including late winter driving and much high-speed interstate driving thru Detroit.

We do care about chipping and every other issue surrounding the Camaro - in fact, many of us own personal Camaros.

It is not a case of where we do not see the chipping. Part of our job is to look for issues such as this.

I am not saying that paint will not chip. It certainly will when hit with something travelling at high velocity -esp if it is hard and has sharp edges. Windshields are very hard - but I've chipped the one on a Tahoe in three separate places within a one-month period. (the streets and roads of Detroit are vicious!)


I was mentioning to BumblebeeCamaro (while in Atlanta) that every spring, we would have to repaint the front 'headers' on most of our "demonstrators" at our family's dealership..................................



..............and this was in the 60s and 70s. So did every Ford Dealer - and Toyota dealer - - the paints back then did not resist chipping either! (they WERE better at resisting bird droppings!)


Now - some people on this very thread say "well my such-and-such' didn't have chips!" - or - "my such-and-such HAD paint chips and my Camaro doesn't!"

well - -the problem is that each car or truck didn't get driven down the same road at the same time - so the comparison isn't objective.

If you feel that your chipping is an issue, I encourage you to visit your dealer - that's why we provide you with a comprehensive warranty.

[five-oh]

Originally Posted by Bad Karma

Be lucky you don't have a Black car and have made 2 trips to the Left Coast.

9200 miles and my quarters look like they've been blasted with rocksalt. No shit. Had em looking like that before I hit 5k.

Disappointed, but hell, I'd rather that be the main problem with my rig them some other random problem.

-Ivan

just hand-washed my car for the first time of the year and noticed the same thing. Went to the dealer and he said I should have it fixed (at my expense) and by the mud guards. Lovely, not real happy. I see a custom paint job in the near future. Sure isn't going to change my opinion on how much I love the car and plan on keeping it until I die or the world runs out of oil.

By the way, I have just under 10k miles and have NEVER taken it on a dirt road. There is some construction by my house, and I'm sure that's the problem. Just around the gills, nowhere else.

[ssummit camaro]

well if chipping seems to be a problem around the gill area why not have clear bra installed in these areas from the factory. my daily driver toyota yaris has some clear bra from the factory in front of the rear tire area.

[armysig]

Huh, I haven't had a problem yet with paint chips on my Camaro. Now my 08 Malibu is a different story. It looks like it's been hit a bunch of times by a shot gun, but I have also taken a bunch of trips across the U.S. with it, gone over gravel roads and a lot of Highway driving in AZ...

[Hicompression]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

We do not change the paint systems - so it leads me to believe that it's a case of where cars are driven. Yes, you may never drive on a gravel road, but that does not mean that a smooth asphalt highway does not have debris on it.

GM may not have changed the paint systems but...paint can vary batch to batch. So can primer. Yes GM can get a bad batch of primer! Yes GM can get a bad batch of paint! I see it in my industry all the time! What about pot life of the paint? Was the paint mixed correctly? These are all variables. Batch variances in the primer or paint could explain the inconsistency in the chipping issue along with road conditions.

I agree with Scott stating to take it to the dealer. It is definitely a warranty issue. And no, thank heaven, my car does not have the chipping issue. It did have the peeling paint on the rear bumper issue (at the seams) which I had fixed at the dealer (TSB).

[Patfan1987]

Got the clear bra on the front after it was bombed by rocks(hood had many chips), didnt have the gills done which are starting to show battle scars. But the thing that gets me is that i have a huge chip on the drivers side above the rear wheel on the top, flat part of the "hip". How the heck does that happen???

[el ess A]

Originally Posted by Patfan1987

But the thing that gets me is that i have a huge chip on the drivers side above the rear wheel on the top, flat part of the "hip". How the heck does that happen???

Passing vehicles coming from the other side can kick up debris and sling it your way.