I have given up on this paint..

[VenomZ302]

Originally Posted by camaropete

In some cases they are overlooking the design of the car and the fact that it is more prone to chipping.

I can see how the design makes the gill area prone to chipping. However, I find it a little strange that the dealer didn't even mention splash guards and that they would be a good idea any time before I picked up my car. Similarly, I don't understand why GM doesn't offer splash guards specifically for my car. If you make something that's intended to match the car that will keep the car looking new, why exclude the blue Camaro owners?

Everyone's experience is different, but I think it's a little ridiculous that my Camaro with 10,000 miles on it has sustained more paint damage (mostly the front bumper and gill areas) than any other car I've owned. This is my fourth Camaro and fifth sporty car. If I wanted my paint to look sandblasted in areas after a mere few months, I would have bought a used car.

I bought a brand new car, am probably the most cautious driver I know (do everything not to tailgate, avoid big trucks, etc.), and don't take my car on gravel or dirt roads. How is it unreasonable for me to expect the quality of my paint to hold up before my first year of ownership is over?

I'm not trying to bash anyone or yell or anything. I guess this is largely just venting and expressing me feelings on the matter.

[Inspector 17]

Originally Posted by VenomZ302

I can see how the design makes the gill area prone to chipping. However, I find it a little strange that the dealer didn't even mention splash guards and that they would be a good idea any time before I picked up my car. Similarly, I don't understand why GM doesn't offer splash guards specifically for my car. If you make something that's intended to match the car that will keep the car looking new, why exclude the blue Camaro owners?

Everyone's experience is different, but I think it's a little ridiculous that my Camaro with 10,000 miles on it has sustained more paint damage (mostly the front bumper and gill areas) than any other car I've owned. This is my fourth Camaro and fifth sporty car. If I wanted my paint to look sandblasted in areas after a mere few months, I would have bought a used car.

I bought a brand new car, am probably the most cautious driver I know (do everything not to tailgate, avoid big trucks, etc.), and don't take my car on gravel or dirt roads. How is it unreasonable for me to expect the quality of my paint to hold up before my first year of ownership is over?

I'm not trying to bash anyone or yell or anything. I guess this is largely just venting and expressing me feelings on the matter.

I see your point. Re the quarter flares or splash guards I think early on some dealers weren't well versed on the car and/or the accessories. Not saying that is right or who's fault it was. I am just saying. Why the lack of ABM colored flares? My guess is that is due to the discontinuation of ABM.

I haven't had a sports car before so I can't really compare to a similarly styled car. I will say that I have 3 late model cars that all over similar era paints. All three are different manufacturers. I would say the paint on all three are similar. I definitely don't feel like the paint on the Camaro is any "softer" or of any lower quality than the other cars we have.

There have been lots of references to the types of paints currently used. I am definitely not a paint expert. However, from what I have read today's paints are designed to be more environmentally freindly and that comes at the expense of durability.

[Ironheadspearo]

son of a bitch after reading this thread prompted me to go look close at my rear spoiler and i have a chip near the rear corner. 2011 with 1900 miles and 3 wax jobs. going to make dealer fix it this week..... also got a nice chip on the top of the front fascia on a highway trip..... black is pretty but a major pain in the ass for someone as picky as me

[lee]

Originally Posted by usmcjlp

I posted earlier about the edges of my rear fascia rubbing and the paint flaking. That is the only paint issue I have. Becky at Rodgers Chevrolet just faxed me the Service Bulletin from GM. The number is 09-08-51-005A revised April 30, 2010. It addresses the paint rubbing for both the front and rear fascia. It states that this is a warranty issue and the proper repair procedure, which is to repaint and then adjust the gap properly. You should be able to avoid any debate with this at the dealer. Hopefully, this helps someone else.

when you say front fascia, does that mean the lower front bumper peice? because mine looks like its too tight and i just noticed about 1in piece of paint missing

[VenomZ302]

Originally Posted by camaropete

Why the lack of ABM colored flares? My guess is that is due to the discontinuation of ABM.

I would agree with this, but there's also a lack of IBM colored flares.

Originally Posted by camaropete

I definitely don't feel like the paint on the Camaro is any "softer" or of any lower quality than the other cars we have.

I don't think I necessarily would either, but I haven't talked to my dealer yet about whether this can/will be fixed and whether it will continue to be a problem. I'm hoping that I can work a deal out where they'll repaint my trouble spots and paint a set of splash guards for me so they match. We'll see what happens, but it would be nice if they see my point of view. The main question I have is why I haven't had this problem with my cars in the past.

[Inspector 17]

Originally Posted by VenomZ302

I would agree with this, but there's also a lack of IBM colored flares.


I don't think I necessarily would either, but I haven't talked to my dealer yet about whether this can/will be fixed and whether it will continue to be a problem. I'm hoping that I can work a deal out where they'll repaint my trouble spots and paint a set of splash guards for me so they match. We'll see what happens, but it would be nice if they see my point of view. The main question I have is why I haven't had this problem with my cars in the past.

Let us know what happens after you talk to your dealer. I think the challenge there will be whether or not your dealer has a good autobody shop. Lots of dealers just aren't equipped to do a proper matching paint job and therefore they are reluctant to paint. Hopefully that isn't the case with your dealer. Definitely keep us posted.

As far as why you haven't had this problem with your previous cars, I think it would come down to design of those cars and possibly the types of paints used. What years were your previous cars and what models?

[NYJETSFAN]

Wow, I only have 1600 miles on mine and now Im in panic mode over the whole paint issue. I carefully inspect it daily just to see if anything jumps out at me.

[VenomZ302]

Originally Posted by camaropete

Let us know what happens after you talk to your dealer. I think the challenge there will be whether or not your dealer has a good autobody shop. Lots of dealers just aren't equipped to do a proper matching paint job and therefore they are reluctant to paint. Hopefully that isn't the case with your dealer. Definitely keep us posted.

Will do. Thanks.

Originally Posted by camaropete

As far as why you haven't had this problem with your previous cars, I think it would come down to design of those cars and possibly the types of paints used. What years were your previous cars and what models?

1997 Green Metallic Camaro
1967 Bolero Red RS/SS Camaro
2000 Light Pewter Metallic Camaro
2007 Lakeshore Slate Metallic Infiniti G35S

When considering the tires on my previous cars, my Infiniti had wide, offset tires, as well and I didn't have this problem on that one. In fact, I thought that paint was thin, based on my experience with birds, but I never had paint damage from the windows down. And, for the record, none of my cars have ever had splash guards.

[Inspector 17]

Originally Posted by VenomZ302

Will do. Thanks.

1997 Green Metallic Camaro
1967 Bolero Red RS/SS Camaro
2000 Light Pewter Metallic Camaro
2007 Lakeshore Slate Metallic Infiniti G35S

When considering the tires on my previous cars, my Infiniti had wide, offset tires, as well and I didn't have this problem on that one. In fact, I thought that paint was thin, based on my experience with birds, but I never had paint damage from the windows down. And, for the record, none of my cars have ever had splash guards.

I think for the purposes of this discussion, you have to take away the first 3 cars. Paint techniques and government environmental requirements have changed significantly enough over the past 10 years that I think those are not a valid comparison. So let's focus on the Infiniti. Techniques and requirements in those 3 years may have even changed, but let's just ignore that for the time being.





While you personally may not have experienced issues with the paint on your G35S, if you search you will find complaints about paint durability, especially on the front end.

Like many of the complaints on this forum, those regarding the Infiniti and many others cars seem more frequent from owners of black and darker colored cars. Having had something north of a dozen cars now, (three of which were black) I can tell you that black is terrible. I don't think that it is any less durable than any other colors. There are two factors that make it bad in my mind.

1. Thanks to the laws of physics, the color black absorbs all frequencies of the visible light spectrum. I would assert here that due to that fact, it takes more of a beating from the sun and therefore has different wear characteristics than just about any other color. The darker the color of the car or the closer to black, the more this holds true.

2. Because of the dark color and the lighter color of the metal underneath the paint, black and darker cars always show chips and paint problems more prominently than any lighter colors.

I don't want to make a generalization about those people with black or darker colored Camaros complaining about paint. I would say that several of the people I have read on here complaining about paint problems on their cars have never had a dark colored car before or at least not one that they gave as much attention to as the Camaro.

I notice that the later model cars you mentioned above (the 2000 Camaro and the 2007 Infiniti) are both what I would consider on the lighter side of the spectrum as compared with your 2010 ABM Camaro. I can definitely understand how you would notice more paint chips on your Camaro than on the lighter colored later model cars.

Finally, as I have mentioned before, the body styling of the Camaro is just more conducive to taking shots from debris. Notice the curve of the lower rocker panels as compared to say your Infiniti.





The Camaro has way more "hanging out" on the lower portion of the car than the Infiniti. And look at the hips of both cars. It's not even a fair comparison. Never mind the tire size and style differences. With such beautiful and aggressive body styling comes trade offs. In the case of the Camaro it may be in the form of susceptibility to more paint chips than other less dramatic styling. Frankly, that is a fact that I am willing to accept and live with in order to have one of the best looking cars on the road.

[VenomZ302]

Originally Posted by camaropete

I notice that the later model cars you mentioned above (the 2000 Camaro and the 2007 Infiniti) are both what I would consider on the lighter side of the spectrum as compared with your 2010 ABM Camaro. I can definitely understand how you would notice more paint chips on your Camaro than on the lighter colored later model cars.

I understand where you're coming from with what you're saying, but I will say that my G35 was not a lighter color than my ABM Camaro. The tires on the S model of the G35 are also not that different than those on my Camaro. But anyway, this is Lakeshore Slate:

(Not my car.)

For the record, my parents (who put more miles on their cars than I do) also haven't had this problem. Maybe it's because the cars are more expensive, but my mom's red 2006 330i convertible had no chips (and she drove the car to and from a barn in the middle of nowhere), her current dark grey 2009 335i has no chips (and she's driven back and forth between SC and NC), and my dad's 2008 dark grey Porsche 911 has no chips (and the car has as many miles, if not more, than my Camaro does).

I'm no stranger to physics (it was almost my major in college), so I don't have a huge problem with chalking this up to the design of the car. However, I would have liked to have been warned about this and/or offered some sort of protection when I bought the car. And I still don't find it unreasonable to ask that a new car (or a year old car) looks new after a few months of normal city driving and being parked carefully. Yes, my car is a year old, but I noticed the first chips after 2-3 months of driving it.

We'll just see what happens when I talk to the dealership about it.

[CFD]

I feel everyone's pain. I live in MA and it seems every road is under construction or repair, I constantly see and hear debris bouncing of my car. The thing is I'm not sure that it is a Camaro problem. Before this I had several high end GM vehicles including a CTS, two crew cab duallys and two Hummers all black and all were so chipped and scratched it discussed me. When I used to complain to friends they all say it's 'cause they're black but when I look at their cars they are no better it's just that you don't notice it or they're blind in one eye and can't see out of the other.

[KIZE]

I don't have any chips that i can see. I did spend $800 the first week i owned it on clear bra's for the front bumper, side mirrors, rocker arms and the gills. Can't see it unless you look real hard. Obviously that helps.
My car is summit white.

[BICHN CAMARO]

Originally Posted by Skyman 08

man I can't believe these problems, here I am with 10K miles on mine and narry a paint problem except for where a big rock flew out of a truck tire and popped the front just below the lower grill.. No gill chips and no scratching of the paint anywhere that I can see...
I don't konw why I am not experiencing any of those problems. just wonder if there is anyone out there like me with no paint issues.

Got no issues either. Installed flaps from RPI and I do not tailgate. I also live in the middle of nowhere Idaho so I see little traffic. 5,000 miles on car.