Why is the GM paint process so terrible?

[Arachnyd]

The poor paint has been rehashed time and time again, but with my searching I couldnt figure out WHY the paint is so terrible?

I have 8 vehicles. My newest one is a 2010 camaro, yet the paint is in the WORST condition. I had a dime sized piece chip off the the quarter panel, and have tons of little pits on the roof, both side fenders, and around the windshield. When I say tons, I have counted over 40 from 1-3 mm in diameter. Sometimes they are even grouped together in little clusters.

I have NO chips on the front or rear bumpers though...

So if my 1988 fiero doesnt have any chips, why does the Camaro?
If my 1998 ram doesnt have any chips, why does the camaro?

And at this rate at 100k miles, is it going to look speckled yellow and white?

I made the dealership give me a bottle of touch up paint so I'm going to repair them, I just am struggling to figure out WHY the paint process seemingly went downhill over even past GM cars, and why it seems so much worse than Ford or Chryslers processes? Do they use some sort of proprietary painting process? are there benefits of it that I am not aware of?

[h2oplay]

the short answer is water based paint due to environmental restrictions.....


Also, use DR colorchip to fix them, you don't want tons of little paint blobs,

[Arachnyd]

have you used DR colorchip before? Hows it work. I can swing $50 if thats a better solution!

[h2oplay]

for small chips it's all I use, I can't say enough about the product. Go to their site and watch the video, it's real. You'll get an 85% fix.

I have fixed so many on my cars that I've lost count and can't remember where most of them are.....

[hot_rod]

You haven't heard?

[Adam's Polishes]

Originally Posted by h2oplay

the short answer is water based paint due to environmental restrictions.....

Bingo... I'm on a lot of forums for a variety of makes and models and the complaints here are no different than they are for other new cars. The 370z crowd is going thru a lot of this now too w/ Nissan's paint for example.

I'm sure clear coat wasn't all that great when the process first started out after lacquer single stage had been used for so long. Eventually they'll get it figured out - just sucks that in the meantime you guys have to put up with it.

Ford, as much as it pains me to say it, has at least acknowledged that people care about paint quality on cars and has attempted to do something about it. Not sure how much better it is, but this test did impress me and I'm a life long Chevy guy.

[JIM Z]

Think it just the type of process they might be using not sure

[BigCarrot]

Only problem is... the ford still got chips. But it is progress that was a pretty crazy test!

[Sweet Zness]

I don't know if Ford implemented this on all vehicles but my 2010 Fusion had the worst paint problems I ever had on any vehicle period. Large chunks of paint removed almost half the size of dimes in three different spots on my front bumper. Not to mention the regular chipping I saw everywhere else.

[transamguy]

Paint is fine just really thin, and i doubt an epoxy based primer, the body panels are e-coated for corrosion protection and then primed. they must not be using an epoxy based primer because its not needed for a good adhesion of the new paint since the panel is free from contaminants. as for the water vs solvent there is no difference to the quality of paint its just the delivery method is different and gm has been using water based for years just like several other manufacturer due to costs and environmental fears. GM did botch the camaros paint by making it to thin and not "sticky" enough though in there defense some colours would be hard to apply thin such as IOM and SGM due to there pigments but a simple black or white should have plenty of paint..... the quality is there, they shine great and have some amazing brilliance

[David79z28]

I detailed my Daughter's Dodge Nitro last weekend. Their paint was just as bad, if not worse. Like others have said, it's not just GM..

[daytripper]

I have painted over 200 cars using various paints . From straight lacquers, hardened acrylac enamels to different brands of urethane . The technique used seems to be more important than the product used . GM tries to produce the best job possible for the price and in my case (IOM) they did a remarkable job . My finish is incredibly shiny .There is a lot of paint on my car . It's definately not thinly painted . There are a couple of tiny pieces of trash in the paint but all paint jobs that arent color sanded will have this .
I am quite happy with my paint job . I of course have already machine polished and waxed a few times . Looking good !

[myold88]

I agree ^^. It's a good paint job imo for the money but of course I have no chips, runs, peeling, etc on my 2 year old SS that so many other new Camaro owners have. As far as the EPA goes, they have nothing to do with it. Old lacquer paints chipped just as bad or worse in the old days.