Delicate Paintwork

[mykl]

I have noticed that the paintwork on my car marks very easily.

I ran over a twig last week, it kicked up and put a 3 inch scratch right down to the undercoat on the passenger door. :mad:

Just yesterday whilst loading the boot I dropped a 4 foot length of 2"x 2" onto the bumper and it took a chip out of the paint again right down to the undercoat. The wood slipped out of my hand and in reality only travelled 6 inches or so. :mad:

My paintwork is obviously soft (been used to VW's lately, hard paint) Does anyone else suffer this problem?
I am using Autoglym products with a final high gloss (Gold Label) finish, as I thought that might resist some scratches.

How can I toughen up my paintwork ? Any ideas ? :shrug:

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mykl

[Zeb]

I have noticed that the paintwork on my car marks very easily.

I ran over a twig last week, it kicked up and put a 3 inch scratch right down to the undercoat on the passenger door. :mad:

Just yesterday whilst loading the boot I dropped a 4 foot length of 2"x 2" onto the bumper and it took a chip out of the paint again right down to the undercoat. The wood slipped out of my hand and in reality only travelled 6 inches or so. :mad:

My paintwork is obviously soft (been used to VW's lately, hard paint) Does anyone else suffer this problem?
I am using Autoglym products with a final high gloss (Gold Label) finish, as I thought that might resist some scratches.

How can I toughen up my paintwork ? Any ideas ? :shrug:

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mykl

I have the same problem....partial solution is the Carplan Nanomeric Sealant which, after several coats, does seem to have helped considerably! It also makes the car a doddle to keep clean...like non-stick!

[tourerfogey]

I think the paint was a big problem with the 75 / ZT.

My Tourer (in midnight blue) is in effect two-tone; one shade on the metal body, a slightly different shade on the plastic bumpers. Rover couldn't seem to get this right - most other makers have managed to do so. Also the paint coverage on the bonnet edges, under the wheelarches and in the door shuts and tailgate slam is very poor.

As for scratching, then yes, this does happen all too easily. What infuriates me most is that manufacturers use light coloured undercoat on dark coloured cars so that if the paint gets scratched the light undercoat really shows up against the surrounding paint. There is no justifiable reason for using light undercoat other than it's easier, cheaper and quicker to use the same on all cars whether they are to be painted in a light colour or dark colour (whereas dark colour undercoat on a light coloured car obviously causes problems).

I think that the paintwork and other fitting problems turned the 75 / ZT from an excellent car into just a good car.

[Bartonrover]

My Cowley built Wedgewood Blue (metalic) still looks fantastic IMHO - even after 104k. Stone chips certainly (which I have touched up of course) but the undercoat seems to be a grey (zinc?) colour. For a time I also ran a Longbridge 75 Tourer in BRGreen (pearlescent) which chipped at just the sight of a gravel path and the white undercoat really showed. Also really hard to beat out polish circles and I found touching up a much harder task. Modern water based paints are naturally very soft anyway - but I suspect the proble is partly dependent on colour/type. (But in the past month my front windscreen has gathered two nasty stone chips right in my field of view!). Robert

[Zeb]

I found the lacquer coating to be a tad 'soft' on my facelift car but have not had anything go any deeper than that thus far. The Naomeric has definitely hardened things up and the early scratches have not been added to since using it.

[tigerchubs]

mykl
shame on you 4foot 2x2 its not a van.
As for the paint only marks I have are on the plastics which does seem easy to mark. I dropped my key on the rear bumper which resulted in a chip.

[mykl]

mykl
shame on you 4foot 2x2 its not a van.
As for the paint only marks I have are on the plastics which does seem easy to mark. I dropped my key on the rear bumper which resulted in a chip.

Sorry tigerchubs it's the timber company I use they still insist on imperial measurement.

Would you prefer metric 4foot=1.2192m and 2"x 2"= 0.0504m x 0.0504m

I'm sorry to hear that others are experiencing delicate paint.

Looks like a design characteristic then....oh dear.

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mykl

[Big Blue]

Sorry to hear that Mykl, I actually think the paintwork on my car is very good. I wonder if the colour has anything to do with it. I have a Royal Blue ZT, which is now 5 years old, and looking better than when I bought it (18 months old). My previous Audi A4 had dark blue matallic paint, and this was terribly scratched and dull no matter how often I polished it when it was 5 years old. Mys wife's Copperleaf Red 75 was quite resistant to chips, but needed regular polishing to keep it shiney, more so than my ZT, though the ZT was 'Supagaurd'ed by the first owner. Actually I think the paintwork on my ZT is better than the black on my wifes brand new Mercedes C-class Sports Coupe - which I feel is very orange-peely.

[baxlin]

Sorry tigerchubs it's the timber company I use they still insist on imperial measurement.

Would you prefer metric 4foot=1.2192m and 2"x 2"= 0.0504m x 0.0504m


mykl

I think you missed the point - the admonishment was for loading timber into a 75/zt, not for using Imperial measurements, which I reckon should be compulsory on here (except for engine capacity)

Bought some curtain material, had to buy so many metres of 54" wide - how silly's that, although I understand that's changed now

Malcolm

[mykl]

I think you missed the point - the admonishment was for loading timber into a 75/zt, not for using Imperial measurements, which I reckon should be compulsory on here (except for engine capacity)

Bought some curtain material, had to buy so many metres of 54" wide - how silly's that, although I understand that's changed now

Malcolm

Malcolm you are so right I did miss the point (Blond moment probably, only I have no hair and I'm male). I must read more carefully. :oops:

I take the point........... why did I load all this wood in the back of my ZT. Ahh I remember SWIMBO garage tidy excercise.......:argue:


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mykl

[Matt brighton]

Hi,

Yes - I agree - my paintwork seems to scratch so very easily (2001 copperleaf red) and seem to weekly collect dents whenever parallel parked so easily.

I think it's one or two things - these modern clearcoat finishes look very shiney but are easily scratched - or - i am so very proud of my lovely car that I scrutinise it more often than others I have owned.

Matt - brighton

[Andyb123]

I have a Black cdt which at the moment has a bonnet which is about 50% black and 50% white dots. The white dots are stone chippings I have collected over the course of clocking up some 60K miles on the M56/M60/M67 going to work each day.

Are our roads getting dirtier our is my paint work softer and more prone to chipping. Many years ago I used to own a black Nissan sports job which I clocked upa round 70k in but never had the amount of bonnet chips I have on the 75.

[patrolman pete]

My first 75 was in royal blue and i was scared to wash the paint work too hard as it scratched so easily . I once spoke to a lad in a bodyshop about it and the said the paint on the 75's was as soft as butter ! My tourer is in moonstone and is still as soft but doesn't show up as bad being a lighter colour.

[lightpainter]

My facelift in royal blue has been used as a bird latrine when owned before, and the caustic poop has eaten into the soft paint work leaving marks all over it. So now when I see it on the car, I try and wipe it of immediately with a wet rag but if it won’t move and I use my thumb nail, it scratches the paintwork its so soft!