It couldn't be that you guys did something wrong?
I must be the luckiest guy around because my paint doesn't suck.

 

my xb is nasty has swirl marks all over, couple scratches here and there from what i have no clue but it looks like something small and thin caused it. not to mention weird white marks that wont come off even after i wash it and give it a good rub down.

 

sounds like you need a claybar and a coat of Tech Wax from meguires...

 

paint is paint

my camaro you could beam a rock at it though and it wouldnt chip ....maybe a sledge hammer to the hood would do some damage but other than that that paint wouldnt chip for the life of you

we tried to key it and it lightly scratched it lol

but other than that my camaro was a 86 ...so pretty much your beat! new paint is crap thats all i have to say and my scion has 2 scratches on my front bumper/front driverside fender

one is from a piece of ice that caught my front bumper the other is from a rock that skipped off of 295 and hit it

other than that my car is pretty much mint

2006 tc soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo i dunno what to tell you guys

 

yup. the paint sucks. period.

 

Don't want to flame anyone but do any of you do anything other than wash your cars? There is a reason there are paint cleaners, polishers, and waxes out on the market. To take care of some the the problems you guys are experiencing. Just like anything else you get out of your paint what you put into it.

 

^^^

I wash and polish (not wax) both my cars the same, and the tC has dings and the xB does not.

 

Well there's the proof...

 

I was actually talking about the paint quality. Dings are an effect from rocks that hit the car, I don't think any paint job could hold up to rocks hitting it. Swirls and shine are something that could be cared for and fixed.

 

^^^ That is a given...

 

I have always been a "car-trader" only keep them for a year or two. I find the Scion paint to be no worse than the paint on my '04 F-150 I traded. In fact no worse than the paint on the last 6 cars and trucks I have had. They all scratched and chipped too easily IMO and all have had some flaws in the finishes. I just figure "they just don't make 'em like they used to". I have found the new waxes and protectors out now do a better job than they ever did before (due to the lesser finishes I suppose) at covering up the flaws. So I just wax the scratches, touch up the chips and move on. It IS frustrating to find more scratches or chips ( I count them..LOL) but I just don't think its worth all the extra stress and worry over something that is going to happen over time anyway.

 

Put well, xBster.

 

"They don't make 'em like they used to", because the EPA has mandated less volatile chemicals in modern paint. Paint is just a little softer than it used to be. It's not the fault of the manufacturers.

Believe me, they could make paint pratically bullet-proof if it weren't for cost.....and the tree huggers.

 

The humor in the "Tree Huggers" reference, xB_Factor, is now that trees can grow healthier due to the more stringent EPA laws and regulations, We can't park under them because it will drip sap and permanantly damage our paint finishes.....LOL

 

Ok, as far as those are concerned the tC gets swirls if you're not careful, but they can be removed with careful cleaning, elbow grease, and a clay bar if push comes to shove. Swirls have not been a problem on the xB.

Shine, on the other hand, has been more of a problem on the xB than the tC. I think its because the xB has more flat surfaces on which water tends to not run off when it beads up, and then when the beads dry out they kill the shine. That's not necessarily the paint's fault, but a higher quality clearcoat would help.

 

as old as this thread is, I can't help but agree the paint is bad, but I don't think it's all the paint. I believe a lot has to do with the surface it is applied to. Anyone press lightly on the body panels? They collapse under the lightest loads.

It also just seems that a person could fart towards these cars and blow a chip in it.

 

I've had my xB for a week and have completed applying paste wax by hand to most of it. So far the paint acts and looks OK to me.

xBster, where did you get that full front cover?

 

yesterday i replaced my license plate frames and i decided to wipe off some of the growth that had accumulated behind it with a tissue before putting the new one on. it left some really big scratches just from the tissue wipes.

 

You don't wipe paint with paper!

 

It's not the tissue that caused the scratches.....it's the dirt and grime under the tissue.

Never dry wipe a car.