The paint on my 2002 2500 HD is easily chipped. It also doesn't "hold" wax very long.


My truck is dark green.


I wax it all the time, but I'm still not happy with the quality of the finish. My wife's Toyota is much better, as is our Honda.


What are your experiences?

Mine is Arrival Blue. It chips if you look at it wrong. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cry.gif

Mine is white and I think its more durable than the paint on my kitchen refrigerator. I'm happy with it.

Mine is white and I think its more durable than the paint on my kitchen refrigerator. I'm happy with it.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Shocked.gif Does it ever see gravel? Have you checked the bottom of the rocker panels or have you had running boards since new? Don't get me wrong, I love my truck, but I am seriously considering Line-x on the rockers to stop the freckles.

I put on the chevy front wheel rock guards and the chipping is pretty light. You can get them from the dealership, they install in 5 minutes. The line-x would be the ticket though.. I've thought of doing that as well. I have learned through experience that the more aggressive ALL Terrain tires through a lot more roack than the less aggressive highway treads.

I have the husky mud flaps and waag wtw bars. They help some. I just don't like running boards or I would go that route. I spend a lot of time on gravel and the county insists on using the little stuff that will get in my tread grooves and stay there until 30mph or so. On a different note, how many g's you pulling in the alky? I have a coworker that passed out recently in a launch in his hot street '68 camaro.

I'm starting to see chipping. Mine's Victory Red. Just seems the paint is very thin, and where's the clear coat layer? I thought that usually chipped first. Oh Well, I'm still happy with the truck, and touch up paint is cheap. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif


Tom http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Pig.gif

My black '02 has chips everywhere including the roof. Seldom on gravel, I blame winter highway conditions.

packfan,


The problem with your paint is the part where you wax it. You have to polish it with Zaino.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif


All seriousness my truck is dark green as well and I have a few rock chips because the lot at the farm is gravel and the BFG m/t's are good at picking up gravel. As far as the factory paint, mine had a little more orange peel than I would have liked to see from the factory.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Angry.gif


Matthew

"I have a coworker that passed out recently in a launch in his hot street '68 camaro."


What was he taking, muscle relaxers or too much BP medicine? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

I've heard good things about Zaino...but really, how can it prevent paint chipping, or improve on poor quality paint. Our trucks cost $40K+, you'd think GM could at least use Cadillac grade paint which is better than what comes on our trucks, but is still inferior to Toyota, Honda, Lexus paint.

I had a 2002 Chevy 2500HD and I loved it. It was black and the day I bought it I took it home, washed it and put a coat of wax on it. Then I made sure it was washed weekly and waxed monthly and I never had any issues with the paint chipping or fading or anything. Only kept it 13 months but it was swirl and chip free the entire time.

I have black and the paint is ok but there are a lot of "dirt" specks in the paint on the roof and hood; chips very, very easily and this truck only sees a lot of highway driving and debris.

Some of you are fickle!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif I have the dark green, and it is very good. I do have chips on it, but that is to be expected. If you drive it, it will wear out. if you drive it, it will get paint chips.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif I would guess that 3000 or more of my 59,000 miles have been on gravel roads and or off road. With that said, I think it looks very good.


Some here are starting to sound like Hummer owners. They buy a gas hog then complain about the mileage.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

Some here are starting to sound like Hummer owners. They buy a gas hog then complain about the mileage.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif





Yeah, but my Hummer doesn't get chips because I can't afford the gas to drive it anymore, so I guess its got better paint, right?http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

Mine is pewter and has been excellent.


My dad's is victory red and has been excellent.


My buddy's is summit white and chips badly.


FWIW the same Pewter on my van ('02 GMC 1ton, 160k miles) doesn't seem to be very good. Lots of chips and flaking on the cargo door hinges.

Mine is Red and have noticed my hood has alot of small chips. I think it might be time to repaint the hood.
Scott

Some of you are fickle!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif I have the dark green, and it is very good. I do have chips on it, but that is to be expected. If you drive it, it will wear out. if you drive it, it will get paint chips.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif I would guess that 3000 or more of my 59,000 miles have been on gravel roads and or off road. With that said, I think it looks very good.


Some here are starting to sound like Hummer owners. They buy a gas hog then complain about the mileage.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif





I can relate to that, I went through 2 of those things within 8 months. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Thumbs Down.gif I will never do that again.

Mines Charcol Grey and seems to chip, scratch very easily.


This past winter I had a shopping cart run into the door and skid down the side and it scratched it up pretty good. Must of been karma biting me in the ass again.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cry.gif


Good thing the cart had one of those little rubber bumpers on it, or it could of been much worse.


The paint just dosen't seem very thick or durable, and your right TheBac where's the clear coat? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gif

Clear coat?


You guys didn't have the dealer spray that on before you picked her up either huh?


Yep, my dealer told me that it had no clear coat but I could pay to have the body shop spray a few layers on.


All I can say is wax wax wax! Without a clear coat the paint will dry and become very brittle. And by the way its all 99 and newer trucks....no just HD's. My fathers 00 2500 has paint that is dry and nasty fragile.





Let me qualify this poll......the paint JOB is great....I haven't seen issues with fisheye, or blisters or bad adheasion.....it does have some orange peal. Its the Paint itself that sucks! the lack of clearcoat only makes it that much worse.


WAX WAX WAX.....keeps the paint from drying out and becoming more fragile than it is from the factory

Clear coat?


You guys didn't have the dealer spray that on before you picked her up either huh?


Yep, my dealer told me that it had no clear coat but I could pay to have the body shop spray a few layers on.


I worked for a body shop years ago spraying cars and boats. The worst thing you can do is paint clear coat on a car that has already cured. It will peel and flake, hands down. We used to do it and every single time the customer came back about 3 months later furious.


Regardless, waxing may help prevent water spotting and such, but it won't do a thing for rock chips.

[QUOTE=403turbo]


Regardless, waxing may help prevent water spotting and such, but it won't do a thing for rock chips.


100% correct, unless the rock hits at the perfect angle and the slick smooth waxed truck will just push it out of the way.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif


All the wax in the world does little. And too much waxing/buffing will thin the paint even more.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cry.gif The corners and can show the proof in a couple years.

I HAVE A 03' CHARCOAL GREY GMC, AND THINK THE PAINT IS TERRIBLE. HAVE AREAS OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE HEAVY PAINT AND TONS OF ORANGE PEEL. DON'T KNOW IF WAX WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT OR IF I SHOULD WET SAND IT. ALSO, BODY PANELS ARE PAPER THIN AND NOT VERY HD.

One thing I do recommend if you haven't tried it is cleaning Clays, like Clay Magic or Mother's Clay, etc. It removes embedded debris like nothing else can. If you like a slick surface, try a cleaning clay. Just DON'T drop it on the ground or pavement, you'll have to throw it away. I break mine into two pieces.

"I have a coworker that passed out recently in a launch in his hot street '68 camaro."


What was he taking, muscle relaxers or too much BP medicine? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif


He is "slightly" overweight and has a history of heart problems @ the age of 42. He has asked me to give it a few runs down the strip for him, but I don't normally have the time to go to the strip for test and tune, let alone raceday. I sure do miss those days though. But, I miss the old '57 much more!!!

Well, I was very happy with my '04 grey metallic (actually looks green in the right light). That is until I side swipped a brick wall backing out of my buddys drive, now I gotta deal with the repair job--with the modern clear coat paints they blend the color then clear the whole panal (pass. side bed side in my case) and like someone mentioned if not done correctly the clear will lift. My experience with vehicles is you can never duplicate (durability wise) a factory paint job! And yes "waxing" is a good thing. Regular wax jobs will do wonders for a vehicle that sits outside all the time. I had two vehicles ('90 and '91) that both sat outside their entire life. The '91 had 145k on it and my wife waxed it 2-3 times per year--when we sold it it looked VERY good minus the chips and scratches! I just picked up another work beater, '90 caravan that only has 39k miles, this things looks new everywhere except the paint, it has very few chips and scratches, but has never been waxed and the paint is a mess, after polishing/waxing off the tree sap (the paint was almost black and it is a light silver color) the clear is nearly gone! The few spots it was chipped are surfaced rusted. I learned from my father who also waxed religiously, and all of his cars from as far back as I can remember (and he keeps his cars a long time) have always looked great when he traded them!

I have a black 2002. Paint is ok. But the lower panels are starting to turn gray from the sandblasting it gets in the winter. Put the GM flaps on and switch over to 265s on the stock rims. Now that sandblasting pattern is a little further down the door. I do admit that Ford paints their trucks a little better. I had a white Expedition from 97 until I bought her a black 2002 Yukon XL and the Expedition was flawless. One wax a year kept that truck gleaming...

Looks like a lot of people here have pretty good paint.....lucky them.

Nothing is worse than the soft paint job on the Vettes. I swear that if you look at it cross-eyed, it will chip or scratch. I'm sure it doesn't help that the Vette is black. All I know is that this was my first and going to be the last black vehicle that I ever own.

As far as my truck goes I have been happy so far with the Silver Birch paint finish. I was also quite pleased with the Pewter paint finish I had on my old 2000 Z71.

The paint on my mag-red Vette is actually tougher than the black on my truck. Maybe because it's a custom color. I think all of the manufacturers are using the same paint process and I see paint complaints on all of the major truck forums. Let's hope it gets better before it gets worse.


http://terrybrowne.us/2004_C5/Corvette_Parking%20(Small).JPG