Hood Paint Deteriorating

[rxlawdude]

That was a different, pre-EPA era. They could paint with freaking lead and asbestos and agent orange if they wanted to.

Uh, no. The EPA has been around since 1971, and lead and asbestos haven't been used since the 1970s.

As to the low VOC paint used due to California environmental regulations, I for one am thankful for that. Having grown up in Los Angeles during the 60s and 70s, I assure you that without regulations, L.A.'s air would look worse than Houston's. Or Beijing.

I'll take the higher costs, more jobs associated with the environment, and clean air.

But that's just me. I guess reasonable regulations are anathema to many here. (And there were lots of REASONS for the regulations in place today.)

 

[sorka]

Uh, no. The EPA has been around since 1971, and lead and asbestos haven't been used since the 1970s.

As to the low VOC paint used due to California environmental regulations, I for one am thankful for that. Having grown up in Los Angeles during the 60s and 70s, I assure you that without regulations, L.A.'s air would look worse than Houston's. Or Beijing.

I'll take the higher costs, more jobs associated with the environment, and clean air.

But that's just me. I guess reasonable regulations are anathema to many here. (And there were lots of REASONS for the regulations in place today.)

No, but Toyota was using solvent based paints and a formulation that is far tougher only with solvent based paints on cars painted 25 years ago. That said, Toyota switched to water based paints in Japan in 2006 even for cars painted there.

For the first month, I didn't drive much and the few times I did I was always 500+ feet behind any car on the freeway. I manged to go that whole month without getting a single nick. Then I got the entire front done in Xpel ultimate and opticoated the rest of the car. I plan to have it swirl free and chip free for many years.

 

[MoeMistry]

Tesla paint is very soft, IMHO due to the OSHA laws we have in CA. This topic has been covered extensively, and the prudent thing to do is simply clear bra the front of the car. A lot of cars we see, we do mostly Porsches and Teslas, have imperfections in the paint like sanding marks or buffer marks that need to be removed first. Then we recommend clear bra and nano coating for protection and ease of maintenance.

So, it's the nature of the beast now if you want to have your paint look great and be protected. I'm not sure why anyone would recommend against something that would prevent damage to the paint.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

All remarks about 'soft' paint are OPINION as pointed out by the above poster, not based on any real facts. I have yet to see a single person provide actual, objective data on the 'softness' of Tesla paint. Opinions don't count. Bring the measurements.

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I wanted to get a consensus from other owners who have black cars. This is something that has been slowly getting worse and worse for a while now, but it finally came to a head today.

If you check out my previous post history, my Model S has required a couple visits to the service center to take care of little issues here and there. I recently came to the realization that there is nothing else pending on my list. I now deem the car to be in the condition I should have received it in from the factory 10 months ago. I'm not mad, its been a fun time, service center is great, yada yada yada, you all know that.

The car was recently detailed at the service center and ended up looking like a million bucks when it was done. The guys did a fantastic job. Not that I don't take care hand-washing it, but they have the equipment to do it right. This is probably the first time it's been detailed this well, it usually just gets washed by myself or the service center. So I go home and admire the car in the sunlight and I started to notice just how bad the hood looked when it was clean (I'd always chalked the blemishes up to dirt, bugs, my poor washing ability, etc.). But I have chips everywhere and most of them go right down to the aluminium. They are too deep for touch-up paint, so I make a few phone calls and I found the number of a body shop locally that has done complete re-paints to Model S' to give them unique colors. Apparently they do such a good job, they are the place to go if you have a Tesla.

They take a look at the hood and are shocked it's only seen 10 months of life. I ask them if they will put a better clear-coat on if they repaint it so it won't look like this again in another 10 months and they tell me that they put the same BASF30 clear-coat that Tesla and Mercedes do, and it's not supposed to look like mine does, ever. They go on to say the only time they see a clear coat not hold up this bad is when it's not given proper time to cure. And guess what, I just so happened to be on the receiving end of the new production line rush last fall.

So, all that to say this, I'm a wear and tear guy, things are meant to get used. I have 29,000 miles right now and the car, as far as the actual driving part, it has done so faithfully every time I needed it to. I get it, that it's not supposed to look new forever. I know there have been discussions on the paint being particularly soft, and I have the micro-swirls to prove it everywhere. However, I can see the bare metal on mine. I personally don't like saying this and to my knowledge have never said this, but this is a $100K car and in this particular instance (mind you I've put up with a lot), I don't think a car in this price-range should have paint chipping like this after less than a year. I wanted to get some other feedback on the paint holding up under similar duration and color for other owners.

Thanks ahead of time.

Photos?

 

[Uncle Paul]

Tesla used to offer paint armor as an option when the Model S first came out. Took lots of flack for it, as people wanted it to be perfect, and invisible. It was neither, and they dropped the option.

They are investing millions in a new paint facility in CA. Nobody knows for sure it this will produce a more long lasting paint, but would imagine that it is one of their goals.

I kinda buy into the "fresh paint" theory. It might become common practice for people to let their cars sit for a bit to let it do it's final hardening, but most customers are champing at the bit to get position of the cars they have ordered. Can't imagine the outcry we would hear on this forum if people were told that their cars were sitting out in Teslas parking lot for an extra month of paint hardening.

The paint manufacturers are pretty high tech companies themselves, and I imagine they have curing specifications for their painting processes.

As others have said, black water based paint, with ultra low VOCs has to be one of the most difficult colors to maintain to perfection. Most custom paint shops charge extra for an almost flawless black paint job. (no paint job is flawless.)

My G/Fs Mercedes has nice paint, but when a bird dropping was left on for two days, it etched in so far that no amount of buffing could remove the marks. Only a repaint would restore the finish.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

What's this that I hear about bird poop etching paint? I've left bird poop on my Model S for days, as well as all of my previous cars, and they wash right off and without anything residual being visible on the paint. This is a shock to me, actually, and I'm certain I must be wrong because everyone else seems to universally agree that bird poop will etch and ruin paint. My experience has been the opposite. But then again, I also wax my car regularly. Maybe that makes a difference?

 

[jerry33]

What's this that I hear about bird poop etching paint? I've left bird poop on my Model S for days, as well as all of my previous cars, and they wash right off and without anything residual being visible on the paint.

It depends on the bird and what they are eating, also on how much protection you've put on.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

It depends on the bird and what they are eating, also on how much protection you've put on.

I guess our birds must have a non-GMO and gluten-free diet

 

[supratachophobia]

All remarks about 'soft' paint are OPINION as pointed out by the above poster, not based on any real facts. I have yet to see a single person provide actual, objective data on the 'softness' of Tesla paint. Opinions don't count. Bring the measurements.

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Photos?

I'll try, don't want to leave this to a potato picture from a camera phone.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I'll try, don't want to leave this to a potato picture from a camera phone.

Thanks, I think it would help us all see what you're talking about. I have some rock chips, but no flaking paint or anything like that.

 

[Dborn]

Seems that living outside the USA has one advantage, at least for us, given that the delivery phase takes at least 4 and sometimes 6 weeks. The paint has time to cure before the car is used.
Normally we just complain that we can't get our cars sooner....

 

[supratachophobia]

UPDATE: Service center politely told me that, in their judgement, the condition of the hood would fall under normal wear and tear conditions. They were very apologetic that nothing could be done from their end. Despite the unfavorable answer, very much another positive experience with the service center.


From an owner standpoint, it's certainly a disappointment in how that particular part of the vehicle has worn, but I will proceed with the original Plan B and have it repainted and then the clear bra applied so as to avoid this problem in the future. I will get some before and after pictures to share too.