Paint durability

[tomrad]

I have owned lots of cars over the years and, as nice as the color and finish is of the Mirage, it's the most susceptible to chipping of any factory paint that I have seen. Any tiny pebble or large grain of sand seems to leave an impression, chip or small scratch.
I owned lots of Fords years ago and the 80's Mustangs, for example, had extremely durable urethane bumpers with equally tough paint. It took a lot to chip those, my '86 GT had few, if any, nicks at 13+ years old when I sold it. The little Mirage is six months old and I have to touch it up weekly.
So......I googled the issue, and found I am not the only one experiencing this (not Mirage specific, Mitsubishi paint in general):

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-c19098_ds479114

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...cer-SOFT-PAINT!

http://mitsubishiforum.com/forum/mit...roblems-40438/

I am very particular with my cars, and, as much as I enjoy this car, it may push me to get a Honda Fit after all. As much as I don't want to do it . Just can't stand the idea of making payments on a car that doesn't hold up, even if it's only cosmetic. I don't buy a car very often and wanted to enjoy a nice new chip free paint job for more than six months.
Honda paint does not do this. Neither does Nissan's.
Has anyone else experienced chips on the front ?

[IchabodCrane]

Yes. The bumper cover and leading edge of my hood look like I follow gravel trucks around all day.

[tomrad]

Hi Ichabod, and glad to hear you got your car back and running well.
trust me, it is not your fault. I am extremely cautious, and NEVER owned a vehicle that chipped so easily. Every day after work I look for nicks and seem to find something at least once a week. Only on the plastic bumper cover, but it's now got one next to the Mitsubishi diamond logo and it stands out. I touched it up but still see it, looks like a bug.
Very disappointing on an otherwise excellent car. If they knew the paint wasn't quite up to the standards of older stuff, they should have at least put 3m clear wrap on the front, or offered it from the factory as an option. I would have bought it. It's good stuff. Have chips now, so pointless

[tomrad]

Ichabod Crane, do you have a picture of the front end chips that you could post sometime? I'll get some pics of my car also. Thanks.

[foama]

Maybe it has to do with the type of paint. Ony metallic paints chipping?

Mine has no chips at all after one year, neither on the plastic bumper nor anywhere else, but the paint is white non-metallic.

[alex16]

Mine has a few nicks on the front bumper. Cloud white.

[tomrad]

Maybe it has to do with the type of paint. Ony metallic paints chipping?

Mine has no chips at all after one year, neither on the plastic bumper nor anywhere else, but the paint is white non-metallic.

alex16 and IchabodCrane both have white cars. Same clearcoat as the other colors, I'm sure. I suspect the cars that show few/no chips have not been exposed to flying debris so far. We have lots of dump trucks, trailers, and careless drivers in our area.

[flotownj]

You might want to check your research about the Honda Fit. I was going to get one before the Mirage. If you are talking about the new 2015 Fit it has MANY complaints about paint chipping and not just on the front of the car. The paint on the Fit now made in Mexico is the biggest complaint of the car. I have been all over the Fitfreaks forum. Trust me the paint on that car is no better.

Now I think the best way to fit this would be to have one of those clear bras installed from 3M or Scotchgard when the car is new! You cant even see these unless you get right up on the car and you can cover your headlights also to protect them.

Car manufactures are just getting cheap on materials these days. Your just going to have to find a way around stuff like this. You know the saying they don't make them like they use to!!

[tomrad]

Thanks, and you are right about the 3m stuff, I should have done that. Just never occurred to me when I bought the car. I figured paint was better than the old stuff. But it's no where near as durable, sorry to say.
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I didn't know Honda had the same trouble.

[Teasmade]

It seems that Mitsubishi (and some other asian brands) have always tended towards soft, easily chipped paint - it's long been a bone of contention amongst UK detailing enthusiasts. The plus side is it corrects quickly if you're machine polishing.