Paint Bad paint job on my Civic

[Cyclonic]

Hello there

I got a nighthawk black civic, and its 8 months old now, but the paintjob is so bad it makes me cry, this is my 4th black car, but even my first car vauxhall corsa had a better paintjob.

The problem is, there so many scratches when the sun hits the car its not even funny, i always washed the car by hand like i did with my other cars, nothing different, but when i go to my dealer he said the first time its normal for a black car, Well my corsa was 8 years old and my golf 4 was 4 years old both black and they didnt have that many scratches

Anyone else got this problem or know how i can get rid of all those thousands of scratches

[Brodick]

I never ever thought I be saying this
But you need to speak to TC aka Topcat !!!

[The Phantom]

NHB is an absolute nightmare. I have one too and it is the one thing I really hate about my Civ. So much infact that I rarely wash the car, as it looks worse clean than dirty.

[Cyclonic]

Originally Posted by The Phantom

NHB is an absolute nightmare. I have one too and it is the one thing I really hate about my Civ. So much infact that I rarely wash the car, as it looks worse clean than dirty.

Y got the same feeling I even waxed it 1 time for more then 2 hours lol and it still looked horrible, last time i bought a black car

But i still think the paint job is crap from honda, compared to my other black cars.

[PTR]

yes, Honda tries to save money on the paint so they make it so thin (and as compensation they give you a touch up pen in the glovebox)

[Dalboy]

Originally Posted by PTR

yes, Honda tries to save money on the paint so they make it so thin (and as compensation they give you a touch up pen in the glovebox)

Not me no touch up pen in my glovebox

[allan40alt]

My NHB is just coming up to 1 year old and covered only 3700 miles. I keep it garaged and wash it by brush and running water. I polish her with a soft micro fibre cloth and Meguiars Gold Class and Quik Detailer. I had her Supaguarded from new. Even so there are several feint surface scratches. Only very minor, and to be honest, only noticeable by my critical eye.

I have had to go over the bonnet with a mild T-cut polish but that removes some of the lashings of polish I've lovingly rubbed in. I've also 'topped-up' with Supaguard Cream. Can't say that I've noticed any surface scratches anywhere else other than the bonnet, and that's only very feint.

Next time is Alabaster Silver for me.

[PTR]

Originally Posted by Dalboy

Not me no touch up pen in my glovebox

stupid stealer has stolen it then!

[PTR]

Originally Posted by allan40alt

Next time is Alabaster Silver for me.

my previous car was dark blue... so the colour decision at the Civ was very easy

[richierich]

I don't think the touch up stick comes with UK models.

I have Milano Red, and after a few washes it does start to show a lot of spiders web scratches, I find the 3 step meguiars seems to do the trick, only used it 3 or 4 times, but its great, I guess more layers of wax may add a bit more longevity to the finish, but I will be having metallic/pearl next time.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by PTR

yes, Honda tries to save money on the paint so they make it so thin (and as compensation they give you a touch up pen in the glovebox)

What touch-up pen in the glove box?

Anthony.

[Cyclonic]

Originally Posted by Anthony

What touch-up pen in the glove box?

Anthony.

No pen here also

What Wax would you suggest to get rid of those spider web scratches?

[Cyclonic]

Originally Posted by PTR

my previous car was dark blue... so the colour decision at the Civ was very easy

My GF said get the silver 1, but i wanted a black 1, wish i let my gf pick the colour xD

[Topcat]

Silver is best - but even that can show problems

[Morph3ous]

From what I've heard and read elsewhere, its not so much that its thin paint, more that its very soft. Apparently Honda are renowned for it.

With regards to scratches, you have 2 options basically.

1) Have the car professionally 'detailed'. They will go over the car with a machine polisher which will remove all the scratches and make the car look wonderful. Its the only way of ridding them, as a machine polisher mimicks your hand movements but 1000 times faster. Unless you have arms like Popeye!

Take a look here to see what sort of job is possible.

(Beware lots of pictures!)
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=33452

As you can see all those horrible swirls can be gotten rid of, leaving a cracking finish. The 50/50 shot of the door shows it best.

2) If you dont want to pay about £350 for a professional job, then the only other option is to buy a machine polisher and do it yourself (about £150) or to use a polish by hand which has fillers in it. The best known polish with fillers, which help to disguise the scratches, is Auto Glym Super Resin Polish. Or Meguiars Scratch X which may also work well on soft Honda paint.

The best way of preventing these swirls/scratches in the first place is to never wash your car with a sponge. Use a wash mitt with the '2 bucket method'. Full details can be found here...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=33452

All this info I obtained from www.detailingworld.com which is an excellent site with great professional advice. Here's another helpful link which is where I got the info about swirl removal...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...ead.php?t=4536

Hope this helps.

Morph

[toots]

I have a NHB one too, the main problem I have is the bonnet and the wings only have to look at a stone and they chip, can not believe how many it has got in a year.

[Wheelchair]

My old shape 2005 NHB Civic bonnet is full of stone chips and I have only done 14000 miles. I think I might get silver when I get my new civic next year, or does anyone have the same problem with this colour?

Also is the new model better or worse than the old shape for this?

[surfdog29]

Hi folks. (first post)

Took deliver of nhb Civic Type S six weeks ago. All was well until today. Gave it a Sunday morning wash as usual and noticed that there were a few dead insects splattered on the front of the bonnet which were easily removed with a light wipe with a damp sponge. Rinsed the car down and once it dried noticed that it was not only the dead insects that were eradicated as the paint had gone with them too. I now have three rather obvious flake spots, (light grey undercoat), right in the middle of my bonnet.

I was wondering what experiences Civic owners have had in taking the issue of flaking paint up with the dealers? Is a touch up pen all that I can expect from them?

[brawnr]

Originally Posted by Wheelchair

My old shape 2005 NHB Civic bonnet is full of stone chips and I have only done 14000 miles. I think I might get silver when I get my new civic next year, or does anyone have the same problem with this colour?

Also is the new model better or worse than the old shape for this?

I had an old shape Civic in NHB. It put me off having a black car ever again. Quite a few stone chips and looked like a skating rink when the sun came out. I tried loads of products on it but it never looked great.

I've got a new Civic now in Alabaster Silver - about 700 miles so far and no chips so far (cross fingers). It a joy to clean compared with black and you dont get the swirl marks when the sun comes out.

[Unknownsoldier]

The best way I've found of keeping my \Black cars spotless is as follows,

1). Wash all the 'dirt' (the dust that forms) off with a lot of water preferably from a hose (and preferably fast flowing, so maximum water output),
2). Wash with AutoGlym Shampoo, using a good quality sponge (I also use a microfibre sponge, one of the ones they sell in Asda to clean the bottom half of my vehicle and my windos and windscreen) and plenty of water this most important as it allows the dirt to flow away from the sponge rather than stick to it!!!!!! [where possible rinse your sponge between washings (i.e between dips in the bucket) in a seperate bucket of plain water],
3). Squeegee off the car and chamois down with a good quality synthetic leather,
4). Once dry polish first with Autoglym Polish, then with Autoglym Ultra deep shine (specificalyl for blacks, dark blues and dark metallics in general), then polish off changing cloths regularly, then polish off finally with a microfibre to remove any lasting dust before,
5). Applying AG Extra Gloss Protection, and leave it to set for at least 2-3 hours longer if possible, then polish off using many different cloths (change as they get "Dirty"). (With the bonnet I tend to do 2 coats of extra gloss protection and both polishes to give a maximum durability)

Time [including drying]: 9-10 hours, and yes I do do this every month or so. I'm sad I know!

Also, after a muddy drive or dusty drive, I wash down my car with ordinary water and wash quickly with some auto shampoo, with the method above this is all thats needed to keep it looking good for a few weeks, then just squeege and chamois off. This all seems to work for me.

BTW, I am going to invest in an automatic polisher, Halfords do them for 30-50 quid, but I may have an old one in the shed!!

Tom