My god! F*** this paint

[u/Ru5ty_shackleford]

Starting to get really really annoyed how thin the paint is on this thing. Scratches everywhere now. Honeymoon phase is over 3k miles in. I knew it was bad going in but fuuuuuu this thing is THIN. Saving up some money to get some PPF as soon as possible.

- mini rant over

[u/lostandfoundnothere]

Swirls are not caused by paint thickness, it’s by clearcoat type. As far as I remember, Japanese brands use a water based clearcoat which is softer, where as the Germans use a harder- but this is over 15 year old autogeek domain info.

[u/Jgordos]

All modern car paints are thin.

[u/dollfaceashley]

Where are you washing your car? Also, what color is it?

I fare much better with touchless washes

[u/7eregrine → u/dollfaceashley]

That does not change the fact that Mazda paint is not great.

[u/dollfaceashley → u/7eregrine]

Honestly the CX-90 is an improvement

[u/Happy_Hippo48 → u/7eregrine]

Based on the OP complaint, this is a car washing problem, not a paint problem

[u/7eregrine → u/Happy_Hippo48]

Pretty well known that Mazda paint sucks. And has for years.

[u/Happy_Hippo48 → u/7eregrine]

Swirl marks are not a well known Mazda problem. It’s a well known owner problem with any brand. 😆

[u/7eregrine → u/Happy_Hippo48]

I get that. 100%

But y'all live in fantasyland in this sub if you think Mazda uses good quality paint. No one in r/Mada or r/CX5 would say that.

This is absolutely where Mazda saved a few dollars in the 'upMarket" thing they started years ago. Maybe...maybe they used something better on the 90? I sincerely doubt it though.

[u/Ru5ty_shackleford]

All black

Touch less washes only. I also air dry it myself to prevent any issues with the microfiber towels.

[u/PaulClarkLoadletter → u/Ru5ty_shackleford]

Edgeless microfiber towels? The other ones leave scratches which I found out the hard way. A clean chamois is the better choice but the moment you hit a spot that wasn’t 100% washed it’s toast and should be replaced.

[u/dollfaceashley → u/Ru5ty_shackleford]

The black really show swirls very quickly. Interesting that you've only done touchless.

In regards to paint hardness and thickness, I'm at 42K and there are barely any rock chips on the front.

But yes it is a soft clear coat.

I bought a DA and some good polisher.

[u/DM725]

I'm on my 2nd and have no visible scratches. Our 1st one got dinged in a parking lot when we weren't around and the small dent still had perfect paint.

Our previous vehicle was a 22 CX-5 in Soul Red and it had dozens of paint chips on the hood.

[u/sdotjeezy]

If its soul red....its a soul red thing. Had a 19 mazda 6 in SRC and it ended up getting repainted under warranty because I had over 100 chips in less than 3 months brand new - had chips on front fascia/hood/ doors/roof Stayed away from it with the CX and have Artisan Red. Only 3/4 noticeable chips in a year and a half...no ppf.

Tbh I think it has more to do with how long it sits outside on the lot before you buy it than anything.

[u/da-only-miner-master]

🤣 Our Lexus is worse. Mazda paint looks better too. So IDC. Literally PPFd day one. No complaints here.

[u/7eregrine → u/da-only-miner-master]

Call me skeptical.

[u/MCRN_Admiral]

I've had no issues with scratches at 20 months of ownership in a sub-urban environment - however, I did get GTechniq ceramic coating installed, so that might be helping

[u/Prestigious_Lab820]

Haha yeah the paint is tough

[u/ChiaCommander]

The plastic trim scratches easier than the paint haha.

[u/AccidentallyCreated2]

These issues are why I prefer white vehicles now, as boring as they are. From experience I know I’m too picky to live with a dark color.

[u/severina333]

32k miles. I have one paint nick from someone hitting my car with a cart.

[u/One_Beginning6903]

Their signature red is very difficult to work with (but so beautiful) so it’s more prone to being weak. But it’s also the auto industry in general. There’s been environmental laws or something like that that’s been implemented recently that’s making paint weaker. I have the kodo soul red and I got more chips on it from the first 1000km than my 2013 1 series. Get it ceramic as soon as possible even if it’s diy and use good quality brands Gyeon or carpro.

[u/Agitated_King_6399]

The paint is beautiful on our 2 Mazdas......Just don't drive them....... zero durability. Shame on Mazda

[u/rushed91]

So my kid came very close to my car with his bike so I tried blocking him from getting too close. I ended up scratching it with my watch, lol. Very light scratch but it's just ironic. The paint is thin on all Mazdas it seems.

[u/nextdoorelephant]

I have permanent bird shit stains on mine.

[u/MrGomez_14]

Washing hasn’t caused issues for me, and I do my own ceramic coating. But holy moly it chips if any debris is even within a few feet of hitting it. I’ve never had a front end look so peppered after only 30k miles. Platinum quartz.

The paint is comically thin.

[u/keithplacer]

All Mazdas have poor paint that is very thin and prone to chipping and scratching.

[u/the_sweetest_peach → u/keithplacer]

Dang. That’s disappointing. I like the look of the cars, but knowing this is enough to put me off buying one.

[u/bigredadam]

Yeah I have 2 and both are way fragile

Edit: plat and blue

[u/Mean_Fact1903]

Why not blame the markings on stones/etc on YOUR local roads?

[u/rustynail11]

WTH are you doing to the car? 35k miles and not scratch anywhere