So, I'm liking my new '12 Fit so far, but this weekend I was giving it a good wash and polish and noticed some paint problems that somehow I didn't see when I first took delivery of the car.

Namely, on the B pillars the paint is extremely thin. So thin in fact the primer actually shows through in a few spots. Also, inside the doors around the windows the paint is also extremely thin. From what I can tell, there is no clearcoat in those spots either. Also throughout the engine bay is a noticeable lack of paint.

I know this is an inexpensive car, but that really surprised me. I'm really surprised for a car coming from Japan that it would even pass a quality check. The Nissan I traded in didn't have paint issues like this, the B-pillars and engine bay all had good paint and clear coat. Same thing with my wife's Mazda. Either Honda screwed up, or they're just cheap.

I don't know if I should complain and push the issue, or even what could be done. I also don't know if I should take it up with the dealer or contact Honda directly?

Anyone else notice issues like this with their Fit?

 

Haven't noticed it on mine. My brother who does auto paint repair says its got a good paint job. Never really noticed paint in the engine bay on my previous cars--still interested in findings though.

 

The paint on the hood, roof, hatch and upper part of the doors looks excellent.

I'm going to take some pictures today and post. Should already have done that.

Googling honda paint quality brings up some scary findings with clearcoat peeling after only a few years. Fortunately it seems to be with Hondas made in the US, and the Fit comes from Japan so fingers crossed.

The Altima I traded in had perfect paint after 10 years, and I hadn't waxed that thing in probably 5. A quick wash and polish and it looked as good as the new cars at the dealership.

 

My brother has worked in paint repair on cars for over 20 years. According to him peeling clearcoat after a few years is usually caused by improperly cured paint. He says never wax the car till you are six months past the date of manufacture. Otherwise the paint gets to soft or too brittle. I know everyone says paint is cured at the factory but he says wait.

Believe me, plenty of people buy new cars and NEVER wash or/or wax them. Easiest way to get serious paint problems is to let paint go.

 

Btw, not waxing for 5 years and all is not a big deal for a lot of cars. Still wouldn't suggest you do it, but I've seen some cars of that age buff & waxed to paint perfection. Nissans tend to have some pretty good paint and clear on them. I rarely see them rusting or anything. Used to see 3-4 year old rusty toyotas like that. My brother claims he's seen new toyotas rusting on the lot in the past but they are much better know.

 

This is 2012. There is no reason paint shouldn't last 15 years easily. My '94 Miata looked brand new after a polish up until the day I got rid of it, and that had a simple urethane paint job with no clear coat.

If Hondas are peeling, then it's because Honda uses shit paint, period.

 

I got my Fit in 06.2012 have not had any paint issues. The only thing I notice was the wheel wells not having any plastic inserts to protect around the interior of the fender. I cannot remember the last time I have seen this. If you have paint issues I would take it back to the dealer to see what they are willing to do in response to your paint issues.

 

Lol. Seriously? whoa dude.

I wasn't trying to push your buttons but honestly I think your interpretation of what a new car looks like versus someone who did detail work for several years on everything from civics to lambos and ferrari's(myself) and his brother that has 20 years of actual paint experience on basically the same variety of cars is probably vastly different. Not trying to say you don't know anything about this stuff because it is likely you know quite a bit--just saying we are probably looking at paint in a very different way. For example most people see little rings in a shiny cars paint and think that's normal--I'm sure you see that as paint swirl which is caused by tiny abrasions to the paints surface usually cause by washing the car--point being is that we look for very fine details such as dimpling and texture to tell whether a car looks "new" and believe me it is a skill you have to develop. My boss used to laugh at me when I would tell him something was done and that happened a lot. Hence why I ended up doing a lot of interior work.

Now, though my car does look like it has very even coverage an proper clearcoat application on all the door/window areas. It is possible that said paint is not necessarily always applied the same way. What I mean is it could be a quality control issue. Honda paint had historically been hit or miss in terms of actual paint job life.

Car paint Life has so many longevity factors it's difficult for me to believe whether it's owner, application quality or actual paint durability. Some of those factors include garage kept, sun damage, possible fire or "overheat" damage, paint curing, wax used, automatic car wash use, self service wash use, frequency of wax application, driving conditions etc. You'd be amazed by how much environment can screw up a paint job too. Ironically, I saw my brother working on an mx-5 that drove through a dust storm out west that had dust actually pushed underneath the clear coat.

Yesterday we had 80-100 mile gusts of winds in my neighborhood near Chicago as a result of a storm and almost threwup at the possibility of debris hitting my 2012's paint.

I'm curious though how others feel about their paint though.

I feel kinda ashamed to admit I dont really think about the paint under the hood as much as I should even when i was detailing... (very embarassed)

I was helping out with my Bro's Charger and it's all painted properly under there. So I can definitely see your complaint.

 

You're not pushing buttons, I'm just very upfront. Doing a little research, Honda seems to have a terrible problem with paint quality, and I'm simply not one to make excuses. There are too many complaints about clear coat peeling for it to be owner caused, and whenever I see a car on the street with bad clear coat majority of the time it's a Honda. If there is one brand that you consistently see with those issues, that means there is a problem with their paint, or paint process.

Of course there are other factors in a cars paint life. However it seems paint is one of the corners Honda has cut, as you can find the new 2012 Civics are having bubbling and peeling issues already. There's no reason in 2012 that a new car's finish shouldn't last 15 years through a typical life of automatic car washes and the like, be it a $15,000 car or a $75,000 car.

 

honda is not on top of their game when it comes to paint quality

 

Primer showing through? I'd definitely have an issue with that. Let us know what becomes of this.

 

Well what I was insinuating was that perhaps Honda owners take terrible care of their cars lol--not saying the guys on the forums.

I've seen a few of the posts now and agree they have some clear coat issues in some capacity but I can't help but wonder if there are things owners can do to remedy the problem?

I have been out of the detail business for several years, and my Bro. recommended I buy a Honda and specifically looked at the one I purchased. I suspect it may be an application issue because he said mine looked perfect. He's the paint expert IMO though I can usually tell when something is amiss.

I think this could still be a paint curing problem as that generally has a lot to do with premature clearcoat peeling and or roughness.

I agree with everyone else though--if you have paint problems take it back. I would think you coming into the dealer with a raised voice would have them trying to fix the situation as quickly as possible

 

I'm picking up a new 2012 Honda Fit Sport next week with Polished Metal paint color.

Is it ok to wax right away, or will the paint be doing final curing and better to wait?

I have used NU Finish polish (the liquid form) the last decade or two, and still have a bottle on hand thats about 1 year old.

 

It is fine to wax right away. Factory cure is different, plus it has been on a boat and on a truck/lot for the last few months.

If you're loyal to NUfinish and happy with it, go ahead and use it.

But my opinion is car wax is like technology, there is new stuff is better. Would you use a cellphone from 2decades ago?
So if you're going to put in the elbow grease, you might as well use a new product that can outperform the nufinish.

 

Paint has to breathe. Here is what I know: paint many years ago was not cured at the factory. Factory curing hardens the paint. Think of your paint as a hard candy shell. When it is first applied it is very soft. Heat and Air cause your paint to become hard and henceforth protective.

When a car is not allowed to cure properly it doesn't have a hard shell, it has a softer one that is more prone to rick chips an debris soaking in when it makes contact with the paints surface. 90% of this goes unnoticed to the naked eye, but it can cause rough paint. Over time the clear coat may not help paint on flexible pieces adhere to the car which can cause paint flaking on surfaces with high wind resistance.

Most cars have either a chemical /heat/uv drying treatment applied from the factory BUT sometimes that is not adequate or somewhat incomplete. Lately some makes and models have been having some more issues with this. I don't recall which ones specifically but my brother deals with new cars still on the lot for 75% of his business--this is definitely an issue.

He suggested I find out the date of manufacture and wait 5-6 months to wax. I believe this date should be on the white tag inside the door.

Nu-Finish is actually a decent over the counter product. I wouldn't hesitate to use that if that's what you want. I believe that's technically a polish though--similar to wax and will offer protection but not exactly the same thing.

I would say fit owners in the U.s. shouldn't worry about waxing because it is typically several months journey from production to dealer.

 

Nu Finish isn't a wax, I think it's a polymer with slight cleaning (abrasive) properties. In fact they advertise it on amazon as the only car polish that doesn't contain wax.
If you want to use it, that's fine, but it's not "waxing" your car.
I bought a bottle to use on my 2012 PMM, and asked a top notch tint guy about it and he recommended against using it and said I should use Mothers or Meguires wax, and I use Mothers. I still get a kick out of seeing how the water beads when it rains (I never waxed my previous car).

I do see a lot of older Hondas on the road with failing paint.

 

When I was detailing we used a specialty set of products--something with a z.

Anyway, You are completely correct about nu-finish being a polymer coating. For most people--non-enthusiasts--it's fine.

I prefer Mother's myself.

 

Correct, NuFinish is a polish not a wax. It does however contain polymers that bond to the clear coat to protect it, and that shouldn't break down as fast as waxes. I believe it was one of the first clear coat polishes. I've used it on every vehicle I've owned, except my old Miata because that car wasn't clear coated.

Another product I like in addition to NuFinish is Liquid Lustre.

I've tried every damn thing out there, I always go back to NuFinish or Liquid Lustre because nothing works better than those two and I have to polish the car half as much. They're also half the price.

 

Good luck with that. Dealer prep, at my wife's dealership chain anyway includes wash and wax of every new car received in.

 

Oh I know. I had to tell the dealer specifically not to touch it when they went to locate the car. When I took delivery I actually watched them wash it lol. I would've preferred the plastic be on but it was found at another lot and I didn't want to wait 2 months lol