So a few of my searches shows that Honda uses single stage paint. Are there any truth to this? I want to know if my 2012 TW Fit has a single stage paint.

Collinite 845IW/Honda Fit paint - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum
Protecting single stage red on a newer car... - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum
Honda Fit Rotary Work

I just want to be sure.

 

AFAIK, the only single stage color on the GE Fit is Milano Red, all the rest are two stage paints.

 

Wrong... or, at least from what I've read, you're wrong.

Taffita White is a single stage color. However, I just read Milano Red is actually now a "triple stage" color... whatever that may entail!

 

Makes sense. You need three stages to contain all that awesome

 

3 stages = Reddish, Pink, Pinker?

 

Oh no my paint will fade if I dont take good care of it.

 

As a former owner of an MR Integra, who takes ridiculous care of his vehicles, yes, yes it will:

 

Well we all know every color fades. Red= red pink, black =matte black/dark grey. The paint doesnt fade any faster than any other color. With my prelude I only had fade on the wing and side mirrors. At more than 10 years the paint still looked nice

 

The paint on my 20+ year old Civic was still perfect, same goes for my 15 year old Jetta.

 

Exactly proper maintenance always pays off.

 

Or MR is just the worst colour to ever touch a car.

I'd go with that one

 

I gotta have my RED

 

One nice thing about white is you never have to worry about the color fading.. I think my lude was 11 or 12 years old in that pic.

Anywho, on-topic.. I'm fairly certain that TW paint is a single-stage paint.

 

Color fade is actually clear coat failure on a multi stage paint. Since the white is a single stage you really only have to worry about oxidation and contamination but allot of the time that can be corrected.

Before


After

 

Jumping on this thread late in the game... sorry. I actually detailed a 2013 Honda Fit Sport in Red today and was using a yellow LC 5.5 CCS pad with HD Speed and the pad turned red, telling me that it's single stage.

Can anyone confirm that in 2013 they were still using single stage? Also, a lot of my mil spec readings were at or below 120 microns, some were down into the high 80's and 90's. Not a lot of paint on these things eh?

 

Mine is Taffeta White and the paint is extremely fragile, chips all over the bonnet. White may not fade but rust will do the rest, very disapointing.

 

What is "HD" speed? Didn't know that any polishers had such a setting. What type polisher are you using? DA? Rotary? Orb?

Definitely a few possibilities for why there's paint transfer. 1) it'd be easy to see, but it's also a possibility that there was a spot of cc failure and you polished over it, getting paint transfer from that spot. 2) it's actually a ss paint (as it was before). 3) the most unlikely is that the cc is actually much thinner than what you're reading (since cheaper readers read the full thickness, which includes paint, thus not giving an actual reading of the clear coat) and you took it off with a yellow pad (although foam pads don't cut THAT quickly, even with a thin layer of CC - unless you're using a rotary or something and just letting it purposefully eat through). I'll probably guess it's just simply actually a single stage (haven't personally worked on a MR 09+ yet).

And anything factory for an eco car will have low microns because the cc is so thin. Particularly with the Fits, they're known for having pretty thin clears (hence the easy marring, chipping, etc.). Just fyi, I know for a fact that the 2012+ taffetas are 2-stage.

 

Wow, it's been a long time. Sorry it's taken a while to get back... Mike Phillips confirmed it's tinted clear and that it's common to see some discoloration on a pad with tinted clear.

HD Speed is an AIO (all in one, polish, cleanser & sealant. It's a combination of Polish 75% & Proxy 25%) It's made by 3D, same company that makes Adapt, 501, 502, Proxy (sealant) etc..
3D HD Speed

Problem with most Honda's & Acura's, especially the low end, as you state is the clear is so soft. Double edge sword, easy to correct, easy to mar. You're right about rock chips, especially on the hoods leading edge that swoops downward towards the bumper. I use Dr. Color Chip system and it comes out great.

RE the paint meter: I have the Defelsko PosiTest DFT ($700) paint thickness gauge. Haven't moved up to the microscope yet (at $2700.00). My DA's are Griot's Boss G-15 (15mm) long throw DA and PC 7424xp.