My paint or clear coat is coming off my car. I have contacted our local dealer but they were no help. I live in northwest Florida and am willing to drive to another location in the surrounding states to have this fixed. If anyone has had success please let me know. I have also called Honda and they said this was only an issue on different models of Honda.

 

i haven't seen this kind of damage on many Fits. 2000 Honda Accords yes.

 

7 year old car,, with blue paint in Florida,,,, Sorry but Honda doesn't have to care, GM/FORD/Dodge/Toyota/VW all when through this and these days once the 5 year point is gone good luck getting any OEM to warranty paint. The court backed them up...

Blue paint is the worst for UV damage, If it was me and i wanted it fixed I'd go to Maico and have them block sand and spray the roof and hood. I'd never have Maico do body work, but if its just a straight paint spray job they rock, their guys just paint more than most shops so they are typically good at it.

I checked a couple months ago and they were charging 200 bucks per body panel for just paint(With scuff time). You could maybe save some $$ for the prep cost if you wet sanded the clear-coat off and went just in to the original color layer of the paint, then they will prime and paint over it and it should look very good. Spend a little time at the shop before, and see if you can work a deal to have them shoot your car last one of the day and leave it in the booth over night. Best deal is if they don't work over weekends, is spray it Friday night and leave it till Monday AM.

One other option is to have a Vinyl shop wrap the hood and roof. Not necessasarily cheaper but it covers teh problem and the wrap material usually has a warranty......

 

To the OP?
I'm sorry, because it's not the answer you would want to hear BUT I have to agree with this:

"7 year old car,, with blue paint in Florida,,,, Sorry but Honda doesn't have to care".

One could argue, I think in a losing cause, that with today's manufacturing standards paints and clear coats should be nearly "life of the vehicle" resistant to deterioration. But that is simply NOT the case.

Paint and clear coat IS a wear item. Subject to the deteriorating affects of the Sun, Rain, and Environment.

Add to that, that with the passage of 7 years, Honda has no idea how the finish was maintained or possibly abused. They simply cannot extend a warranty on that item, that far out.

I had a brand new vehicle, that evidently-somehow-got some industrial "stuff" on it that actually worked it's way underneath the clear coat. This was literally just months from new. For all the world it looked like rust spots.
I eventually found solution myself. But warranty support? No go. Even as I tried to argue that on a new vehicle the clear coat should be more resistant.
So on a 7 year old vehicle?
I think your only options are your own out of pocket repair choices.

Don't feel too bad, if you got 7 years or so? That's a whole lot better than some stories I've heard. I actually worked with a guy, whose relatively new also blue vehicle started to have the clear coat peel. It pretty rapidly went from looking good...to looking like Eskimo that sat on a beach without sunshade...

He just decided to live with it.

Personally...I would of repainted...and in your case? I'd look into repainting.

 

Worst I saw was a blue and silver F150 that was about 2 months old, went through a car wash and came out almost primer,,,, took him almost a year to get ford to cover it..

 

You are most likely on your own. wrap the roof in black and get the hood repainted or buy a hood from a junkyard

 

Also this illustrates the importance of paint sealants and waxes.

 

Can anyone explain why it seem "Blue" is more susceptible to this type of failure?
Seems like "Blue" prematurely fails at a disproportionate rate in comparison to other colors.
I understand darker colors absorb heat...lighter reflect. BUT...don't seem to hear as many complaints about Black.

 

My 2008 nighthawk black pearl is doing the exact same thing and I was, as you were, told by the dealer it wasn't their problem. This was even though it seemed like every other Honda painted this color had been recalled?! I wasn't super happy about it and I have made numerous calls/complaints to Honda of America to no satisfaction. And this is in Ohio where the sun doesn't shine for 4-5months out of the year... Problem for me is, it's just the surfaces where there is direct sunlight. The rest of the cars paint is mint.

 

Blue paint is one of the most reactive to UV,, probably due to the physics of how light hits it.. (Wild guess). Paint since the mid 90's has been "Latex" or water based to reduce the VOC's given off during the process. Green is greener not necessarily better for any thing else. Red had trouble at one point but Blue seems to suck from every body. Whatever is happening is related to the bond between the paint layers. Funny thing is near as I've noticed does not matter if its metallic or regular, clear coat or not, the blue seems to de-bond from the primer..

 

2009 (Blue) was ok a week ago. Now it looks like s**t. My 3rd and last Honda. My CRV & Pilot does not have the problem.

 

OP you will have to fork over the cash to get a respray. I know it sucks but this is why keeping a nice coat of wax on the car is essential. Especially if your car sits in direct sunlight all day.

I DO NOT recommend MAACO! That or any 1 day paint shops are shady and won't sand down the body for a new paint coat. They just spray directly on the old paint as is. You will be going through a whole new batch of paint issues if you go that way. Like flaking, paint separating, cracking.

Find a local paint place that has good reviews, someone that has been doing it 20+ years and take it to them. It's worth the money. Paint is one of the most expensive parts on a car. And WILL affect the resale value if you do part way. I am guessing anywhere from 600- 800 for the roof. Or just wrap the rood for about 200 if you want, but the life span of a wrap is 3-5 years.

 

HONDA sold the car in South Carolina. To expect that a car would not be in harsh sunlight in the Southern states of the USA is ludicrous. I realize that I will have to pay a paint shop to fix Honda's shitty paint job. I have had a variety of vehicles from many companies over the years (that sat in the same sunlight) and have never had a paint problem with any of them. Irregardless of Honda's stance on the problem IT IS a Honda problem. I have been shopping for a new CRV in the past few weeks but now Honda can rest assured they will not be selling me a car in the future. My last 3 vehicles have been Honda's and 2 of the three, in the same environment, have not had a problem with the paint. The problem on Honda's blue vehicles is damn well a Honda problem whether they want to believe it or not and their failure to correct the problem for a LOYAL customer will result in my moving on to another manufacturer. $30 grand will not affect Honda's bottom line but IF enough of us leave them it will. Lastly, if anyone thinks a coat of car wax will correct an obvious defect in a paint job they must live in an alternate universe. It was well cared for and thatdid not make one iota of difference.

 

Very sorry to hear about your difficulty. This does NOT seem to be just limited to Honda.
I'm seeing it on Toyotas, Fords, you name it...seems to be a widespread problem. They obviously went to some cost saving measure some years ago in the finishing that is going sour. Sounds like they're relying too heavily on the clear coat to protect an inferior paint job.

 

I will agree with the fact that I see many BLUE cars with failing paint. Not just limited to Honda. I would find it hard to believe that all owners of blue cars are washing their cars with DAWN and ruining their clear coats. Maybe the color requires extra attention or increased frequency when it comes to washing and waxing.

 

I had a dealership that fought for me and got Honda to pay for most of the repainting...which was the roof, hood, and top rails. I had to pay about $300 and mine is a 2009. Honda paint sucks...I now have paint issues on the side doors that get most of the sun exposure. The clearcoats are not holding up...it has nothing to do with washing or not washing the car. My 2004 Ford truck has 3X the sun exposure...and the paint is perfect.

 

Ford has been through this, and GM. Their early 2000s white vehicles all had delamination issues due to a faulty bond between paint and primer.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I was told to eff-off by GM three times, but they finally covered 50% of my repaint.

Maaco should be avoided. Ask around locally for a budget shop, where used car lots, lowriders, etc get custom work. Has to be better than maaco.

 

Its best to have any shop especially Maaco shoot it early week, NOT ON FRIDAY ! Reason is, they dont work weekends and rush to get stuff done to go home and you end up with a slop job ( read their reviews ) seriously !!!

 

If you have at least a 30 gallon compressor, you can get color matched paint at oreillys, napa...ect..., just give it a good wet sanding, mask off and spray away. (youtube videos are your friend here )