Newer German paint finishes poorer than older ones???

[The White Miata]

I have a 1984 BMW 533i that we have owned since 1985. It has 189,000 miles on it. It has been a superb car. Recently I have been inspecting 2003-2004 Mercedes-Benz E320`s for possible purchase. It appears to me that the paint on the 1984 BMW is a much thicker coat of paint, and it appears that the newer E320`s have a lot more chips than we experienced with the BMW. It kind of shocked me. It just seems that the BMW never chipped very easily. Over the years as we moved around, my wife drove the BMW in Philadelphia rain and snow and LA smog and sunshine, and it still looks remarkably good.



Am I imagining things, or are the newer German paint coatings thinner and more subject to chipping?

Is this:

1) The difference between older German cars and newer German cars

2) The difference between BMW and Mercedes

3) A figment of my imagination?



Thanks,

Mike

[Bill D]

May just depend on the type of paint. I recently searched for some info on Audi paint and came across some of the most common German paints: Spies-Hecker ( Audi`s), Sikkens, Imola, Glasurit ( supposed to be the best) Different mfrs tend to use different paint. According to what I read the newest Mercedes Benzes use the new PPG Ceramiclear ,supposed to resist light scratching but I don`t know how it fares against chips

[armoredsaint]

audi paint is really soft and it sucks, I think if i hit a big fly only going 25mph it would honestly chip it. it scratches so easily and it shows everything especially on my brilliant black TT.

[Bill D]

Hmm..I find it incredibly hard, at least from a polishing stand point, It take *me* at least double the time to polish out every light micromarring as i would expect from "normal" paint :nixweiss

[dmatre]

I noticed the same thing between my `87 Benz and my `03.



The paint on the `87 was considerably better than the `03 in gloss, depth, and in resistance to rock chips. As a matter of fact, when I traded the `87 in (in January 2003), it had fewer stone chips than the `03 does now.



I have a feeling that it may be due to differences in the paint. I don`t know when MB went from solvent-based paint to water-based paint, but this is most likely the cause of the `soft` and chip-prone paints used today. (just my thoughts - no evidence to back it up)

[Bill D]

Hey dmatre,





Do you have the PPG Ceramiclear paint? if so, sounds like it doesn`t do much to reduce chips

[Scottwax]

My main beef with new German paints is the orange peel. Look at a late 80`s SEL---very flat paint and look at any new Mercedes---terrible orange peel.

[dmatre]

Originally posted by Bill D

Hey dmatre,





Do you have the PPG Ceramiclear paint? if so, sounds like it doesn`t do much to reduce chips



I don`t know for sure. According to some info on MBWorld, the color codes have a special prefix for the CeramiClear paint. I`ll check it tomorrow and let you know.

[Bill D]

:up thanks

[jerry@robs]

I agree, early 80`s to late 80`s BMW paint is so smooth and clear.

[The White Miata]

I am really disappointed to learn that this is the way it is. I have been looking forward to buying this new car for several years (even though it will be my wife`s car), and I have just assumed that the paint job would be just like my old BMW........if not better. Now I find we already have a car from the golden era of paint finishes, and the $55k car we`ll be getting (she has settled on the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI) has a much inferior paint job. :eek: What is wrong with this picture???



Well...........the new car is a wonderful car in so many respects, and she really likes it. So I guess I just can `t focus too much on the finish. Just buy me a supply of AutoSharp Pens and relax.



But I am really having 2nd thoughts about letting go of the Bimmer.



Thanks for the info.

Mike

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by The White Miata

But I am really having 2nd thoughts about letting go of the Bimmer.



Given how long you`ve had the BMW, I`d sure think twice about letting it go. After a while, cars almost become part of the household...and once they`re gone, you might regret it.



And I agree about the downward spiral in european paints. The paint on our A8 and S8 isn`t as nice as it was on our older Audis.

[kompressornsc]

Originally posted by The White Miata

I am really disappointed to learn that this is the way it is. I have been looking forward to buying this new car for several years (even though it will be my wife`s car), and I have just assumed that the paint job would be just like my old BMW........if not better. Now I find we already have a car from the golden era of paint finishes, and the $55k car we`ll be getting (she has settled on the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI) has a much inferior paint job. :eek: What is wrong with this picture???



Well...........the new car is a wonderful car in so many respects, and she really likes it. So I guess I just can `t focus too much on the finish. Just buy me a supply of AutoSharp Pens and relax.



But I am really having 2nd thoughts about letting go of the Bimmer.



Thanks for the info.

Mike



My `02 Benz is horrible with rock chips! It looks like little white craters all over the blue. There are literally thousands of them. There are so many it looks like dust on the hood. I would highly recommend a clear bra on a Benz. It won`t stop all of them, but will get the majority. I wish I had known how bad it was going to be before I got my first chips-I would have done the bra.



I do believe though that all `05`s have the new nano paint, which is supposed to be superior. I guess once a few get on the road, we`ll know for sure.

[Bill D]

Yikes!



That sounds like Nissan/Japanese paint :scared:

[The White Miata]

I found a discussion of the Nano-Paint for the 2005 models,

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/news,view.spy?artid=21942&pg=1

and I don`t find a single reference to better chip resistance. All the discussion is about scratch resistance. I`m not sure better chip resistance is a certain consequence of better scratch resistance. I guess I`ll find out when the car arrives in September. I sure hope it is an improvement. You guys have me worried now. :eek:



Mike