Dark_Sub_Rosa

I have done paint and body work before... thats why I said its more about the clear coat than the paint... yes some paints are more durable.. but its not some huge advantage that I know of that exists in paint durability that is overwhelmingly so good that it stops rocks at 50 mph. The paint quality of other manufacturers could be better but not necessarily that much more durable. To my knowledge.. there is not a car out there that is rock chip resistant and a lot of people's problems come from how fast they drive under what road conditions and etc. The design of the car also has a lot to do with where and how rocks strike the surface.

Dark_Sub_Rosa

You may also want to talk to your local shop about just getting the front end re-cleared and discuss with them any agents that could be added to harden the clear more for protection.

connorsgp

I've got 9300 miles on my 05, but I also have many, many coats of wax(McGuires ) particularly on the front..about 15 good coats altogether looks pristine

exb00st

I think some of you are forgetting how low the S2K is to the ground from the factory, this definatley makes damaging the paint on the front end much easier. My car has 40k miles on it and it looks new, besides the front lower front bumper.

Big_Al

My car has 51,000 highway miles and frankly the bumper looks like cr@p, I'm most likley going to wait till the spring and then get it repainted.

mosesbotbol

I am happy with the paint quality. Look at how well it is painted under the hood and trunk. The engine bay matches well with metallic and shows a lot of detail. It may be thin, but well done over all.

Dark_Sub_Rosa

I think you'll find once you get the front end repainted... it's going to chip just as easily as it did from the factory. Just part of driving a car.

ebeldesign

Let's be honest here, the paint is crap. I had my car paint thickness measured and it was so thin in places (under 3 mils) and my car was already so chipped that I am having the car repainted (after having it for 4 months and 11,000 miles). I just refuse to have a 30K car with a paint job that the mechanic scratches all the way through to the primer when he bends over the fender changing my oil (which I know isnt necessarily the car's fault, but he is very careful and has worked on my cars for years). Then, the last straw was when I took it to the detail shop, and they refused to buff it because they couldnt guarantee the results because the paint is so thin.

Not acceptable. Is the NSX also known to have really thin/soft clearcoat? Isnt it made at the same factory?

If you are going to go the clear bra route, just touch up the stone chips before you install it and it makes them pretty much disappear. For those with a black car, you can just use a sharpie, works surprisingly well and no touchup bump.

connorsgp

you must live on a dirt road..BTW where do you get your paint thickness measured?

ebeldesign

I drive 100 miles round trip every day, most of it on the freeway. Gotta love LA, right?

I had the paint thickness measured at Meguiar's Detail Center here in Irvine, CA. The only panel they could not check the thickness on was the hood because it is aluminum and the paint guage that they were using would only measure against a steel panel.

I have heard that many detailers wont touch the paint until they measure the thickness because of problems like my car had.