Gill Paint Chips

[Sweet Lola]

I took my first 1k road trip. When I got home I washed and waxed. I about died when I saw the gills. It looks like some one peppered me with rocks! I am trying to see my dealrship but their customer service sucks. I baby this car like no other and to see this problem makes me angry. I own multiple chevys and have never seen anything like this. Thanks for all the info.

[MMaglione]

so after everything i got a call back from another person from GM or Chevy or whatever..and he told me that fixing my paint is an inconvenience..so in order to shut me up he offered me a $100 certificate for maintenance..i told him to let me think about it..mainly so i can think of a way to tell him to shove it nicely...and also to get some opinions on what some of you guys think...i think that if the paint keeps chipping this easily that it will be more of an inconvenience as well as a huge expense for me in the future..and that if they didn't want people to complain they should have thought about all this before they sent the car out...i really don't know much about anything with cars but i do know that my family has owned cars before and they never chipped this easily...so we are all pretty ticked off!!! anyway let me know what you think...also if you agree with me please START FIGHTING IT send emails, go to the dealership, or make phone calls...and don't take the lame $100 bribe to shut up!

[recontango]

Originally Posted by MMaglione

so after everything i got a call back from another person from GM or Chevy or whatever..and he told me that fixing my paint is an inconvenience..so in order to shut me up he offered me a $100 certificate for maintenance..i told him to let me think about it..mainly so i can think of a way to tell him to shove it nicely...and also to get some opinions on what some of you guys think...i think that if the paint keeps chipping this easily that it will be more of an inconvenience as well as a huge expense for me in the future..and that if they didn't want people to complain they should have thought about all this before they sent the car out...i really don't know much about anything with cars but i do know that my family has owned cars before and they never chipped this easily...so we are all pretty ticked off!!! anyway let me know what you think...also if you agree with me please START FIGHTING IT send emails, go to the dealership, or make phone calls...and don't take the lame $100 bribe to shut up!

Tell them you want a GM rep involved, that is what I did and got a repaint. Then put a clear bra on right away!

[htp autoworks]

Originally Posted by recontango

Got mine back today from the dealership with a new paint job on the front. Looks great, to clear bar this weekend...

You have to wait 30 days before aplying a clear bra. I will not install one until the paint is cured... or you really run the risk of the paint peeling off with the clear bra if you have to remove it for some reason. 30 days allows the paint to cure properly... anything less and you are asking for trouble.

I posted this in many of the other threads regarding chips... if people did a search we would have 35 threads on paint chips and people could get information on it in one location.

Its not GM guys. I am not a GM fan... especially now that its Government Motors but I am a clear bra installer and I hear the same complaing in EVERY forum I go to. It doesnt matter wether its the Mustang, BMW, Corvette, Viper, Ferrari, or 6Speedonline.... everytone is complaining about the same issues. It is the EPA standards that have been implemented over the last few years. Even the Harley Davidson guys are bitching. GM is not going to repaint cars because their hands are tied. This will be something that we will all have to deal with from now on... and it will only get worse. I think the worst part of all of this is its OUR TAX DOLLARS that are paying for these morons at the EPA to regualte OUR LIVES. In the end it all only costs us more money... and if they push Cap And Trade through... we will all be hurting. Not to promote the product but getting a clear bra is really your only solution... or a bra period. Unless you want to repaint your car often... and replace headlights.

[BrianGriffin78]

I went to my Chevy dealer and the GM tech looked at the car and said this was normal wear and tear. I have about 25 chips on my car btw.

I think we should get a petition going, and really let GM know this is a problem.

[MuttGrunt]

SSOOOOOO much misinformation in this thread. Maybe I can help shed some light on certain things for you guys.

Thin paint? Bad paint? Water-based paint? Factory Defect?
No. No. Maybe. Not really.

Paint on 2010 Camaros ranged from 150-240 microns with an average of around 170-210. That puts it on the thick side of OEM spec paint jobs. If you want thin paint, go buy a Porsche 997 and you'll have an OEM finish that's nearly half as thin. Your finish is not thinner than normal.

Bad paint? Ha. OEM quality paint is likely better than anything you'll find in any body shop. A factory can use paint much more efficiently and effectively with less waste than a body shop.
If you get your car repainted, or parts repainted you're opening a whole new bag of worms. Color matching, Orange Peel matching, Cure time.
Color matching - if they don't tint the primer-sealer correctly, the color will look off. This is especially a problem on lighter colors and metallics.
Orange peel matching - a quality shop will try to replicate the amount of orange peel in the factory finish. Too much and your paint job looks like crap with no reflections. Too little and you can tell which section has been repainted.
Cure time: from the factory they can cure the paint right away: the advantage of being able to bake the exterior at high temps prior to mating it with the ECU, rubber hoses/trim, plastic pieces, etc. If your shop doing bake the paint at all - you'll have to wait up to 3 months for the paint to cure. If they do bake it- you'll need to wait 1-2 months for the paint to cure. While curing (the one-way chemical reaction that hardens the paint) you can not wax/seal the paint, nor apply paint protection film (clear-bra), nor drive very hard as the paint will still be soft and solvents will still be escaping. While you're waiting, the paint will be even softer than OEM spec paint, and even once fully cured, depending on the clear-coat the shop uses, the new paint might be softer than OEM spec meaning it'll chip and become damaged even faster.

Water-based? I have no way to confirm or deny the base-coat of your cars in water based. Regardless it doesn't matter. The base coat is only meant to give the car an even color. It is super thin, weak, dull, and offers no protection. This is true for all base-coat + clear-coat paint jobs. The clear-coat is still solvent based. It's the thick layer that gives your finish gloss, protection from the elements, UV ray protection, etc. It's likely thicker than the E-coat+primer sealer+base coat combined. Anyone that's worked with clear before knows how it is some thick nasty stuff.

Factory defect? Hhmmm. Not in my eyes.
Your Camaros have some big muscular fender flares that push the gills directly in the path of anything the front tires kick back.
Take into account your cars don't sit as low as other sports cars, but paint chips on the front are still possible. If you're driving on the freeway at 70mph and the car in front of you kicks back a rock, that rock isn't just hitting your paint at 70mph. It's your 70mph + the velocity the rock was traveling, so maybe 100+ mph. Now take into account your rear gills don't allow so much space for the rock to slow down or fall down on the road. Combine that with the good factory tires: high performance summer tires warm up quick and stay more sticky (ever notice after a spirited drive all the little rocks stuck to your rear tires?) which will draw and kick back more rocks. If you're front tires kick back a rock at 50mph, and you're already going 65 mph - ouch. Chip.

I do not work for GM, Chevy, or any car company. I actually work for a low volume / high quality detailing company, and see stuff like this all the time. It's the reason Porsche puts paint protection film in front of the rear fenders on the 911's: chip protection.
I only posted this information in hopes of better educating the fellow enthusiasts that make up this website so the individual owners can make the choice that is best for them. If anyone has any more questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Best case scenario: you all complain enough that GM begins putting paint protection film on the front side of the rear fenders like some other car makers do.

[67MellowYellow]

For those contemplating splash guards, you might consider not using color matched. Since they were not available in ABM anyway, I just ordered gloss black and painted them with Duplicolor bumper black spray can paint. It is a low gloss satin finish with flex additive already added. This was super cheap and easy to do and I actually think the satin black looks better than the matched body color on the lighter colors. No splash guards looks better for sure but I couldn't handle the side gill chips I was starting to see. This should help but only time will tell.

[BICHN CAMARO]

Originally Posted by 2010 Bumblebee

I have my splash guard too. They look great after you get used to them. I believe in staying far away from the car in front of you and watching out for debris, sand, rocks in the road. So far no chips in the gills, but 3 chips on the roof ???? Why I don't know.

That aside, the paint scratches so easy, and is so thin. When they called me and asked me if I liked the car I said "everything but the paint job".

The issue I'm having is that side of the car from about half way down the car to the end gets very dirty, very quickly, especially in the gill area.

Could someone post a photo of the splash guards on a car? I have to make a decision and that would help. Thanks!

[BICHN CAMARO]

MuttGrutt is dead on with his analysis. I have been an automotive refinisher all my life and it is the design of the car, and tailgating that are causing most of these problems. If you shot your car with a BB gun you would expect it to chip. What is the diff between that and a stone coming off a tire? Look at any truck with the big dually rear fenders. They are all stone chipped regardless of the manufacture. We repaint them using a plastic treated clear (flex agent) and then suggest mud flaps (front) and or clear bra material.

Now, a few of the complaints do seem to be adhesion related. Guys are experiencing paint coming off the rear facia (cover) at the point where it mates to the 1/4. It is not chipping just peeling off. If you think you have an adhesion related problem take any good automotive tape and press it down over the area and rip it off like a band aid. If it pulls paint you have a problem.

[rd-camaro]

Originally Posted by BrianGriffin78

I went to my Chevy dealer and the GM tech looked at the car and said this was normal wear and tear. I have about 25 chips on my car btw.

I think we should get a petition going, and really let GM know this is a problem.

yeah they said the same thing to me when i went. the body shop manager said it is normal road debris chips. i have about 25 like you maybe even 35.

[Texhawk]

I agree that it is not reasonable to think you can actually drive the car (or any car) and not get rock chips.
After a while, I got where I just quit looking, and touching them up can make chips even more noticeable.
(Corvettes have the same problem)

[the rich dude]

no one has pics of a clear bra installed on the gill area?

[htp autoworks]

Originally Posted by the rich dude

no one has pics of a clear bra installed on the gill area?

There are already pics posted on this forum. Do a search and you will find them. They won't really show you anything as the film is pretty invisible there.

[BrianGriffin78]

Originally Posted by rd-camaro

yeah they said the same thing to me when i went. the body shop manager said it is normal road debris chips. i have about 25 like you maybe even 35.

That's what I have also. I still think the paint is not thick enough. I don't care what MuttGrunt says. My body guy said, chips are normal not 25 plus with the amount of miles on this car.