What year did the crappy paint end on Proteges?

[glyph]

i don't know what the name of it is. I think it's "electric" something or other.

[mannydingo]

Now that blue you're talking about, that I like. The silver/gray just seems so, well, gray!

[glyph]

If you're talking about the latest Titanium Gray. it's not bad. My favorite I've seen on a new production car is the Liquid Silver color they offered for a few grand more on the 350Z. The next best is the very light silver on the Audis.

[LisaT]

yes it is the sunlight that detroy's paint. On cars that still have the whole clear coat just dont shine like they used to.. use meguirs paint cleaner followed by polish then wax it with tech wax...
btw waxing rules go as black and red- every 3 months everything else every 6 months that is what is needed to keep that paint factory nice.

[mannydingo]

yes it is the sunlight that detroy's paint.............btw waxing rules go as black and red- every 3 months everything else every 6 months that is what is needed to keep that paint factory nice.

What you're saying is correct but the problem with the mid 90's Protys and other Mazdas is that the clear coat starts coming off. It's not that it starts loosing it's gloss shine. All cars do that, some faster than others. However, no matterr how glossy it is, it starts coming off. My current 96 Protege's roof gloss looks nice and glossy where there still is gloss. The rest of the roof I have to get a blade and scrape off the corroded gloss. It becomes like a powdery color as it separates from the roof. I don't know if you've seen what I'm talking about. On the 94 I used to own, it would just peel off the underpaint with gloss and all. You would just have the grey undercoat left on those spots. Here's a picture of my dad's MPV's rear door. The second pic is my roof after peeling off about half of the gloss that wasn't gloss anymore with a blade. Almost all of it was that white haze that you see on the edges of the roof. Yes, it's disgusting.

[96ProDX]

i have a 96 with the sand mica paint job, it has 186k and i live in KY, my paint is perfect. I have a few scratchs and dings, but the paint shows no signs of fading or peeling. I wash it regularly and wax a few times a year.

[mannydingo]

Then it's got to be the South Florida sun. There are several examples of these Mazda paint problems here. However, other makes don't have the same problem. That's not to say most have the problem. The 95 I have for sale has perfect roof paint. Then again, the previous owner always had it under a shady tree. She is older and doesn't go out as much.

[firelizard]

My mom's 97 Everycar Red one is okey dokey, other than the scratches and normal wear/tear.

My 98's Silverstone Metallic was also in great condition..better than the current paint

[mannydingo]

My mom's 97 Everycar Red one is okey dokey, other than the scratches and normal wear/tear.

My 98's Silverstone Metallic was also in great condition..better than the current paint

Come on, man, you're in Canada. You must get about 20% of the sun we get here in a year. There's no comparison.

[firelizard]

True, it's only sunny for about 5 months of the year.

[txmzdspd2gen]

I currently have 3 mazdas and no paint problem. YOu just have to know how to protect the pain from haze and fade so it wont break off.

[mannydingo]

I currently have 3 mazdas and no paint problem. YOu just have to know how to protect the pain from haze and fade so it wont break off.

What you're saying doesn't apply to what I'm saying because I've had other cars from other makes that I didn't have to be so careful with. I don't wax anything. I hate the work of waxing and results this bad should not occur just from not waxing. If other cars didn't have this problem then the Mazdas shouldn't either.

[txmzdspd2gen]

Since you are in FLorida then I guess you get to be close to the sea. Salt spay can kill the coating of a car. Yeah you dont have to wax them but then again when ever you get salt spray then just wash it off with water. I used to live in Saudi Arabia and I dont care what kind of paint you have, when it got hit by salt splay from the sea it will corrode. May it be waht brand of vehicles. We love going to the red sea there and I made sure when we get home I wash our 81 corolla liftback with fresh water and soap.

[mannydingo]

Since you are in FLorida then I guess you get to be close to the sea. Salt spay can kill the coating of a car. I used to live in Saudi Arabia and I dont care what kind of paint you have, when it got hit by salt splay from the sea it will corrode. .......We love going to the red sea there and I made sure when we get home I wash our 81 corolla liftback with fresh water and soap.

The Red Sea, that sounds nice. Man I wish I had money to visit every nice place in the world. Anyway, salt or no salt, some cars have worse paint than others. The better quality it is then the longer it's going to last under harsh, salty & sunny conditions. Like I said, in this same Miami, other cars of the same time period have longer lasting paint. Case in point, I have a 95 Altima at home whose engine I removed. My dad crashed his 96 Altima and his engine is going in it. It's one year older than the Proty and there are NO signs of the gloss coming off. I will go a step further: I had a 91 Escort until about 2 years ago. The gloss was almost all gone but of regular fading and still the full grey color was there. The little gloss that was left was evenly on there so it was still presentable. It was not chipping, peeling or anything. If you look at the picture of my blue Protege above again, you will see how the rest of the car is still fully glossy and it's the original paint. The paint would be awesome were it not for the peeling.