Kerste Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 I'm planning to buy an '05 Legacy very soon, but there's something that I wanted to get opinions about before I decided on a color. I've read in several places that Subarus tend to have soft paint, and the Legacy is no exception. I've come to terms with that and I've decided that I'll probably get a new paint job within a few years if there is a real problem. But what I'm worndering now is, is there a specific color of paint that tends to show marks or scuffs more than the others? My local dealer has a black '05 that he's wanting to cut a deal on, but I've heard that black is the worst color as far as the softness goes. Anyone know if this is true with the Legacy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 The color doesn't have anything to do with softness. The color does have everything to do with how badly the swirls will show up though. If you don't want to spend time polishing out swirls then you NEED to get silver or white. Any other color will show swirls far far worse than those two colors. If you don't mind some time behind a polisher every couple months, then pick any color you want. I just wouldn't recommend that you neglect Subaru paint. Using the proper tools to care for it is very important. It's not finished by far, but here are some tips on how you can help reduce swirls by using the right tools. Hopefully that helps some. The paint softness really is one of my main complaints with the Legacy. It's not enough of a problem to make me regret the purchase, but I have learned to be more careful with this paint than I needed to be with my previous cars. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 is it the paint that is soft, or the clearcoat? or is just that the clear coat is thin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eles1 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 I don't know about soft, but it's definitely thin and chips easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 I think a little of both. I have scratches that will not be polished out and I know if it was any other car the damage wouldn't have gone through the clear. Typically the clear on the a car is the thickness of an index card. I would say this clear is at least half that. I really need to go get it measured so I can know for sure what the problem is. All I know is that if you are using a gritty sponge to wash and a crusty bath towel to dry, then you can expect some serious swirls and problems that will need to be polished out. This paint needs to be treated with care if you want it to stay looking good. Of course, looking good means different things to different people... _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerste Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 Well, the color I'd originally planned on was Regal Blue, but it's not looking as though that will be very easy to get a hold of. But from what you've said, I gather that Obsidian and Regal would both behave about the same under the same conditions? I'm pretty set as far as taking care of the paint. My dad is hardcore about car care and washes, waxes, and power-buffs his car everyweekend so I'm sure I can get a few tips from him as well as from the site you linked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slickvic Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 EPA regulations forced auto manufacturers to change paint formulations to be more environmentally friendly. This resulted in a fragile paint finish. As the years go by I am confident that the automotive paint vendors will eventually be able to produce a paint finish that has a high gloss, depth and durability. They just have not gotten to that point yet. My 88 pontiac Grand Am could go 6 months or more between washes with no ill effects. I wash my LGT once a week and intend to continue that trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eles1 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 My RBP shows dirt, scuff marks, and swirl marks pretty bad. You won't be much worse off, if any, with OBP. Also, the dark colors look the best as long as they're kept up IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 I've been pretty pleased with how Regal Blue looks. It does get swirled and they do show more than if I had white or silver, but it doesn't show as bad as black does. I thought long and hard before I bought a dark colored car. I think most would agree that I'm a little more fanatical than your average bear, but I still didn't look forward to spending every weekend obsessing over scratches I couldn't prevent. I love my Regal Blue and the time I spend making it shine is worth it. Again, proper maintainance is all it takes to avoid a large portion of the damage paint will have. I wouldn't suggest 'power buffing' this paint every week though. I still suspect that it is very thin and the last thing you want to do is burn right through it. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eles1 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 I wouldn't suggest 'power buffing' this paint every week though. I still suspect that it is very thin and the last thing you want to do is burn right through it. +1 Definitely watch those edges and corners when using a buffer on this paint... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerste Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 Well, there are very few '05 GTs with the Limited package on them left right now so it's looking like the OBP is going to be the color I settle on. The dealer has already gone $500 below invoice and that's just the initial quote and before the current rebates. I'm not going to find a much better deal in my area, so I suppose my best bet is to do my best in preserving the paint, and then take it in for a fresh paint job in a couple of years. It's just a shame that the paint isn't of better quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Power Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Kerste ... go buy it! I'm lovin' my LGT ... purchased from Bobby Houston at McRee Subaru down in Dickinson. Great service there, too ... although a 75mi roundtripper for me. But, their motto is "Our Owners get Loaners." SO NOT A BAD DEAL ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eles1 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Well, there are very few '05 GTs with the Limited package on them left right now so it's looking like the OBP is going to be the color I settle on. The dealer has already gone $500 below invoice and that's just the initial quote and before the current rebates. I'm not going to find a much better deal in my area, so I suppose my best bet is to do my best in preserving the paint, and then take it in for a fresh paint job in a couple of years. It's just a shame that the paint isn't of better quality. That's a good deal. I'd go for it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakuun Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Paint quality is also my primary concern with my Legacy. My Hood is what I consider to be excessively chipped. As well, I have chips on every single panel of my car, minus the ones SoA put rock blocker on.. those are spotless.. too bad the plastics doing all the work. And a shame they didn't wrap the rest of the car in it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerste Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 Kerste ... go buy it! I'm lovin' my LGT ... purchased from Bobby Houston at McRee Subaru down in Dickinson. Great service there, too ... although a 75mi roundtripper for me. But, their motto is "Our Owners get Loaners." SO NOT A BAD DEAL ... I'm actually going through Barry down at McRee right now. The whole Loaner program is exactly why I chose McRee. Gillman doesn't offer anything except a basic warranty, and they are a little harder to negotiate with. Plus, I live closer to McRee than the others in town since I live on the southern side of the city. It's only about 40 miles round trip for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerste Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 Paint quality is also my primary concern with my Legacy. My Hood is what I consider to be excessively chipped. As well, I have chips on every single panel of my car, minus the ones SoA put rock blocker on.. those are spotless.. too bad the plastics doing all the work. And a shame they didn't wrap the rest of the car in it to. My dad recently bought a new car and had the hood and parts of the front side panels wrapped in rock blocker. It seems to be working well for him, it's been 4 months and he doesn't have a single ding. He does have considerably better paint though.. Anyway, your Subaru dealer put the rock blocker on for you? I was thinking about getting it put on my car, but I would think that it might cost a fortune to wrap the whole car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 It will cost 4 or 5 hundred bucks just to get the front end done. However, if I knew about the paint before I bought the car then I would have at least got the front bumper done. I wouldn't put it on the hood because all the chips I have on the hood are way above where the protection film would have been. My bug deflector does good enough on protecting the paint. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rely18 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 i agree with everyone here... take care of any color properly and it will look great in return. i have OBP and although it has only been 2 mos. I have no complaints... sure it does show dirt more, but thats the trade off for the beautiful mirror gloss that it shows after a nice wash/wax. i use wolfgang products on my LGT, and i highly recommend them if you want to keep it looking like new. keep us updated on your new purchase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 EPA regulations forced auto manufacturers to change paint formulations to be more environmentally friendly. This resulted in a fragile paint finish. As the years go by I am confident that the automotive paint vendors will eventually be able to produce a paint finish that has a high gloss, depth and durability. They just have not gotten to that point yet. My 88 pontiac Grand Am could go 6 months or more between washes with no ill effects. I wash my LGT once a week and intend to continue that trend. Actually they have a paint out that is very durable and looks great. It is called Ceramiclear or Nanoclear. Right now I believe it is only available on high line Mercedes and BMW's. I hope it starts to work it's way down to the affordable cars in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 It's going to be different when more cars are using that technology. Right now I think it would be too expensive to offer on many cars. I believe they have several steps in th application process of that paint. We are lucky to get dual stage paint on our cars, so I imagine it will still be a pricey option on cars for a few years. I've worked on a few late model Mercedes that have the PPG Ceramiclear nano paint and they are extremely hard to polish swirls out of. The paint care industry needs to change as well if the paint is going to get harder to polish. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakuun Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 Anyway, your Subaru dealer put the rock blocker on for you? No... It's what came from the factory.. Most cars these days have some sort of rock blocker or paint protection on the lower body panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdisco Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 More chips then FRITO LAYS. I scratched my bumper with my thumb nail trying to remove a bug. Look into 3M or rock blocker if you go with a dark color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakuun Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 It's a total shame we have to cover our cars in plastic wrap to preserve the paint. Totaly uneccesary IMVHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 Personally.. i havent noticed this paint being any different than in my previous cars... I have just as many paint chips on my front bumper and all the same scuff marks on the trunk and doors as i have with all my previous cars. I think it's just part of life with most newer cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 No... It's what came from the factory.. Most cars these days have some sort of rock blocker or paint protection on the lower body panels. It isn't true that most cars have clear protection installed before taking delivery. It is still a dealership option. It is an expensive add-on and it isn't just going to come on your car unless you pay for it. I'm not saying that you didn't take delivery with it on the car, but the factory didn't install it. The dealership had to of had that done and it was added to the price. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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