Paint chips?

[toddjb122]

I have an '05 HSE.

Does anyone have an opinion on LR3 paint chipping compared to other vehicles?

I'm finding that it chips very easily. Its not that I have paint flaking off, but a hard tap of any metal object against the car will always leave a chip for me. Now, I know its tough to define the hardness of my "tap" in an internet post, but I'm talking a dull piece of light metal that swings into the car...rivet on a helmet for instance or a tool hanging off a belt.

In the past, these are occurances that I would expect nothing, or maybe a small scratch I can buff out. With my LR3 (42K) I'm finding a paint chip any time something metallic touches the car. I'm also finding more paintchips on the front of the hood, from road debris, than I'd expect to fine.

So, just curious if anyone else notices this or if maybe I'm just being to nitpicky...

Thanks!

 

[roverman]

On my old Rovers (from 1991 to 1999) I've noticed the paint wasn't very durable. In fact On one I have a huge scratch caused by my plastic cellphone when i was climbing in!. My LR3 is much more scratch and chip resistant, in fact I don't think I have one mark at all. Also, didn't care that it had it when I bought it, but I really like the invisible bra that it has on it.

 

[Houm_WA]

paint

I don't have a lot of chips in the front of the hood, but that's probably because of the A-frame protection bar.

...but I can offer two observations/anecdotes:

1. I had two fairly large chips on the front "corners" meaning the very edge outside of the headlights. ...needed touch-up paint for those. It was very strange because they were so round and they were both right on that edge. The probability of both of those being from rocks or road-debris is not very good, really, so I'm keeping an eye on that edge and others like it to see if it's a factory paint-adhesion issue.

2. I have a Black LR3 and the black ones got an additional clearcoat (that's why that color costs more, per the salesperson) so maybe that has caused it to be less prone to chips, because it hasn't been that bad aside from item 1.

 

[trm2]

My '05 V8 SE (Adriatic Blue) has not had any problems with scratching or chips (the only chip -- easily fixed with touch up paint and rubbing compound -- was the result of a 120 mph collision between a rock from an oncoming truck's load of rocks and my car). The only paint issue I have noticed is that bird crap messes up the clear coat pretty badly if left on for a few days. I did that only twice..... Since those incidents, I have fairly religiously used Klasse coating products and my paint looks pretty good.

 

[toddjb122]

Yeah, I'm now wishing I would have gotten that clear bra I was considering when the truck was new.

How is the clear bra wearing with use? Is it still un-noticeable or has it gotten dinged, stained or dull from bugs and UV?

Good feedback thus far. Thanks.

 

[roverman]

It had two small bubbles down low from the get go, but after 25000 miles,otherwise looks new. It is a little bit harder to remove bugs and/or tar from but other than that it's great. Would I have paid for it? Probably not, but I'm glad it's there. It was a dealer installed option that they had put on b/c I leased a demo. Funny, about 20 years ago I had an invention for the same thing i was gonna call Invisi-bra or some such thing. Probably should have pursued that....

 

[Roverine]

I have a silver '05 with the clear bra. I have not experienced any paint chipping and the clear bra is still clear and not discolored since Oct. '05. My main problem has come from GMC truck bumpers and firewood rolling off of my roof (when some idiot was loading it into my roof rack). I can't believe I let the log rolling thing happen twice- the last two times I loaded up for camping. Minor dents (one on the roof and one minor pock on the hood), so they really just let me use the vehicle for its intended purpose in a more relaxed way now.