Difference in paint quality between $1500 and $2000 paint options

[mcfuzz89]

Hello!

I am considering getting either a 3 in either blue ($1500 option) or multi-coat white ($2000 option). I dig the blue and would prefer to go that route - but I am wondering whether it is a thinner coat than the multi-coat white and thus be more prone for chipping, etc.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Are there more paint coats with the white paint job?

Thanks!

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Tesla is upside down when it comes to pricing of paint.

The harder it is for Tesla to do it right the higher the cost.

Expect that the paint will be soft, and this really isn't Tesla's fault. They have to abide by environmental laws in California and so they can't use the good stuff.

So I expect to have to get ceramic coating. So my advice would be to get blue and then opticoat after delivery.

 

[mal_tsla]

Tesla white paint is quite hard.

 

[AutoElegance]

We consistently see Model 3 owners come in to have XPEL Paint Protection film installed after purchase for this very reason. Tesla paint and new paint in general does chip very easily and the fact that the Model 3 doesn't have any type of grill in the bumper doesn't help. There is SO much space for road debris to fly up into. PPF is going to prevent that damage you are afraid of. Ceramic, while it will make the blue or white look absolutely fantastic, is not going to prevent chips. Unfortunately that isn't what it is designed for.

 

[jkoya]

I got the blue, but I'm getting the whole car wrapped in Xpel Ultimate ppf. I was planning on getting the white, but the examples I saw at the Tesla store all had mismatched bumper colors. A model X in the showroom had 3 different shades of white and several customers in the store were asking the Tesla employee why the paint didn't match.

 

[DVS484]

White and Red are three coats all the rest are two.

 

[Johnstac]

I got white and had to have Tesla correct some issues on the hood and roof. As an aside, Now that I have the white, I wish I had gone with red or blue. Maybe even gray. I chose white because I was indecisive and live in a desert area where the white may help keep the car a little cooler. The big disappointment came after using PPF on the entire car and then ceramic coating everything. With colors like blue and red, when you splurge on coatings, it seems to really enhance the look. Not so much with white. No color = no pop, lol.

 

[Glamisduner]

It's more coats, but same quality. I have drops of red under the clear coat on my door sills, and a couple fish eyes that would likely require repaint elsewhere. Came pre-dinged and scratched from the factory, but the repainted the doors and sill and part of the front bumper.

I left the red drops on the sill alone because they are quite small. I was hoping they would fix the fisheye but that never happened.

 

[cfichuck]

We consistently see Model 3 owners come in to have XPEL Paint Protection film installed after purchase for this very reason. Tesla paint and new paint in general does chip very easily and the fact that the Model 3 doesn't have any type of grill in the bumper doesn't help. There is SO much space for road debris to fly up into. PPF is going to prevent that damage you are afraid of. Ceramic, while it will make the blue or white look absolutely fantastic, is not going to prevent chips. Unfortunately that isn't what it is designed for.

Do you have any shops in the SF Bay Area that can apply the PPF? BTW Cirrus Aircraft applies similar if not the same film on their airplanes.

 

[azred]

We consistently see Model 3 owners come in to have XPEL Paint Protection film installed after purchase for this very reason. Tesla paint and new paint in general does chip very easily and the fact that the Model 3 doesn't have any type of grill in the bumper doesn't help. There is SO much space for road debris to fly up into. PPF is going to prevent that damage you are afraid of. Ceramic, while it will make the blue or white look absolutely fantastic, is not going to prevent chips. Unfortunately that isn't what it is designed for.

Yum, spam for lunch

 

[AutoElegance]

Do you have any shops in the SF Bay Area that can apply the PPF? BTW Cirrus Aircraft applies similar if not the same film on their airplanes.

Sorry we are out on the east coast, just outside of Boston in Andover MA, but California is a huge market for PPF, I'm sure there are reputable options hear you.

 

[AutoElegance]

Yum, spam for lunch

not spam, just trying to offer some perspective as we see a ton of Model 3's and I get to talk to owners first hand.

 

[JPP]

Do you have any shops in the SF Bay Area that can apply the PPF? BTW Cirrus Aircraft applies similar if not the same film on their airplanes.

Try OC Detailing:

OCDetailing - Premier Clear Bra & Paint Protection Shop in Bay Area, CA

Joe has more experience working on Teslas than anyone else in the SF Bay Area

 

[mcfuzz89]

We consistently see Model 3 owners come in to have XPEL Paint Protection film installed after purchase for this very reason. Tesla paint and new paint in general does chip very easily and the fact that the Model 3 doesn't have any type of grill in the bumper doesn't help. There is SO much space for road debris to fly up into. PPF is going to prevent that damage you are afraid of. Ceramic, while it will make the blue or white look absolutely fantastic, is not going to prevent chips. Unfortunately that isn't what it is designed for.

Thanks for the input. So do people do ceramic coating and then put xpel film?

 

[cfichuck]

Try OC Detailing:

OCDetailing - Premier Clear Bra & Paint Protection Shop in Bay Area, CA

Joe has more experience working on Teslas than anyone else in the SF Bay Area

Thanks... take delivery today. Hope it stops raining

 

[JPP]

Thanks... take delivery today. Hope it stops raining

Joe/OCD is booked out literally months--I would contact him sooner than later.

An informational video:

(...and, no, I don't get any free stuff, just think his work is impeccable and hard to beat).

 

[cfichuck]

Thanks again. Will do. Do they, cut out the PPF around the sensors?

 

[jonotastic]

California laws is the reason why Tesla paint is "softer" than those of BMW, Mercedes, etc.