Model S rock chips in hood

[Pentium2004]

I've had my 2017 MS for less than 60 days so far and about 1200 miles. I happened to look at my hood a couple days ago and I have at least a dozen stone chips. I never follow close to any other vehicles and I am extremely cautious in any areas that could damage my car. I usually only keep vehicles for around 2 years and even after 2 years you'd be lucky to find half a dozen chips in the paint on any of my vehicles. I feel that is a good indicator that I don't follow too closely. Is it just me or does the paint chip extremely easily? Even the smallest chips are straight to the aluminum but no dent. Tesla advised me not to wrap the paint for protection but now I'm not sure how it's going to look in a couple of years. Give me your feedback on how your paint has performed.

 

[Xtek]

I've had my 2017 MS for less than 60 days so far and about 1200 miles. I happened to look at my hood a couple days ago and I have at least a dozen stone chips. I never follow close to any other vehicles and I am extremely cautious in any areas that could damage my car. I usually only keep vehicles for around 2 years and even after 2 years you'd be lucky to find half a dozen chips in the paint on any of my vehicles. I feel that is a good indicator that I don't follow too closely. Is it just me or does the paint chip extremely easily? Even the smallest chips are straight to the aluminum but no dent. Tesla advised me not to wrap the paint for protection but now I'm not sure how it's going to look in a couple of years. Give me your feedback on how your paint has performed.

Why did they advise you not to wrap the paint? I have my front done in XPEL and the only thing I can think of is the parking sensors but I haven't had any trouble with the parking sensors or front radar. You can also have them cut out the parking sensors.

 

[demundus]

I've had my 2017 MS for less than 60 days so far and about 1200 miles. I happened to look at my hood a couple days ago and I have at least a dozen stone chips. I never follow close to any other vehicles and I am extremely cautious in any areas that could damage my car. I usually only keep vehicles for around 2 years and even after 2 years you'd be lucky to find half a dozen chips in the paint on any of my vehicles. I feel that is a good indicator that I don't follow too closely. Is it just me or does the paint chip extremely easily? Even the smallest chips are straight to the aluminum but no dent. Tesla advised me not to wrap the paint for protection but now I'm not sure how it's going to look in a couple of years. Give me your feedback on how your paint has performed.

Couple of things:

1.) Model S's ... for now, are MFG'd in the good ol' US of A. Specifically California. California has low-VOC rules for ALL painting; house, car, spray, finger etc. This means the paint is soft, and crappy, to put it unscientifically. You can google more if you'd like

2.) The car's drag coefficient is one of the lowest for production vehicles in the world (2nd to the new style C class, gross). This means your angle of attack on the road is much more aggressive, and chips that might normally hit your bumper, hit your hood (which extends partially to the front of the car anyway)

3.) I have a 2013 with 100K miles, mostly SoCal highways. I have some chips, but not enough to question it. Perhaps you've had a run of bad luck. My hood is un-wrapped, although my bumper and front fenders are. If you can, I'd wrap it to preserve the rest of the paint, just a suggestion. Otherwise you're SOL. Point #1 may go away if Tesla ever moves production to Nevada.

 

[Pentium2004]

Why did they advise you not to wrap the paint? I have my front done in XPEL and the only thing I can think of is the parking sensors but I haven't had any trouble with the parking sensors or front radar. You can also have them cut out the parking sensors.

I didn't ask them why. I had told them that I see a lot of people that do it and asked if it would be a good idea if I did. He said you shouldn't have to.

 

[Pentium2004]

Couple of things:

1.) Model S's ... for now, are MFG'd in the good ol' US of A. Specifically California. California has low-VOC rules for ALL painting; house, car, spray, finger etc. This means the paint is soft, and crappy, to put it unscientifically. You can google more if you'd like

2.) The car's drag coefficient is one of the lowest for production vehicles in the world (2nd to the new style C class, gross). This means your angle of attack on the road is much more aggressive, and chips that might normally hit your bumper, hit your hood (which extends partially to the front of the car anyway)

3.) I have a 2013 with 100K miles, mostly SoCal highways. I have some chips, but not enough to question it. Perhaps you've had a run of bad luck. My hood is un-wrapped, although my bumper and front fenders are. If you can, I'd wrap it to preserve the rest of the paint, just a suggestion. Otherwise you're SOL. Point #1 may go away if Tesla ever moves production to Nevada.

I've read a few things on the low-VOC. I guess the only way to get a strong paint is with a few birth defects lol. You might be right maybe i got behind the wrong truck or something. I'm looking to get it wrapped now.

 

[arcus]

1.) Model S's ... for now, are MFG'd in the good ol' US of A. Specifically California. California has low-VOC rules for ALL painting; house, car, spray, finger etc. This means the paint is soft, and crappy, to put it unscientifically. You can google more if you'd like

While California definitely has a lead in the limiting of VOC, I would not be so sure that "outsourcing" the pollution will be as easy:
China Slaps VOC Tax on Coatings : PaintSquare News

IMHO, Lexus had the softest paint of all the cars I had owned. Even trying to wipe a spec of dust off the roof would leave visible micro-scratches in the clear coat on the black car. By the way, Toyota had definitely a head start in the water-based paint solutions, but it is just a matter of time before all manufacturers are going to do so.

Here's an interesting read though about Toyota's development when it comes to coating materials: TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE | 75 Years of TOYOTA | Products, Technology | Materials

I can only imagine that film based protection will gain popularity from now on. I hope to do this with my car as soon as I am done with the scheduled service to address some minor warranty related issues.

 

[patrick40363]

I have a few too. Touch up paint and forget about them,

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

Give me your feedback on how your paint has performed.

I have a 2015 70D with 95,000 miles on it. Black paint. My hood looks like it's been sprinkled with salt. I gave up worrying after the first few chips. Now they are everywhere. It's not worth getting it wrapped now.

 

[Pentium2004]

I have a 2015 70D with 95,000 miles on it. Black paint. My hood looks like it's been sprinkled with salt. I gave up worrying after the first few chips. Now they are everywhere. It's not worth getting it wrapped now.

That really sucks. I try to ignore things like that but I am OCD really bad when it comes to my vehicles. A small scratch will have me in the garage at midnight buffing because I can't sleep lol. The paint does seem really soft though because a light touch when there is dust on the car scratches it.

 

[RedMS]

My 2 mo old 75D has a chip on the hood too. I presume I got it while traveling through BC in Canada where they sand the mountain passes.