Is it unusual for the front bumper to have loads of stone chips?

 

nope,my m8 got 1 and had his 1 painted cuple times!!!

 

Hi

The paintwork on RS's is very soft, so i would say if the car has been used then stone chips are unavoiable..

Mine has quite a few across the front, worst come to worst i wil, get it re sprayed

Regards

Tom aka Zippy

 

Definitely not!!

The cars are totally prone to bad chipping on the rear arches and the front bumpers.

The paint is really soft and on my old one, was the main reason I sold the car



I don't know how anyone keeps their Focus RS mint when they use them.

 

Is this just focus rs's or is it imperial blue paint in general?

 

Good question, I've heard a few different things. Imperial Blue is a soft pigment colour especially since these EU regulations came in with regards to water based paints.

I've seen some ST's and other Imperial Blues which look great, no marks whatsoever. I don't think the paint is different, just the shape of the car. The Focus is wide and has wider arches.

Most paint full stop is crap these days, I had a brand new Honda which the paint literally fell of with being water based.

 

Could you get just the bumper painted in a way that it would be a lot harder and less prone to chips?

 

I'm sure you could mate, if I had kept my FRS, I was going to get the bonnet bumper and rear arches and side skirts painted in two pack paint.

But I was sick of the chips even on the roof etc. Above the top of the windscreen the stone even found a way to chip there.

 

So i've got all that to look forward to then. Is it the same for all the cars or are the later ones ok?

 

Stone chips are the MAJOR fault of the car, apart from that, they're fantastic cars. If I wasn't such a fanny with paintwork I'd still have it.

Reliable, looks great, superb driver. Just mint full stop apart from the paint.

Later cars make no difference with the paint, BUT the seats on the later cars are better because they didn't sag like mine did.

My car had 8k on when I sold it and the driver seat looked terrible due to not having a row of stiching which prevented the sagging like on the later cars.

Hope this helps.

 

mine will be painted again using 2 pak Glasurit paint like my escort has to helpfully cure this problem

there is a clear sheet available that fits over the rear arches and the front bumper also coverin the front part of te bonnet...costs about 300 fitted and all you see if you look closely is a line across the bonnet but most people even miss that!

bassboy

 

I wouldn't say that it is a major problem with the car m8 ...........stone chips.............they do suffer from them on the front and rear arches but hay....................what a car!

 

I would, the paintwork is the only thing that lets the car down badly to me.

But hey I'm a paintwork fanatic. A fanny in other words lol

 

I have a product on my Focus called Armourfend, they are based in Nazeing, Essex. basically a film that goes over the car where you want and protects from stone chips. I have to have mine removed after 3 years as it has taken a beating! Only problem is it don't cover everywhere so unavoidable in some places

 

no mate, all cars chip up, especially if driving close to car in front or possibly high speeds, and as for the pigment in imperial blue making the paint soft....nonsene....the basecoat is protected by a very hard surface, u know it as laquer! all laquer will chip if hit hard enough by a stone!
the only cars i have seen that dont chip as much are cars like mercedes where the use cermic clear coat. is maybe 5 times as hard as normal but twice as expensive!
cheers

 

The Focus is very prone to chips, the paint IS softer than other paints for a fact. I complained to Ford when i first bought mine and another guy I know with a FRS had his painted under warranty!

The painter told me the water based Imp Blue is very soft hence it chips very easily!!

If you look in the Bufty section there's a fella on about polishing the FRS paint work who also says the paint is very soft and hence is easier to polish.

 

thats a load of crap
i work in a bodyshop as sprayer
i ahve spoken to all my other colleagues who actually laughed at this!!
the paint will not be softer due to waterbased, it dries just as hard as solvent and has slightly better adhesion(if prepped properly)!!
its down to the laquer to protect the base coat
it wil be under warranty as its part of the car
if it goes wrong they have to fix it!
thanks

 

So how can you explain the fact that I've now had 2 FRS's and they both suffered badly from chips worse than ANY other car I've ever owned! The front of the rear arches above the Armourfend chips badly. Other cars with wide arches such as the R32 I had never had any chips at all. Front bumper, bonnet anywhere.

Even all the older Fords like the Sapphire and the million RS turbos I've had never chipped like the FRS.

I had a Honda Accord Type R and had it painted under warranty, I was told the same by the Bodyshop foreman from Reg Vardy that the water based paint was crap and chipped very easy. He's not going to make it up is he!

Same I was told at Bill Heany the Porsche/Bentley/RR painters in Newcastle!

 

guess u must have bought 2 crap ones!
the early stages of waterbased paint was pants, i can admit it... i use it daily and have been for nearly 3 years, not a single one of these cars i have done has suffered from stonechips anymore than a normal paintjob would
i'm not going to get into a mad arguement about it
its the truth...u must be drivin like a twat...too close to cars in front etc!!
i have sent this thread to a few other painters i know aswell who have all said its absolute bolloks!!
new generation of wb paint cannot be faulted in that sense!
end of!!!!!

 

That's your opinion, but I drive slowly in every RS I've had, I look well after all my cars always have done. The FRS paint is crap, and chips more than any other car simple as. I've talked to many many FRS owners who agree with me. Search the internet mate, it's not hard to find people complaining about the lightweight water based paint they use on the FRS.

 

thats so annoying now with the wb paint....maybe 5 years ago when it was in the last stages of develpoment it was absolute shit n soft n light or whatever you think it is....nowadays it is the best and ur going to have to get used to it cos its the law to use!!!

 

Nop sorry lads I'm with you. The FRS paint IS very soft, Just go on the RSOC and ask them. I doubt a single one would say otherwise. The front end of mine and the rear aches are in need of a respray

 

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