Well actually it is paint that doesn't seem to be made for speeds in excess of 100 mph. It seems that every time I exceed a 100 mph, I end up with at least one rock chip some where on the car beyond the 3M protective film. I swear the paint on Chrysler products must be the most brittle of all the manufactures. I have noticed that the paint on my Ram and my Intrepid also chips easily. I have come to the conclusion that the paint must be the 1% that isn't German.

 

Idaho,

I think the problem lies more in the fact that you live in Idaho! I have been here for only 3 months and I have already gotten 2 chips.

Jason

 

Yea I kind of suspected that's the root of the problem, our roads are crap. I see your from I.F. I got my first chip in the windshield last around this time last year close to the Shelly exit on our trip to South Dakota. I do have to say that I84 has been the culprit of all but two of my rock chips.

 

All roads are crap, really, you could find pitted and pot-holed roads just about anywhere. but you should probably take care of the paint chips before it becomes a problem. i've read that it can actually void your paint warranty by not filling them in or at least taking care of them (not sayin its necessarily true)

 

I'm not a professional body repair specialist, and I know even less about paint composition. But the shop that built my hood told me the Crossfire hood that I used (in the scoop fabrication) had to be acid dipped THREE times to get all the paint off.
I don't know if that has anything to do with how well it holds up to stones being thrown at it at 100+ mph, but they seemed impressed by it.

 

I regularly drive both XFs to 100+ mph (in quick bursts, but not for very long). Crusing speeds of 80+ are common. Michigan roads are crap. But I have no paint chips and only a couple small window chips. Oh, did I mention I have one of those fugly bras that no one but me likes.

 

I prefer french fries myself.

 

Ahh yes the bra! ugly as it may be, it does serve as a great protectant to your front end

 

Well, you can't lump all "Chrysler paint" together. The Crossfire is the only Chrysler branded product built in the Karmann factory, and the only Chrysler product built in Europe for sale in the US. The paint is likely to be totally different than paint used in Chrysler plants in the US, Canada and Mexico. My PT Cruiser was build in Mexico, as are all PTs for North American consumption (Euro PTs were built in Austria) and after 6 1/2 years it is almost chip free on the front end. Surprisingly, that PT has some of the nicest factory paint I've ever worked on.

Heck, you can't even say that the paint on a 2004 Crossfire is the same as that used on any other model year as factories make small adjustments to outright sweeping changes all the time. I've seen PTs with horrid factory paint, for example. And we know, for example, that Rolls Royce just changed their paint within the last several months and it is now so incredibly hard as to be almost unworkable.

But there is a huge difference between chip resistance, scratch resistance, and workability. Stone chips direct impacts, scratches are fine cuts, and polishing is a slow leveling of the paint. A paint can be prone to one and resistant to another at the same time.

Frankly, I don't find the paint on the Crossfire (at least the ones I've worked on) to be any better or worse than anything else on the road, just different. But then, they're all different. And I've had the opportunity to work on a pretty wide range of cars!

 

Mike - why does Chrysler seem to use white base paint on their cars? Both my Pt and my GT had white base coats for a black paint job. Made no sense to me. Any scratch or chip is only magnafied.

 

Is it white or grey? My blaze red hood is covered with grey pockmarks. I spent an afternoon touching them up. And I've NEVER gone 100 mph. Well, maybe once or twice.

 

I like mine

 

I don't mean to sound impertinent but who follows a gravel truck at 100 MPH?

If the rock is from someone in front of you, then you are too damm close.

If it is coming from opposing traffic then we are talking a higher than 100MPH strike.

My NA went 150 MPH in Arkansas on roads that were in awful conditions. No rock chips. Guess I was lucky.

Mike in Orange is correct, the paint on our Crossfires would not be the same as the "cheap" stuff they use in the American plants. Europe requires different formulations for environmental reasons. Trust me, it wasn't formulated for performance and it wasn't "cheap."

It's like sex,(isn't it always?) Abstinance is the only sure method of prevention. If you don't want rock chips, don't take it out of the garage.



roadster with a stick

 

I have no clue, none whatsoever.

Oh come on. If you encountered a gravel truck that was going 100mph wouldn't you want to catch it, if only to see what he'd done to the engine in order to make it capable of such speed in the first place?

 

Towncrier - White - gray? its lighter than the paint that covers it. I always wondered why they didn't use a darker base coat to help hide the scratches and chips.
I always use my front end cover when I'm traveling on the highway. I keep it behind the drivers seat just in case..........I don;t do a lot of highway driving but when I do its there.

 

I wondered the same thing. I suppose it is a matter of chosing a primer that can be used universally, but it sure would have been nice if they had picked a darker primer for the darker colors.

 

Unfortunately, my Xf is my daily driver in the summer and that means 100km of highway every day. Probably half a dozen stone chips in as many months and two on the windshield. And I try to make sure to not be following trucks or even SUV's!!

As for bras - hate them on cars and on women....

 

I hate em too but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to keep it nice!

 

Huh. I find that my car drives best at speeds around 100.

 

Material haulers seem to go as fast as they want too. Apparently, without regulations.

So I stay clear of them.

Cathy once had one back up about 300 feet and then dump his load all over her Oldsmobile front hood. His sign said "Keep Back 300 feet" Apparently, she didn't back up as fast as he did so, according to his boss, it was her fault.
She was stopped at a stop sign.

So, I stay clear of them.

They will not pay for damage no matter what they may do to your car.

So, I stay clear of them.

If one is driving 100 MPH I will pass him (cause I can) or go another way.

Yep, I stay clear of them.

roadster with a stick