Just wanted to raise this as a topic.

My beatiful Muscavado Yeti is gathering chips at an alarming rate. Certainly I do a fair milage (8000+ since mid November) but it seems to be getting peppered a lot more than my previous (VW family) cars.

Is this something that others have noticed or am I jst unlucky?

They are very slab-fronted!

They are very slab-fronted!

I've got S model in "Magic Black". After 2 months I managed to get a small chip on the door mirror housing, 2 thin scrathes on the side of the door and 2 thin scrathes at the back, above the back licence plate . They look like something that you would get if you drive through bushes or similar. Only mine was driven only locally, on good roads. Washed couple of times with sponge and soft cloth. If it was damage caused by another car's door, it would defenitely look different (my old car had few of those) and would not be above the back licence plate. So I have no idea where they could have come from.

From what I understand, most of the cars today have water based paint which has a very tough protective layer on top. Not something that would scratch or chip easily. Makes me wonder what is Skoda using.

Does anybody know what is Skoda using for paint that chips/scrathes that easy?

I've got S model in "Magic Black". After 2 months I managed to get a small chip on the door mirror housing, 2 thin scrathes on the side of the door and 2 thin scrathes at the back, above the back licence plate . They look like something that you would get if you drive through bushes or similar. Only mine was driven only locally, on good roads. Washed couple of times with sponge and soft cloth. If it was damage caused by another car's door, it would defenitely look different (my old car had few of those) and would not be above the back licence plate. So I have no idea where they could have come from.

From what I understand, most of the cars today have water based paint which has a very tough protective layer on top. Not something that would scratch or chip easily. Makes me wonder what is Skoda using.

Does anybody know what is Skoda using for paint that chips/scrathes that easy?

I do not specifically know what system is used at Kvasiny, but the standard paint system today is as follows:

Body wash and dry.

E-coat, which is a water based complete submergence of the car body in a primer with electrostatic assist to get the paint into all the nooks and crannies.

Heat dry.

Seam sealing with mastic.

Waterbased primer coat.

One or two colour coats - usually water based, followed by drýing.The water based color coats are probably here to stay.

Clearcoat top coat, either powder coating, water base or solvent based.

In addition to the above, all VAG vehicles have the inside of hollow channels in the structure coated with a wax product to combat corrosion.

Top coats are moving away from water and powder coating to solvent based coatings for economy and quality reasons. (BMW are replacing powder coating in all plants over the next two years).

Note that the painting of the plastic components is done in other plants than at the body paint shop and may use different paints with different properties, as long as they match the body paint. Typically bumpers, mirors and interiors and made by subcontractors - called Tier One suppliers in the car industry. Polyurethane topcoats are very common for bumpers and mirrors - they are both very shiny and very tough.

Traditionally, the lighter colours are considered to be more durable than the dark ones. It is easier to make the light colours cover than the dark ones, so there is less fillers and more resin in the light colours. Clearly, this makes the Candy White the best choice.

Where do I get this from? I am very much involved with supplying some parts for air pollution control systems to industrial paint shops, including the car industry.

Edited 25 April, 201016 yr by Agerbundsen

Having just sold a Honda Civic (07 plate), believe me, Skoda's are in a different league.

Honda paint is dreadful. Too soft and thin......and can scratch just by touching it

I must have had as many as 200 stone chips.

I got 10 in the first month!!

I do not specifically know what system is used at Kvasiny, but the standard paint system today is as follows:

.......................

Where do I get this from? I am very much involved with supplying some parts for air pollution control systems to industrial paint shops, including the car industry.

Thank you very much for the complete "picture".

The other day I was talking with the owner of a bodyhop and he was explaining to me that he has serious doubts about the likelyhood that they use "water based" paints in Czech Republic, as there are very few countries that consider that "compulsory". It seems that it is compulsory in Italy (at least for the bodyshops, don't know for the car plants). He was bringing up the example of the near Slovenia (near to where I live) , where the car bodyshops are buying the used "ovens" (that's how the "drying chambers" are called here, although there isn't a real baking going on) that the Italian are replacing, as they don't have the type of compulsory specification.

Just wanted to raise this as a topic.

My beatiful Muscavado Yeti is gathering chips at an alarming rate. Certainly I do a fair milage (8000+ since mid November) but it seems to be getting peppered a lot more than my previous (VW family) cars.

Is this something that others have noticed or am I jst unlucky?

Re your complaint / query about soft paint.....

My Yeti is Aqua Blue metallic with 3000 miles on the clock. I have 1 stone chip on the front of the bonnet ( that I know about ) and 2 on different alloy wheels.

That's probably par for the course, so far.

However what really hacks me off is how easily the door sills get scratched ! It's very difficult for passengers, both front and rear to get in or out without scuffing the sills. I ask everyone who rides in the car to keep their feet off the door sills and I'm getting paranoid about taking passengers for fear of the almost inevitable scratches that result.

Is it expecting too much of Skoda to fit scuff plates as standard or at least sell them in the U.K. as a dealer accessory.

Every Yeti must await the same fate so what should we do about it?????????????????????

Re your complaint / query about soft paint.....

My Yeti is Aqua Blue metallic with 3000 miles on the clock. I have 1 stone chip on the front of the bonnet ( that I know about ) and 2 on different alloy wheels.

That's probably par for the course, so far.

However what really hacks me off is how easily the door sills get scratched ! It's very difficult for passengers, both front and rear to get in or out without scuffing the sills. I ask everyone who rides in the car to keep their feet off the door sills and I'm getting paranoid about taking passengers for fear of the almost inevitable scratches that result.

Is it expecting too much of Skoda to fit scuff plates as standard or at least sell them in the U.K. as a dealer accessory.

Every Yeti must await the same fate so what should we do about it?????????????????????

I believe I found a solution :-)

http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2752257970067390424GnDjpI

One of the simplest ways to reduce stone chips is to keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front.

The wheels of that vehicle in front are the main source of small stones flung into the air.

Keep far enough back and the stones will have dropped back to the ground by the time you reach them.

It’s the only way I’ve found of minimising stone chips.

Having just sold a Honda Civic (07 plate), believe me, Skoda's are in a different league.

Honda paint is dreadful. Too soft and thin......and can scratch just by touching it

I must have had as many as 200 stone chips.

I got 10 in the first month!!

Same here, an ex Civic owner, and yes the paint is terrible on them. Cant comment on the Yeti yet as I've only done a couple of hundred miles but I did manage to bang the bumper with my tyre compressor. It left a nice blue mark which to my delight just polished off with no damage to the paint at all. On the honda that would have probably been a bumper respray

S

Re your complaint / query about soft paint.....

My Yeti is Aqua Blue metallic with 3000 miles on the clock. I have 1 stone chip on the front of the bonnet ( that I know about ) and 2 on different alloy wheels.

That's probably par for the course, so far.

However what really hacks me off is how easily the door sills get scratched ! It's very difficult for passengers, both front and rear to get in or out without scuffing the sills. I ask everyone who rides in the car to keep their feet off the door sills and I'm getting paranoid about taking passengers for fear of the almost inevitable scratches that result.

Is it expecting too much of Skoda to fit scuff plates as standard or at least sell them in the U.K. as a dealer accessory.

Every Yeti must await the same fate so what should we do about it?????????????????????

Have you tried Helicopter Tape on the sills to protect them Ebay Could be the answer

Simon

Have you tried Helicopter Tape on the sills to protect them Ebay Could be the answer

Simon

Thanks for your suggestion, Simon. Looked at Helicopter tape on E Bay . What exactly is it , how durable and how easy to fit (air bubbles / sliding into position etc ?

RSVP

Thanks for your suggestion, Simon. Looked at Helicopter tape on E Bay . What exactly is it , how durable and how easy to fit (air bubbles / sliding into position etc ?

RSVP

Sorry never used it my self but have been told its very good and used a lot by bikers, got to be worth a try at the cost though. If you google it there are quite a lot of info.

Sorry I can't help any more.

Simon

Helicopter Tape is a highly resistent normally clear plastic tape that is used to "coat" the leading edge of the rotors, and protect them from minor abrasions. It is VERY strong!!!

Not cheap but very good.