Bad Paint....New Thread !

[jkelley]

I too have talked to customer ( lack of ) service, Been to the dealer, jumped through all of the normal hoops and even sent a letter to the big dog in Cali whose name and address were in another thread.

I don't in any way claim to be an expert in paint but have been involved in manufacturing processes all my life and some experience in testing.
Honda knew long before they released any of these machines what the quality levels were. To think a major corporation did not perform mill thickness, abrasion, adhesion, aging, curing, and gloss testing is absurd. They allowed a product into market assuming the buyers would accept this quality level, and hope to continue the same production without the cost of change well into the future. Hopefully those of us that are making noise will be heard and something done, but I would not hold your breath. They know using the rock solid platform affords them some leniency
in other areas to control costs. However, in my opinion a 20K bike should be high end and personally I want mine to look great most of the time with little effort in regards to polishing and buffing. I also agree with Miles and am not a happy camper. If I choose to keep this bike it will be repainted with a quality finish. If I decide otherwise, I will go another direction and never look back all the while knowing my personal decision is hardly of any concern to Honda.

[Westernbiker]

I guess my question is.......why do some have an issue with paint and some do not. I, fortunatly, do not have a paint issue. If their (Honda) paint process has not be changed, then all of us should have the issue. Maybe they (Honda) noticed the issue on the first run lot of plastic and then fixed it? Are these plastic panels painted and more than one facility? Could be one facility has the wrong process? I waxed my bike last week for the foirst time and NO paint on cloth. I am concerned about no clear coat and I am going to look into clear coat of the panels I have, if that can even be done. I have a very good friend who is a custom painter and he will know if it can be done. Good luck to all of you who do have a paint problem, I do hope you get it fixed.

[edgeman55]

JKelly I agree with all you stated.And Miles I have filed a complaint with Honda at all levels.Been to the dealer four times,talked to the district rep,talked to Honda on the phone and all I get is the same song and dance as others here have.My time is more important then to let this issue stress me out.I really never thought Honda was going to do anything and my love for this bike overrides my hate for the paint.Is it right to get crap paint on a 20 grand bike-Hell no!But I will save my pennies and get a really nice paint job in the future.

[jkelley]

JKelly I agree with all you stated.And Miles I have filed a complaint with Honda at all levels.Been to the dealer four times,talked to the district rep,talked to Honda on the phone and all I get is the same song and dance as others here have.My time is more important then to let this issue stress me out.I really never thought Honda was going to do anything and my love for this bike overrides my hate for the paint.Is it right to get crap paint on a 20 grand bike-Hell no!But I will save my pennies and get a really nice paint job in the future.

Probably a good way to be, I let it get to me and stress about a lot of crap I really cant do much about but damn, this really pisses me off to no end every time I look or think about it. Kinda like being ripped off I guess but in the end you are correct.

[Alberta Beagle]

I have seen the bad paint on F6B's in the showroom at the dealership I purchased from.
I must be the lucky one as I have to say of all the black vehicles I have had, my last bike was black and my current car is black, my F6B is no worse than any other black vehicles I have owned.

The first thing I did when I got the bike home was give it a good polish with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and then applied 3 coats of Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax. In between I detail and remove bugs with Meguiar's Quick Detailer Spray. I use the Quick Detail Spray after dusting with my California Car duster and apply and remove with a couple of borderless super thick micro fiber cloths. I have only had to wash my bike about 4 times so far. After every wash I will work on any minor marks with the Compound and then I always apply a complete new coat of wax after washing.
I always get compliments on the shine of the paint. I don't log the miles that some of you do but I do have 10,000 kilometeres on it as of today. My last bike had 6000 when I sold it and it's paint was far worse than the F6B.
It does take alot of work to maintain but I enjoy it as its like therapry for me on a rainy day to head to the garage and shine it up.

Thats just my experience to date with the F6B and its paint and it certainly appears I am in the minority of those who are satisfied.

Beagle

[FLjay]

sounds like we need a lawyer. class-action time

[gray rider]

I'm in the same lucky club with Alberta Beagle and have no issues with my black F6B, VIN 1072.
I currently own 6 black vehicles and the F6B is no better or worse than any of the others. Our bikes must have been painted on the day they remembered to add the drying accelerant to the paint.

[contek]

I was one of the guys that posted red cloth pix. I showed the bike to the dealer in May (3 weeks old) and he filled out an RO. He called me back at the end of June telling me that Honda was aware of the paint issues on the f6b. He said they were collecting data and wanted to know the brand of microfiber and wax (nu finish) that I used. I sent the info to him along with pix of the cloth. I haven't heard anything since, so I'm taking Miles' lead and calling Honda directly.
My VIN is 355.

[Bike44]

I guess my question is.......why do some have an issue with paint and some do not. I, fortunatly, do not have a paint issue. If their (Honda) paint process has not be changed, then all of us should have the issue. Maybe they (Honda) noticed the issue on the first run lot of plastic and then fixed it? Are these plastic panels painted and more than one facility? Could be one facility has the wrong process? I waxed my bike last week for the foirst time and NO paint on cloth. I am concerned about no clear coat and I am going to look into clear coat of the panels I have, if that can even be done. I have a very good friend who is a custom painter and he will know if it can be done. Good luck to all of you who do have a paint problem, I do hope you get it fixed.

My red F6B has paint issues. It's soft and subject to marring if careless, but so were my 2006 black ST1300 and red 2012 Goldwing. If I work at it I can get some minor red transfer, but so far but it either took using a swirl remover and one of Mother's foam buffing balls, or a quick rub with isopropyl alcohol. The major concern was the scratching from the protective covering over the saddlebags when shipped.

My VIN ends in 2089. Is that close to yours? It would seem that if Honda changed anything in the process it would be linked by VIN.

The concern for the future will be any potential loss of value due to poor paint. Buyers and dealers will discount any F6B or Goldwing if there's a known issue with the paint on some.

[kentucky strong]

Is the paint issue only with the red? Any issues with black as of yet?