Do re-paints on FDs hold up better
 

The paint on my FD, CYM on a 93 R1, is very thin and chips from just a hard look. I know the factory was famous for cheesy, thin paint in the 90's, but after you've repainted does the new stuff hold up any better?

Until I wrecked it, it held up better, the new clear coat they seems to use seems to resist chipping much better than the old stuff, my '93 front bumper looks like a bad case of acne, my '94 had one or two chips in it after 6-8 months of driving, highways, and roads...

Anything is better than the POS paint they used on the original 93s...just breathing on it would chip the finish. The newer paints are so much better that there's no comparison.

I guess Mazda was so concerned with saving weight that they just sprayed on a coat or two and called it good...

No kidding, there doesn't even seem to be much primer.

yeah i have a repainted CYM, its seriously hard now. Takes quite a beating and still hold up fine.

Did the shop paint over the original paint, or take to bare metal and start over. It seems like the Mazda paint just doesn't adhere to the car at all.

It all depends on how much you're willing to spend.

well if your that concerned about chipping you could always get some of that clear sheild film installed.

Any idea who actually sells any of that clear sheild film tha twill fit a 3rd gen? I have it on one of my other cars and it is fantastic.

I haven't found anyone that sells it for the 3rd gen RX7 though.

i have a friend who has website that sells clear sheild and other stuff like it, i will call him up and get the link to his site etc

It's not only Mazda it's all production cars, the process used is totally different to bodyshop applications.The total paint film thickness including etch and build primers is less than one good coat of paint applied by your typical bodyshop.
Of course this doesn't apply to exotic cars.

I'm about to prep my car for a respray. It's been done before...badly. I'm trying to convince my old man that it needs to be taken back to bare metal but he's detirmined that it just needs a good flatting. That's another thing, my FD's got a coat of stone-guard paint that extends about 6" up the side of the car....it really spoils the lines. Has anyone else got this on their car? It almost looks factory, but I've never seen another FD in my area to check.

It all depends. The typical $2000 paint job is not going to be factory quality (minus hookups, blah blah blah). Once you start spending over $5k at a first class shop is where the paint starts equaling or exceeding the factory paint job.

To be honest though, it's not just the 93s that have paint problems. I have more large chips in my 95 than my 79 RX-7 had at 20 years old.....

MillSpeed: Yes, the protective paint is OEM, or at least the factory did apply a special coat along the bottom. There's a good reason for it being there and I don't see how it destroys the lines in the slightest bit.

Try Lamin-X.com for the clear plastic fim/tape. They sell it in sheets that you cut yourself for bras, whatever.

my car was repainted when i got it, dosent look like barely any prep work was done though and it just chips off like no other... :(

time for paint job #3