Lucid Paint

[EVCar]

Don’t, at least not on this basis. You’re gonna love it. The panel gaps are minor and par for the course in almost all cars nowadays, and the paint thickness hasn’t been an actual issue for anyone.

Well, unless Maverick has placed another order, which is entirely possible, I think he was just pulling some levity, given that he's a proud and happy owner of a GT and 2 cracked windshields.

 

[borski]

Well, unless Maverick has placed another order, which is entirely possible, I think he was just pulling some levity, given that he's a proud and happy owner of a GT and 2 cracked windshields.

Lol it’s been a long day

 

[windscar911]

Don’t, at least not on this basis. You’re gonna love it. The panel gaps are minor and par for the course in almost all cars nowadays, and the paint thickness hasn’t been an actual issue for anyone.

(For anyone that might be serious about canceling)

I'd like to add, panel gaps are completely fine. Even the trunk bulge some earlier cars had is gone. I compared it to my 911, and there's only one thing I noticed. Slightly wider gap in the rear right passenger door. No one would notice.

The hardware on the Air is just so good *chefs kiss*.

 

[Tesla2.0]

My detailer/film installer actually made the comment that the paint was better than Tesla, and his personal Tesla Model S was parked next to my car. Take that for what it's worth. You know what they say about opinions.

My PPF/ceramic installer said the same thing.

 

[Tesla2.0]

I have to say that I never had a clue about panel gaps and paint thickness until I joined this forum last month. I am really thinking about canceling my order given all of the concerns.

Joined last month??? Canceling order???

Account hacked??

 

[zkhan2]

Love to drive but hate to clean. To make things worse I live near the Ocean, so I force myself to wash the car once a week. No paint corrections or PPF on any of our cars. Unless someone convinces me the paint correction and or the PPF make the car go faster or drives better I am good with the factory paint.

They usually do paint correction when applying PPF. Most shops measure the thickness beforehand to ensure if they do correction they don’t go to the primer or metal.

 

[hmp10]

I have to say that I never had a clue about panel gaps and paint thickness until I joined this forum last month. I am really thinking about canceling my order given all of the concerns.

I have followed a lot of car forums, especially the Tesla ones. NO brand, including German ones, looks any better under the kind of microscope these forums put on cars.

I have seen very few posts here reporting specific problems with the Lucid Air that I thought were fake or exaggerated. On the other hand, I have seen few forums where so much of the hardware of the car -- things relating to driving, handling, ride, comfort -- draw such overwhelming praise from such a high percentage of posters.

Once Lucid catches up on software, I think owners will be left with the best car on the road. I just rewatched a few older Kyle Conner "Out of Spec" videos now that he's getting extensive use of an Air GT. Most striking was his earlier EQS review, in which he thought the EQS would be his preferred electric sedan ride based on its luxury, interior style, and its quiet, cosseting ride. Where he once praised the EQS, he's now raving about the Air on those same aspects, not even bothering to mention the EQS in comparison.

Am I worried about the thin paint on my car? Yeah, maybe in the abstract. But then I look at the pictures of that parking lot ding it took on the same door that registered the thinnest paint and see how perfectly the dent came out without any paint damage at all, and I just quit worrying. The paint's not going to fall off or wear off our car.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I have followed a lot of car forums, especially the Tesla ones. NO brand, including German ones, looks any better under the kind of microscope these forums put on cars.

I have seen very few posts here reporting specific problems with the Lucid Air that I thought were fake or exaggerated. On the other hand, I have seen few forums where so much of the hardware of the car -- things relating to driving, handling, ride, comfort -- draw such overwhelming praise from such a high percentage of posters.

Once Lucid catches up on software, I think owners will be left with the best car on the road. I just rewatched a few older Kyle Conner "Out of Spec" videos now that he's getting extensive use of an Air GT. Most striking was his earlier EQS review, in which he thought the EQS would be his preferred electric sedan ride based on its luxury, interior style, and its quiet, cosseting ride. Where he once praised the EQS, he's now raving about the Air on those same aspects, not even bothering to mention the EQS in comparison.

Am I worried about the thin paint on my car? Yeah, maybe in the abstract. But then I look at the pictures of that parking lot ding it took on the same door that registered the thinnest paint and see how perfectly the dent came out without any paint damage at all, and I just quit worrying. The paint's not going to fall off or wear off our car.

Yeah that’s very reassuring as I need to have that same ding fixed on the rear right passenger door, I was worried it would mess the paint up, great to hear it probably won’t!

 

[Steveinarizona]

I think you could argue that a ceramic will make the car slightly faster because the air should slip over smoother. Maybe...

But countered by the added weight of the ceramic. Should be a wash!

 

[MikeTz]

Based on all the feedback on my posting, I am adding ceramic coating to my "nice to have" used car check list.

 

[hmp10]

Based on all the feedback on my posting, I am adding ceramic coating to my "nice to have" used car check list.

I've used ceramic coating on several cars (always Opti-Coat). No ceramic coating will give you the protection against small rock chips that PPF will, but ceramic coating will prolong the life and luster of a paint job, make the car easier to wash, and dispense with the need to wax.

 

[MikeTz]

I've used ceramic coating on several cars (always Opti-Coat). No ceramic coating will give you the protection against small rock chips that PPF will, but ceramic coating will prolong the life and luster of a paint job, make the car easier to wash, and dispense with the need to wax.

True !! I am adding PPF to the list as well ... hahahah

 

[E LUCID 8]

I had not posted earlier about this because I was getting mixed opinions on the Lucid paint job on our Dream Edition. The person who Opti-Coated the car shortly after delivery thought the paint job was pretty good and required virtually no correction. He lightly polished the car to create the surface necessary for ceramic application, and the car is still looking good nine months and 11,000 miles later. A couple of weeks back it got a pronounced parking lot ding in the middle of a rear door. The paint was not broken, and a "dent doctor" removed the dent with no sign it had ever been there.

However, a couple of months ago a detailer put a paint gauge on the car and was surprised at how thin the paint was in some spots. He thought the paint on the hood was within normal range but found the paint on the doors abnormally thin. (This included the depth of the ceramic coating, and we have the Zenith Red which also has an extra clear coat layer over the tinted clear coat exclusive to that color.) I don't remember the numbers, but overall he was very underwhelmed by the paint job.

Then today Kyle Conner posted a video of a Lucid Air Grand Touring that had been taken to a shop for paint correction, film application, and coating. They put a paint gauge on the car and found the paint so thin in places that they are afraid to do any paint correction or polishing ahead of film application. They found the paint on the hood, in particular, to be almost "nonexistent".

Although the locations of unacceptably thin paint varied between this car and our car, the conclusion was the same as my detailer reached: the paint application is erratic, troublingly thin in some places, and never better than minimally acceptable in others.

What gives after all those videos of Lucid's supposedly state-of-the-art paint line? Conner even speculated that the paint is having to be polished too heavily in order to get an acceptable-looking finish after the cars come out of the paint shop.

I have chipped paint on my hood and could not believe how thin the paint is. it is almost non-existent

 

[Tesla2.0]

I have chipped paint on my hood and could not believe how thin the paint is. it is almost non-existent

What color of your paint is it? Is it black?

 

[E LUCID 8]

What color of your paint is it? Is it black?

yes and super thin

 

[Tesla2.0]

I think perhaps only happened to black color??? My Zeneith Red look like multiple layers to show different layer of color based on light intensity. I would assume Quantum Grey may be the same as Zeneith Red.

 

[Bus Driver]

It was the rear cantrail bow tie he found the worst paint thickness. But would you do paint correction on fhe cantrail? Like what is it even made out of and does it undergo some manufacturing/painting that detailers aren’t familiar with? What’s interesting is that the Lucid paint looks better than it should at that poor thickness. And so far there’s no reports of paint correction messing up the paint or making the shop unable to apply PPF or ceramic. While it’s clear that Lucid could do better with paint consistency, I’m wondering how much this will actually matter in the long run? I’ll learn it the hard way once I take this thing through a New England winter.

And @hmp10 glad the dent doctor fixed your door, I have the exact same dent from an errant door open into mine that also didn’t damage the paint. For your repair did they have to take part of the door apart or were they able to fix it only externally?

I’m thinking the same thing. The car is mine, the paint is thin, allegedly, what can I do about it now?

 

[hmp10]

I think perhaps only happened to black color??? My Zeneith Red look like multiple layers to show different layer of color based on light intensity. I would assume Quantum Grey may be the same as Zeneith Red.

I think Zenith Red derives its chameleon-like hue from the tinted clear coat that is unique to that color. (I say it's unique only because Zenith Red was the only color that mentioned a tinted clear coat in the order configurator on the Lucid website.)

Even with that extra layer of clear coat and with ceramic coating, the paint on our Zenith Red measured below average thickness on our detailer's paint gauge.

 

[hmp10]

I’m thinking the same thing. The car is mine, the paint is thin, allegedly, what can I do about it now?

I think the thing is not to worry about it. We're at over 9 months and 11,000 mostly-highway miles with the car and have already had a door dent massaged out. The paint's still looking like new, and I'm expecting it will continue to do so as long as we have the car.

 

[PaulM]

First off… love this forum but….
Worrying about paint thickness and ceramic coatings on a beautiful car as is…. Is crazy?
Now if it starts to look like a 80s Saturn then I will do something about it. 2 cents.