With excellent care how long can I expect my paint to hold up? By excellent care I mean clay bar 2x a year, following by meguiars swirl remover, polish, and nxt wax. Then intermittent waxing every 6-8 weeks, and washing it weekly. Here are some pics of its present condition.

[IMG]local://upfiles/46215/BB73695FFFB34E68802DD8D3DD3882CB.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/46215/99DFD9155E8145ADB3654992BF055A30.jpg[/IMG]

 

Depending on fallout in your area, weather, etc., I think average paint life for a well cared for car that stays outdoors is about 10 years.

 

Even if the car is left uncovered?

 

how many cars do you actually see covered every day? the car's paint is designed to withstand the heat/sunlight otherwise everyone would be covering their cars. it will last 10+ years.

 

Your point is well taken, but most people don't care for their cars like we do or anybody that truly loves cars does for that matter. Most people view a car simply as transportation, most people on this forum make cars (their mustangs) one of their hobbies. The average guy isnt going to mod his car or spend hours waxing it etc.. All Im saying is that this forum is not representative of the population in that respect because it is a collection of people that take pride in their cars. So while it is true that I rarely see a car cover I do see on once in a while and in my mind the car that is covered is being taken care of and loved etc...

 

I have an 8 year old mitsubishi that I don't give a crap about, and never have. It's been washed 3 times in its life, and never waxed. It's been parked outdoors it's entire life. Paint looks fine.

The paint will fade, but it'll fade over the whole car so you wont notice.

My house has been outside for 30 years and the original paint on it has held up pretty good.

Your biggest fear is rust getting under the paint and causing it to blister, because of a rock chip you didn't touch up or at least seal with some clear nail polish.

The ugly *** cars you see where the paint is all shot and peeling off, those are the guys who wash their cars every week with dishsoap or pinesol and are effectively working to strip the paint off with each wash.

 

Wax melt in the sunlight and wears out in the rain because rain is acidic. You'd be surprised that wax really only lasts for about 3 weeks to a month on the average car! I wax my car evrytime I wash it. Of course I don't drive it in the rain and keep it in my garage, but keep the wax on and you'll be good for 15 years