Quicksilver Tesla Model 3 Performance Paint Evaluation! A Beautiful Paint With Lackluster Quality

[@deerock7]

I have the Quicksilver Y and LOVE the color. It sorta changes color/hues in varying light. I didn't expect it to be super high quality, but it sure looks great.

[@ZoPoBuff]

I have the same car configuration and also noticed a couple of blemishes in the paint when I took delivery. When I took it in to get "fixed," they offered me $400 in service credit to either have my own detailer address the issues. Here is how I see it: in my opinion, the car looks amazing, and generally, people don't nitpick like a detailer would. Therefore, I plan to use that $400 credit to cover a third of the cost of getting Paint Protection Film (PPF) applied to the front end. I believe that having PPF on the front will have a significant impact over the next 5 years.

[@squirrel7890]

Nerd level 9K! I’m here for it, especially when I’m dropping $50K! Thank you for keeping us informed (good, bad, and ugly).

[@Japplesnap]

Looks great in that color with those wheels.

[@PEACEOUTXX1]

Lmao it's literally Grey and those wheels are not impressive at all. Looks bent asl and with cheap plastic

[@Japplesnap]

@@PEACEOUTXX1 Grey is darker. This is silver. And the wheels are concave. You clearly know nothing. 😂

[@tylermarshall3251]

Nice to see the store didn't destroy the paint. Most dealerships love to scratch the hell out of cars right off the truck. I've seen them using dirty water and brooms to wash cars. The level of incompetence is unbelievable.

[@GenuineFlolie]

I have a Shanghai Model 3 Performance Pearl White Multi-Coat, i am no expert but the paint quality seems so much better. Also the Berlin model Y's are probably the best painted Tesla's one can buy. You Americans seem to have gotten the wrong end of the stick.

[@Integratedcraig]

Cole, love all the knowledge you have and way you share it with the audience. Long form or short, I learn a lot listening to you, great camera work showing us exactly what you are talking about. Is there a particular color that seems to be done better by Tesla that others? I'm also sure it's model and factory specific. Great work!

[@robc6362]

Thanks for this! Picking my Quick Silver 3 up Thursday...Praying!

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Take some time to inspect it in different light!

[@thebagnechannel3183]

This is a fantastic review. You’re right that Tesla needs to improve quality. I love my Model X Plaid, but it has more than its shares of issues.

[@surf-n-turf]

I’m very happy with my MY in QS, delivered two months ago. It gets frequent compliments.

[@xx3uddhaxx]

I knew I wasn’t crazy when I noticed the colors were different on most of the cars on the lot. I picked up a stealth gray not because it’s the “poverty spec” but it looked the best in “quality”. I can’t tell the difference in the paint on hood bumper… At least on my M3P.

[@xx3uddhaxx]

@@calvinsomething5348 that’s very interesting! I had no idea Tesla had different base colors for free. I knew they rotated base colors after a few years.

[@thefilmpoets]

I got the Stealth gray Y as well, looks good for sure. I think Teslas look great in black as well, but hear they swirl like crazy.

[@xx3uddhaxx]

@@thefilmpoets I considered black as well for that sharp blackout look!

[@Kev27RS]

Gray is such a boring color…

[@xx3uddhaxx]

@@Kev27RS My car before this one was a 2010 Camaro with metallic inferno orange paint so I can agree gray is a little boring. I ended up putting a Stealth PPF wrap around the car giving it a frosted metallic look. It’s still gray but it looks nice while still providing protection. The car really stands out now!

[@JasonRaneses]

Appreciate the detail you go to, even if it’s too much for most people. We’ve had enough Teslas to have given up on the shit quality, no matter high or reduced price points.

[@charty_char]

I got this color and I love it and am glad I chose it. I saw zero imperfections on pickup but found 2 in the trunk top when i got home and 1 black dust knib under the paint on the side. I dont know how to identify as well as this guy tho.

[@raheeb1]

Car overall looks awesome in that color combo and styling cues. For the money? Solid A

[@mclru]

Recently bought a Y in this color. Every panel had extensive paint issues and there was even some wet globs of paint under the back hatch. Worse than a chop shop paint job.

[@musc2002]

I guess the best bet is to go with black color and then have it wrapped.

[@pepstein]

I just finished my first wash and wax on my own Quicksilver Model 3. I’m no expert, but I can’t find any issues that come close to the stuff shown in this video. I wonder if mine is unusually good or yours is unusually bad.

[@gofortyninerss]

When the content is good, length of the video is way down on my list. Keep up the good work!!

[@MrHemikid426]

If the metallic flakes are different sizes, then I would assume the paint was mixed with different flakes. As far as mixing paint, I would think the manufactures buy their colors already mixed to speed up the process. Color variations in plastic pieces painted separately from the body metals are expected, as you mentioned.

[@ludoboyludoboy3797]

Love your nerdy long videos… keep them up

[@RayNLA]

I’ve been waiting for this! 🎉

[@Neutrinum]

Quicksilver looks great but it is a very thin paint and thats why i would take the red color! Red paint is always a thicker coat and will protect the panels way better!

[@sjsphotog]

Red gets eaten up by the sun UV alot faster

[@thellkamp]

I picked up my Quicksilver M3 a month ago. Here's the recap. I had geard about poor paint quaity so I inspected this car like never before. My other cars might have had the same derects, but who checks a cars paint or panel gaps this thoroughly? All I found were a few dust inclusions in the paint. They were so small and inconspicuous that on subsequent inspections, I had trouble finding them again. One of the first things I do after buying a car is wash it. That forces you to go over every inch. I didn't find anything tht raised a red flag. Second, I wouldn't call Quicksilver a special color, definately not worth an extra $2,000. I see plenty of common Kia's with a similar paint color. I'm sure it didn't cost extra. I almost I wish I'd gotten the red. Then I re-saw the red Mazda uses. The Tesla red isn't even close to that beautiful color. The bottom line is that the Tesla paint options suck.

[@pepstein]

I think Tesla’s German factory does a couple of really nice colors, but they’re not available here in the States. I wonder if its regulations or factory paint shop limitations prevent Tesla from using the same colors here.

[@Kev27RS]

The "Soul Red Crystal" color by Mazda is gorgeous! One of the best looking colors on today’s automotive market!

[@ZeusBullyMax]

You’ll be able to buy a Mazda cheap when they go bankrupt. When the transmission and the motor blows up, it’ll look nice in your driveway not running.

[@Kev27RS]

@@ZeusBullyMax Who goes bankrupt? Mazda? 😂

[@FactsDontCareAboutFeelings-m6x]

@@ZeusBullyMax👈😂 hey derp, Mazda is nowhere close to being bankrupt. If you did a modicum of research you’d know that net sales are up 32% from the previous year, operating profit is up 83%, net income is up 60%, and global sales is up 17% from previous year.

[@1MARCUSMARC1]

I’m not a silver fan but damn this looks good.

[@stargazer3828]

Can you imagine if the average person took a paint depth gauge and panel gap tool to a dealership and used what they found as a negotiating tactic! Wonder if the dealer would negotiate with you or kick you out of their dealership???????

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

You should do this anytime you purchase a used vehicle to ensure it wasn’t in a crash and repainted. Completely normal.

[@GridConnections]

Great video, would love to see a review of the ultra red on the highland as well! Looking to get a Model 3 and torn between the Quicksilver and the Ultra Red.

[@martinfay7274]

I'm not surprised by the orange peel and inconsistent paint thickness, but that paint run on the door edge is very disappointing.

[@MrHemikid426]

That bad area next to the passenger side taillight looks like they repaired it with brushed on paint and clear then sanded. The door drips are insane and are definitely not acceptable. Hell, they could have cut them off and touched up with a brush, and it would be better.

[@Benmu2182]

What wheels do you have on? Love the concaveness.

[@michaelbonavita1800]

Can confirm on my 24 LR in pearl white that the paint on the bumpers have definite low spots, almost as if you can see the primer through the paint. I leased the car so I’m not too broken up about it but it’s concerning for sure.

[@jimstravels7903]

I hate silver, but looks great on the M3P. I went with the standard color for the tax incentive. Those wheels are hideous.

[@Mark-in-Texas]

I like the color. It's disappointing to hear Tesla is still dropping the ball on quality control. I can probably live with some paint imperfections that can't be noticed from more than 5 feet away, but noise produced from loose interior parts would drive me crazy. I've been thinking about buying a Model Y in a year or two and hope they start doing better in quality control/Fit and finish. From KZbin, I became aware of panel gaps, and then realized how bad of a job they did on my Cadillac. So its not just Tesla failing in these areas. However, Cadillac is a luxury car, so they should do better.

[@quickpstuts412]

Yep. I bought in 2020 and spent the first year in the service center for rattles and imperfections. Not minor either. Sad that it's still an issue four years later. I know this isn't everyone's story and other makers have this issue, but too many stories like this in 2024 for Tesla. Won't buy another. It's like a roll of the die.

[@petertulp8806]

Imagine showing the complete video to a guy who mines cobalt together with his 7 year old son.

[@dustinbradshaw2153]

Even though tesla needs to get these bugs worked out regardless, sure makes me wanna lease my first one

[@kathmandun8749]

Wow that is a nice color

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Agreed!

[@Eejtalk]

What about the red and blue colors?

[@buckeyecatfishing622]

I ordered a M3 in Quicksilver, picking it up this week. I'm older and I hate black rims, who makes those silver rims? Thanks.

[@GueramSoukiasian]

Which Tesla colour is the most durable?

[@j.k7679]

Volvo also have orange peels.

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Every car does

[@bob-qi4nr]

@@OutofSpecDetailing Koenigsegg?

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Hahaha! Thats one of the exceptions! I should have said mass produced vehicles. Thanks for keeping me honest 🫡

[@bob-qi4nr]

@@OutofSpecDetailing Thanks Colton. I hate tesla and all EV's but you are one hard working sob. Great job with these videos.

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Thank you! Sorry to hear you hate EVs. I love them, but I also love all cars! I just like anything with 4 wheels no matter the power train.

[@waveaslon]

How does the quality of pearl white compare to this on Chinese made model 3’s?

[@Angelboy99]

Were does this M3P come from? California? My 2020 MYP came from California before the paint shop rebuilt and it was pretty awful. I negotiated a sizeable discount and purchased FSD for a few $$$$ more 😊

[@billlyl3725]

I just wonder if the layperson like me would ever see these imperfections-and that Tesla counts on that

[@user-gs8vn3mk3b]

Stealth Gray was nicer if it was not the free color option lol

[@hutchrt0596]

Two questions: 1.) are you going to sand the orange peel or do you suggest never doing that with Tesla? 2.) Quicksilver or red and why?

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Talked about both questions in the video.

[@hutchrt0596]

@@OutofSpecDetailing I watched the whole video, it seemed like you were suggesting not to sand it. But I wasn't sure. But I don't remember you saying that you chose red or Quicksilver better specifically. Just that you enjoyed the Quicksilver. Sorry I didn't catch those if you did.

[@ZeusBullyMax]

Just leave your car alone. This guy is a car detailer. 99.9% of the people are not even gonna get close to that car in that type of light to notice any of that crap he’s talking about. You show me a car with a perfect paint job and I’ll show you one that doesn’t have one. I had my 1967 GTO painted by a guy that painted for Rolls-Royce. He showed me spots that he made small mistakes on himself. Everyone who saw my car though so that’s the most beautiful paint job I’ve ever seen.

[@herbfst]

A lot of manufacturers are switching to a wet on wet paint process and I've been seeing this more and more across the board. Missing the drying step and potentially catching other mistakes add the the risk of orange peel. To the manufacturers credit, they know most of their customers are idiots and se shiny and move one.

[@superrico5208]

the front bumper are not prime that is why the bumper look like crap, i had this problem with my white model 3. i talk to the tesla paint specialist and this is what they told me, no joke i could not believe what he was telling me but if you look under the bumper you are going to see that the bumper does not have primer, and you will see the black plastic.

[@famip3679]

Where the royal red one eu got The bumper looks mismatched

[@Swapnil638]

No chapters, at least not yet

[@Motion-mz4it]

What wheels are these?

[@geo5106]

0:13 "At least for the Model 3 and Model Y" No that's not true. It's available to all models

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Incorrect. Quicksilver is only 3 and Y. Lunar Silver is for S and X

[@geo5106]

@@OutofSpecDetailing I stand corrected!

[@kidamere2408]

simple put a paint gauge on it see what it reads my 22 m3p is 5mils which falls under normal instead of just saying it seems or it looks like you can know

[@MrMustangrick]

If he says “dust nib” anymore I will go nuts.

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Dust nib

[@JustDoinFlorida]

Tesla needs to lower the price of their paint choices once and for all with how bad the paint has been over the years. Legacy automakers are charging between $5-700 for paint options and I think that’s what Tesla should be at. It would be nice to see more colors on the road besides white and stealth grey. $2000+ for Ultra Red or Quicksilver is a complete joke

[@1stfrompuertorico568]

Nice

[@rkgsd]

What does it tell you that Tesla itself is now selling $5000+ paint protection film installations?

[@ZeusBullyMax]

Where is Tesla selling $5000 PPF installations? It damn sure isn’t on their app.

[@philipparana9225]

Metallics lay different with static electricty so the plastics never look same as metal, the paint is exactly the same.

[@Skeetskeet333]

The ultra red is a superior color

[@ZeusBullyMax]

Yeah, the red is the superior color for getting tickets. Look it up.

[@thienthan324]

It’s silver and they painted it quickly. Hence the name.

[@quickpstuts412]

lol

[@eastmanwebb5477]

One day all of this expert knowledge about inspecting and painting cars is going to be incorporated into a multimodal LLM and that artificial neural network is going to control the robots that paint the cars. The level of paint quality on even inexpensive every day cars will increase dramatically.

[@MF-et5nk]

How many years has Tesla been in business? Seems like they should have learned how to paint vehicles by now.

[@TheLastMoccasin]

Lack of attention to detail is in their DNA. It's how the entire business operates. Hurry up and screw it up, FASTER!!!

[@sjsphotog]

Pretty sad paint thickness especially since you have to pay 2k$ more for that color option!!!

[@TedKidd]

3:30 walk around. Liquid.

[@CupidinColorado]

Cherry-red……….👌👀

[@bigeee3123]

You should do a Porsche or audio paint review. Stop picking on Tesla

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

I have 😎

[@kevinn1158]

Wow, look at that, the panels ALMOST line up!!!!

[@socalpimp1974]

thats a $9500 dollar paintjob since it disqualifies you from the 7500 off and is 2k more than base gray

[@MikeTaffet]

Not true. My Model Y is Quicksilver and is eligible for the $7500

[@gabeh7373]

He's specifically talking about the Model 3 Performance pricing

[@pepstein]

Some buyers don’t qualify for the tax credit.

[@philipparana9225]

Paint is pretty dry, not getting enough clear or drying too fast. My guess would be poor environmental control or the booth over too little paint.

[@z87m]

Tesla look nice And its not cheap But why they use the cheapest things in the car Cheapest plastic Cheapest paint Cheapest leather seats Cheapest wheel

[@JDMSwervo2001]

The amount of panel gaps on this thing is wild

[@BaNaNA_x3]

i dont really like the color on cloudy days.

[@jon-slem]

invisible chapters? 😆

[@PickleballMike509]

lol these are not show cars…. They are fine. Drive them, and enjoy them. The end…

[@pepstein]

Most buyers will end up with far worse paint issues in a year or two from rock chips, accidents, etc.

[@philipparana9225]

3 mils in a metallic is probably not even within the spec of the paint manufacturer

[@TheLastMoccasin]

Have been interested in the new Model 3 since the refresh, but build quality and repair times are still major reasons I am unwilling to order one. 🤷

[@bobbyjones2112]

Really shit a shame they come like that. I definitely would turn it down. It makes me not even wanna get one when I see these videos.

[@JasonRaneses]

Lease with no intent to buy. Tesla quality is as disposable as a razor blade, 5/10 is generous.

[@quickpstuts412]

As an owner, I completely agree. Wish I had.

[@mlee1308]

Bunch of whiners. If you had it you would love it.

[@pedipedi9559]

Tesla quality...but at least they make a killing margin on each car.

[@bzar-c3o]

Ultra red is the best... Quick silver looks boring.

[@MikeRadioNY]

Ultra red does look great. But it screams give me a ticket or damage me.

[@officialyasir]

Imagine paying an EXTRA $2k for this shoddy quick silver paint job

[@Japplesnap]

I'd pay that much extra just to not have a Model 3 that's black or white. The dark grey isn't terrible, but there are already a million of them on the roads. Tesla really needs to expand their color palette.

[@PEACEOUTXX1]

When u look at other brands having explosive color pallets and tesla fans are excited for a boring ass gray 😂😂 reminds me of the time they were happy to finally have some shitty ambient lighting finally in the year 2024

[@Rocketer420]

⁠I think wrapping would be the solution, I personally would get the plain white and then wrap it with the color I want, it would still cost less than the 2k they ask for.

[@Japplesnap]

@@Rocketer420 Wrapping is expensive and easily costs more than $2000. Plus, it's temporary. You can't wrap a car and keep it wrapped without peeling off the wrap and doing the job over again.

[@Rocketer420]

@@Japplesnap oh yea I forgot to mention I live in Portugal and a wrapping job is cheaper here, but yea you would have to change it after 4 years of u r still with your car, tough it's the price you pay of u want something different.

[@jovceata]

yep 100% Tesla doesn't care if they have delivered a car in this condition

[@mowensmd]

Yawn, I'd never ever notice 90% of what you taped.

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

That sounds like a you problem not a me problem

[@mowensmd]

@@OutofSpecDetailing Well, sort of. I detailed my own cars. Clay bar kinda guy. I think being OCD about things can be the OCD persons issue. Most of us would not notice or care about sooooo many trivial things.

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

Being OCD is why I’m booked out for months & have customers traveling from all over the country just to have me work on their vehicle. If you don’t care, great move on… But a lot of folks do care.

[@mowensmd]

@@OutofSpecDetailing I'm glad for you! And on this public space reminding those reading this isn't a big deal to 99% of us.

[@mimmologiko]

Verniciatura fatta malissimo

[@spiro5327]

Paint robots should be sacked. From what i understand, Chinese built cars are much better quality.Is this true ?

[@adiosadios7363]

horrible - by now figure it out

[@Skit-r4x]

This shhh doesn’t match the thumbnail

[@OutofSpecDetailing]

How will you survive?

[@ZoPoBuff]

Also, that might be the ugliest configuration with those wheels I've seen on ANY M3Ps. I have to be honest-it just doesn't work. You can't pair silver wheels with black trim on a quicksilver color that is a completely different shade of silver.

[@MrMustangrick]

Quality overall for Tesla is not great. Not a luxury car.