Unfortunately, stone chips are an inevitable consequence of owning and driving a modern water based paint. Darker coloured cars will show the stone chips more when the car manufacturer uses a light coloured primer coat - as VAG does.
The hardness of the paint used by a vehicle manufacturer to paint their cars shouldn’t really differ from one colour to the next, as the painting process is the same for each colour, and the final coat (the clear coat) which provides the durability should be the same, irrespective of the base coat colour. An exception might be certain pearlescent colours like VW’s (very expensive - £995 option on the Golf) Oryx White pearlescent colour, where there is an extra stage in the painting process (primer, solid white base coat, separate pearl coat and then clear coat) compared to other VW colours (primer, base coat and clear coat). Whether this makes VW’s in this colour any less susceptible to stone chips, I don’t know (probably not!).
Three will be other factors that have a bearing on the number of stone chips a driver might get on their car - e.g.
- The types of road surfaces driven on most frequently. Anyone who regularly drive on roads that are resurfaced using a cheap loose clippings type of surface dressing stands a greater chance of picking up stone chips compared to someone who drives predominantly on a roads that are surfaced with a thick layer of asphalt.
- Salt and grit spreading on roads during icy weather, and meeting a gritting lorry that uses a ‘spinner’ to spread the grit won’t be kind to a car’s paintwork!
- The distance maintained between your own car and the vehicle in front - especially in fast moving traffic - can also be a factor in how likely your car may become peppered with stone chips.
@ChrisM75 - it might be worth having a look in your leasing agreement to see what the position is regarding stone chips. I dare say they are considered to be normal wear and tear; if so, you shouldn’t be penalised for them. I think most car leasing companies use BVRLA guideline when it comes to inspecting a car at end of lease, so it’d be worth checking out what is considered acceptable and what would be chargeable.