Protecting my new baby

[joven]

First, I want to say I am excited to be a new member of the forum. I am picking up my brand spankin new Versa on Tuesday!! Very excited. I'll try to post pics later this week.

This is the first new car I've ever owned and I am very motivated to treat it with the utmost care. I currently am driving a leased 07 Altima, which I've had for 7 months. Within the first three months of driving the Altima, I found places where the paint was chipped off the hood!!! Presumably from catching dirt / stones on the highway. With the new Versa, I want to make sure I take steps early to prevent this. So...

What do people do to protect their paint jobs? Wax? What type of wax? How many coats? How often etc? Any other pointers on how to keep road debris from damaging the finish?

Andy

2008 Versa S 6 spd

[frankoV]

pointers on how to keep road debris from damaging the finish?

Congrats on the V.

Unfortunately, the only way to guarantee not damaging the car is to keep it in the garage. No matter how carefully you drive some bird will poop, some, some stone will find you, some idiot will back into you [ya, I'm still sore about that.

[chkchkchk]

The best way to avoid getting doored is to park in the nosebleed section.

[KimberKenobi]

You could get a deflector for the hood or a 3M covering. Your bumper should already have the 3M on it (or something similar) from the factory, but your hood will be nekked!

Good luck caring for your new baby!

[joven]

Thanks everyone. I had read that a good coat of wax provided good protection. Does this make sense? Does anyone intentionally wax as a protective barrier?

thanks

[the djay]

I didn't even have my new V for 24 hours before I got my first rock chip thanks to the Deerfoot Trail here in Calgary. I've had my V now for two months and have several stone chips and a cracked windshield that I will replace soon. I have waxed it, buffed it and it is always in my garage at home. Nothing I can do, it is the reality of everyday life and the lack of respect other drivers have for rules of the road. I got my cracked windshield from the jerk who passed me and several other drivers who were following a pilot vehicle leading us over a newly sealed section of highway at 50 km/hr. He was doing about 110 km/hr and even passed the pilot vehicle. (and no it wasn't a cop or emergency vehicle)

Nissan provides a touch-up pen matching your vehicles color to seal rock chips in your paint to prevent rust from starting there.

[Versa Madness]

Our Versa is accumulating rock chips much easier than it should. I am not overly impressed with the durability of the factory paint. I would recommend a Clearbra as a good first upgrade for protection.

[Ever Victorious]

Since paint started getting reformulated after the late 70's to be less toxic to the environment, paint manufacturers have been going through various problems with keeping a good looking, durable paint on a car. What we've got on this car is actually not bad at all considering what else is available out there in the industry. Rock chips really are the worst of it, and those are manageable with vigilance and touch-up paint.

[KimberKenobi]

Thanks everyone. I had read that a good coat of wax provided good protection. Does this make sense? Does anyone intentionally wax as a protective barrier?

the only dings the Camel has are three on the hood (front and center) from rocks. wax won't protect from that. If they made a clear hood deflector, I'd be on that like white on rice.

[joven]

If they made a clear hood deflector, I'd be on that like white on rice.

http://www.invisiblemask.com/site.html looks pretty interesting. They have a hood/fender/mirror kit for the 08 Versa for $92. Yea google :-)

[KimberKenobi]

I could practically cover the Camel...



I'll wait for the hood kit until I get my carbon fiber hood and painted graphics... no use now since the hood is already dinged to hell. Still want a clear deflector...