What's up with Nissan paint?

[JettaRed]

My car has 4000 miles and is 3 months old and has more stone chips than my 4 year old TT with 52,000 miles! I can't believe how fragile the paint on my G35 is. Plus, the $30 touchup paint hardly comes close to matching.

Honestly, for all the great things that get reported about this car, I'm surprised Nissan doesn't have more durable paint.

Is it me only, or is this a common problem? Any solutions?

(I know I'm whining a bit, but really, the paint shouldn't chip when you look at it.)

[G_whizz]

Yup...it's a common problem on these cars. I've been lucky so far. *knocks on wood*

I believe there are a couple people here who actually got it fixed under warranty if I'm not mistaken... do a quick search

Other then that, you should have minimal problems with her.

[Kendahl]

If you decide to repaint, invest in a clear bra. There are several threads on the subject. After 8,000 miles, I have a mark that almost went through the bra, a small chip in the hood behind the bra that was filled with touch up paint and a large chip at the top of the windshield that was fixed by a glass shop.

Don't get a clear bra through a dealer. A decent, independent shop (probably the same one that does them for the dealer) will do it for one third the price. Finding a good installer is more important than the material he uses. The good ones tuck in the edges underneath the hood, trim, etc. so that they don't show. The lazy ones use a sharp knife to cut off the excess and try not to leave marks in the paint.

[smockers83]

If you decide to repaint, invest in a clear bra.

If you decide to repaint, invest in paint that isn't Nissan/Infiniti OEM. Find a reputable company that makes good auto paint.

[JettaRed]

Thanks for the responses. I did a search and see that this is a common problem. I'm looking into different solutions since this is gonna become one of those regular "maintenance" activities.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

I have crazy chips too.... ... I also hit a damn racoon as well... so I'm looking at getting a full paint job

[joe603]

I had that problem on my 05...front bumper looked like crap. When I had my door scratch fixed I had the shop repaint the front bumper. Looks 100x better and no damage so far (6 months).

If you don't use a clear bra off the showroom floor, the front bumper will take damage.

[Sentientbydesign]

Somebody mentioned that Nissan uses soft paint because of hazardous waste problems or something like that. In any case, I would just have the bumper, hood and fenders resprayed and make sure they use a tough clear.

I really wish all of the new cars didn't have some much orange peel from the factory. My G is bad in a few places. My wife's celica is actually textured on the lower part of her door. I saw a Tahcoma last week that looked like course sand paper on the lower half of it's door.

[smockers83]

Somebody mentioned that Nissan uses soft paint because of hazardous waste problems or something like that. In any case, I would just have the bumper, hood and fenders resprayed and make sure they use a tough clear.

Yeah, apparently the industry moved from oil based paints to water based paints because of the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the paint. The argument made no sense to me because the VOCs could just as well be released by a decaying dead animal.

[JettaRed]

... The argument made no sense to me because the VOCs could just as well be released by a decaying dead animal.

Or a big plate of beans!

[snwbrdr435]

what paint

mine was all gone got a repaint and a clear bra to solve that problem

[oraleway10]

How much do you think a paint job would run on the coupe?

I'm thinking about repainting....

[TeflonG35]

It all depends on quality. Quality of work, and quality of paint. Good paint is expensive, And good body shops are far from cheap.

I'd say 1,000-4,000

Or Maaco for like 800. But you get what you pay for.

[kboy79]

I have the exact same problems on my car with chips in couple of places. It also seems no matter where I park, some idiot is bumping into my car. That's one of the reasons that I will refuse to go to wal mart. I remember the first scratch that I got on the G. That was one bad day

[Sentientbydesign]

How much do you think a paint job would run on the coupe?

I'm thinking about repainting....

If you want the whole car repainted like factory (minus some orange peel), you're probably looking at close to $2,000. That was the price I was quoted on my I30 a few years back. Then again, that quote included removing doors for a color change. If you're keeping it the same color and there is no body damage (dents) then it might be a little lower.

Maaco FTL!!!

[TeflonG35]

Maaco FTL!!!

Actually I had MAACO paint my stillen cowl hood. So Far it looks nice. Wonder how it will hold up. I got their highest grade.

[Sentientbydesign]

Really? What kind of warranty did the give you? I just don't have much faith in them, because they do the cheapo jobs all of the time (I know you get what you pay for).

[TeflonG35]

Some MAACOs are decent. Others just suck. You aren't getting show quality. But The rest of my paint isent that pretty anyway.

I should not own black cars. Too much work keeping them nice looking.

[gwoods]

Yep the paint SUCKS!!!!

Nissan/Nippon developed a new "scratch sheild' paint that can heal itself. It is standard on the EX35 and GTR look for it to become standard in the future on ALL models.

http://www.nissan-global.com/E...RATCH/

[JettaRed]

Yep the paint SUCKS!!!!

Nissan/Nippon developed a new "scratch sheild' paint that can heal itself. It is standard on the EX35 and GTR look for it to become standard in the future on ALL models.

It should work pretty well. I had it on my 1981 Volvo!

I'd much rather have paint that was a little more durable.

[ACoupe]

I have a Clear Bra and my front end STILL has chips here and there.Frustrating isn't the right word here....$%^#@%^@&**#$&@&@....that's better...

I have an 07 Coupe, and I'm treating it is though I will buy it outright at the end of the lease, even though I will probably trade it in on a new G37. If I do keep it, it will get a serious re-paint on the front end.

[joe603]

I wonder if the Clear Bra has a guarantee?

[JettaRed]

I am really suprised that this is such a common problem and hasn't been picked up in the Consumer Reports, Edmunds, MSN Cars, etc. reviews. It's gotta be a simple fix to use a more durable paint. As I said, I never had this type of problem on my Audis. I think I'll send an email to Infiniti USA customer relations and see what they say.

[audtatious]

I wonder if the Clear Bra has a guarantee?

3M clear bra comes with a 5-year warranty. I will have more information next week as I'm getting mine installed Thursday. I will have them touch up the couple of small nic's I have on the bumper before laying the film as the Service Manager of the local Infiniti dealership owns the 3M installation business here

FWIW, the G37 also comes with the new "scratch sheild'/self-healing paint.

[smockers83]

This is something I've wondered about ever since I noticed my paint chipping. There's a rust warranty, and if our paint chips (and the paint's main job is to prevent corrosion) and our panels start to corrode, is that covered under warranty?

[ACoupe]

Quote »"3M clear bra comes with a 5-year warranty"[/quote]Sweet. I'm going in to discuss things with my dealer...