370Z Paint Job 'Orange Peel'

370er

My Z has that 'orange peel' effect on the paint, on all panels. Is this common for the Z? Do you guys have the same?

I've been detailing my car today with a Zaino detailing kit. It's a little disheartening when you spend a day working on the car and you know there's nothing you can do about the orange peel effect.

I'll post a pic if you want to see what it looks like. But right now i'm back out into the garage to finish polishing

racerxj17

------->(thinks what a crazy *** is waxing his car at this time. then looks at the location lmao)

none on my PPW car...

__________________
2009 PW Sport/Touring/Nav M6
Stillen Gen 3 Intake/CBE/Berk HFC/BC BR Coil over/Phillips 6500k/Hotchkis Sways/Stillen oil cooler/B&M SS

PreciousMetal

Compared to other cars I have owned, my titanium 370Z paintwork is nice and smooth and shiny. No visible orange peel effect. Not a swirl mark in sight.

Gee

Yeah, really need some pics, full and close up....try to get some with a portable light at different angles to highlight what you are concerned about. Maybe a full shot in your garageas well.

Did it look the same or odd when you picked it up from the dealer? Interesting as the paintwork on mine at the rear near the number plate is a little less than perfect, but its harldy noticeable except to a fuss pot like me.

Gee

__________________
"...'cause the only decent things that come in 2 litres are milk & orange juice"

Z1Performance

wetsanding removes orange peel

370er

Yep I just googled 'wetsanding'. It looks like an interesting process but something i'd be hesitant in doing to a brand new car. This whole 'orange peel' thing pisses me off. I've read more into it and even more expensive cars can have the same problem. Surely they get checked over in the factory first? I think i'll just have to live with it. As i've just polished my car with zaino i'll take some photos to show you.

m4a1mustang

Any mass-produced car is going to have it. Paint quality on some higher end models might be a little better, but they're never going to be perfect. It just so happens that Nissan is average to below-average in paint quality.

__________________
- Steve

Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!)
LIKE us on Facebook!

Z1Performance

I couldn't disagree more ^

Not every car has it actually

The paint on my last Audi was among the flattest I have ever seen on a new car and it was nothing special - just a B7 A4 Avant. Some of the higher end models also have fantastic paint (BMW 6 and 7 series and Mercedes S class come to mind). Same with Porsche. Even the paint on my current daily driver is very flat, and it too was not a particularly expensive car

Wetsanding is very, very labor intensive, but it's what many cars need, even from brand new, to bring the most out of the paint. We painted my entire 350Z here at the shop a couple years ago. We spent around 30 hours wetsanding it afterwards, to ensure it was perfect. Look up detailers in your area, I'd bet you'll find that the ones truly worth using will be happy to go through the process for you, and the paint will look amazing as a result

m4a1mustang

You must be very lucky, then. I've looked over Porsches with orange peel just like the Z.

If you really scour over the paint with a fine tooth comb you will find the peel.

__________________
- Steve

Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!)
LIKE us on Facebook!

GTRFAN

Sorry to hear that mate. Firstly I would highlight this to the dealer just to get it on the report before you do any sanding at all. They may swap the car if you just got it.

My titanium car has really smooth doors and guards but a little orange peel on the rear around the number plate. It's not big deal on that area so I never raised it as an issue.

Let us know how you get on.

__________________
My Zed

370er

The problem is it's Chicane Yellow and that colour has been discontinued for 2010. Not an easy task to just swap it... and i've seen another yellow Z with the same orange peel problem. I've heard Lexus do good paint jobs but when I went to have a look at an IS-F it too had some orange peel. So even with more expensive cars you can still get it.

If you look at the light reflection on these images you will get an idea of what it looks like. It's something I could probably live with and I don't know if I could trust anyone to wetsand my car and assume it would be very costly. I guess it's just a lesson learned and next time I buy a new car I won't make the same mistake again. It's just frustrating that I spent a whole day detailing my Z with the zaino polishing kit but it ain't ever going to remove the orange peel.

molamann

Well, there was an M6 and a 911 Turbo that parked next to me in my apartment parking lot(belonged to the past manager) and I have noticed a considerable amount of orange peel in both of them. Though I can't quite say for sure if it came like that from factory.

Off-topic but in addition to the M6 and 911 Turbo, he had a Z4, Land Rover, Cayenne S, and a S-class. He used to park all his cars in the handicap and guest parking spaces but I assume he abruptly got fired one day because he was moving out all his cars one by one and street parking em right outside the gate. What a shame seeing all those cars parked outside in the cold.

Z1Performance

I didn't say every Porsche...some are better than others, and some colors are better than others.

PreciousMetal

I had a really good look at my paintwork over the weekend. I can say that it's not perfect but it's certainly no worse than any other car I've owned. There is a little orange peel, interestingly it is different on different panels. Perhaps the plastic panels are painted with different paint ? It's most noticable on the rear bumper, but I'm not concerned about it. It still looks hot.

GTRFAN

We started talking about this yesterday on the Melbourne cruise and we all have it to some extent. It seems more obvious on darker colours with a good reflection.

__________________
My Zed