Is it just me or is the paint a little thin?
Hey guys I just recently took my little girl down to san antonio. I tried to be as careful as I could by not tailing trucks and riding peoples rear. When I came back I went to wash and detail my car and came across a few spots on the front end where it looks like a very small piece of gravel took tiny bits out of my paint. Is there anything I can do to make my paint stronger or correct the small chips I have on my front end? Is the paint inherently thin? They really aren't THAT noticeable but when I was washing it bugged the **** out of me. Thanks for the advice.:tiphat:
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Yes, the paint is that fragile and thin, blame it on water-based paint used to meet regulations mandated by EPA. The elegant solution is to install a clear bra, the not-so elegant is to use 3M Paint Defender or clear PlastiDip which you will hate and soon realize that a clear bra should be installed in the first place, plus the clear bra installer will now hate you. The anti-elegant solution is to use a naugahyde/vinyl-based bra.
Other than those, avoid driving the car at all costs to protect the paint. |
Yes, this is well documented
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Do you have some? |
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Thin -- weight savings.
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The problem with "thin" paint is not limited to Nissan vehicles. From the days of my second-gen '95 Eagle Talon AWD, it has been the case. I have been keeping my clear bra installer in business. Out of the last 10 cars I bought, 7 had clear bra installed and the last 6 were done by the same installer.
Proof that paint is thinner (and more fragile) is hard to come by, but the water-based paint is not just some rumor. It's been the standard in the last few decades or so. |
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I am very skeptical of the oft-repeated claims of "thin paint" on Nissans. I've never seen any evidence and can't find any on the internet. Frankly, owning or having owned 6 Nissans in the last 10 years and 3 GM trucks...I doubt that it's true. |
It is probable that manufacturers use less amount of paint in the name of cost savings. The result is stone chips that go through the pigment layer right into the contrasting primer or even bare metal. There is also other different factors unbeknownst to me that contribute to stone chips that seem to be easily formed. Without performing durability testing such as salt water spray, average Joes like us can only speculate.
Whatever is the answer, I'm going to have clear bra installed on any vehicle I own. |
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I have a clear bra on my Z too. Rock chips were only a small problem on my previous Z, but I love how, with the clear bra, the bugs wipe right off with a little waterless wash. It wasn't cheap to have installed, but halfway through its second summer it was worth every penny. |
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Do yourself a favor though....do the rocker panels and door kick panels. The kits that they supply don't include those parts, but you can buy Scotchguard on Amazon and have the install do that, or you can do it yourself. Applying the stuff isn't difficult if we're not talking about various compound curves to apply over. |
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The first thing dealers do is remove the clear bra when I traded them in, different dealers. What a waste.:confused: |
clearbra is ur friend.
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