Tiny chips - Who else has them?
 

Hey guys, this might be a dumb question, but on close inspection of my Z I found that I have several tiny "white" chips. They are very, very small abd are primarily on the hood and fender / wheel well area. Does anyone else have these / is it normal, or is it some kind of defect? My car is black btw.

Thanks

Sure it's normal....Soft paint, lousy roads around DC. Get a clear-bra if you want to protect the paint..

yep... :facepalm: thats what sucks bout the z . have so many rock chips and only had my car for about 3 or 4 months. will probabaly get mine repainted and mayyyybe itll solve the problem?

You and everyone else in the entire world with a black car has them..

I do. It's pretty soft paint.

Yeah... I read the horror stories online before I bought the car. So I had a clear bra installed on mine. Works pretty well and is pretty much invisible.

Same here.

There are only two types of 370Z owners:
A) People who bought a clearbra and are happy they did.
B) People that didn't, and are regretting it.

;)

lmao. true. :facepalm:

I'm not a fan of clear bras. After a few years, they really don't look that great. Yes, I have a few chips. But it really doesn't bother me that much. If it did, I would park the car in the garage and never take it out. After all ... I bought it to use it.

Just wait a year or two and tell us whether it's "pretty much invisible".

Most of my chips are where the clear bra would have been

I'm getting my clear bra installed tomorrow. Plus I bought hood bra, double protection. ;)

Agreed!

You are right, my boy has it on his 07 350Z. He had it installed June 07, now you can see the edges clearly and it has this sorta brownish/orangish tint to it, he is pissed.

I'm not too worried... the VentureShield product has a lifetime warranty against basically anything other than physical damage. :)

better to ask who doesnt have them.

C) People who didn't, but don't give a fvck.

:tiphat:

Z's lousy soft paint requires Clear Bra. Got mine put on before I would drive the car out. Usually guaranteed for life. The Clear Bra enables me to relax and enjoy my car---without the Clear Bra, I'd be a nervous wreck. Repair your car then get the Clear Bra and relax and enjoy your Z.

I repainted my g35 coupe bumper twice, once at 40k and once at about 85k ... Second time I asked to the shop to go crazy on clear and it seemed like it was working better... but it was a few hundred each time, and both times brought the car back to mint condition...

its an excuse to get a lip or aftermarket bumper... I put the 05 bumper on my 03 coupe the first time I repainted it.... Im set on doing it all over again with this Z

I know a guy with a Nismo with clear bra. First time I saw the car the bra was invisible -- couldn't really see it all all. A month later I saw the car again and there was this fine while line across the hood where wax or dust or whatever had built up along the edge of the bra. I don't think the clear bra is guaranteed to never be visible or fade from micro-hazing. They are just guaranteed not to peel or disintegrate, etc., but they are not guaranteed to always look like the day they were put on.

I'd actually obsess more about the condition of the bra more than I currently do about the few rock chips I have at 6 months hehe.

I had clear bra installed on my car two days after I recieved her. I had on scratch on the splitter before the install. 1,900 miles later this is how the car looks. Clear bra on: full front bumper, 1/4 hood, 1/5 front fenders, A pillers, 1/3 front of roof, full side mirrors, back 1/3 of side skirts, and 1/2 of the front of the rear fenders in front of the wheels. I think its a great investment.

Sorry for the water, it started raining right after wash, wax and polish but I wasnt going to let it stop me....
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9158/dsc05167j.jpg

Looks good, but 1900 miles is too early to tell. Post the same pic angle @ 30k.

It's a personal choice, but I wouldn't think of it as an investment. It's not likely the resale value at 50k miles will be much affected by whether the car has a clear bra. if I planned to trade in or sell @ 20k, then it might have a different opinion.

^ I have had clear bra on a 2003 Audi TT (Up to 36K miles) and a 2007 MazdaSpeed6 (Up to 32K miles). I didnt clear bra my 2006 S2000, or my 2006 Evo9. After the TT I skipped out on putting on clear bra and regreted it on both cars. Its true that the clear bra can get beat up but it stands up to everying better then paint does. Clear bra also lets me control my crazy thoughts about damaged paint.

Sounds like a clear bra was the right choice for you :tup: For me, probably not.

That's why when your waxing it you don't run the wax along the line of the clear bra... duh.


BTW The VentureShield warranty is against "cracking, bubbling, or yellowing."

They are supposed to have a 5 year warranty on them, at least. I will not spend that kind of money if there is no waranty on the product nationwide.

Aslo take under consideration that you get what you pay for! ;)



http://www.ultrashield-hr.com/faqs.htm

How long will UltraShield last?

Our product is warranted for 4 years against cracking or yellowing and the film has been known to last as long as 7 years. Of course, whether the vehicle is garaged and/or washed and waxed on a regular basis will make a big difference.

i guess i fit the second choice :shakes head:

i would have liked to clear bra before my bumper got bug splatter and what not everywhere but oh well, i can use it as an excuse for a new body kit further down the raod

There are a lot of highwind days here and due to the sand it damages the paint all the time. my insurance allows for one repaint

thats cool who is your ins company? I dont think Ive seen you driving around yet, what areas are you mostly in?

My insurance caters to the military and although I bought my Z in SA I live in El Paso for hopefully only the next 2 yrs.

I saved my $1000 for a repaint in three years. For me if I spent the money on the bra and saw the scratch I have on my rear bumper I would freak out, but now it's just another excuse to replace the crappy Nissan paint. Plus I am going to put on the Amuse Vestito body kit on anyways which will require a repaint. Every few years I plan to change the car to keep it new to me so I will likely never buy a clear bra.

Like a few have said a bad clear bra looks 10x worse than a couple of rock chips, plus over $1000 for it that's a third of a new paint job. I will stay away from the bra and just repaint when needed, the entire car gets chips and scratches not just the front.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the clear bra. I had one on my last car for about 2 years and when I took it off, the portion of the car that had the clear bra on it was noticeably a different shade than the rest of the car.

:iagree:

:happydance:

How much do decent repaints actually cost?

A repaint to a completely different color from a good place is at least $5000, but could run up to $7000. At least that was the quick ballpark quote I was given from a local shop that is known to be one of the best and specializes in exotics.

Yeah, if you want to go on the cheap you could get one for about $1000, prob wouldn't be a good idea though.

BAM!

Whole car painting | Car Painting Options | Maaco Auto Body Shop

:bowrofl:

Given what I had read before my purchase about soft paint/clearcoat, there was no way I was going to drive the car before the UltraShield went on. I personally think it was money well spent for the peace of mind alone.