Best thing I did for myself is stop caring about the paint. I was like you, and was really frustrated. Now I pretty much understand that the paint sucks and keeping a black 370z looking like new just isn't going to happen. It seems like other colors have issues too. I know your pain when it comes to magnetic black.

Its my daily driver and I've come to terms with the fact that it will get dings and chips and what not. It will never remain in pristine condition when you take it out every single day. Thats my advice really, because the paint is so crappy...if it REALLY bothers you, you are going to have a 370z lifetime of misery.

I mean...how can you stop a bird from ******** on your car? With magnetic black even if you wash it off 20 mins after it happens, your paint is still fubared. Same with bug guts.. its borderline retarded at this point.

i remember the magnetic black on my nismo 350 had little red dots under the clear coat all on the back hatch.

do you guys still have that issue?

Nissan's paint generally has issues and chips FAR too easily. My black 350Z was a nightmare to maintain due to chips and marks. The Pearl White 370Z ive had for 5 months now is ok, but im still getting small chips all over the place, and i dont really do much highway driving either. My front bumper already has a dozen or so small to large chips.

Here's mine:

That would drive me banana's.

No red spots. At least I don't think so...but they are probably there and I never noticed. Which now I will notice...and it will be something else to OCD about...thanks a lot!! LOL

It's actually barely noticeable and I forgot it was there until I saw this thread. That picture was taken with my Macro lens. ;-)

i could tell mine was about to start doing that, so I did some preventative maintenance. I loosened the 10mm bolt and placed a washer so the bumper corner would not touch the fender. I think this will prevent the paint damage.

Here are some pics of how I fixed it. BTW, it is not a paint defect, it is a molding flaw. There is a small raised bump at the corner which make the paint rub off. The passenger side does not have the bump, so it does not have the paint rubbing issue.

BTW, I only have 600 miles on the car and it was already starting to peel. I applied some crazy glue under the paint so it would not get any worse, and will later apply some touch up paint.

Here I glued a small strip of plastic I cut from a CD case lid. The thickness seems to be perfect.

http://www.pbase.com/mattjkphoto/ima...5/original.jpg



Here is how it looks when mounted.

http://www.pbase.com/mattjkphoto/ima...8/original.jpg


and from where you are standing, you can't see the plastic strip.

http://www.pbase.com/mattjkphoto/ima...0/original.jpg

I did the other side as well, just to be safe. I will probably do the rear corners also.

just went and checked all four of mine and the only one that had missing paint was the passenger rear...

you actually have to get down on the driveway and look up to see it at the very tip of the plastic...

its barely noticable, but non the less it looks to be a factory defect that nissan should honor under warranty...

I'm looking to get a new Magnetic Black Z and all these comments about the paint quality are starting to worry me. Will it be impossible to keep this car looking new? I'm just wondering if this is a real issue or if its like the oil temp issue where only a small percent of people are affected.

i have the black Z and trust me, it is TOUGH to keep clean! i keep mine garaged and only drive it on fridays and weekends. i have to wash it every time a bird dumps on it or i get bug guts on it to keep the clear coat ok.

there were a few flaws in the clear coat when i bought it too... took it to the dealer to get it fixed once and they left swirl marks in my hood and a burn in the clear on one rear fender. took it back again and it looks much better, but can still see where one of the blemishes was if i look hard enough.

having said all that, i still LOVE the way it looks all shined up and ready to haul ***! i get compliments on it nearly every time i take it out.

ok now that is exactly what mine looked like, where it was soft and standing up i just kind of wedged it between the bumper and fender where it would lay down flat, only thing is if you arnt careful you can break the paint off

I think pretty much the paint is crap on any color from what I've read....so I wouldn't pick a color based on that. With all the minor issues I have here and there with black....the car is still DAMN SEXY all waxed and ready to go regardless. I've always thought that black looks the worst from 3 feet away and closer....and by far THE BEST 3 feet and away. Its the price you pay.

Nothing looks better than a shiney black car coming down the road (yes I'm biased).

more pics and emails would be helpful you guys. they think they can get aways with ish like this. "A district manager didn't have to be present when you were signing to buy the car right?"