370z Paint Defects
 

Has anyone been having issues with the paint starting to crack and come off? I'm starting to have this issue in the front bumper and I have to get a lawyer involved. Any feedback of my fellow Z owners would be greatly appreciated names or contact #s that sort. It start from that pic and has grown to something more serious. I paint so I don't care I could just fix it. But that's not the point, warranty should cover it not me you feelz?

Yeah, that's a defect. No road debris could cause that peeling to start. Nissan should warranty that and repaint or replace free.

I noticed the same on mine. Left side, front bumper where it comes back by the front left wheel. No pic now, but can get one later.

For all the yellow cars....do you notice a paint face under the read bumper cover?

some GT-Rs had the same defect. its from the sprayers at the factory. mine had it. it was like that the day i bought it but i never noticed until i got the clear bra on. by then it would have been a hassle to remove the bra and get it repainted plus the dealer was stalling and stalling on it so i just said **** it..

Paint Issues? - NAGTROC - The Nissan GT-R Owners Club

here is mine, the paint wasnt all the way missing just bubbled up so i just took my fingernail and pushed it back in between the bumper. its held up fine for a year. but if i ever take the bumper off it bet it will flake off


http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8393/dscf4752li0.jpg

ehh w/e cars these days dont have good paint save for Honda / toyota / and the expensive german ones... sigh... image autobody - here i come lol - once i save a few Gs

I have had major paint issues.

First, I bought a magnetic Black that had a huge paint defect in the door. It was under the clear so it happened at the factory. The dealer took that back and replaced it with my current car.

My car is brilliant silver, and besides the splash guards not fitting properly, 2 weeks ago, the paint flaked exactly wear yours did (front bumper in front of wheel in the corner) after a Nissan Tech lifted my car incorrectly!!!. Because the dealer has been good to me (swapped rim for me after curb rash for no charge), I decided that I would have it fixed on my own.

I brought the car to a very reputable body shop and just this week they dropped the bumper and resprayed the corner and blended it into the bumper. Unfortunately for me, because it was such a small area the metallic flakes didn't lay right and it looks much darker than the surrounding paint.

Now, the body shop is going to respray the entire bumper so the paint matches thruought. That is actually the proper way to repair this as blending such a small area never works with metallic paint.

On the plus side, all of my little road rash chips will be fixed. Pretty inexpensive too.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...the 370z has by far the worst paint job out of any car I've ever owned x100. I'm even scared to fart in my car because the fumes could very well leak out of the passenger compartment and warp the paint.

Exact same on mine - drivers side....

I couldn't agree any more.
The paint on the 370 is the worst I've seen.
I also own a late model E60 BMW and an S class Merc and I must say that there is simply no comparison in the quality of the paint.
Both front and rear bumpers on my red 370z are full of orange peal which stands out in the sun like dogs balls.
The only way to fix it is to repaint both bumpers.
A bit silly on a 1 month old car!
Also, the clear coat is very soft in comparison to ANY German car therefore the car scratches very easily.

I think where we are having the same paint issue at the bumper/fender junction - looks like it may be a stress point? I've had the bumper removed for the G3 CAI install and it was not chipped after the bumper was put back on. Its been well over a month since the bumper was re-installed that the paint stress chip occured (about two weeks ago)

Hey if anybody could send me pics and emails if possible I would like to see if I can get a recall involved so that it doesn't happen to future z owners and wont have to go through the hassles... pics and email. SOmebody has to paive the way.

IMO the paint on this car is horrid...i have magnetic black and im almost to the point where i wanna sell the car or trade it in...a leaf landing on this car might do damage...not happy

Bad Pain
 

I had a 240, 260, 300, and a 350 no problem with the paint but, my Pearl white
370 is chipping in spots where it could not be rocks, etc etc, have the clear bra on the front, I have a 1/2 scrap on the bottom door panel where my shoe hit it...:stirthepot:

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?"

I absolutely love my Mag Black but it is major pain to keep clean. When it is clean and polished there is nothing better. I just finished a 2500 mile trip in mine last week. First leg was 750 miles in 10 or so hours and I washed it as soon as I got to my parents house. The bug guts absolutely ruin the clear coat on the bumper and hood. I'm going to have to get a clear bra but its a 3 1/2 hrs drive to Salt Lake. Gonna have to bite the bullet and get it done.

We need a seperate thread for "if you have a paint chip where your bumper meets the fender"... otherwise there will be a ton of non-essential data in the thread... its just too tempting to post every paint story under a "370Z Paint Defects thread ;)

Mine is defective on the right rear

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0133.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0136.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0139.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0140.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0141.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/IMG_0142.jpg

I bought my car in January and have no defects. My car is black, any black cars have a defect?

Good thread and fortunately for me (for the time being) neither my Platinum Graphite nor Red have the paint chips. It does sound like a stress point and sooner than later it will probably chip. As far as getting Nissan North America (NNA) to stand behind it with a recall is very doubtful. Maybe at best would be TSB. I just spent 1.5 yrs with NNA on the oil consumption with the 06 350Z and was one of the first to get a replacement engine before the TSB was released. Its tough dealing with them and a recall was never going to happen. The best that came out of it was a TSB. Nissan would have to admit that ALL the cars are defective and they are not going to go that route and loose $$.

This definitely has all the ear markings of a TSB. I am keeping a close eye on mine, and my bumpers are coming off in the next few weeks for a CAI and oil cooler install, so we will see afterward. I may just take up the CD jewel case fix in the mean time. Good temp fix!

The first sign of cracking and I will be on this faster than stink. Overall the paint on both cars is immaculate with the normal exceptions of some orange peel which you will find on almost all cars, some more than others.

Just curious if the cars with paint issues have production numbers that are close?

And maybe they were painted on a Monday...lol

that data hasnt been documented as of yet...still to early to tell if that is the case.

Is this the kind of thing that a class action suit could be started over or is that generally more for mechanical issues?

Just looked over both Z34's and no chips.

For what its worth:

Mfg date of Platinum Graphite = 01/09

Mfg date or Red = 10/08