Scratches in paint under clear coat

[blackbird]

I have had my since April 24. Generally see it in sunlight or incandescent light. Looks great. Black. A few days ago, I noticed a scratch. Couldn't figure how it got there. Tried my Scratch Out stuff. Thought it worked. Todays it's raining, car in garage. Decided to wax car. Turned on overhead Florescent lights. Noticed a bunch of scratches. Running a finger over them I could feel nothing. Got out the head band magnifiers. Scratches not in surface but below clear coat. Checked front under saran wrap covering. Could see scratches as well. Have contacted dealer. For the time being will not turn on florescent lights near car. In the sunlight it looks great. So, you all check your cars and I'll keep this thread up to date with what happens.

[k20z3]

Yeah it sounds like scratches on the clear coat. Same happens with my car. . . I don't believe its under go get the car buffed and see if it fixes your problem.

[blackbird]

I would buy that except, I did some buffing. With some Scratch Out stuff I've used on other cars. Didn't work. Looking at paint at an angle shows no lines in paint. Only looking down. Got some glasses for doing closeup work and do not see scratches in top coat. Same for front under the Clear plastic bra stuff.

[nogoodname]

ok, wash,clay, polish, final polish, seal, glaze and wax should get it out




use a construction lamp...those yellow stands with a halogen bulb....you will see all the scratches and when scratches disappear, it will look 10 times better in the sun!!!

PM if you want a link

[k20z3]

Yeah dont use scratch x, unless you know how to work the pad take it down to michael at meguires .

[zZSportZz]

Originally Posted by blackbird

I have had my since April 24. Generally see it in sunlight or incandescent light. Looks great. Black. A few days ago, I noticed a scratch. Couldn't figure how it got there. Tried my Scratch Out stuff. Thought it worked. Todays it's raining, car in garage. Decided to wax car. Turned on overhead Florescent lights. Noticed a bunch of scratches. Running a finger over them I could feel nothing. Got out the head band magnifiers. Scratches not in surface but below clear coat. Checked front under saran wrap covering. Could see scratches as well. Have contacted dealer. For the time being will not turn on florescent lights near car. In the sunlight it looks great. So, you all check your cars and I'll keep this thread up to date with what happens.

Are they like swirly looking scratches all over depending on what angle you look at the car?

[blackbird]

Yes, swirly and straight also. I went to the dealership and checked the cars there. Silver car was fine. Black Z had "scratches" as well. Black has always been the worst color to produce. Since the car looks great in sunlight and the "scratches" disappear. I will go with "perception is reality" and believe they are gone. I promise not to look closely at the car in my garage with the florescent light on. If I had 10K, I'd have the car stripped down to base, apply prime, hand sand it , paint, hand sand (a few times), clear coat and buff. I think those days are gone. Did that 46 years. Won't be getting that done today. 3 feet minimum distance to look at car :-)

[k20z3]

I told you.

Its from two things.

1. Not washing your car properly (When you dry off your car, dust particles get caught and you scratch the surface of your paint, (especially being black any car enthusiast with a black car should know its scratch ville center)

2. Straight line scratches are caused from you, improperly waxing or anything can cause that, even dust in wind can cause some, as well as using the high pressure wash can cause scratches in your paint as well.

The clear coat is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo delicate...

go get it buffed you'll feel better about yourself.

[blackbird]

The scratches are not in the clear coat but underneath it. Viewing the paint from one angle, the paint is smooth as silk. Been using 100% cotton bath towels to dry off the car. Being an old body shop guy from years ago, these look like scratches when the grit was too low when sanding. Last part, with the saran wrap front end, the scrathes are under neath it.

[NXTAZEE]

Originally Posted by blackbird

The scratches are not in the clear coat but underneath it. Viewing the paint from one angle, the paint is smooth as silk. Been using 100% cotton bath towels to dry off the car. Being an old body shop guy from years ago, these look like scratches when the grit was too low when sanding. Last part, with the saran wrap front end, the scrathes are under neath it.

You should never use cotton on your paint, as it will scratch it. Only use quality microfiber cloths. It is highly unlikely the scratches are under the clear. In all the years I've been doing this I've never seen scratches under the clear coat, unless it was a repaint. Have it professionally polished and see if that will work. I have a feeling it will. Some one mentioned using a glaze earlier, I'm not a fan of it unless the paint is old and thin so you can't polish the swirls out safely. If not why would you want to cover up the swirls with a glaze when you can polish them out? High volume shops always do this. I think it is a form of deception. Look, your car looks great. Two weeks later after a handful of washes the swirls start to come back . Properly polished paint should looks amazing even with out a wax or sealant on it. the wax is only a sacrificial barrier to the elements and "will" add a little to the looks. People wonder why, after using an over the counter wax, their car looks pretty good but for only a short period of time. Thats because that wax you just used has fillers and oils in it that artificially and temporarily make your paint glow and look free of swirl marks.

[blackbird]

The scratches are not on top. They are under the clear coat. Cotton, good cotton doesn't scratch. I went to the dealership and looked at another Black car. Same thing. I'm using Mother's wax or McGuaiers(sic). One of the dealership techies saw the scratches first before I did anything to the car such as wax it. They are not visible on a sunny day. Car looks great in daylight. I also worked in a body shop for a few years and am not green behind the ears. I am not washing the car every day. The old Corvettes had the same problem but for a different reason. I think ZZSPORTZZ has the same understanding.

[SoCal 370Z]

Are the scratches all over the your 370Z? Are they are in certain area? It sounds as if your car was painted again (and this is why I asked whether they all over the car versus an area) and someone did not sand the primer properly before spraying the color and clear coats. Cars are repainted from transport and lot damage all the time.

[NXTAZEE]

Originally Posted by blackbird

The scratches are not on top. They are under the clear coat. Cotton, good cotton doesn't scratch. I went to the dealership and looked at another Black car. Same thing. I'm using Mother's wax or McGuaiers(sic). One of the dealership techies saw the scratches first before I did anything to the car such as wax it. They are not visible on a sunny day. Car looks great in daylight. I also worked in a body shop for a few years and am not green behind the ears. I am not washing the car every day. The old Corvettes had the same problem but for a different reason. I think ZZSPORTZZ has the same understanding.

Until you try to properly polish a small section to see if the marring disappears , you can not rule out surface marring. "Every" new vehicle that rolls off the lot has some degree of marring from dealer prep. I'm even more certain it is surface marring after you said you saw another new car on the lot with the same marring. It doesn't matter if it's a BMW dealership or a Kia dealership, inexperienced people with time constraints only adds up to a bad result.

Hey, if you are happy using cotton rags and they give you acceptable results then thats great. I find the only cotton that performs to an acceptable level for me is Jersey knit, but it has almost no absorption properties. Soft black paint that has been jeweled to perfection will be marred by every cloth besides a quality microfiber. Close inspection under intense lighting is how I evaluate my work, and microfiber is the only one that performs to an acceptable level for me.

Please keep us up to date on your paint issue. I am very interested in the cause of this.

[blackbird]

BTW I use my nice white Brazil cotton bath towels. One of the bennies of not being married. Anyway, took some photos, went to dealership. They will contact Nissan. Went to their body shop. They saw the scratches but did not have the right stuff fix it. The dealership has their own detail guy but he wasn't around. Went to a local detail guy. Evidently this is on a lot of cars. I did not have this on my 1991 Black 300ZXTT. The next set of cars were Blue and had no scratches. Detail guy said he could get them out but with the paint they use these days, he thought they would come back. I'll have to see what the dealer detail guy has to say. I know on some other threads, they had the scratches , dealer or outside detailer fixed it. Some people have done it themselves. I can see the stuff under the saran wrap up front. I know what I do isn't doing anything and it annoy the heck out of me if this is done by some clean up type prior to shipping. I'll continue this saga when I talk to the service manager and detailer.

[hide187]

Swirls all over your car?? I have thems too bro. Black Z as well...let me know what happens. I went back to the lot and EVERY black car on their lot has the "swirls" all over thems.