How well did your Black Z paint hold up?
 

Getting ready to make a purchase by month end. Torn between PG and MB. Love the black but wondering how black holds over time. Some black nissans I see look really trashed after a year. Faded ect.. Anyone with a year old Black 370 or older 350 have any comments? Also, any comments on black car care products would be appreciated.
Thanks!

A better thing to do would be to ask this on a 350z board, since even the oldest 370z's are only just over a year old and paint issues won't show up that fast (except chips, dings, etc)

The comments here have not been pretty....

black on any car usually shows paint chips and swirls more predominantly than other colors, if i'd have to choose between the two, i'd go with the PG, but of course, Red is the best.

You should be ok if you take care of it and get a clear bra to prevent most chips up front.

I have a Black Magnetic Z, purchased end of Jan 2010. Let me tell you, I can scratch the paint just by staring at the car, man.

It looks great on the road, i get a lot of compliments. There are a couple of rock chips on the front bumper, so I paid and got a clear bra. no rock chips since.

I park the Z in my own garage so half of the time, it's protected from the elements. If you have your own garage then i say get black. If not, i would get a PG. Also if you intend on getting a clear bra then go with black, otherwise, go with PG.

Black looks sharper than PG. Chicks can't take their eyes off my black Z on the freeway. i love it.

Every time I see a PG Z, I think I should trade mine in for a PG w 6MT...

But I'd lose my butt on it, so I think otherwise within a few minutes.

In any case, the Z is great. I can always get it repainted too...after having it a year (well, in 3 months), maybe I can get over it being a "new" car, and lose some OCD issues...

I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about. I don't even have a clearbra and my paint is in showroom condition. You just gotta know how to take care of the finish well. I always use 2-bucket wash method with a grit guard on the rinse bucket. I use a microfiber sponge, Meguiars NXT soap, and a 100% cotton towel for the finished areas and a regular clean rag for the door jams/hatch jams/gas filler area/hood jam, etc. Just follow the normal wash precautions. You know, wash from top to bottom, leave the sideskirts and bottom parts of the bumpers for last. Dry the windows first to get the towel a bit wet so it does not scratch the clearcoat. Do not do anything in a circular motion. Just use some common sense and you'll be fine. I drive on the fwy a lot and i try not to follow closely behind big trucks. I keep a good distance at all times to make sure rocks don't chip the paint. So far, i've been on the money and have zero chips and very very very minor swirls. It's pretty much in the exact same condition as i bought it.

^ New York conditions arent too generous on our cars here

i understand that it may take an extra effort but definitely nothing out of the ordinary. I've seen plenty of NY cars that are daily driven kept in great condition. I guess it's because they were the people i learned from in terms of paint maintenance and they were one anal group of ppl haha.

I got a black Z and have almost had it for a year now and really no major issues with the paint. Loving the color and totally looks awesome since I color matched the door handles and tinted all the windows. All the colors will get rock chips and swirl marks because of the quality of the paint. But, I say if your concerned do what these guys tell you and get the clear bra. As for myself I maintain a car wash every week or two and have it waxed every once in a while. I haven't got the time to post up any pictures yet. Just watch out for the bird droppings as it easily eats thru the clear coat and leaves blemishes which are noticable in the Magetic black paint.

-Ed-

Right on. The bird droppings will eat thru the clearcoat in like 10 minutes on a hot summer day.

How to Ruin Paint on a Car


1.
Don’t wash your car. Dirt and mud will scratch the paint and dull the finish.
2.
Throw eggs on your car. Egg throwing is especially common on Halloween night, when pranksters find humor in throwing eggs at the passing cars. Left on the car’s surface, the egg damages the paint.
3.
Cover your driveway with salt on snowy days, to encourage the snow to melt. When the salt gets on your vehicle, it will corrode the paint.
4.
Drive around in the rain, in a high pollution area. The acid in the rain will cause damage.
5.
Live in a rainy and snowy climate. Being exposed to long periods of wet climate will speed up the rusting process.
6.
Don’t wax your car. Properly waxing your car will protect the paint.
7.
Park under a tree, where the sap and bird droppings can drop on the paint.
8.
Park in the sun, to speed up the oxidation process.
9.
Drive fast on rocky roads or roads where road maintenance is under way. Rocks will fly up and chip your paint, and road tar will affix to the car’s body.
10.
Don’t park in a carport or garage. Parking outdoors will speed the overall deterioration of your vehicle’s paint job.
11.
Spill different types of liquids on your car, and don’t immediately wash off. Many liquids contain ingredients that can eat away at the paint.

^^ Or…don’t drive it!

No offense, but if you actually drive your car then you def have a few nicks or scratches, you just aren't seeing them. There hasn't been a magnetic black car on this board yet to my knowledge that hasn't had some type of nick or scratch no matter how small.

looks absolutely awesome but it is hard to keep that way

just fixed all my chips with the paint pen

black sharpie does the job too.

Cool, thanks for telling me how my car looks from 3000 miles away. You sure are gifted.

If you think your car looks good, turn off the lights and take a picture with a camera that has a flash.

Instant "WTF"...

And it won't matter how clean it looks...it will fail this test every time.

haha never heard of that one before. ill try it sometime.

ownership exactly 1 year to date. 8,000 miles in 1 year. Below average driving for a normal person I think.

At night my car has a roof over its head but its not a full garage only a metal car port. Its exposed to the elements essentialy. No walls around to close it in.

Paint still looks great. I have chips, i have very very fine scratches. You would have those things with any color i think. I have taken great care to keep my car "sealed" and clean so it still looks like brand new paint.

I had a black 350Z for 4.5 years, and I was the first owner. I had no complaints about the paint until I moved to Vegas for 2 years from San Diego. Needless to say, the front bumper and lower hood suffered from massive rock/sand chips. The rest of the car was in great condition. I always kept a coat of wax on the car. The way I did it was, get a professional wax job every 2-3 months, and I ran it through a touchless car wash with their so called "wax polish" (which usually cost the most) every 1-2 weeks. My car always looked clean and shiny.

I always say, buy 2 of them (same trim and color). Drive one hard everywhere (dirt roads included), keep the other one parked, and when you feel like looking at the paint just look at the parked one and do an engine swap when the time comes!

carwash every two weeks? pro wax every 2 months? you are either obsessive or filthy rich.

Magnetic Black user checking in --- Paint is terrible. I think I've posted this in like at least 20 posts haha. Worst paint I've ever had on any car. Still love the car to death, but a loud fart will scratch it. You literally have to run out of your house/building/work place to wash bird sh1t off of it in 10 mins, or it will stain the clear coat. The car looks awesome 10+ feet away. Standing right on top of it on a sunny day, not so much. I've had the car for over a year......

I have had mine for a year and two months. cleans up as good as new. I haven't noticed any unusually easy scratching ,etc. A few rock chips maybe. I do wax it with Zaino every now and then and that keeps the water spots away and protects against bird poop I suppose because I've had bird poop on it and no blemishes.

I got a PG.... Really looks nice still (as it should). Have had a couple chips from rocks, etc.... but the color really holds up nice... I get A LOT of compliments on the color too!

Although I have not had the car all that long, i will contend that the paint is a damn sight better than the Subaru I got rid of to get the Z, Now that was some crappy paint. when it had 3000 km' s on it, I was already contemplating a repaint.

I've used my 3000 psi pressure washer on my MB paint several times. Guess what? The paint is still on the car! Imagine that. I don't find anything wrong with the paint other than normal wear and tear after 19K kms.. Maybe the Zaino is protecting it?

The actual paint on mine actually isn't too bad, I just have a few chips on the hood/fender area that I need to touch up. These just come with the territory when you get black though I guess.

I've had my black Z for 10k miles and 14 months. It shows a few swirls has a few spots in the clear coat where birds sh*t on it, but overall I'm very satisfied with the paint. And I like to bitch, so that's saying something.

Thanks all for the input, very helpful. Think Im going with the PG. Dont need any added stress! Greatly appreciate the input.