I'm with you. I've got a lot of rock chips and sh*t but that's from the track primarily. Other than that the swirl marks (which of course will never be noticable like on a black car) are easily resolved with a good waxing every now and then.

Should've spent the extra $500 for our yellow super paint! :p

Cars are meant to be driven. Wear the chips and nicks with pride.

I agree, I had my old lady Toyota RAV4 for almost 4 years without any front protection and when I got rid off it a few weeks ago that paint looked almost brand new.

Few scratches and rock chips here and there for trips like to Florida 3 times, DC and daily driving, plus was not garaged.

But like m4a1mustang said, learn to live with it and try to take care of the car as much as possible.

I owned a 1995 Lexus SC300. When I traded that car on my 2006 350 it still looked brand new. I drive the same interstate daily to work, a lot of 18 wheelers and road construction. The Lexus front end had almost no chips........ after one year the 350 looked like it had been shot with a shotgun :shakes head: Because of the 350 experience, I immediately got a clearbra on the 370, and it has been a life saver. The bumper looks almost brand new, only two small spots where something VERY large obviously made impact. I agree with whoever posted that fact that with todays technology, they should be able to make a durable clear that also passes EPA muster :ugh2:

yo ive had my car since January and drove it through one of the worst winters we've ever had

i have one scratch/ding from a rock that would've done the same to any car.

I also notice I haven't seen anyone with PG paint complain about this. Wondering if there is a link there.

I have platinum graphite as well, drove 1100 miles from Houston to Naples Florida. I have only found 2 rock chips in the front, everything else looks great. Platinum Graphite is one of the best colors for a car I have ever owned. Im glad I switched from black at the last minute.

True, some are better than others, but none of them wear all that well. When comparing paint quality/durability, one must consider how much frontal area is painted, how low the painted panels go, etc. The very low portions (front spoilers, side sills, etc.) are especially vulnerable.

Someone mentioned the Corvette's hard clear. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much for stone chips, IME. The painted area around my old C6 Z06's rear brake ducts got chipped up pretty good within a month. My pop's new Camaro (6 months old) has numerous chips (I'm assuming the clear is the same as the Corvette's). The Camaro hood is pretty flat, and it's already showing some chipping, which is surprising.

I guess it's just something we have to accept, these days. The only options are not driving the car (ridiculous) or installing a clear bra.

Lol, could not have said it it better myself...lol.

Sorry if it seems like I'm complaining guys, but almost every time I go to wash my car, I find some new imperfection. For instance, I just found a scratch on the top of the trunk lid (no clue how it got there) and another blemish on the hood. It's just very frustrating. I'm almost considering taking it to a professional to touch up everything and then installing the clear bra. I've heard some mixed results about the bra though.

Well there is your problem! Washing the car, remember 5 feet away everything looks perfect... PROBLEM SOLVED!!

40th Paint
 

I have the darker 40th graphite paint and its done pretty well considerinng the car has 1300 miles on it. The front bumper tho is rediculous. So many impact marks. Thankfully the hood and fenders are still good. I have two chips on the pass fender where it angles to the hood about half way between windshield and headlight. No idea how they got there. I think i took delivery with it like that but I dont have a leg to stand on since I dove it away without noticing or saying anything.

AEF

:icon18:

SC or West Virginia?

You def aren't the only one man. Like others have said, there have been many threads opened regarding this. Just one of those things you have to live with whenyou have this car I guess.

I know you were making a general statement, but just wanted to point out that EPA rules don't apply to the Z because it's made in Japan, not the USA.

I knew going in what to expect from the paint so i just don't worry about it.
Mine is monterey blue which i think doesn't show as many imperfections.
I know i will get flamed for this but i put on a factory nissan bra before the car had a 1000 miles on it,it fits perfect gives me piece of mind and when i sell or traded up one day maybe it will have more resell value.IMHO

You sure about that? The car is sold here and will ultimately get crushed here. You never know where the paint will end up if it's no longer intact. Then there's recycling issues. They got rid of lead paints for a reason.

I don't know for sure, but just because the car isn't made here doesn't mean our government restrictions don't apply in some way. Just like those kids toys from China with the poisonous paint or whatever...they had to change the paint or stop selling them here.

I don't know enough about international trade laws to really comment on it. What I do know is, of the cars I've owned, none were especially resilient to stone damage. That includes American, Japanese and German cars.

I brought my PG straight home from the dealership, washed and cream waxed the nose, front fenders, roof and tail. Then, two days later I wrapped it in painters tape and took it to Zdayz. So far, care and feeding of my 40th has paid off. Does it take work? Yes... Did I wait for someone to tell me to find a good micro fiber mit, or to wash it carefully, or to wash bird shiz off my car before it ate into the paint? no... Common sense car care will prevent most of the issues discussed here.

BTW 90 % of rock chips are the result of following too close at highway speeds

Just sayin...

I have PG and have owned it since December and have driven it most every day. Had clear bra put on after about a month. It's been washed over 30 times and I don't have any marring in the paint what so ever. Well, those damn B-pillars are marred, but will have CF ones very soon. I wash with a foam gun and a 100% sheep skin wash mitt and rinse bucket, the best method by the way if you don't want marring. I have one rock chip on the door from a massive rock a car spit out at me as it drove by. So far the paint has been one of the best I've had. I also operate my own detailing business, so I have seen many cars over the years, and can say the paint on this car is very average in comparison. I have have spot polish one other 370 (blue) and the paint seemed to be about the same hardness. I feel for everyone who is having such a tough time with their paint. From what I've been reading hear it seems most people would truly benefit from a proper wash program, especially the people with black cars, it will help with the marring issue.

Congrats on keeping your paint in good shape, but you are definitely an exception to the rule. I've used proper washing/waxing methods since day 1 and haven't been able to avoid chips and the like.

So how much would it cost to have the whole car resprayed with a hard clear coat? And would it look ok?

I had a clear bra installed on my car immediately after picking it up from the dealership. I was never a fan of how they look, but it is worth it. I only have one small chip in the middle of the roof and that's it. 3300 miles and a 8hr road trip later. Swirling and such can be controlled like others have said with proper washing techniques. Invest in a Porter cable dual action buffer and you can keep the scratches and such under control .

A tip! On the freeway travelling at 100km/h you should drive approx 50 metres or so back from the front car to minimise chips.

For us in the US that is about 60 MPH. :D

I do not know the name of the devise. But there is an instrument that is used, to measure the thickness of paint on cars. Out of curiosity! I would like to know/ compare the thickness of the 370 paint, compared to other cars*!

*except the GTR, I believe it has multiple coats of clear coat & paint!

It's called a PTG (Paint Thickness Guage).

Here is a great one for not too much money!

Paint Meter, Paint Gauge, Paint Gage - HighLineMeter.com

How do you wash/wax the car with the sections of clear bra on it? Do you even wax the section?

You can correct a clear bra with machine polishing, you just can't use too much heat or be too aggressive.

Like already mentioned it's a paint thickness gauge. I've owned one for many years and measure every paint job I work on. The Z is 4.5-5 mills thick. This is an average thickness, and I also find, for my car, it's an average hardness. But, I would like to mention that from my personal experience, no two paint jobs are alike in hardness even for the same model of car. Here is an example; I polished two 2006 BMW 545i's. One black and one silver. The black colored BMW had very soft paint where the silver one had rock hard paint :confused:. Neither one was a repaint, as they were new, and they measured the same thickness, give or take a fraction of a mill. I see this all the time. So some of us are bound to have soft clear coats while others, like myself, will have harder clear coats. It's just the nature of the paint process. This is not a new topic, we have discussed this on the Autopia detailing site for years to no avail. All I can say is, if your one of the unlucky ones with a soft paint job, you better invest in a clear bra and a "PROPER" wash program. Good luck.

You should regularly seal the clear bra with a polymer sealant. Polymer based products are generally better than wax for plastic. Be very carful if you polish the clear bra. I'm not saying you can't polish it, it just very delicate and you need to use a very mild abrasive with a mild process. That means a soft pad on low speed with a mild polish. Rotary polishers are not recommended.