Hell maintaining any Nissan of any color since 2000 is a Bi*tch! Like the guys said almost everytime you wash it you find a new paint issue.....on the door, hood, fender etc. My Max is the same way.......horrible.

Maintaining ANY black car is a full time job! ;)

I had a a Black BMW that I washed twice a week because I didn't have a garage.

I will never buy anohter black car!

Yeah, this is the worst paint I've seen on ANY car. Period!

I was helping a friend touch up a chip on her 2008 Honda Accord and was so pissed that the paint was 200000x better than mine. Another friend's 2003 Mercedes with 90k miles has fewer paint chips than mine and NO blemishes. :shakes head:

Nissan's are known to have very soft and thin clear coats. The GT-R actually has a badge that states this paint is extremely hard...that that is the exception. Compared to Chevy (which uses an above average hard clear), it's crazy! I have a Cobalt before my Z and my Dad owns a C6 Vette. The Vette has a clear that is super hard. That's why you're seeing so much of a difference with your Z as compared to your Vette. The problem with hard clears is that they are a pain to correct sometimes.

Don't get a clear bra...it will turn yellow overtime and anything that is big enough to damage the bra will just go through and embed itself into the paint. Find a good detailer that knows what they're doing with a rotary and have them maintain it. A good sealant will last you a good 5 weeks or so depending on the elements and will protect against the bird bombs, water etching, etc.

I think the key is just to resign yourself to the fact that the paint sucks and don't fret about all of the imperfections. Just keep it looking as good as you can and don't let anyone get closer than 5 feet away from your car!

All I did for example Zday was use Blue Painter Tape. I can tell you that it did it job, so far I have not found anything from that trip.

Is a little time consuming but is worth if you don't have a OEM bra or clear 3M bra. I only spent like $13.00 in Lowe's for the tape and used it for the roundtrip.

We also space ourselves at least 1 1/2 car in between us.

I use this from time to time for long freeway trips... Protective Film : New Car Paint Protection : Paint Protector : Automobile Paint Protection : BuyRoadWrap.com

It's a temporary wrap that works pretty well. I'm not saying it looks good, but it does what it's supposed to. Much quicker to apply than painter's tape.

Regarding auto paint, in general...the industry has got to come up with a better clear. I realize there are EPA restrictions they must contend with, but the paints today are just too fragile. I remember my father telling me that back in the good old days, you rarely got a paint chip (of course, those paints were lead based). But, with all the advanced chemistry today, they must be able to come up with a tougher paint. Paint chips suck.

It can't be the industry as a whole, though, because almost every other manufacturer out there has paint and clear at least 10 times superior to Nissan's. The paint on my dad's 2005 Chrysler, my sister's 2002 Mustang, and our beater 1997 Buick is BETTER than the 2009 370Z! It's pretty wild.

Exactly! And look at some of the foreign cars such as Audi and BMW. They use a ceramic clear and is extremely hard. Even those gets chips and scratches though.

What does something like that cost at a good shop?

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.