2010 370Z clear coat paint problems???

Sandra Dee · 08-04-2010, 12:25 PM

has anyone out there have probs with their paint on this year's model? I have small round areas on trunk and hood that a few body shops have told me is possibly tree sap contaminants that has eaten thru and cracked clear coat-maybe thru to paint. These body shops are telling me the only way to fix this is to repaint the car.

i dont have trees at my house and the car is under cover at night-in a garage by day.
the clear coat adjuster is telling me they will pay to sand off the clear coat and re clear coat it-but not repaint it. Does this ever look good????

the car was purchased in april and has 1900 miles on it.

lllll210lllll · 08-04-2010, 02:14 PM

everyone!

370Z_Fan · 08-04-2010, 05:43 PM

I have a couple of small clear coat bubbles on the rear bumper. The body shop manager suggested not to repaint, even though I could request for a repaint under warranty. He said the heat caused the clear coat to bubble and that it could settle with cooler temperatures. I don't know if he was BSing me but he said it's hard to match factory paint jobs and he also said that they would probably have to repaint the rear bumper a couple of times before I would be satisfied. I'm still thinking about it because it's not noticeable, it's way down the rear bumper just in front the rear tire on the driver's side. You'd have to know where it is to see it. Has anyone noticed the clear coat and paint on the 370Zs are relatively soft? I was detailing my car the other day and I accidently put too much pressure on the paint and it left a "scratch" mark with the cloth. Of course I should have not have used my finger nail to detail the tight spot but used an old toothbrush instead. Lesson learned ... the hard way.

BeachZTT · 08-04-2010, 06:05 PM

I don't have any issues yet but I will be watching. I have heard that the clearcoat is soft and my limited experience with it so far would seem as such. When I bought it I asked that it not be detailed because I was afraid what they would do to the clear. There were already water spot circles on the hood (could not be removed by washing) from sitting on the lot. I removed them carefully with a non abrasive polish by hand. Currently, there aren't any other blemishes that I am aware of.

That being said, matching a brand new paint job should not be difficult for any quality shop. The spoiler that I purchased matches perfectly to my Black Cherry paint and was pre-painted when it came in.

If I had/have defects that were covered under warranty, they would/will be fixing them... until they got it right. I still have the majority of the original paint on my 21 year old TwinTurbo and even though it is far from perfect, it has held up very well. There is really no excuse for paint defects out of the gate with the paint and application technology available today.

Sandra Dee · 08-05-2010, 01:46 PM

today i took the car to another body shop-this guy said the car should be repainted-that the paint and clear coat is soft-thin. He said that no body shop can match the hardness of factory paint becase there they can bake it on with higher temps since the car is not assembled yet. His paint would be softer. So-frustrated now with all this and my car has been in a garage/under a custom car cover too-i went to the dealer. I drove to the 370Z 's and started looking at the paint-they all had hard water spots and swirls. But i did not see any bubbles. then my salesguy came out-End result>I left the car there for the boss who is flying in tomorrow so he can see it. I want at the least the whole car repainted. Better thing would be if they exchanged this car for a new one.

BeachZTT · 08-05-2010, 02:25 PM

Best of luck! I hope they find a resolution that meet you satisfaction. Please keep us informed of you progress.

rudi · 08-05-2010, 07:08 PM

I found bird droppings leave marks on the clear-coat similar to what you describe. Particularly if the bird has the runs, it tends to leave all these tiny bubbles in the clear which won't come off.

mojo · 08-07-2010, 04:44 AM

had spots on the hood .dealer put on brand new hood

Hootie · 08-07-2010, 07:14 AM

I have a few lines on the back of the car that I showed the dealer when I bought it. He said that it is the clear coat. They are going to try and buff it out. If it doesn't come out.....They will be painting it. I'm surprised that so many of us are finding this. Did they produce too many at once? I have a 40th edition I found out yesterday that I got number 812 of the 1000. If anyone figures out this clear coat thing....... give a pm.

ZRoland · 08-09-2010, 10:31 AM

Soft coatings on a surface tha is observed at random on the surface is due to uncatalyzed or undercured coating. Improper mixing or curing will produce such a coating phenomena. the coating utilized by Nissan should have been tested for surface and evironmental testing to determine the durability of the coating they are using. I would go back to Nissan and have them fix this problem. My 2 cemts.

flashburn · 08-09-2010, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandra Dee

has anyone out there have probs with their paint on this year's model? I have small round areas on trunk and hood that a few body shops have told me is possibly tree sap contaminants that has eaten thru and cracked clear coat-maybe thru to paint. These body shops are telling me the only way to fix this is to repaint the car.

i dont have trees at my house and the car is under cover at night-in a garage by day.
the clear coat adjuster is telling me they will pay to sand off the clear coat and re clear coat it-but not repaint it. Does this ever look good????

the car was purchased in april and has 1900 miles on it.

I had similar issues with my paint. There were problems between the paint and the clearcoat. Ultimately they repainted it and it came out better looking than the 370Z's with factory paint jobs that they had. Pretty much all of them had imperfections under the clearcoat (seen under a ton of fluorescent lights), but nothing as bad as my car.

If you do a search on my threads you'll see my epic story about it.

Sandra Dee · 08-09-2010, 01:34 PM

going to "tour" the shop where they are going to repaint the car...the owner told me he will email me pics of the process so I can rest assured the car is getting painted properly...
this whole thing has stressed me out...a new car with this price tag should not have to be repainted at three months of age. I know no matter what they say-the value of the car will go down.

BeachZTT · 08-10-2010, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandra Dee

going to "tour" the shop where they are going to repaint the car...the owner told me he will email me pics of the process so I can rest assured the car is getting painted properly...
this whole thing has stressed me out...a new car with this price tag should not have to be repainted at three months of age. I know no matter what they say-the value of the car will go down.

Hang in there. You may be happier with the repaint than those of us without (so far at least). It is at least encouraging to me that they are willing to paint the whole car "properly".

flashburn · 08-10-2010, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandra Dee

going to "tour" the shop where they are going to repaint the car...the owner told me he will email me pics of the process so I can rest assured the car is getting painted properly...
this whole thing has stressed me out...a new car with this price tag should not have to be repainted at three months of age. I know no matter what they say-the value of the car will go down.

If you haven't already gotten it, you should see if you can get a maintenance contract as compensation. It's the least they owe you. I got a 3 year maintenance contract for the headaches that I dealt with getting my car repainted.

Joebarchuck · 08-16-2010, 02:33 PM

The paint seems fragile, my Z came with a few major scratches and the dealer is repainting the car. I checked all the roadster Z on the lot and all of them had some scratches but none of the maxima's or other cars I checked had them which makes me think there is an issue with the factory Z paint.

08-04-2010, 12:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
Sandra Dee Base Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NC Posts: 215 Drives: 370ZRdstr BLK Cherry Rep Power: 15	2010 370Z clear coat paint problems??? has anyone out there have probs with their paint on this year's model? I have small round areas on trunk and hood that a few body shops have told me is possibly tree sap contaminants that has eaten thru and cracked clear coat-maybe thru to paint. These body shops are telling me the only way to fix this is to repaint the car. i dont have trees at my house and the car is under cover at night-in a garage by day. the clear coat adjuster is telling me they will pay to sand off the clear coat and re clear coat it-but not repaint it. Does this ever look good???? the car was purchased in april and has 1900 miles on it.

08-04-2010, 05:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
370Z_Fan Base Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 238 Drives: 2010 MB ZR sport pkg Rep Power: 16	I have a couple of small clear coat bubbles on the rear bumper. The body shop manager suggested not to repaint, even though I could request for a repaint under warranty. He said the heat caused the clear coat to bubble and that it could settle with cooler temperatures. I don't know if he was BSing me but he said it's hard to match factory paint jobs and he also said that they would probably have to repaint the rear bumper a couple of times before I would be satisfied. I'm still thinking about it because it's not noticeable, it's way down the rear bumper just in front the rear tire on the driver's side. You'd have to know where it is to see it. Has anyone noticed the clear coat and paint on the 370Zs are relatively soft? I was detailing my car the other day and I accidently put too much pressure on the paint and it left a "scratch" mark with the cloth. Of course I should have not have used my finger nail to detail the tight spot but used an old toothbrush instead. Lesson learned ... the hard way. Last edited by 370Z_Fan; 08-04-2010 at 05:48 PM.

08-04-2010, 06:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
BeachZTT Track Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Colorado Posts: 746 Drives: '10 BC ZR T/S/Nav Rep Power: 16	I don't have any issues yet but I will be watching. I have heard that the clearcoat is soft and my limited experience with it so far would seem as such. When I bought it I asked that it not be detailed because I was afraid what they would do to the clear. There were already water spot circles on the hood (could not be removed by washing) from sitting on the lot. I removed them carefully with a non abrasive polish by hand. Currently, there aren't any other blemishes that I am aware of. That being said, matching a brand new paint job should not be difficult for any quality shop. The spoiler that I purchased matches perfectly to my Black Cherry paint and was pre-painted when it came in. If I had/have defects that were covered under warranty, they would/will be fixing them... until they got it right. I still have the majority of the original paint on my 21 year old TwinTurbo and even though it is far from perfect, it has held up very well. There is really no excuse for paint defects out of the gate with the paint and application technology available today. __________________ '10 ZR Black Cherry Sport/Touring/Nav, Swift Springs, Stillen G3s, 15mm-F 20mm-R Spacers, SPC, Spoiler Solutions Rear Wing, Stubby Antenna

08-05-2010, 01:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
Sandra Dee Base Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NC Posts: 215 Drives: 370ZRdstr BLK Cherry Rep Power: 15	update-bubbles in clear coat/paint today i took the car to another body shop-this guy said the car should be repainted-that the paint and clear coat is soft-thin. He said that no body shop can match the hardness of factory paint becase there they can bake it on with higher temps since the car is not assembled yet. His paint would be softer. So-frustrated now with all this and my car has been in a garage/under a custom car cover too-i went to the dealer. I drove to the 370Z 's and started looking at the paint-they all had hard water spots and swirls. But i did not see any bubbles. then my salesguy came out-End result>I left the car there for the boss who is flying in tomorrow so he can see it. I want at the least the whole car repainted. Better thing would be if they exchanged this car for a new one.

08-05-2010, 02:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
BeachZTT Track Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Colorado Posts: 746 Drives: '10 BC ZR T/S/Nav Rep Power: 16	Best of luck! I hope they find a resolution that meet you satisfaction. Please keep us informed of you progress. __________________ '10 ZR Black Cherry Sport/Touring/Nav, Swift Springs, Stillen G3s, 15mm-F 20mm-R Spacers, SPC, Spoiler Solutions Rear Wing, Stubby Antenna

08-04-2010, 02:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
lllll210lllll Base Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Antonio, TX Age: 37 Posts: 167 Drives: 2010 370z Rep Power: 14	everyone!

08-05-2010, 07:08 PM	#7 (permalink)
rudi Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 306 Drives: 370Z Australian Spec Rep Power: 15	I found bird droppings leave marks on the clear-coat similar to what you describe. Particularly if the bird has the runs, it tends to leave all these tiny bubbles in the clear which won't come off.

08-07-2010, 04:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
mojo Base Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: hahira ga Posts: 2 Drives: 2010 roadster Rep Power: 14	had spots on the hood .dealer put on brand new hood

08-07-2010, 07:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
Hootie Base Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Belcamp, Md Posts: 60 Drives: 370Z 40th Anniv. Rep Power: 14	I have a few lines on the back of the car that I showed the dealer when I bought it. He said that it is the clear coat. They are going to try and buff it out. If it doesn't come out.....They will be painting it. I'm surprised that so many of us are finding this. Did they produce too many at once? I have a 40th edition I found out yesterday that I got number 812 of the 1000. If anyone figures out this clear coat thing....... give a pm.

08-09-2010, 10:31 AM	#10 (permalink)
ZRoland Base Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Dallas/Arkansas Posts: 120 Drives: 2010 370Z Roadster Rep Power: 14	Soft coatings on a surface tha is observed at random on the surface is due to uncatalyzed or undercured coating. Improper mixing or curing will produce such a coating phenomena. the coating utilized by Nissan should have been tested for surface and evironmental testing to determine the durability of the coating they are using. I would go back to Nissan and have them fix this problem. My 2 cemts.

08-09-2010, 01:34 PM	#12 (permalink)
Sandra Dee Base Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NC Posts: 215 Drives: 370ZRdstr BLK Cherry Rep Power: 15	going to "tour" the shop where they are going to repaint the car...the owner told me he will email me pics of the process so I can rest assured the car is getting painted properly... this whole thing has stressed me out...a new car with this price tag should not have to be repainted at three months of age. I know no matter what they say-the value of the car will go down.

08-16-2010, 02:33 PM	#15 (permalink)
Joebarchuck Base Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 202 Drives: 2010 370Z Roadster Rep Power: 14	The paint seems fragile, my Z came with a few major scratches and the dealer is repainting the car. I checked all the roadster Z on the lot and all of them had some scratches but none of the maxima's or other cars I checked had them which makes me think there is an issue with the factory Z paint. __________________ Red 2010 370Z Roadster: Stillen G3, Stillen Exhaust, Up-Rev Tune (312 RWHP), Eibach Pro Springs, 20mm spacers front and back, Rear Camber Kit, Tinted Windows, GT-R Start Button, Interior Mods

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