I have seen 6 cars at Southpoint Nissan in Austin and 5 of them (not a white one) had orange peel. I think it is a problem for most 350zs. I get mine in December. Hope it looks ok.

 

Yes Nissan paint has always had problems. I couldnt believe it today upon careful inspection, i actually got a nick on the hood of the car (already this early!) .. i was really heartbroken to see her already nicked with only 200 miles on the odo. I have been only doing city driving and avoiding gravel or big trucks or even driving fast. I dont even remember when or where it could have happened, and its really frustrating .. its about 15 inches north of the passenger side xenon light on the hood on my daytona blue Z.

I am going to get the 3M Clear Bra put on as early as possible because Ive heard a lot of horror stories, and now experienced first-hand the quality of Nissan paint jobs.

I recommend everyone be very careful with your paint job and i recommend getting a clear bra put on as soon as a company comes out with one for the Z.

 

what's a "orange peel"

 

nissan has ALWAYS had OK paint jobs. Look at every hardbody/sentra/maxima/xterra etc. on the road. Horrible...unless of course you know how to take care of it.

 

I noticed orange peel on the rear bumper of a pre-production 350Z (Daytona Blue) but not on the rest of the vehicle. I was hoping it would not be present on the production cars.

 

Someone please describe orange peel......thanks

 

You know what the surface of an orange looks like? Well imagine the paint on your new Z looks like that.

There has been alot more of it recently due to the regulation of enviormentally harmful hydrocarbons in paint.

 

OK.....sort of bumpy......thanks for the post TRACK_350Z

 

In many cases it is only visible in certain lighting conditions.

 

Which color would tend to show the "orange peel "more ?What can we do to protect the paint jobs on the cars ?

 

My friend's Spec V had lots too.

I don't believe orange peel has anything directly to do with paint wear. My current "orange peel" Nissans still look great after 10 years, although I have no rust either due to our climate. The cars do sit in super strong sunlight day after day though. And one of them is black. Still no signs of fade.

I do agree though that Honda and Toyota do a better job. And it does seem that more of Nissan's newer cars suffer more than the usual amount. Another cost cutting measure I'm sure.

 

I noticed 'orange peel' on a CS Z as well. I was not going to comment as I thought new owners were going to feel bad and I did not want to be the bearer of the bad news! Now that is out, well, it's out.

This is where the difference comes in between a Nissan product and a Porsche product as an example. You wonder why the price difference, well part of it is the fit and finnish. The paint jobs on a Boxter is just perfect and it shows!

The ONLY car I ever saw from Japan with a truly excellent paint job was my NSX. But then again, the price is considerably higher.

<b>So, my question for the experts, can this be professionally buffed out? Is the orange peel in the clear coat or the base color coat?</b>

I always wondered!

 

As a follow-up question, will enough layers of a polymer sealant mask the effect to some degree?

 

This is scary!! Please... paint experts give us some advice how to prevent this if at all possible!

 

Thankfully no "orange peel" on my Orange Beauty!

 

I don't think there is anything you can do to "prevent" orange peel. It is just the way the car is painted from the factory. It comes like that, so you can't prevent anything. I think it has to do with a less than stellar paint and maturation process.

-Gish

 

The newer paints and processes allow for more texture. This is the state of the world and not a "flaw". Du Pont used to list it as a 'trend' (like everyone will be wanting it) in their profiles to manufacturers over 15 years ago.
Low/ no volatiles and hardeners/ modified polymers mean that unless it's custom or painted in a country not aware of environmental issues, this is about the best you can get.
A good detailer can help by carefully 'claying' the car after the paint is completely set.

 

How bad does this "orange peeling" get exactly? I haven't witnessed it personally. What other cars are common for it? Anyone got pics?

 

I have had this on custom painted cars in the past (i.e. XJ!@L with a chevy). The answer was to wait untill the paint had fully hardened (3-4 weeks after painting even with the catlyists) then have it professionall buffed out, followed by the wax treatment of your choice. This gave me a show quality finish.