When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Obvious preamble: I hope I'm putting this in the right place! School me if required. I just officially acquired a Z that my dad bought new in 2007. He's not driving anymore () so now it's mine. Background: It's been parked outside, and in 2008 he got clobbered in the left rear quarter by a big honkin' pickup and spun 360. The car was very nearly totaled, but it was new enough that it got fixed - very well - by a local skilled body shop. At least the back half of the car was resprayed, quite possibly more (it's been a while; I'm not positive). My dad has a bit of the curmudgeon in him so he pretty much never waxed / washed the car while he was driving it regularly; the last couple of years I've been driving it and have tried to do careful wash and wax jobs when I can, but it's not too often as I have my own business and a family.
In the past few years, I've noticed it starting to haze on the roof; the hazing then gradually spread to other panels and recently seems to have accelerated, hitting the hood and the top edges of the doors, too. It's not an even haze; it's splotchy (see pics, if the forum will allow them). If I wax it with a good paste wax (Meguiars Gold Class seems the best so far) it looks great... for about a week.
My buddy is good with detailing and we hit the roof and hatch with some polish. It looked perfect! For two hours. Then the haze came back.
The surface of the clear is absolutely perfect and glassy-smooth to the touch, with no roughness or evidence of occlusions. The paint looks good in the shade and horrid in the sun.
I'm planning on taking it back to the body shop that did the fix to see what they say, but I figured I'd see if anyone here has experienced a paint issue like this. I also strongly suspect that even factory-finished panels are affected, because I'm fairly sure they wouldn't have needed to respray the hood. The fact that buffing didn't fix it suggests to me it's going to need at the very least to be re-cleared, but I find it really bizarre that a surface treatment (wax) will temporarily assuage what is apparently an under-surface problem, and I'd like to understand more about what's going on, even if I can't fix it immediately.
Any advice is appreciated. My dad and I both race (full blown race cars; my dad raced at a semi-pro level in IMSA and the SCCA) and this is the last car he bought and the last car he tracked. Aside from the paint the car is nearly flawless (a bunch of trim ought to be replaced as it's dried out), with an almost perfect interior and only 34k miles. I want to keep it the way he had it, and keep it nice!
Welcome, and thanks for asking a few questions and giving some details. First off, this question would be better off listed in the "350Z Maintenance and Repair" segment and perhaps the detailing and paint section within that. Take a closer look at all the sections on the site and you'll see it's segmented pretty well. Lots of questions get stuffed into this section and it's become too much of a catch-all.
But the answer to your question is that the clear coat on your Z has been permanently compromised. The surface treatment only provides a very temporary fix and my guess is the car will need to be repainted to bring it back. It's a good lesson on how vulnerable the paint on our Zs can be when left outside and neglected.
Welcome, and thanks for asking a few questions and giving some details. First off, this question would be better off listed in the "350Z Maintenance and Repair" segment and perhaps the detailing and paint section within that. Take a closer look at all the sections on the site and you'll see it's segmented pretty well. Lots of questions get stuffed into this section and it's become too much of a catch-all.
But the answer to your question is that the clear coat on your Z has been permanently compromised. The surface treatment only provides a very temporary fix and my guess is the car will need to be repainted to bring it back. It's a good lesson on how vulnerable the paint on our Zs can be when left outside and neglected.
Whoops! I thought I had this in 'maintenance and repair'; my bad. I didn't put it in the detailing section since it looks like no humans have posted there since the Obama administration. Can you move it or should I delete/repost?
Do you know what causes this? I've got a Saab 9-5 shell that's two years older and has been parked for parts sitting for years and the darn thing looks perfect! It's also odd since I know for sure that the hatch/roof were painted by the body shop that rebuilt the car in '09, so it's not all factory paint, but some is OK and some isn't.
If I had the money I wouldn't hesitate to spend far too much to respray the whole car, since I have an emotional attachment to it, but for the moment it looks like frequent waxing is going to be my only option. Any advice on surface treatments that might provide a bit more of a respite from the haze than Meguiar's Gold Class?
Sorry- my superpowers don't extend to being able to moving threads between sections, so you may as well leave it here. Next time you'll know better. As for what caused the CC breakdown, I can only assume the constant UV exposure, combined with the cumulative effects of heat and cold, take their toll. Factory paint changed to water-based systems to prevent pollution back in the 2000s, so paint from all makes became more fragile around that time.
As for suggestions, my preorder '03 track model still has its original paint and I use Blackfire polish and sealant on it. But I suspect keeping it in the garage is also a large factor.
Clear coat surface is toast. You could take it to a bodyshop or pro to wet sand or "cut" it, then buff and polish. You need someone who knows what they are doing with automotive paint.
that is common with cars that have sat in the sun without any protection. i've seen people ruin their paint in less than 5 years of owning a new car like that. even the best detailer would only be able to bring this back to life and you'll still need to clear coat it to make the shine last for any amount of time.
08-20-2019, 06:55 AM
'07 Touring paint issues; can anyone diagnose?
) so now it's mine. Background: It's been parked outside, and in 2008 he got clobbered in the left rear quarter by a big honkin' pickup and spun 360. The car was very nearly totaled, but it was new enough that it got fixed - very well - by a local skilled body shop. At least the back half of the car was resprayed, quite possibly more (it's been a while; I'm not positive). My dad has a bit of the curmudgeon in him so he pretty much never waxed / washed the car while he was driving it regularly; the last couple of years I've been driving it and have tried to do careful wash and wax jobs when I can, but it's not too often as I have my own business and a family.
