FYI...here is part of a recent e-mail that I sent to Nissan. Unlike, a previous e-mail to which they responded in three days, they appear to be ignoring this one. I would expect that any answer from Nissan regarding the orange peel conditions of the paint would be so politically sensitive that they will continue to ignore my question.

"2) However, I drove one of the dealer cars the other day and was stunned how bad the black paint job looked. It had the WORST case of orange peel paint that I have ever seen on any car. Interestingly enough, when viewed straight on it isn't that noticeable but when viewed from even a slight angle it is terrible.

I participate in a 350Z forum on the Internet (www.my350z.com) and there are a lot of very negative comments about the orange peel. I will more closely examine all of the colors to see if it is prevalent on all of the colors or just the dark ones. I am absolutely STUNNED that this orange peel condition exists. Candidly, IF it exists on all of the dark colors I will either change to Silverstone of which there are too many already OR cancel the order for the car. To me the purchase of a new car is more visceral than anything else. First comes the lines of the car and as I said before the lines of the car are absolutely STUNNING. Second, the way the car drives and how I feel driving the car. Again, fabulous in both cases. And finally, the fine points as to the quality and depth of the paint and interior appointments. I must admit that the orange peel is so bad that I need to alter my order IF the orange peel also exists on the brickyard. Is the orange peel a problem that you are aware of and are trying to resolve? I just can't believe that you have this problem with this otherwise PERFECT car.

3) Other negative comments are appearing on the forum about the creasing of the leather on the seats after only a few hundred miles. This would tell me that the leather is very thin unlike my Mercedes which has never exhibited any creasing as the leather is fairly thick.

4) I search dealer inventories within a 75 mile radius on your web site every couple of days to find a dealer with a brickyard car to no avail. Is there some other way that I can see the car with the brickyard paint in person? Pictures simply won't satisfy the requirement.

5) How are you progressing with the resolution of the AudioPilot problem with the Bose sound system? Do you expect a quick resolution to the problem? I have had Bose sounds systems in several of my new cars and have never had a problem like this.

All of these questions and comments might lead you to believe that I don't like the car. Actually, the reverse is true, I LOVE the car but I want it the rest of the car to be as perfect as the lines of the car.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and concerns.

Tom"


Has anyone else tried communicating with Nissan about the orange peel issue? Did you get any feedback?

Tom

 

I have a Super Black Track and the orange peel is embarrassing. it is located on all sides of the car and about 6 inches up on the hood. I called 1-800-nissan1 and complained. They told me to take the car to my local dealer to get their opinion. They said this is the first step in getting the problem resolved. Sammythebull, here in Atlanta has a Super Black Touring and also has massive amounts of orange peel. He too called and complained. I'm not sure if he has a resolution yet. I will be taking mine to Sutherlin today for inspection.

 

I know that this is an emotional statement, BUT, I am seriously considering not buying the car if mine comes in and has orange peel. General Motors seems to get ALL of their cars painted just fine even the cheap ones. Why in the HELL can't Nissan? Nissan will probably sell everything that they can build and perhaps less discriminating owners don't care and would buy the car anyway but that's pretty poor on a car that's almost perfect from most other aspects. DAMN!!

Tom

 

Sheesh all cars have orange peel. Unless you have an aftermarket paint job... It requires lots of wet sanding inbetween paint coats to get a perfect finish. I can understand mabye too much orange peel. But not expecting *any* makes you sound foolish.

.

end of story!


thank you, please drive through!

find me a car that doesn't have it from the factory....

And please SKIP the exotic cars.

 

My Montero Sport does not have orange peel

 

SIGGy:

I had a 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL that had a flawless deep green metallic paint job. My 2001 Pontiac Montana minivan also has a literally flawless paint job. I would agree that a lot of cars have orange peel but I haven't seen any evidence of it at all in the last 3 or 4 GM products that I bought new. I don't see orange peel problems, at least not one the ones I looked at, on other sports cars such as the Corvette, Porsche Boxster, or BMW Z3 either.

From what I've heard most 350Zs have an orange peel problem and that problem ranges from minor to major.

Tom

 

dbalogh:

I agree...don't accept it. The problem is I like the car a lot. It's just too bad that most of the Zs appear to have an orange peel problem. I won't take mine IF it has anything other than a very minor orange peel problem. And, I know that there will be someone probably standing there with money in hand who will take the car.

MAYBE, there's something about the painting process that I don't understand but if GM can paint its cars wiithout the problem why can't Nissan?

Tom

 

I have been passing by most of the "Orange Peel" posts as I didn't think it was that bad. I did vote in the the Orange Peel Poll and answered "Some - I see a little but no big deal".

Yesterday, I was at a gas station filling up and the usual "group" of people gathered around the car to check it out. I was doing the "tour" of the car, the window thing, the "Z" air duct, the strut braces, etc. when I heard someone mention "orange peel". That immedately caught my attention. The guy who mentioned it explained it to the other people standing there and everyone (including myself) agreed that it was pretty bad. I had never really gone looking for it before as I have only waxed it once (I know, I know, I should be shot!) and by the time I finished it was close to dark. Since then it has been raining off and on for the last two weeks so no chance (or desire) to really check it out. I work long hours and inspecting the paint job on this car was not a priority. I now realize that the paint job (it is also Super Black...) is really bad. It is not a minor imperfection and I now have full intention of taking it to the dealer for their inspection.

As far as not accepting the car, I listed my name on the Nissan site ~TWO YEARS ago saying I wanted to buy one and placed my preorder in January, NINE MONTHS ago. The orange peel posts were not that prevalent a month ago when I picked it up (actually the first post that had "orange Peel" in the title came out the day AFTER I picked my car up), so I didn't go looking for it. I was more concerned with finding the nearest exit from the dealer's parking lot and driving it!

 

Please don't make me take my DIGI cam out. Your saying a GM product does not have orange peel. Thats funny.

You guys sound rediculous. Some colors show orange peel more than others. But all cars have it.

Do you know what orange peel occurs from? It's from the nossels not disitributing the paint evenly, and the bond between the paint and the primer.

There is no car produced today that doesn't have it. Unless it is an exotic. Or they take some serious time painting it. Hence not on a high production car.

Only other way to fix it is wet sanding in between paint coats before the clear coat. Ask anyone who paints cars for a living!

If you really want to complain go yell at the tree huggers that made all of our paint jobs bad.

BLACK CARS SHOW FLAWS THE WORST! lol, where has everyone been ?!?!?

 

I just ordered the Canadian Perfromance model.......and up here, u an order the car with three coats of paint instead o the usual one coat offered..........it makes a biiiig difference.........unfortunatley...the three coat process is limited to two colours.........ebony..........and glacier pearl.......i wanted the pearl anyways....it looks fantastic with the frost interior and there is no orange peel.............

Nissan should offer the same in the US.........makes no sense not to IMHO

 

Wotnot:

What was the additional cost for three coats of paint versus the standard 1 (?) coat?

 

it is listed as a $285 option...........I was able to get that waived.....but IMHO.........the extra money is worth it.........I hate Orange peel.............especially on this car.........also......I have ALWAYS had black cars...........but I think the glacier pearl is a nicer look...at least with this car......

 

Hmmm, that's interesting. I also have a Black BMW and cannot see ANY evidence of orange peel on it, as hard as I look (I would hardly call a BMW an "exotic" car). The difference is night and day. Obviously I understand that I paid twice as much for the BMW so the paint job should be better, but the difference is night and day. Have any of you that don't believe it's a big deal actually seen a black or dark colored Z with the orange peel problem?

By the way, I wonder if this was one of the guys responsible for my bad paint job?Tree Hugger

 

I've owned three BMW's.....the paint job is much better.....they apply three coats standard..........as opposed to one........they also use a much better paint....and.......don't forget............the process itself is much slower.......

Thats one reason u pay so much for the car.........aside from all of the other reasons..........

 

BMWs have crappy paint too. Chips easy, and yes they do have orange peel. I'll take some pics of my friends M3, and anothers 3.0 Z3. Whom both complain of bad paint too.

Exotic means hand made, and few production numers.

BMW dime a dozen cars. Especially the 3 series.

Mabye one should state that the orange peel on the Z looks worse that it should. Not that it just*has* orange peel.

 

and the paint was always perfect on all three of them.........can't comment on the 3 series.........stone chips are a fact of life........

 

My tampa blue (almost gray-blue) 2000 Eclipse has orange peel, but I didn't even notice it for weeks. Actually, my brother noticed it, because he has painted a few cars before. It doesn't bother me, because it's only noticible in the reflections, and if you really look for it. If my Silverstone Enthusiast appears with it, I won't be too bummed. But if it's much worse, I'd reject it, or deal. I might look around a couple lots first and see how other cars look, to compare for myself. Then I'd know if it's a unique problem.

I just checked my parents' yellow 2000 M Coupe, and it has slight orange peel on 100% of the car. Like the Eclipse, it's only noticible in reflections when you're really looking for it. It's not physically bumpy anywhere to the feel, but, visually, it looks almost like the surface of water wherever there are bright reflections rather than mathematically smooth over the body of the car. It wouldn't bother me one bit if my Z looked the same. (BTW, the M also has some stick vibration, unlike my Eclipse, and it's the greatest thing! I'd be happiest if the Z had twice the rattle.)

Hmm, I believe the M's inline 6 was hand-made. So does that make it an exotic engine?

 

2000 BMW 528iT. I also have a 2000 VW Passat (dark green) that does not have "noticeable" orange peel. By your statement, if BMWs have "crappy" paint jobs, then where does that place the Z's paint job?

 

Falls into just about all cars that are made for America.

Water based paint sucks. Has nothing to do with the manufacturer of the vehicle. BMW makes awesome cars, im not knocking BMW. Sheesh, if any of you knew the govt. put regulations on cars. No thanks to the tree huggers.

BMW is not the holy grail of cars paint wise. Mercedes have 8x more coats of paint than does a BMW. Hence better finish, and better resistance to chips.

How much do any of you really know about painting and the finish of cars? I hear a lot of bitching and moaning. I will go take some pictures this afternoon. And prove some points, not that it will change anyones minds I can already tell...

LOL, I just got back from the grocery store. And low and behold a Z was parked there. And immediately next to it a X5.

And guess what, the orange peel was just as bad on the X5!

nit picky. And anyone who thinks they dont have *any* orange peel is only fooling themselfs... Hopefully the Z will still be there...