I assume Nissan uses the same process for the Z.

Taken from another post:

Having read the many and varying posts regarding the chipping on coupes I have been doing some research. It it obviously not a problem with everyone or any particular color, at least from what I was able to ascertain with our unscientific way of gathering info on here.

In any case last week I called R-M and spoke with some of their technical people and they told me they would do a little research and call me back. Instead of them calling me back I received a call from a chemist at BASF on Monday.

I explained to him what some of you were experiencing. He asked a lot of questions regarding the coupe and he too said he would get back with me.

Well late today he called me with a theory that sounds plausible, at least to me.

His theory is that the effect is caused by 3 seperate events.

1. The paint product used on the coupe, and many other new cars, is a new product that gets harder the more it is exposed to direct UV.

2. The cars are built, shipped and sold without ever having the opportunity to sit on a storage lot and simply "bake" in the sun and harden as most other cars would. In other words it is a hot product and is in a constant state of motion.
This alone will not cause the chipping problem to the extent some of you have described. It seems it is the 3rd event that MAY be causing the problem.

3. The addition of waxes, sealants, polishes, etc., are in his opinion the problem. The fact is most of them are petroleum based which may cause the chemicals to be absorbed by the paint and thereby not allow it to continue to harden properly. In other words the paint stays soft and may even become softer with the addition of petroleum based chemicals. His suggestion is to not put such products on the paint until it has had sufficient time to "cure" properly.

Now I am not a scientist and I have no statistical data to support anything regarding the information that I provided him. My information was simply relaying what many of you posted here and using that information this is what he came up with.

Maybe, just maybe this is the problem.

 

When I bought my Z back in February, a guy from the dealership mentioned that I should wait 6 months before polishing/waxing the car, to allow the paint to cure. Maybe there is something to this? I didn't start getting "chips" on my car until after 2000 miles or so. Ironically enough, after I put wax on my car. I did not let the paint cure. Maybe I should have...
Also, I notice that I tend to get new chips after driving in heavy rain. What's up with that

 

I haven't bought a 350 yet, bought I would be like to know what BASF recommends as a proper way to allow the paint to cure......

Any ideas?

 

Just a thought:

Why don't we start a list of people with really bad paint chip problems and have them state a few items like:

When was their car built:
When did they first start driving:
When did they first wax it:
What did they use to wax it:
When was their first noticeable chip:
How often do they wax:

And anything else other's might think is useful info.

 

Based on the person that talked with the chemist, BASF really doesn't give a ****. It was just something out of courtesy that the chemist provided some theories on the issue.

This was just posted today, so we'll see how it develops, if it does move any further than the theory. You can follow the original thread here:

http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...1#Post67384082