The fact is Nissan paint is HARD not soft which makes it chip, a paint guy told me this. If it were soft it would be more chip resistant, sort of like comparing Glass to Plastic. But, the fact that it is hard paint makes it so ridiculous when it is clean and polished....especially black.

 

You just need to invest in a good random orbital buffer and some polish. That will make a world of difference in how your car looks. I know my car isn't black, but here is pic I took the other day after using some Adams Brilliant Spray Glaze. I think you can see there are no swirls and the paint has a pretty decent shine.

 

Ill never buy a black car again.

 

Tell me about it, but just like you, I will never buy black a car again. I should of bought a white nismo instead..... they look amazing!!!!!!!!

 

Not me.

 

i learned my lesson on my 03 black silverado SS that thing was huge and killed me to wax and polish the whole thing. If i ever buy a black car again it will not be a DD.

 

IMO, black is the absolute best looking color on a car, when it is properly cleaned and maintained. But, black is the absolute worst color to actually maintain.

I have owned 3 black cars in my life - never again. When I was shopping back in February for a Z I found an 06 with 9000 miles. Flawless paint, literally not a scratch or chip on it, but it was triple black - paint, interior, and top. It pained me to pass by a car in such great shape, but I just couldnt deal with the upkeep of another black car.

All your hard work spent cleaning, buffing, rubbing, detailing... and 15 minutes after you are done seeing a slight breeze blow anything on to the car, which now stands out like a sore thumb, is just too depressing.

Oh, and if you care that much about the finish, NEVER go to a car wash, or it'll be swirl city for you!

You guys all complain about the Nissan paint - it is bliss compared to Mazda. The new "environmental" process they use shoots primer, base and clear all in one application. You can chip the paint by looking too hard at it. If I didnt have a clear bra on my Mazda, it would look like a 14 year old kid with severe acne.

 

+1 on black being super high maintenance. I wouldn't go as far as to say I wouldn't ever buy a black car again, but I certainly would not buy one as my DD which my Z is That and where I live in SF, it gets all foggy and misty and that leaves marks when it drys. It's beautiful when clean but damn is it a b*tch to maintain. Wish I had went with a white or silver Z honestly, but whatever I still love my car.

 

1 mnth. new owner of year old, 4k m 08 e., now w/ 5k.. i had a paint restoration done on it soon after due scraping bumper pretty much first day .. .. and then another time going up 45 degree pavement into parking lot. so some painting was in order.

but main thing was the overall restoration; the clearcoat layer is polished down a bit to remove auto wash swirly scratches, Meguires Diamond Cut polish used with wool rotary. Then glazing polish applied a few times, finally sealant. Result is deeper black due not having gray reflection of scratches, more contrast with the purple and blue 'glitter' in the black paint, & the 'just waxed' look after a light dishwasher micro-fiber-mitted wash lasting 3-4 years. (Lights buffed too, detailer does a lot clear light plastic restoration. )

Was going to lamin-x front, lights; UV and particle protection, but having issue with finding someone to do it, guess I'll have to.

Black wasn't my preference, but the car & year was! Truth is, anything waxed up or polished looks dirty fast. I had a white car I didn't wash for a year and it superficially looked white, but really, it looked filthy within 10 feet, who's kidding!?

So if you hate waxing, do the detailing route; can still probably wax over the polish layers, or get buff every few months on it. You might not think of it with a lesser car, but you don't have a lesser car, do you? Just hang back & wide from those trucks and 18 wheelers, easier on the brakes; save them for the hi-speed country twisties, find isles of lacunae between otherwise solid traffic, and do your bi-weekly/monthly wash-ups given local/seasonal weather conditions..