Anyone know the hardness on the 350z paint for an 08? I was doing some poking around on a detailing forum and it was mentioned that 1st gen 350z's had soft paint so I'm just wondering if this changed at some point and if so how much harder the paint got. Just trying to guesstimate so I don't use too aggressive of a product for the various polishing steps.

 

its soft if not softer, dont tailgate anyone without a 3m bra

 

^wtf? how about you just dont tailgate at all? LOL

Flyinion - what are you trying to do? are you just trying to detail and wax? Get rid of swirl marks, scratches??

It would help if you explain what your "goal" is...

 

Yep trying to get rid of 2 1/2 years/23K miles of just kind of standard swirls that a car picks up. I have all the products already that I might need I just want to make sure I'm not doing something like using too aggressive of pads or something. I'll be doing test spots anyway but still it would be good to have an idea of what kind of paint Nissan may have used on it before I start. Oh, and it's too late for a 3M bra lol, I need to have the front bumper/lower hood resprayed before I even think about that now.

 

What products did you get? Have you tried just giving it a good polish with some reg polishing wax compound?

 

Meguiars m205+gl110v2 on speed 5+yellow pad= the best combination for defect removal on a 350z. You shouldn't need anything more aggressive than m205 unless you have some serious defects, then you can step it up to m105. Paint is soft BTW

 

I gave up on keeping my front bumper pretty sometime last year...lol. I scrape so much and pick up so many rock chips it's become pointless.

 

Hmmm, I have the Wolfgang "twins" from Autogeek (bought for more than just my car) and orange, white, gray, blue pads (Lake Country CCS). Looks like the Wolfgang "finishing glaze" (not really a true glaze, is abrasive) from the twins is in the same category of cut as the 205 http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-...art-master.htm

Oh, I'm guessing you're talking about the yellow Meg's pads, yeah that should be similar to the white pads I have, light cut. The other heavier Wolfgang product I have is their Total Swirl Remover (the other "twin") which is similar to Meg's #2 fine cut cleaner according to the chart (milder than m105).

 

Anyway, sounds like I might be able to get away with a pretty mild product then. I'll have to do a test spot for sure and if I do have to step it up I can probably use the swirl remover on the light cutting pad instead of the orange (in between the meg's yellow and burgundy in cut I think). It's hard to see swirls on silver unless the light hits it right so I'm expecting I'll be doing test spot, pull out into sun to check, repeat as necessary.

 

The paint is very hard. You can rub and rub and it will not come off.

 

^ With rubbing compound or certain swirl removers it will. It's thickness that matters in paint detailing.

 

My 03 silverstone paint looks brand new.The car is garaged...70k miles
Nissans in general have great paint.Most modern clear coats do not need much maitenance.The car has never been through a car wash.
The only polish I've ever used is Color MAGIC by Turtle Wax.I use the "black"
since its used for all shades of "black or gray".I use very little...says it contains urethane?--dunno...but I've tried every polish/wax there is incl.
all the pricey stuff.This works and looks best!
It will take out small swirls and imperfections.

 

My rule of thumb has been to start with the least aggressive and work courser till the results you want are acheived. Of course, there's a fine line to follow. Too course and you end up putting more swirls in it that you were trying to get out. That Meguiars burgundy pad is pretty aggresive for a foam pad, so I'd use caution.

 

Yeah I found a comparison chart on autogeek and I was right, the burgundy is similar to the orange pads I used with the swirl remover in those pics of that F150 I detailed. You saw how that turned out. Of course the product I used it with, the Wolfgang swirl remover, uses diminishing abrasives (and I get the impression that Ford paint is hard as hell anyway).

 

Start from scratch on a panel that is the worst. Strip the panel down with wax/grease remover and clay bar it, wash it, dry it and then get a good look at it. tape off half the panel and start your experimenting on the other half so you have a reference on your progress. I'd suggest the rear deck lid or the roof first, maybe a quarter panel. Be carefull on the hood cause I think it's aluminum.