Is it just me or is the paint a little thin?

Exhaust

Hey guys I just recently took my little girl down to san antonio. I tried to be as careful as I could by not tailing trucks and riding peoples rear. When I came back I went to wash and detail my car and came across a few spots on the front end where it looks like a very small piece of gravel took tiny bits out of my paint. Is there anything I can do to make my paint stronger or correct the small chips I have on my front end? Is the paint inherently thin? They really aren't THAT noticeable but when I was washing it bugged the **** out of me. Thanks for the advice.

POS VETT

Yes, the paint is that fragile and thin, blame it on water-based paint used to meet regulations mandated by EPA. The elegant solution is to install a clear bra, the not-so elegant is to use 3M Paint Defender or clear PlastiDip which you will hate and soon realize that a clear bra should be installed in the first place, plus the clear bra installer will now hate you. The anti-elegant solution is to use a naugahyde/vinyl-based bra.

Other than those, avoid driving the car at all costs to protect the paint.

DEpointfive0

Yes, this is well documented

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MacCool

Lot's of complaints about thin paint on Nissans, but I've never seen any objective documentation.

Do you have some?

RonRizz

I was wondering the same thing....is there any legit proof to this, or are we too anal?

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axmea?

Thin -- weight savings.

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POS VETT

The problem with "thin" paint is not limited to Nissan vehicles. From the days of my second-gen '95 Eagle Talon AWD, it has been the case. I have been keeping my clear bra installer in business. Out of the last 10 cars I bought, 7 had clear bra installed and the last 6 were done by the same installer.

Proof that paint is thinner (and more fragile) is hard to come by, but the water-based paint is not just some rumor. It's been the standard in the last few decades or so.

MacCool

So...how about objective evidence that water-based paint is somehow inferior to solvent-based paint?

I am very skeptical of the oft-repeated claims of "thin paint" on Nissans. I've never seen any evidence and can't find any on the internet. Frankly, owning or having owned 6 Nissans in the last 10 years and 3 GM trucks...I doubt that it's true.

POS VETT

It is probable that manufacturers use less amount of paint in the name of cost savings. The result is stone chips that go through the pigment layer right into the contrasting primer or even bare metal. There is also other different factors unbeknownst to me that contribute to stone chips that seem to be easily formed. Without performing durability testing such as salt water spray, average Joes like us can only speculate.

Whatever is the answer, I'm going to have clear bra installed on any vehicle I own.

MacCool

While we're speculating, we should speculate whether or not it's even a real problem. Not sure it's productive to speculate about whether mfgrs are using "less paint" without even demonstrating that a paint problem exists.

I have a clear bra on my Z too. Rock chips were only a small problem on my previous Z, but I love how, with the clear bra, the bugs wipe right off with a little waterless wash. It wasn't cheap to have installed, but halfway through its second summer it was worth every penny.

Exhaust

I think this is what I am going to end up doing. How much did it run you? Did you do your mirrors?

MacCool

It was $620 for professionally applied Scotchguard. They did a nice job. I did do the mirrors and and very glad I did (mayfly season on Lake Mille Lacs is brutal). Hood was only the lower-third, and I have no cause to regret that....no rock chips and very few bugs on that other 2/3 of the hood.

Do yourself a favor though....do the rocker panels and door kick panels. The kits that they supply don't include those parts, but you can buy Scotchguard on Amazon and have the install do that, or you can do it yourself. Applying the stuff isn't difficult if we're not talking about various compound curves to apply over.

Exhaust

Thanks for the tips man I'll prob do the kick panels myself and have the front done later this month!

Limeybastard

Agreed. Its not just Nissan. Same here about the clear bra and installer, although my installer has done 4 cars for me thus far. Next owner of my car and previous cars I am sure were delighted .

The first thing dealers do is remove the clear bra when I traded them in, different dealers. What a waste.

kenchan

clearbra is ur friend.