2009 370z bad paint job???
 

:wtf:

I own a 2009 black 370z with the sport package, and up until recently I've been washing her every 3 days just to keep the black shiny. Well not too long ago I noticed a large bird dropping right next to the passenger door handle. It wasn't there the night before, and so I wiped it off. Low and behold, the clear coat was completely eaten away, only a dull, grey/black mark remained where the droppings were. This bothered me! Who wants to see a huge bird crap imprint while stepping into the passenger seat?

Turns out there's more than one bird out there.

Never on for more than a day, and sometimes an hour, EVERY single bird dropping is ruining my car one by one! Never has this happened to any other vehicle I've owned in the past! Theres a huge spot right above the "Z" symbol where the front side skirts curve into the hood, one on the roof, a larger one on the hood, and one on my rear spoiler.

I've gone from cleaning this car and keeping it beautiful at least twice to 3 times a week to just losing hope all together. Black is hard to keep clean, but I like clean my cars because it's relaxing, so I didn't mind purchasing the Z in black because it's very beautiful when it's clean. But if its full of permanent sh*t marks what does it matter anyway! If bird crap can do that much damage to the paint in an hour, what is the car going to look like in a year? or dare I say 3 years?:crying:

I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this problem, because at this point its either don't buy a 370z or hope to God you don't live around birds. I'm hoping that this is some sort of paint defect. I need not mention the growing number of buff swirls/scratches/crap.

Nissan has notoriously mediocre paint.

I don't know why it's saying I only have 1 post on here. I have made many before as i've also owned a 2007 350z, of course I haven't been on in a while. So I'm no troll!. Thanks guys for any help you can offer

pics?

I had that problem with different type of cars. Bird $hit needs to be remove immediately. That is acid that will eat into any type of paint.

I don't have any, but if you can picture flat black, in the shape of a birdsh*t stain, right down to the little impact spots around the stain, then you will have a very clear picture. Paint is no longer smooth in the 4 or 5 spots. Just flat black. I'm talking - I got out of my car to go bring some lumber into the mill (birds do fly around there) when I got back around 45 minutes later, I saw the familiar stain, fresh but dried up. I've had bird crap on my cars before. Lots of bird crap come to think of it! And while bird crap is "acidic" i've cleaned it off of yellow, black, silver, (chevy, ford, nissan (350z)) and the paint was still shiny and smooth.

Have birds crapped on your car yet? If they did or ever do and it didn't leave a mark please tell me. But if you were lucky enough to avoid any droppings until thus far, and you don't want permanent marks on your car, look up when you drive and never park for more than a half hour. It's just ridiculous to me and I can't drive around with a cover on the damn thing. It's like they painted it with water colors.

You may have been washing it quite a bit, but how much protection was on there in terms of wax.

with all that washing, isn't that a bit excessive? that's probably destroying your clearcoat haha.
i know i had bird crap on my old car that stayed there for a few days, it caused some markings similar to what you're describing. i dont know if this will work for you, but I used a clay bar and it took awhile, but it pulled it off the clear coat. you may want to try that.

I know, I'm fortunate to have a touchless/jet air dry car wash near my home, which is the perfect fix when you don't have time to hand wash your car. Never put my car through an automated wash before. I also use the appropriate cloths for drying, polishing and waxing.

Do you really think the clay bar would work? I looked at it closely and it really just looks like the paint isn't there anymore; I'm not sure if there is stuff actually on top of the paint is what I'm saying. I'll add it to my to do list, under call Nissan and try not to lose my temper.

Hey,

I've waxed the car twice so far during my 4 months of ownership. Once with turtle wax, then Meguiars (sp) after- about a month and a half apart, fit the last wax in before winter. Used Meguiars over turtle wax only because it's a lot easier to remove, which is a plus when it's pretty cold out.

those are some toxic bird *****...my friend got hit on his arm by some bird ****..it ate his skin so deep..took him about 1 month to recover lol

i would try to go over it with some clay bar, if that doesn't work get a nice finishing polish (menzerna or such) and try then, don't forget to wax after clay thou, it removes the wax.

I'd be really interested in seeing an actual picture. Doesn't everyone have easy access to a digital camera these days?

I'm with Antman, give the claybar a chance. A before/after pic would also help.

Yes they had, luckly I have cleaned it immediately.

Keeping a good coat of wax helps too! ;)

Black Nissan paint is some of the worst quality I have seen. I don't think they apply enough clear coat and it chips really easily. Best of luck.

Its really hard to say what your next step should be since we don't have a photo, I'm just speaking from personal experience. I tried to wash the crap off with mild soap and water and thats when i noticed this haze/off white in the area it used to be. I can't say if it was acid etching or maybe i got real lucky (since i wax my car often) and the acid just reacted weird to the wax above the paint. after many attempts at just washing and wiping with a microfiber cloth, it was still there, so my last attempt was to claybar and see.

i first attempted the traditional method, spraying detailing spray and running the clay bar over it- nothing seemed to happen. after many passes, i accidentally forgot to respray to lubricate the surface and found myself passing it and leaving the streaks you get when you try to dry bar it. oddly enough, i think the friction from that pulled the nastiness off. i'm not sure if it pulled the damaged wax or what, but a few more passes, then wiping the streaks away and it was gone. you couldn't tell it was there. then i rewaxed the area and buffed it shiny.

i dont recommend dry claying your car, but it worked for me as an accidental side effect. i would certainly be extremely careful if you chose to do this and i would definitely make sure the surface is totally clean to avoid the clay bar from picking up anything and causing additional scratches. definitely try the wet traditional method first before attempting this.

hope this works out for ya. if not, google acid etching and i think there are plenty of potential solutions that could work for you.

Definitely try the clay bar. You'll be surprised. Then throw the Turtle Wax in the garbage. I'm guessing the Meguire's you're using is the "Cleaner Wax". That's a good product for prepping and is a fine foundation coat. You should finish with a synthetic polish or some other layer -- even if it's carnuba. The Cleaner Wax alone is fine for a quick wax job and especially as a primer, but does not offer enough lasting protection or deep enough shine for a black car.

I can't say it's only Nissan's black paint. I had the 03 350z (pearl white) and I dug my fingernail in it once (don't ask why haha) but it's so soft! My nail just sunk right in and left a mark. I don't know whats up with their shi*ty paint...but its been like that for many years, sadly :(

You need to protect your paint from the elements. The Nissan paint is AVERAGE - there are better (German, esp) and there are worse believe it or not. If the TWI is harder to come off its probably a better bet for a lasting barrier. I wax my car every third or fourth wash - otherwise you're removing a good portion of the protection for you paint.

Take your car into a reputable detailer who can likely buff the etching out and keep your car waxed!!! The synthetic waxes typically last longer and are easier to apply (doesn't leave a white residue). I prefer ICE myself as it can be applied to your plastic trim pieces as well whereas NXT recomends NOT putting it on your plastics.

get a pellet gun :tup: then some wax

I just bought a black Z over the weekend. I already see so many scratches, and I didn't even touch it. Just by staring at it, i think you can scratch the paint.

However, i intend to wash the car every three months in the summer, and wax every other wash. Don't use Turtle Wax. Don't overwax or you will damage the paint.

I saw the detail guy at the Nisan dealer used some kind of 3M buff solution which he applied to my car and it removed the scratches. He gave me a bottle. Let me take a picture and will show you what it looks like later.

Weight savings, it's all about the weight savings.. :eekdance:

Nissan has always been known for their crappy paintjob. My bumper paint and body paint is really off. I know that it color comes out a little different between plastic and metal but its way off. You can tell from a distance. People always ask me why my bumper color is different from my body color.

imo, they should make an unpainted 370z like the delorean dmc from the 80s.

that would solve bad the paint job, paint chips, decision about whether to get a clearbra or not, etc...

it would cost them less to produce such a car even since they don't have to paint it :)

Lol - then you would have a rusty Datsun instead of a Nissan ;) The Delorean was Stainless Steel ;)

I had horrible paint on my Z, 09 solid red, the front bumper had paint cracking under the clear all over the fanged area, I lucked out though instead of making a ruckus at the dealer I got a free new cf bumper.