Paint feels coarse/thinner clear coat?
 

I just waxed my car today for the first time and I've noticed that on my monterey blue Z on the passenger side, the entire top half of the car feels rougher than the bottom. Almost like the clear coat is way thinner on the top half. It starts at the top half of the bumper and goes from the fender to the rear quarter panel. There is also a fingerprint... yes a FINGERPRINT in the clear coat on my fender. Could this car have been involved in a shipping accident or a fender bender in transportation/on the lot resulting in a shop trying to cover it up by re-painting?.. or could the fingerprint have been during the primary painting at the nissan plant?

My question is, does anyone else notice that on certain parts of their Z the paint isn't as smooth as it should be? After waxing (with every car i've owned) the entire car should feel silky smooth.... but not my Z. The top half feels coarse.... there definitely isn't enough clear coat.

My dealer should cover this right? Honestly I'm starting to feel this car is a lemon, because the paint on my bumper is peeling off on the corner of where the bumper meets the fender as well.

What do I do now? Help! Any insight, experience or advice is greatly appreciated.

Ryan

Your clear coat is most likely fine. Get a clay bar kit from Pep Boys and clay the whole car, that will probably fix this problem. Its bonded contaminants like tar, sap, and rail dust that make it feel that way. And when you pick it up from the dealer they (and you it seems) just wax right over it. If you clay it and it doesnt feel like glass after than Id take it in.

Edit: The top half feels coarse because theyre horizontal surfaces and the contaminants stick and bond to those easier. Id need pics of the bumper to understand better what exactly it looks like.

If you think it was in an accident compare the panels (left and right) They will usually have a texture because a paint job by a shop is either better or worse than stock. Usually better.

Another thing is check the corners and edges. If it looks faded, dull, or has little dimples (basically a different texture) that aren’t anywhere else then it has been repainted. Most shops don’t buff edges and corners so that’s how you can tell.

the flat part of the bumper right before it meets the fender.

They all seeem the same and I also didn't notice any over spray.

if it was contaminants, why would only the right side feel this way and not the left? The fingerprint throws me off too.

Repaint Checks
 

You said the fender right? Look under the hood. The bolts that hold the fender to the frame are also painted. If they are scratched or unpainted then the fender was removed for some reason. Possibly refinishing and maybe they did that good of a job.

No scratches or missing paint; I just checked... hmmm...

also, no rough edges as body shops tend to leave after painting body panels. I was thinking too, if it was re-painted, the shop would paint the entire door, not just the top half..

this is just frustrating, lol

Overspray from something or other? Look suuuuuper close. You might see the individual particles.

The paint color matches and I stared at it for about 5 min.from about 4 inches and can't seem to see any overspray particles. It feels like coarse and kind of gritty. The gritty-ness honestly feels like a really coarse dust. If I rub it with a microfiber in one spot for a good minute it sort of smooths out, but still feels rougher than the rest of the car. I'm starting to think it may be what gmz said earlier about contaminants in the paint and to just clay it....but I'm still paranoid. The fingerprint is still unexplained though.

I'm also still curious to see if anyone else has this issue with their paint

Id suggest taking it to a good body shop to see what they say.

yea I plan on it eventually. I'm going to see one of my friends who does body work next week, i'll ask him.

From how you describe the bumper that sounds fishy. But for the feel of the paint there could be many reasons. Maybe it was parked with that side toward something that put off dust? If that side was facing say train tracks you could have some rail dust. Or maybe next to something else of that type in the port. Id def get the bumper checked out, but while youre waiting do a good claybar treatment and see what that nets you.

First off as someone suggested get a claybar and go over the entire car with it to remove any contaminants such as road dust, tree sap and a host of other crap that fills the air that can settle into the car's surface.

Second - after that then get a very fine clear-coat safe polish and polish the entire painted surface. And spend a little extra time and light pressure on teh finger print area.

Third - Seal the surface with a coat or two of a good carnubba wax.

Forth - Do not always jump to the conclusion that something was being hidden, covered up or a conspiracy to defraud by the manufacturer or the dealer. It is absolutely normal for many of the cars that are transported by train or by portable parking lots to be "repaired" after transport before they are placed onto teh dealer lot for public display and consumption. That doesn't mean the dealer is trying to cover up an accident because those kinds of things aren't really accidentis unless they cause damage above and beyond the normal wear and tear caused by transporting. from manufacturer to the dealer.

Hey bro, something to think about with the fingerprint is that any real company/paint shop etc. their painters take very good precautions for their own health/safety. So they will wear latex/nitrile gloves, mask ect. Chop shop painters for the most part will only wear the bare minimum. That being said, it's possible that during a repainting or a touch up from peeling or whatever that your car was at some random shop for, the painter wasn't wearing gloves. With gloves on, you wouldn't have any real distinctive fingerprint.

Just my 2 cents.....

Ohhh, I feel a conspiracy coming on, lol.