Another (useless/FYI) paint rant. :)

cab83_750

Washing my mag-black today and I noticed that the bumper is darker and has more metallic flakes than the panel.

It's all good and I still like it.

just Fyi as I believe there was a thread in here about a grey car with the same issue. I guess it is common no matter what color you have.

Cheers!

christian370z

That is simply the difference between a metal and plastic panel: it is pretty much impossible even from the factory to perfectly match plastic and metal body panels due to the different prep work behind the color coat.

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ImportConvert

+1

My rant about the 370's paint is that I have never seen one without scratches. Even the dealership showroom 370's are marred. It's rediculous. I worked for Ford for about a year and unless someone ran into something, I NEVER saw one of our cars with what looks like "chatter" marks from rubbing a finger/fingernail over it or something.

m4a1mustang

Blame it on the clear. It's TERRIBLE on the Z. Some colors hide it better than others, but Solid Red was a bitch to keep looking nice. It was very frustrating that my car, at one year old, was in WORSE shape paint wise than my sister's 2002, 160K mile V6 mustang that I swear she never gets detailed.

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cab83_750

Red, out of all colors, loses its pigmentation the fastest. Thus, I stay clear from it. Parking it outside wouldn't help either.

ImportConvert

Oddly, the red 370 at my appartment complex appears to be in better shape than most I have seen.

Either way, it's pure crap, and one of the factors that determined I would not be getting a 370 most likely (I say that, as it is my back-up option. They are nice cars).

cab83_750

I might disagree with you. Though no paint expert (I am a computer geek by profession), I have painted 2 cars in my garage with no issues.

IMO this is a classic case of one group painting the body panels and another group painting the bumper. I believe that if these 2 groups used the same batch/mixture, the color and metal flakes would have been uniformed.

Again, just my opinion.

AllForTheCash

+1, yes..I had previous cars re-sprayed and they matched the bumper and hood right on (better than factory)

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spearfish25

Plenty of manufacturers use plastic and metal panels and can make the car look the same. My neighbor's 911 looks fantastic.

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TypeOne

Ask any body shop... anyone that has been painting any decent amount of time will tell you that there is a definitely a difference in what material you paint.

The metallic flake will lay differently on a metal surface compared to plastic, carbon, fiberglass..ect

I'm not saying that it happens in every single case where metallic flake is used, but I'm saying it happens. If you have the skills to work with it and the experience to know how to lay it so that the affect is reduced then you won't notice it... but otherwise you'll see it.

I've been involved with body work and paint shops for a long time and have painted a few things myself. I've had about 4 cars completely repainted inside and out.. I know because I'm super anal when it comes to paint.

In the case of a Porsche being perfect, I'm sure it is. You pay for it when you buy the car, but being the Z is a less expensive car made with less expensive materials this type of issue seems more likely.

To the OP, are you sure your bumper was never painted after the factory?

And as Cab83_750 said, painting parts in separate batches or even changing the direction of your spray pattern can cause flake to settle differently.

Even though you paint two parts with the same material at the same time, spray them differently and they can have two different affect when they dry.

cab83_750

I am almost positive as I am the first owner.....though I guess you will never know that I was sold a brand new car (but crashed/repainted bumper).

When I have the time, I should probably look and see if the dealer repainted the car. However, you are beginning to worry me.....can someone look at their magnetic black car and see (in sunlight) if they have the same issue?


I am almost 90%+ sure this is common.

m4a1mustang

This. The plastic and metal parts on my Fjord match perfectly. I'm pretty sure cab is right that the differences have more to do with different groups painting the parts resulting in the differences. There are inconsistencies in the painting process which results in these differences.

We have seen a few other 370s that have had some severely mis-matched panels that have required warranty attention while there are others that match perfectly (my Solid Red was a perfect match).

Given the overall quality of the paint and clear I think it's pretty safe to say that Nissan has issues when it comes to paint that will hopefully be resolved in the future.

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cab83_750

I feel silly just noticing this after 2 years of ownership. Given the choice, I probably would have liked the panels to be as dark and shinier as the bumper.

sonic370

is this just a 370 problem. or is it a nissian issue will all their products...

TypeOne

It is an issue with the paint process and properties.

You really won't have this affect on a car with no flake.

I REALLY didn't want to get another silver car mainly because the paint is harder to match than any other color because of the flake, but I couldn't pass up the deal I got.

I just hope I never have to repaint everything... even though I'm going to paint my lip. I pray it matches.