My One Worry About White
 

I am almost sure I'm going to get white, but I'm concerned about matching the paint if it ever has to be repaired or even just touched up, due to the fact that it's not a flat white. Any of you white drivers experienced that yet?

The ability of any shop to match paint is completely dependent on the expertise of the shop - the risk exists no matter what color you get.

What he said.

skills is whats needed

White is also "rail dust magnet"....

But of course claying does clean it....

nothing worse than maintaining black colour cars

therefore white is one of the easiest to me

As a painter. Every color is hard to match if it needs to be 100% down to the point perfect. But no matter the color it can be blended by a professional painter with years of experiance under his belt. Even 3 stage colors.

You ever had to wax a white car by hand? Not fun.

Paint matching pearl white paint can be tricky, just make sure to bring it to a reputable shop. My last car was a pikes peak white 350z, basically the same as the color on my 370z now. I had a dent in the fender and the paint match came out great. You couldn't even tell it had work done.

Pearl white's color code is "QAB". My Z has about 2800 miles on it, and three tiny specks (breaks in the clear coat) on the aluminum hood where stones hit it.

None of the 4 nearest Nissan dealers stock the $8 paint stick yet. I'll wait until the end of summer, and if they're not stocking by then, will order (takes 2-3 days). Paint sticks generally can only be used a couple times before they dry up -- figure the shelf life, once opened, is just a few months.

But if you haven't noticed, most of the outside of the Z is plastic or aluminum. You aren't worried about corrosion on these panels. (And you shouldn't be parking where someone's going to ding the steel parts.)

For touchup work, I don't use the applicator brushes that come with repair kits. Use a fresh toothpick, and dab a tiny drop of paint into the "wound". Expect the repair to be invisible from more than 2-3 feet away, and that's probably good enough. (Do a Zaino treatment after the paint repair, and people won't be looking for specks.)

For much larger repairs, any pro shop recommended by your local Nissan dealer is going to meet Nissan's quality standards. You may be lucky and never have to repair or replace one of your big plastic bumper covers in the life of your Z, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I figure the bumpers would be the easiest, since they'd do the whole panel, and you could just take the old bumper and the new bumper to them so they can spray the new one, and compare it to the old one.

X2 I detail my neighbors Lexus rx300 pearl white not fun at all, also they have had a few scratches and all and even the dealer sad they can not match it exactly and you cna see were it has been touched up, me I like a black car or blue.

Although I have not seen a white 370Z in person, I can account for this fact seeing as my mother owns a new Altima and it just so happens to be white. I don't know if the same is true for all of Nissan's whites, but it appears to me as if the body color does not exactly match the bumpers and the side moldings in certain lighting conditions. It would seem to me as if they are half a shade off.

That being said, an art professor in college once told me that white is one of the hardest colors to consistently match. He went on to say that no two whites are alike, so a body shop might have a hard time matching the color perfectly unless they get Nissan's exact specifications.

Once you get the car, please update me on if you notice a difference between the painted sheet metal and the painted plastics… I'd be curious to know if this phenomenon is true on the 370Z, as it seems to be the case on most of Nissan's other whites.

Many cars are like this due to Primer and surface differences, added flex agents etc and make a perfect match harder. Often at the assembly point these parts are painted at a separate facility and not at the same time as the body shell..

My car just had the Hood and front replaced and painted. The fenders blended...It is perfect, but my shop is very good!

http://images47.fotki.com/v1475/phot...MG_1930-vi.jpg

this is most noticeable on the side skirts, for pretty much every color on the Z, not just white.

doesn't the white also turn a bit yellow over time? i think that was my biggest concern for white color cars.