danted23

I posted about this before but I have a new 2004 Onyx SE. During the weekend I noticed "orange peel" all over the finish (not too bad on the hood and deck lid). I took it to the dealership this afternoon and their body guys noticed it too. We checked other Maxima's and they ALL had it. Some even worse then mine.

It's going to be easier to see on the darker colors, but I noticed it on the sheer silver too. Here's a quote I found on the web about the peel:

"Orange peel can best be described as a wavy, slightly lumpy, light-and-dark pattern resembling - what else - the skin of an orange. You know it when you see it: the magic just isn't there."

It almost looks like rocker panels after they get the chip guard applied to them.

I'm just curious to:

A - If your car has the "orange peel".
B - Did you take it to the dealership and what did they say?
C - Will you get it repaired or just deal with it.

blackmax4

My friend pointed out to me when I first got my car that it had a little orange peel in the back mainly on the plastic bumper. I've polished and waxed it and it doesn't seem that noticable to me.

I would just hate to take it in and get it repainted. I just dont want to take the chance that they would screw it up to where I couldn't deal with it.

Good luck

danted23

I totally agree, there are so many things that can go wrong when painting, buffing or wheeling a car out. So it's only on the back?

Chris_RI

Its funny you mention this, as i was washing my car the other day, i was wiping down with spray on wax and a microfiber cloth, it looked like orange peel on the roof from a certain again, but it was where the hood was still wet, I think its only comes out when its wet, or maybe im looking at soemthing else. anyways, if my car does have this "orange peel" it doesnt bother me because I think it looks pretty nice when all cleaned up, and I am pretty ****. Do you have any pictures of your orange peel? is it really bad?

CanadianMoFo

I had a small section of similar paint defect on the panel to the left of the trunk lid between the lid and the tail light.

It felt rough to the touch. With a clay bar application it was nearly all gone. I think it was more overspray or something rather than orange peel.

danted23

No pics yet but I may have to take some soon. It's real bad on the doors, especially above the body line. It's real noticeable on the quarters and fenders also.

Doesn't seem to be that bad on the hood and deck lid, but once you squat down and look at it from a different angle you can notice it.

I'm not sure what to do, Nissan shouldn't let these cars out of the factory and then attempt to sell them at the price we're paying. I would expect that quality of a paint job on a 10,000 Kia Rio. Not Nissan's flagship car.

danted23

Hey thanks for the info. I'll check to see if mine is rough at all and if it is I'm definitely looking into the clay bar app.!

iadubes

I think that when my car comes in early June, I will not accept it if it has this orange peel going on. Anyone get any response from Nissan or the dealers?

ga2000

what exactley will a clay bar remove? will it remove overspray ya know paint over spray dots of it??? my friends car has over spray all over it from a friend of his painting is calipers ona windy day? theres blue over spray all over his car from top to bottem..

andymax95

sounds like they spludged all over a b*tch. If you're car is not a hailed damage vehicle then the paint is covered under warranty

Redsand187

Well, orange peel is common. Manufactures aren't going to spend the time and money to wet sand or machine polish the vehicles before they leave. That would seriously add another 500 dollars to the price of the car, and your dealship is supposed to do it. (that is covered in the destination charge) Almost all cars have some extent of orange peel from the factory. Yes some worse then others, but for a 35-40,000 dollar car, you've got to expect it.

A real paint job done properly with no orange peel costs over 5,000 dollars. Now picture yourself in the big seat at ABC automakers, and looking at the cost per unit. 500 dollars for a normal paint job, or 3000+ dollars (an estimated mass production cost, there is still a lot of hands on work required) for a smooth paint job. That does two things, raises the companies investment in the car, and raises the consumers price. Therefore, the consumer is paying more for less. Not a good sales tactic.

Unless it is severe or actually the paint. (more then likely it is the clear) A machine polish can remove it. Just make sure that the proper pad is used, and it is followed up by hand.

When my car came in, and they said straight up they were going to polish it so it would look "great." When I went to pick it up, there were swirls all over. They obviously used too agressive of a pad and compound. I spent the better part of a day removing the swirls, but the paint looks very good, considering it is a mass production, low cost job.

You should go walk through other dealerships backlots and see the cars. You'd be suprised how the paint on a MB or a Audi is considering they charge EXTRA for a lot of their paints. It will look better then the maxima's but those cars also cost twice as much, and still don't compare to a real painters work. For a 70,000+ dollar car with an extra 600-3000 dollars for the paint option, it's kind of sad. However, a lot of the dealers DO get them looking very nice before delivery or showroom presentation.

Orange peel is just a side effect of mass production painting with little hands on work.

As for clay, yes it will remove overspray.

CanadianMoFo

Not huge sections of overspray. If it was a fine mist in a small section it will. If you can see the dots from more than a few feet away I'd be suprised if it worked.

danted23

I really appreciate the detailed post. The dealership agreed to work on it, but it didn't sound like they were too thrilled. He kept saying, "compound is going to get in here and there, and we won't be able to get close to the moldings or body lines, etc".

I agree that a real nice paint job costs more and that a very low percentage of people will even notice/complain about this.

I'm still deciding what I want them to do.

Thanks again.

danted23

I'm still working with my dealer, I'm going to call them this afternoon. I'll let you know how it turns out. All of their Maxima's had it pretty bad, it wasn't as noticeable on the white frost or sheer silver though.

My Dad checked out a lot in another city and they were all fine, this dealer may have gotten a "bad batch".