About a month and a half ago I bought a 2001 I30T and sold the Maxima to a family member. It was an excellent value including every option from side skits to a 6 Disc changer and HID lights and so much more. Midnight Metallic Blue, 17” wheels, and that great Rev happy VQ Engine all for close to invoice.

So now you know why I got it, or was deceived I should say. Recently I commented about the paint of it compared to other Maxima’s here and the 96 I had on this board. We’ll, true it doesn’t chip with every stone, but……HAS SOMETHING WORSE!!

Every time a bird grenades my car, it leaves a slight hint of cancer on the paint! It started off a week after I got it. Most of you guys know that birds go looking for new cars to target practice on! It’s un avoidable.

The first week it was one, on my trunk, washed it that very night. Slightly marred the clear. Not noticeable, as its on the vertical back end of the trunk. Service department was going to schedule it to be removed, and re-cleared if needed. I already tried all the best waxes.

Today, 4 craps on my hood and one on the bumper. Again the paint was no match for this potent ammunition these birds are carrying!

I’m going to the service department first thing, and demanding that they not only buff/color sand or whatever else they need to do to remove it, but re-clear the ENTIRE CAR! What worse then have them remove a few to have more in a month!

If it looks worse after their done, I’ll KILL THEM! Ughh. I knew I should have bought the Lexus is300! Only if it had a little more power and leg room, and the shifter didn’t give you 2nd degree burns on hot Texas days, not to mention their firmness on sticker price. I even read about this on Infiniti’s site and asked them about it! I figured it was just a rare thing in manufacturing that this other person had this problem. Now I feel like the a$$ for not listening to him of over the sales people.

 

Thats life!

 

I never promised you a rose garden.....*lol*

Well, we all know about certain questionable quality attributes for Nissan, so I wouldn't let it get you too upset. You probably got a whopper of a discount on the I30 so it's hard to compare it directly to Lexus. I mean you know going into it, Lexus is BMW/Audi class. Infiniti is not.

Anyway I wouldn't mess with the paint this early. If you're going to mess, do it at the end of the warranty or at least 11,000 miles down the road. You want to keep the original paint intact as long as possible so it doesn't c*** out too soon. Curious if the 5th gen's come rusted under the rear bumper assembly like the 4th gens? That was something that really surprised me, but I learned to live with it.

 

Sorry man, but thats ANY CAR FINISH, not just Nissan. It can be BMW, LEXUS, AUDI, TOY, HONDA, ETC.

Bird crap has acid in it, if you leave it on your car more than 24 hrs and with sun, its gonna bake right into your paint, and take the cleaer coat off basically. Make a habit of taking it off when you get home that night right away.

Sorry but Nissan has very good paint compared to other manufactures I have seen. The 4th gen may chip easy because of thin paint on the front, the 5th gens are better, but even my Sentra has no paint ships after several trips and 7k of miles. I use zaino for another reason, with bird droppings it does the most protecting with that type of acid. And makes it easier to clean off.

Anyways, u should know this.

 

in my highshcool days, and first years of college, I detailed at a professional shop. The deal is, that no matter the paints quality, or who supplied the paint; BIRD TIRDs / tree sap / acid rain, you name it, will do in a dark paint job any time. Unfortunately the best waxes in the world won't do much of anything else but help the BIRD TIRD not get worse.

Now as far as colors are concerned, any dark color absorbs heat. Any metalic paint absorbs heat more. So if you have a metalic dark finish, then guess what?
It' is going to fade faster, take more abuse, no matter what wax or clearcoat you top it with will not last as long. Basically that color absorbs UV at a much higher rate, and density that a White, non metalic.

Ask a Science teacher what colors refract and reflect light/heat the best. You'll be told WHITE.
Too bad white does not look as KOOL as black.

10 years and counting with my white maxima. Other than a few scratches, the paint and clear coat are holding up. Notice we live in South TEXAS as well. HEAT HEAT HEAT!

 

try carrying a bottle of water in the car with you. maybe mix in a spoon of baking soda and just pour it on. the baking soda keeps the acid level down until u can properly tend to it. it's the price you pay for a dark color car.

 

First off, get a bottle of Meguiars Quik Detailer. It will save your paint if you get to it quick enough. You should inspect your car everytime you get in. Are you telliing us that bird crap on your is stripping the clear coat within 8 hours (assuming you're at work)? Or are you leaving it on until you can wash your car? You need to get the bird crap off immediately.

Sorry to say, but Nissan isn't the only company with paint problems. Believe it or not, GM has by far the best paint I've very seen or cared for. Imports use light coats, GM pours the stuff on and have very thick coats.


Dave

 

Why dont you try..... A CAR COVER! And when a bird just ****s on the car, try.....REMOVING IT!

Yeah, its any car. It would have happened on your IS if you bought it.

 

Most of you act like I don’t know that bird crap is strong and has an acidic compound to it or that I leave it on for a month! I wash it off soon as I notice. Maybe 6 hours at the most, like if I’m in a meeting.

Its still ridiculous to have to run out and get it off right away. I bet you one hour, and it’s the same resul!. Dave is right about GM products, I have some. Even my old 86 IROC gits craped on for a WEEK, and I wash and wax it, and comes out just like new. I also mentioned that another Infiniti owner has the same issue. I’m telling you, this is pathetic a$$ paint.

 

Dont feel bad, one of my buddies has a new gs 400 and the paint doesn't hold up to the bird crap either, he is really pissed cause he spent the extra money for the lexus and expected it to be superior in every way.

 

The paints car makers use now are water based paints. They are much thinner than what used to be used. The EPA or government requires the use of water based paints on cars because of pollution. Paint jobs before seemed to hold up better because the paint was most likely not the thin, water-based stuff they use now

 

Hmm....Thats odd??? I once went 2 weeks with out a wash... Came out good as new... Maybe its the birds in your area... Super****...

 

I would suggest to protect the finish that you get Zaino. It is a superior product that protects the paint from the outside world. I have been using it for 2 years, and bird crap, tree sap and the like just slide off! Check it out:

http://www.zainobros.com

(get the Z1 and the Z2, and the "leather in a bottle" is great to protect the leather.)

STEVE

 

i have a super black 3rd gen and in your situation i remove the bird **** as soon as possible. then i give the car a good wash/wax/buff and its fine. yes its a pain in the *** and not all my "removals" were a shinig success. IMO the paint is ok but the clearcoat is wht gets damaged, ya just gotta be on the look out. and trust me that 34-36k glorified toyota (nice but still a toyota) would still suffer the same fate.

my.02

 

I have left bird crap on my car at the most 2 days with zaino. It doesn't even break through the wax. With meguires, i couldn't leave it on more than a day or my paint was shot.

 

I used meguires. OK, maybe I over reacted a little about never buying Nissan again. You cant see it at all, not one bit in bright sunlight, but under atrificial light/at night, you can see where it ate the clear coat already! I guess I don't feel as bad anymore.

I whish they sold this ziano stuff at Pep Boys or AutoZone, and places like that. I hope in two yeats they are not ungly spots and get worse.

 

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Isn't that a little too dramatic? Zaino 2 days, Meguiar's only 1? I'm sure Meguiar's is good for 3 at least. Been on my car for 3 years (with reapplication) and it's fine.