Paint Peeling on Dash?! :/

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pjwr2004

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Messages
11
Hey guys, I've had my 2014 Leav SV for a couple months now and still loving it! The 2nd day I had it, an animal (don't know what exactly) slammed into my driver-side door and dented it in pretty bad. I took it in to a body shop and had it repaired which took 2 weeks since they didn't do it right the first time around. When I got it back the 2nd time, I noticed something that looked like residue or white crud of some sort on the dark gray dash above the driver-side vent (near door). I tried to scratch it off with my finger nail which seemed to spread it. After using a microfiber cloth and some Armorall, I came to the realization that the actually painted surface was peeling away! :eek: I only made it worse my trying to "remove" it :/ I'm not going to try to get the body shop to resolve it since I'm not positive it was them and since I don't want further hassle. It's not bad enough that the dealer would notice and/or kick a fuss when I turn it back in. I'm just wondering if there is such thing as a "touch-up paint" for the dash. If I could touch it up, I'm sure it'll be as good as new. Lastly, I'm wondering why the dash is painted on in the first place? This seems cheap to me, no? Thanks for your input!
 
Nubo said:
Didn't realize the dash was "painted". Is this a 2014 thing?
Click to expand...

Not sure. I know the dash on mine is two-tone with a light and dark color. The darker color seems to be painted onto the lighter color. I'm not positive but that's what it appears to be. You can see this by looking at the transition of colors right over to instrument cluster. You would think there would be 2 separate peices joined together but that's not the case.
 
My car insurance comes with "repairs guaranteed for life". Don't know what type of policy you have - but I'd take it back, and take it back, and take it back until it is fixed correctly. And if the repair started to show wear where the rest of the car didn't, I'd take it back again. Maybe it's just me - but I figure I've prepaid for the repair to be done right.
 
pjwr2004 said:
If I could touch it up, I'm sure it'll be as good as new. Lastly, I'm wondering why the dash is painted on in the first place? This seems cheap to me, no? Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...
Can you give us a photo? I'm curious which area you are talking about and what it looks like now.
 
It's not really a paint, although it is applied by spray. It's a very flame retardant coating designed to suppress the spread of any fire in the cabin. Although it will burn when a flame is applied to it, once that flame is removed, the coating will extinguish. As it burns, it does not melt way from the plastic under it, continuing to provide protection by inhibiting the substrate from burning.

I used to work in a lab that tested vehicle interior parts for flame retardancy and other properties. Usually the plastics underneath the dash panels are very flammable, the dash and dash cover are designed to suppress those properties.

It's also designed to wear very well, the standardized tests for cleaners and pressure are pretty harsh, and the vehicles must meet those standards when new. Paint does not meet those standards. You should be looking for new parts.
 
Seeley said:
It's not really a paint, although it is applied by spray. It's a very flame retardant coating designed to suppress the spread of any fire in the cabin. Although it will burn when a flame is applied to it, once that flame is removed, the coating will extinguish. As it burns, it does not melt way from the plastic under it, continuing to provide protection by inhibiting the substrate from burning.

I used to work in a lab that tested vehicle interior parts for flame retardancy and other properties. Usually the plastics underneath the dash panels are very flammable, the dash and dash cover are designed to suppress those properties.

It's also designed to wear very well, the standardized tests for cleaners and pressure are pretty harsh, and the vehicles must meet those standards when new. Paint does not meet those standards. You should be looking for new parts.
Click to expand...

I assume the only "real" fix would be to have the entire dash replaced which is not economical. I'm wondering if I can find a color-matched marker to touch it up. It's more of an annoyance than anything since my eyes are easily drawn to it. Thanks for the info btw, very good to know.
 
pjwr2004 said:
I'm wondering if I can find a color-matched marker to touch it up. It's more of an annoyance than anything since my eyes are easily drawn to it. Thanks for the info btw, very good to know.
Click to expand...

If you find a solution please let us know. I have scratches (that i caused) that I'd like to fix.

YZx53jwl.jpg
 
re-reading my original post, I'm tempted to call "bullshit" on myself :lol:

One thing I did not account for was the very small amount of coating missing, as in a scratch ot the nicks in the picture above this post. These would self-heal in a fire or extreme heat situation, the dash would still do it's job. My original statement (get new parts) would only really be accurate if large patches of the coating were missing.

Sorry about the misinformation, or at least the mountain out of a molehill post...
 
I have the same problem with the colouring of the darker section of the dashboard coming off. I took in in for a new tyre at the Nissan dealer and noticed oily finger marks on the centre of the dashboard (and on the glove box) When I got home I tried washing them off with soap and water. The colour came off and it is a nightmare, right in the centre of the dash. I will be asking the dealing about this on monday but are there any simple solutions? For example, does Nissan supply the paint to repair this?
 
pjwr2004 said:
Seeley said:
It's not really a paint, although it is applied by spray. It's a very flame retardant coating designed to suppress the spread of any fire in the cabin. Although it will burn when a flame is applied to it, once that flame is removed, the coating will extinguish. As it burns, it does not melt way from the plastic under it, continuing to provide protection by inhibiting the substrate from burning.

I used to work in a lab that tested vehicle interior parts for flame retardancy and other properties. Usually the plastics underneath the dash panels are very flammable, the dash and dash cover are designed to suppress those properties.

It's also designed to wear very well, the standardized tests for cleaners and pressure are pretty harsh, and the vehicles must meet those standards when new. Paint does not meet those standards. You should be looking for new parts.
Click to expand...

I assume the only "real" fix would be to have the entire dash replaced which is not economical. I'm wondering if I can find a color-matched marker to touch it up. It's more of an annoyance than anything since my eyes are easily drawn to it. Thanks for the info btw, very good to know.
Click to expand...

It's under Warranty!!
2014 right?
Run, don't walk back to the dealer and get it replaced ASAP.
 
Never thought I'd say this but now I am thinking DASHMAT to protect the cheap surface from abrasion damage. All I need now is some fuzzy dice on the rear view, cheap air freshener and curb feelers and I am all set. Can't have one without the other. But can I install one of those airfoil antennas on the rear hatch? :lol:
 
VTLeaf said:
Did anyone come up with a fix for this? I'm considering trying to touch mine up for private sale. Graphite? :)
Click to expand...

Haven't had to deal with this specific issue, but perhaps one of the "plastic renewal" type treatments used in car detailing, would help.
 

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