LEAF paint....soooooo thin!

[csriram45]

I am thinking of getting a paint pen to fix the scratch on the hood. Any ideas on how to do this without ruining the car. Read up online where they ask u to apply "primer" followed by "base coat", then sand using 2000 mesh and then apply "clear coat". Leave it for a month before waxing...

Any idea how this company is? http://www.automotivetouchup.com/store/paint_pens/paint_pen_matched.aspx

Thanks

 

[CJF]

Well it's been 10 days since we took delivery of our Leaf with the rear bumper protection package that includes a solid black rubber bumper protector. The reason we paid for this extra protection is that we know from past experience that we need additional protection of the painted rear bumper on a hatchback vehicle.

Within 5 days we validated our need for this option when we transported a collapsible 10'x10' pop-up awning and apparently when removing the awning we scraped the awning against the painted bumper of the Leaf. I am very disappointed that the rubber protective cover stops a more than an inch from the (close to) 90 degree end of the bumper. A correctly engineered protective bumper cover would have covered the painted surface out to within an fraction of an inch of the bumper. Unfortunately his Nissan option was NOT engineered with this need in mind.

Overall we are pleased with the car but very disappointed in the engineering of this add-on bumper guard.

Corey

 

[hill]

Great advice! I don't even leave those little brown spots on for long, never mind massive white seagull sized dollops! :shock:

If you think seagull squirts are bad - we have around 30 Canadian Honkers living year-round on our lake. Those big birds cover a lot of area. It's like gettng your car camouflaged to resemble a dung heap.


Yep - pearl white too ... it is much thinner than other pearls I've seen.
.

 

[electricfuture]

No they didn't give me the Primer for the paint. I ordered it from them 3 weeks ago - but nothing yet!

Concerning the bumper protection - I also noticed that it holds water between it and the hatch when you are washing the car. You have to open the hatch to clean it out.

 

[electricfuture]

When Nissan fixed the chips on the door the painting contractor used an Air Brush and it looked like new.

 

[TRONZ]

We have an early silver. It is holding up well but does not spend alot of time sitting outdoors in the sun. Besides the bumpers being slightly off in shade I have noted some "orange peal" in front of the rear wheels. Actually surprised at the finish with this sort of thing there. It is pretty clear Nissan was slamming these things out of the paint shop as fast as they could.

+1 on a protector that wraps for the rear hatch. A nice anodized piece would be great if anyone in after-market is listening.

 

[IBELEAF]

Paint on Leaf appears the same quality as on all other budget cars I've owned, as a matter of fact I've seen this subject popup on other forums for other car makers.

 

[caffeinekid]

Paint on Leaf appears the same quality as on all other budget cars I've owned, as a matter of fact I've seen this subject popup on other forums for other car makers.

I agree. Unfortunately, at > $30K, this is not exactly a budget car. It reminds me of a lot of the European cars back in the 80's. I had several Peugeots over time and they were all prolific chippers and faders.

 

[mxp]

I am thinking of getting a paint pen to fix the scratch on the hood. Any ideas on how to do this without ruining the car. Read up online where they ask u to apply "primer" followed by "base coat", then sand using 2000 mesh and then apply "clear coat". Leave it for a month before waxing...

Any idea how this company is? http://www.automotivetouchup.com/store/paint_pens/paint_pen_matched.aspx

Thanks

csiram,

You should get some professional advice on it since the paintwork on the Leaf is thin and also in general of poor quality. Get it done professionally so that you need not have to worry about it ever, after all, it's a new car.

I recently had my Leaf properly detailed externally, i.e. properly clay bar-ed all over and had Zaino put on it. You can google Zaino and you'll see what I am talking about.

I didn't have time to do it myself, so I just paid for the detail- Stage 1. It was a bit expensive, but I figure it will be worth it in the long run. They spent about 3 hrs on my silver Leaf. I have pics of the after, and will post up when I get a chance.

Speak to Steve from Deep Reflections Detailers and tell him that Mike with the Silver Leaf sent ya. If people here in the Bay Area want a group discount, I could talk to him about it... so pls let me know. I was the first Leaf there, and he provided 120V for me to trickle charge.

http://www.deepreflectionsdetailers.com/

I noticed, after they clay bar-ed my car, the Silver paintwork has "orange peel" all over. Horrible quality- I guess for me it's my first Nissan ever. I have owned 2 Hondas and 2 Audis and never had seen orange peel.

 

[downeykp]

Welcome to the orange-peel crowd. I took my black sl in twice. They cut and rubbed it the first time. I left it there for a week the second time to have district rep. look at it. He never made it. Salesman said that there was no way that Nissan was going to do anything about fixing orange-peel. This is the worst paint I have come across in over 30 years of buying cars. On the bright side, the fill ups are really cheap.

 

[TomT]

Yeah. Unfortunately, in some ways, it is a 10 or 15K econobox stuffed with a high tech propulsion unit...

Welcome to the orange-peel crowd. I took my black sl in twice. They cut and rubbed it the first time. I left it there for a week the second time to have district rep. look at it. He never made it. Salesman said that there was no way that Nissan was going to do anything about fixing orange-peel. This is the worst paint I have come across in over 30 years of buying cars. On the bright side, the fill ups are really cheap.

 

[c1987]

My introduction to the thin paint was when the hatchback bumped a bike hanging in the garage. Nice dent and scratches
to metal. First and last damage, I am hoping.

 

[gascant]

My wife's Nissan Altima Hybrid, which we have driven many, many times on Highway 101 on the SF Peninsula, has nary a chip on it. But my 3 month old LEAF gets a new one, it seems, every week. We just had it detailed, including the clay bar treatment, and it looks better than the day we took delivery (except where someone dinged the filler door).

We are hopeful of having a meeting with Nissan to review our likes and suggestions for improvement (Nissan has a facility right in our back yard, in Mountain View) for the LEAF, and the paint will be very high on my list.

 

[TEG]

I think the MV facility may be specifically for telematics research.

 

[mxp]

My wife's Nissan Altima Hybrid, which we have driven many, many times on Highway 101 on the SF Peninsula, has nary a chip on it. But my 3 month old LEAF gets a new one, it seems, every week. We just had it detailed, including the clay bar treatment, and it looks better than the day we took delivery (except where someone dinged the filler door).

We are hopeful of having a meeting with Nissan to review our likes and suggestions for improvement (Nissan has a facility right in our back yard, in Mountain View) for the LEAF, and the paint will be very high on my list.

Did you get that Nissan rep's contact details when he was present at our recent NorCal Leaf RWC library meeting? I was hoping some of us have have been in contact offline.

 

[csriram45]

I was away from forums for a while. Interesting talk about "orange peel". Will have to watch out for it. How much did the detailing cost? I would like to get that done. I have read and know a lot about "Zaino"

 

[TEG]

Did you get that Nissan rep's contact details when he was present at our recent NorCal Leaf RWC library meeting? I was hoping some of us have have been in contact offline.

I got his business card, but haven't felt the need to contact him.

 

[downeykp]

I have been working on orange peel on black sl. Spent half a day using Maguires Scratch X, Swirl X and Gold Carnuba wax. I got half of the car done. It finally looks shiny, but now I can really see the orange peel and every other blemish in the paint. There are spots that I can't rub out and scratches that are micro fine.
I think sitting in Long Beach for two months really took a toll on the paint. This is with out a doubt the worst paint job I have ever seen. This is a new car. I have already spent almost $100 on waxes and scratch reducers. I should not have to Fuc# with this. Class action?

I was away from forums for a while. Interesting talk about "orange peel". Will have to watch out for it. How much did the detailing cost? I would like to get that done. I have read and know a lot about "Zaino"

 

[Herm]

You are supposed to let the paint cure for a bit before doing all that stuff.. 90 days from manufacture. I would double that.

Is the orange peel in the color coat or the clear coat?

 

[mxp]

I was away from forums for a while. Interesting talk about "orange peel". Will have to watch out for it. How much did the detailing cost? I would like to get that done. I have read and know a lot about "Zaino"

It was $225 for Stage 1. Its worth it considering they use Zaino products. I'd only do it once when the surface is new with minimal issues and do maintenace onwards.