I'd like some opinions on a friend's 2014 Nissan 370z Touring edition

[cshamilton]

Hello all!

Side story, not 100% relevant! OK to skip!

Living in Jackson, MS, we're about 15 miles away from a relatively new (built in '03) Nissan plant here in Canton, MS. A friend of mine works there as a QA engineer. I could do an entire thread about how jealous I am of his amazing job, test driving brand new cars-reporting any issues he finds. Besides enjoying going to work every day, he also gets to lease vehicles; sometimes, they are at a considerable discount. He's driven Maximas, FX's, Altimas- each new every year. This year, he got the best one yet. It took me some time to convince him, but he did get the 6-speed manual, and as hard as I tried, he (or maybe his wife wouldn't let him) didn't lease the NISMO version. No leather, navigation, bose audio, etc. I'd prefer the NISMO features, but this is a DD. It was delivered two weeks ago, and he signed the paperwork on Thursday. It was manufactured in a Japanese factory and shipped via boat, then rail to Canton, so I'm told. On to the details and questions:

Stop Skipping now!



When he first drove it home, he said there was no orange peel, other than under the spoiler and just one minor spot of paint transfer- no swirls to be found. Today we foamed it up for fun and washed with DG 901, Clayed the paint, glass, and wheels, and used M26 liquid by hand. Then, we pulled it out into the WONDERFUL 68 degree sun overhead. It was wonderful. That's where the fun ended. I don't have any great pictures, as we were just inspecting today and I didn't bring the camera. Here's the issues that we found:

• Orange peel on every painted surface, except the spoiler and the front bumper.
• Swirls/cobwebs all over the front plastic bumper
• Paint transfer on a few panels
• Multi colored dots on the tires (not an issue)
• Rusted Rotors

So, I have enough products and experience to correct the swirls, paint transfer and rusted rotors. The Orange Peel is so sad. Neither one of us really saw it until it was completely washed, is that normal? I've read Mike's thread on MOL about wool pads and M105 on the older car to reduce Orange Peel, but I do have the following questions:

• What can I do with the orange peel with the list of products/equipment that I have?
  [*]Is there any products that I/he MUST have for this car, or do I already have enough for this car?
  [*]With the list of products/equipment that I have, what would you do with the brand new paint?

First, I'm not prepared to wet sand and I do not have a PTG, so I do not want to purchase the Denim Pads, but I'm very intrigued.

I have a PC 7424XP 5" BP and a Harbor freight Dual Action polisher with 3" BP for 4 Inch pads with the following pads: Lake Country flat 5.5''- 2 yellow, 4 orange, 4 white, 3 black. Harbor Freight: 2 black finishing pads, 4 blue polishing pads. 2 of each: CCS orange, white, and black 4" pads. I generally devote the HF pads to DuraGloss products as they are incredibly hard to remove the stains.

Skipping the washes and such this is what we have to work with:

Compounds:

• Megs UC
• M105 (on order, not here yet)
• 3m Rubbing compound
• Megs SwirlX 2.0- (Compound, Polish?)

Polishes, glazes, etc:

• Megs 7
• M205 (same order as 105)
• Megs U.P.
• P21S Paint cleanser
• Pinnacle Paint cleansing lotion

AIO:

• DuraGloss501
• DuraGloss105
• Megs gold class Paste wax
• Klasse AIO- Probably enough for one more car

Wax, Sealant, LSP, etc:

• GG spray wax
• DuraGloss 951 AW
• DG 111
• Megs 26
• P21s Paste
• Megs carnuba liquid
• Mothers pure carnuba
• tons of others

I have two weeks to plan and prepare for this awesome vehicle, and even better is he wants to learn how to machine polish. I love to help someone else get into the hobby. What would you guys do if you were in this situation?

I really want to order some DG 601 first.

Pics are *Pre Wash*

 

[cshamilton]

P.S.

That's his new "Little Big Shot" nozzle in the second pic. It streams down to a pencil-line spray. I guess you never do grow up, he's writing obscenities in the dry concrete with it.

 

[Docpeanut]

A denim pad would do the trick (carpro makes one I believe), however if you don't have experience with removing orange peel I wouldn't attempt it. It's super easy to take too much off.

If you are willing to give it a go, I'd encourage you to invest in a paint thickness gauge first, that way you can see what you're dealing with before, during and after

 

[cshamilton]

What's the best priced option for this? I've had wonderful experiences with all types of polishing, but am incredibly worried about removing too much paint. I asked if he would be interested in splitting this, I'm really just a hobbyist/gun-for-hire-for-friends/family. He just replied "it's a lease, just do it"

I can't do that but I also can't spend $250+ at this point in time. It will come but not right now.

Done tons of research and it seems that factory Nissan paint is pretty thin and I'd never forgive myself if I hurt this wonderful car.

 

[FUNX650]

He just replied "it's a lease, just do it"
.

That's not the right attitude, IMHO.
The vehicle either must be turned in or bought outright at the end of the lease.
Who do you think is going to get blamed for any "blemishes"...

Tread carefully.

Done tons of research and it seems that factory Nissan paint is pretty thin and I'd never forgive myself if I hurt this wonderful car.

Here's the dealio...

Sometimes you need to know when to fold em and walk away, like Kenny Rogers sings

^^^:iagree:^^^

Bob

 

[cshamilton]

That's not the right attitude, IMHO.
The vehicle either must be turned in or bought outright at the end of the lease.
Who do you think is going to get blamed for any "blemishes"...

Tread carefully.



^^^:iagree:^^^

Bob

Trust me, I agree.

There's two reasons I'm spending time with this car.

1. I LOVE this car to start with. It's refreshing to work on a car that is already "clean"
2. To help one of my best friends remove this attitude from his way of thinking, via introducing him into one of the greatest hobbies known to man: car care

This isn't his mindset on anything like that, so I would say it's his co-workers that are tainting the way he thinks of these cars. All I can say is tread lightly when it comes to buying a manufacturer's lease, especially a sports car.

I do not own any denim pads, and they're not something that I would try out on a friend/customer/family member's car without some documentation first. Even then, I'd like to work around on my car or a junk panel before doing something that will remove that much paint.

So, will compounding areas that don't have swirls make any noticeable difference? I've got to do the front bumper, and going to probably use DG 501 or the P21S paint cleanser on the entire car. This will give him some opportunity to use the PC and see how much better it is.

Seal it with the 501/105 or maybe go straight to 111, as it has really nice shine to it. Top with p21s paste or DGAW.

In all likelyhood, we'll use the M26 on this car after the whatever sealant, as it was incredible. I've never seen M26 look as good as it did on this deep midnight blue with a metallic flake.