New bubbles forming in aged factory paint

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140BPM

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I just picked up an '09 370z a month ago- no issues seen when I first detailed it other than standard rock chips here and there. It was just a standard wax job.

A few days ago I polished up the front end with my Porter/XMT products and then used a sealant + wax. Now today I noticed a few small bubbles popping in the paint randomly over the hood area. Can't get a good picture in the garage but will try later. Look like tiny rain drops.

Any thoughts on what could cause factory paint to bubble? My car has been running a little hotter than usual lately in the summer heat with me pushing it. But the majority of the bubbles are on the edges of the hood, not the center. I'm so confused and need some guidance if I have done something wrong.
 
Usually bubbles are from rust under the paint from either age (panel rust) or poor prep from a body shop repair. I your case I'd guess the later.
 
picture would help, if they are very small bubbles it could easily be solvent bubbles that were beneath the factory coat, and polishing removed the layer of clear that was over it. if there is no other open or exposed paint nearby, i would vote for that. but if you have open paint or they are near an unpainted edge, you could have rust.

pictures.
 
Pics to come soon. In the meantime I should add that while inspecting the underside of the hood tonight for defects in the paint (there were none) I noticed a warning sticker saying "hard clear coat - use only approved refinishing materials"

Could this be a clue why these defects are appearing on my hood after machine polishing? I actually just found a few on the fenders too, which were also polished. None on the rest of the car I haven't touched yet. Something is up...
 
The hard clear coat label is probably for detailers to know that they will need to get aggressive if they want to correct this paint. You could ask Nissan about it but that's the only thing I can think of. It's probably a ceramic clear coat so it's super hard to correct.
 
Are the bubbles Under the paint or between the paint and what ever product you applied?

Under the paint bubbles are usually rust forming or in the case of a new paint job solvents trapped in the paint from not letting enough time go by between layers of paint. This uncured paint then has no place for the solvents to evaporate and form bubbles. If you waxed or sealed a new paint job, this is most likelly what is happening.
 
Wow that looks weird! Because it's an 09 i'd take it to the dealer. Doesn't Nissan have a paint warranty against defects?
 
GenesisCoupe said:
Wow that looks weird! Because it's an 09 i'd take it to the dealer. Doesn't Nissan have a paint warranty against defects?
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Warranty is over - 65k miles on her. She was someones daily driver, and is now my daily driver :) I purchased from a non-Nissan dealer with a warranty, but I doubt they would cover this. I plan on calling Monday anyway.

I went over the whole car thoroughly on Friday, and I swear there are a few newer ones forming on the fenders I just noticed today. I am not seeing any of these on the rear of the car, which I have not polished yet.

If it was solvent pop, wouldn't there be a ton of them appearing in clusters? They are pretty spread out as you can tell by the pics (so far).
 
140BPM said:
Warranty is over - 65k miles on her. She was someones daily driver, and is now my daily driver :) I purchased from a non-Nissan dealer with a warranty, but I doubt they would cover this. I plan on calling Monday anyway.

I went over the whole car thoroughly on Friday, and I swear there are a few newer ones forming on the fenders I just noticed today. I am not seeing any of these on the rear of the car, which I have not polished yet.

If it was solvent pop, wouldn't there be a ton of them appearing in clusters? They are pretty spread out as you can tell by the pics (so far).
Click to expand...

Dépends how the paint dried. It could be just a few spots here and there or it could be all over the place. Are you sure no paint was done on this car? I would ask on a painter's forum if I were you. A painter would know if those are fish eyes or other paint solvent problems. This this forum: https://www.autobody101.com/forums/

Let us know what they tell you.
 
I guess I'll be calling the dealership I got it from, and also try to get it seen by a couple body shops over the next week. I'll report back in a few days hopefully
 
Quick update: dealership I purchased from confirmed no recent respray on any other part except for the front bumper. Took it to 3 different body shops and all had different opinions, but none could answer why they would be just now starting to appear.

However, lately it seems new ones have been showing up less frequently. I had just 2-3 new ones appear a few weeks ago but nothing recently. I also haven't polished it since the problem occurred. Still wondering if there is a link between polishing and these defects, since they didn't start appearing (in large numbers anyway) until after my first full polish.
 
Well, this may sound dumb, but does the car have paint protection film on it (PPF/clear bra)? I would think the body shop guys would have noticed that, though.
 
No, it does not have a clear bra or even spray on paint defender type protection. Again, these defects seem to be under the color base as well, not just the clear. It really does resemble bad prep but why they wouldn't have shown until now is the mystery.
 
Is it possibly that self-healing paint that Nissan was using for a while? I can see how that might be kind of amorphous.
 
I've read conflicting reports about which models they used that on. Some info online suggests it was in fact used on '09 and some '10 models. Other sources say it was only used in foreign markets and not U.S. domestic models. I can't find a definitive answer, so that's why I've been posting a lot on here looking for better answers :)
 
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