I've had my 2012 Limited for less than 4 months. Yesterday I washed the car after a 350 mile (each way) trip to West Texas. Rock chips can be expected but I've NEVER seen paint get ruined from a single trip.

The attached picture is after claybaring. I'll post pictures of my attempts to fix this.

 

Hm, with the info given, your car (and its front bumper paint) is 3-4 yrs old, depending on when it was originally bought, and that's a lot of time for road abuse AND improper washing.

Lots of used car lots and dealerships use "glaze" type products that temporarily fill swirls and scratches in the clearcoat, so it looks great on the lot, but once it's washed a few times, the glaze rinses out and swirls emerge. Also, washing technique has A LOT to do with adding (or preventing) swirl marks and scratches in the clearcoat.

That said, yes, Infiniti paint quality is pretty low (which I believe can be applied to Nissan in general), but the condition of your front bumper is likely not the result of a just 700 miles of driving (unless I'm missing something, which may be the case).

 

Infiniti paint used to be great until 2002+
My paint on my 15+ year old g20s is still strong.
Maybe try dr.colorchip I know there was a thread on it somewhere.

 

You make a valid point. Being a black car it is almost always dusty/ dirty so I probably didn't notice. I just found a photo I took right before my trip. It's a close up of a broken fog light. Sure enough there is existing damage in that area.

This makes me feel better. Though, in full disclosure I was doing over 90 mph the entire trip... and may have in a fit of rage tailgated a semi truck or two that was doing 55 in the passing lane of a 75 mph highway. Without a doubt the trip did do some damage.

I just got off the phone with my insurance company. They're taking care of it.

 

I agree. My 13 malbec black g37 seems to scratch very easily. I've clayed, compounded, polished, waxed and sealed it and I hesitate to use a detailing spray w a new microfiber because it leaves new scratches. The hood has nicks all over it. The car has 25k miles and I take good care of of it.

If I had to do it over again. I would've picked a color other then black. I had a pearl white g and it seemed to hold up alot better.

 

The paint on my 2010 Obsidian Black is pretty bad as well.

Passenger door has half a dozen rock chips.

Rear bumper is a mess. Looks like the previous owner parked it next to sprinklers.

Passenger fender looks like someone wearing sandpaper jeans leaned over it while maintaining the engine.

Front bumper where I removed the licence place holder is a mess.

Still looks good though despite the imperfections.

 

I have!

S#it happens!



Telcoman

 

WTF is that from?

 

I have a black 2012 g37s and I have the same problem! When I bought it from the dealership it looked perfect but the next day after I washed the car I saw that the entire front bumper and half of the hood had paint chips. I called the dealer and told them about it and the only thing they said that they can do is re-paint the front bumper and hood for $600. I got a quote from a body shop and they told me it would be $1200!
What did you tell your insurance company for them to cover the damage???

 

Interesting. I've had my '13 for over two years, and there's barely a nick on it, including the front clip. Just lucky, i guess.

 

I have a black 2013 G sedan and similar issues here, though not as bad as telcoman's pic -- ouch!!

I'll say this: there is a wealth of exterior care info on the Car Care & Detailing sub-forum.

I messed up by immediately applying a sealant (Manzerna) and a dark-color-friendly wax (Poor boy's carnauba) both purchased with myG37 discount from Detailed Image. And the car looks pretty awesome but what I SHOULD have done is take care of the scratches, polish to buff out the clear-coat swirls, THEN sealant and wax.

I've never done anything to a car exterior besides wax, so I'm a noob at this but after spending time on the Car Care forum, and all the how-to videos linked there.... once this layer of sealant starts to wear off, I'm going to do everything the right way.

 

Meant to add: I know black cars are prone to this but totally agree with the OP, overall the paint application seems low-quality.

I have some weird stain-looking spots here & there which I hope can be claybar'ed away. I've taken pics of the stains but the pics don't give good representation... I'll keep trying... ultimately want to post them here get your opinions.

 

Which color would show least pain damage, silver or perhaps white?

 

Same here, after 24,000 miles on my 2011.

Blame "the paint" all you want, but the real factors are how much highway driving you do, the composite materials used on the highways in your region, and how close you drive to the car in front of you.

If you live in the mid-west, the highways have lots of crushed granite, which is killer for paint chips. Here in the northeast, we have dolomite in our roads, which is less prone to get picked up in little pieces than granite is.

As for driving too close to the cars in front of you... that's a lesson everyone has to learn on their own. Here's a tip: when you see a car without rear mudflaps, keep your distance. When you see a truck without rear mudflaps, double the distance.

Sorry for your problems, OP. That has to be upsetting.

 

Infiniti (Nissan) has soft paint that chips easy. It's the paint and/or prep. Keeping further away will help, but you'll still get chips. Just search any Nissan forum Z, GTR, etc. and you will see paint quality complaints all the time. I owned a Maxima years ago and it chipped easily.