Hi, just joined the forum. Recently bought a 2012 G37 IPL coupe in malbec black. Put a hundred or so miles on it and took it to a car wash. Thing came back with hundreds of chips in the hood and side mirrors; some were from before the wash too. Needless to say I'm pretty upset. I don't think this is covered under warranty or insurance.

I may bite the bullet and get the problem areas repainted and get a protective film put on right after. Will independent paint shops have higher quality than Infiniti? Has anyone went ahead and gotten their paint redone? I'm hoping this process will be around $1000.

Thanks

 

Welcome to the site, glad you found us.
Unfortunately Infiniti paint is very chip prone and a pretty fragile paint to deal with in my experience. The newer low VOC paint processes result in very weak overall paint finishes for almost all makes of cars compared to those a decade ago.

I doubt you'll have any warranty claim except a possible one w/ the car wash, but only if you have solid proof that it was caused by their machine(s).

G/L and too bad you're off to a rough start, hoping things get better, as the paint is one of the very few things I dislike about these cars.

 

Yeah, I've spent time on numerous different manufacture's forums and I think everyone complains about thin paint. That's too bad to hear man

Not to thread jack, but didn't Nissan "invent" "self healing paint"? Not sure when this was supposed to come out, but I remember reading the article back in 2012.

 

Thanks. Could someone enlighten me on the paint process? Do shops have to order that specific paint from OEM?

 

I bought a brand new 2012 Malbec Black M37x, there were a few paint issues and first attempt the dealership messed it up. The metal flake looked like that from the 70's, just a thick heavy layer of metal flake. I had to raise a stink and get Infiniti consumer affairs involved too. On second attempt they had some infiniti paint rep work with the shop and they got it right. The metal flake in the Malbec has a depthness to it like the metal flake layers are at different depths, almost 3D.

I know that doesn't help you out but why I bring it up is I don't think it's a paint the average Joe can spray to match OEM finish (paint quality aside). BTW, I had clear bra installed the day I bought the car (3rd party) as our G was used (Blue Slate) and saw what rock chips can do in that car.

 

Yep, clear bra FTW, wish I would have done that.

 

Malbec black is not a paint color to let an amateur do, but I do not think it is tri-cote like the pearl whites and the tri-cote red Mazda is shooting on every third job at a $400-500 premium. It should work out, but expect to blend into both fenders for continuity or it will stick put like a sore thumb.. Finally $1K might cover quality repairs (maybe and even then barely), but do not expect paint protection at that price point. That's not realistic for quality work.

Truly sorry for your situation. I hope it gets resolved as smoothly as possible. I stay away from car washes unless they are the wand type and I bring two buckets and everything I would use @ home to baby the crap waterborne finish on our cars.

Good luck.

 

Thanks, this is very helpful. Same to Broken Arrow. Wish I knew about clear bra and these paint issues when I first bought the car. The auto wash I used was fine for my older car. I'll probably call the Infiniti dealership and see who they use for detailing.

For those that clear bra'd. Did you get the entire front done? I know they offer different cuts.

 

I got the front bumper done, headlights, around the grill but not the hood. Dark cars in general are prone to rock chips showing (wax get's in the pit marks and makes them show more, hard to get every bit out) so it's just not an Infiniti thing. Also got that shelf like area near the trunk done (top of bumper) in case something getting put in/out of the trunk drags.