Pine tree sap -cracked clear coat

[Sandra Dee]

has anyone had tree sap crack your clear coat? i have two clear coats on my car-one factory and one Simoniz coat. The car is almost four months old and i dont understand it. i kept the car pretty clean-under a car cover as well....

just asking in general if people have seen this a lot in the detail business....

[b_pappy]

Kind of late to the thread, but congratulations on the paint job. That is a pretty color. Since the dealer is only allocating x dollars for a repaint, I wonder if it is worth discussing if upgrades are available. Discuss exactly what the dealer is paying for them to do. Then maybe drop a few bills for two more coats of clear on top, color sand & buff. Then all you need for protection is Adam's...

Bruce

[Sandra Dee]

they are going to repaint the whole car....

[XQIZT]

they are going to repaint the whole car....

 

Make sure they STRIP it entirely...don't accept substandard work. Also, do they know what causes the bubbling? If so, make sure they address that issue. A defect of some kind in the surface of the metal will cause repeated bubbling no matter what you do.

[Doug123]

Oh yeah! That's how it should be! Congratulations!

[Nordgrey]

Very cool!

 

You get to start absolutely fresh on the finish as well. After it completely cures of course.....LOL

[Chewy]

Gosh I hope they don't buff the poo out of it when they finish... They always seem to do this. Swirl city then...

 

Great news!

 

Chris

[Ian6]

^ yep thats what happened to mine when i had it repainted. is it possible to have them wet-sand only and not do any buffing? who's doing the re-paint? If it was my car I'd make sure they wet-sanded all the way up to 3000 grit for a perfectly level finish as good or better than factory

[Chewy]

You can't NOT buff the finish after wet sanding. If you skip that step it'll look a bit flat. lol

 

I was hoping they could try to reproduce the factory finish without buffing.

 

Chris

[Ian6]

yea thats what i was thinking but wasnt sure

[StormChaser]

That's great news!!!! I can't wait to see pictures of her afterwards!

[Sandra Dee]

ok my friends-here she is...

 

 

 

 

this is a decent body shop in Cary NC -the paint on the 370Z runs 5-7K for the black cherry...so I will be doing something to protect the paint once it is cured. Not sure WHAT-but I will do something.

[XQIZT]

I cannot get anyone on the phone over there....so I will leave the hospital and start driving....

gosh-it just shouldnt be this hard!!!!

 

No...no it shouldn't....but then again, not every company has customer service like Adam's.

[Sandra Dee]

Kind of late to the thread, but congratulations on the paint job. That is a pretty color. Since the dealer is only allocating x dollars for a repaint, I wonder if it is worth discussing if upgrades are available. Discuss exactly what the dealer is paying for them to do. Then maybe drop a few bills for two more coats of clear on top, color sand & buff. Then all you need for protection is Adam's...

Bruce

wow-you are a real lifesaver! I am going to ask-I have the body shops email. I do want three coats of clear-the Nissan paint is soft and it wont hurt. Then I have to decide what to do on top of that-clear bra or spray on protectant. I keep hearing diff things from diff people....

[Junkman2008]

wow-you are a real lifesaver! I am going to ask-I have the body shops email. I do want three coats of clear-the Nissan paint is soft and it wont hurt. Then I have to decide what to do on top of that-clear bra or spray on protectant. I keep hearing diff things from diff people....

 

There is no protectant that is sprayed on top of clear. Clear is the protectant for the paint. WAX is the protectant for clear. Don't get suckered into spending a dime for some type of "clear protectant". There is no such animal.

 

Another thing. I see that they have taken th time to remove body panels. That's a good sign of a good shop. I don't however see the bumpers. Here's the rule of thumb when painting a car. Any body panel that touches another should be separated BEFORE painting. If there is space between the panels (like the space at both end of the doors or where the front bumper meets the edge of the hood)), you can get away with not separating those. But were the front and rear bumpers meet the fenders, there is no space. Thus, they need to come off the car before painting.

 

The reason is that paint and clear must be wrapped around those edges when sprayed. If not, the paint and clear will begin to crack in those seams over time as the body flexes. This will result in the clear peeling abd the seems will start to look as if they have wax buildup in them. That's the way sloppy body shops paint cars. It's quicker for them and the damage takes a while to show up. Most customers never come back to complain.

[Sandra Dee]

yah-the protectant I was looking at is called virtual shield or something like that. I am just trying to save this new paint job. I did write to the body shop and requested three clear coats. I will let it cure for 90 days.

Guess then I need to see who can do the clear bra. What an ordeal with a new car...

[Junkman2008]

The clear bra is an excellent choice. You must take care and not damage it by buffing on or near it. As for caring for the paint, that's what the 2-bucket wash technique is for. If you wash or wipe on the car correctly, then you won't develop any pint issues. That's where all the damage you see in paint has come from.

[Sandra Dee]

The clear bra is an excellent choice. You must take care and not damage it by buffing on or near it. As for caring for the paint, that's what the 2-bucket wash technique is for. If you wash or wipe on the car correctly, then you won't develop any pint issues. That's where all the damage you see in paint has come from.

yes-i have watched your videos and do as you do to the best of my ability. My paint problem came from droplets on the car while it was on the lot or at port-when I bought it I had a sealant put on. So the corrosive started eating the paint and it was sandwiched in. I babied the car-kept it clean and inspected it twice a day for bird poo and such. I have the two buckets with grit guards,cal duster and DS,WCW etc plus a filter for my hose so no water spots-and a ton of other products. Kind of ironic cuz now all I can do is wash it.no wax til turkey day.

[Junkman2008]

yes-i have watched your videos and do as you do to the best of my ability. My paint problem came from droplets on the car while it was on the lot or at port-when I bought it I had a sealant put on. So the corrosive started eating the paint and it was sandwiched in. I babied the car-kept it clean and inspected it twice a day for bird poo and such. I have the two buckets with grit guards,cal duster and DS,WCW etc plus a filter for my hose so no water spots-and a ton of other products. Kind of ironic cuz now all I can do is wash it.no wax til turkey day.

 

Well wash away my lady! Wash away! After 90 days, MSW will be your friend.

[Sandra Dee]

will do Junkman-I can take orders!

[Junkman2008]

will do Junkman-I can take orders!

 

Really now....

 

 

 

[b_pappy]

yes-i have watched your videos and do as you do to the best of my ability. My paint problem came from droplets on the car while it was on the lot or at port-when I bought it I had a sealant put on. So the corrosive started eating the paint and it was sandwiched in. I babied the car-kept it clean and inspected it twice a day for bird poo and such. I have the two buckets with grit guards,cal duster and DS,WCW etc plus a filter for my hose so no water spots-and a ton of other products. Kind of ironic cuz now all I can do is wash it.no wax til turkey day.

Very cool Sandi, sound like quite the enthusiast.

[Sandra Dee]

Very cool Sandi, sound like quite the enthusiast.

I am pretty excited when it comes to shine...

and yes, junkie-I can take an order....really.

[StormChaser]

Good luck girl, I hope they fix it for you. Since you have a brand new ride, they definitely need to fix something!!

 

Don't hesitate to contact someone about it above the dealer's heads....

[Team Adam's]

Sandi,

 

The factory clear coat is paint, the simoniz is nothing more than a sealant and not a very good one at that. Pine sap if left to sit for any period of time would have no problem completely deteriorating the simoniz and etching the clear coat.

 

Now you said it "cracked" it? Do you have a visual crack or is it just an outline of where the sap was? Post pictures if at all possible.

 

As for the simoniz - this is taken directly from the backend of a Nissan dealership training manual on how to upsell the 'paint protection' by Simoniz:

 

"An exclusive paint protection program with Teflon® Surface Protector that provides warranty coverage where the factory doesn't."

 

Q: What are the environmental contaminants that are not covered by my factory "Warranty" that this Warranty Program will cover?

 

A: Once the factory applied plastic wrap is removed at the dealership, your vehicle's paint finish is no longer protected. Acid rain, which is the EPA documented results of industrial pollution, bird waste and tree sap, which are also highly acidic and the harmful UV rays from the sun. These contaminants destroy the clearcoat paint finish on your vehicle resulting in permanent water spotting, blemishes, oxidation, fading and loss of gloss. The Simoniz SYSTEM 5 warranty program will repair or repaint your vehicle if it should develop paint damage caused by acid rain, tree sap, bird waste or UV from the sun.

 

Now I won't get into the specifics of why the claims they use teflon are inaccurate, but if you paid for this service then it seems to me they should be obligated to repair any damages. If you have any damage I'd definitely contact the dealer and see what they say... especially if the paint is cracking.

[Sandra Dee]

thanks Dylan-I only have a camera on my phone and i tried to take pics which were not in enough detail. The "sap" is little round circles that are raised with bubbles/cracks in it-mainly on the hood and trunk. This car was polished with a PC and waxed and the raised areas are still there. Under the ?DS go bad thread I posted some pics and i cannot reupload them.

Simoniz dude just wants to wet sand and re clear coat it-let that cure then re simoniz. Body shops say i need to repaint then clear coat-I am just wondering if body shops are right before I go to the dealer today and be assertive...