What I thought was rail dust.....

[Tim Lingor]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Hey Tim,

All the other angles, especially in direct sunlight, don't show anything except for the lovely DISO. This is a brand new vehicle. It is on pretty much all the panels except for the lower portions of the door panels. Lots on the hood and trunk lid (the picture is of the trunk lid). I have tried the hand in a plastic bag (both ziploc and grocery) after claying to see if any bumps remained and there were none. This is not a metalic paint job and it looks kind of silly on a straight black car. I would appreciate any help you can give me.

Matt

From your description, it sounds like it is in the paint. I would take it back to the dealer as it appears to be a factory defect. I would not let them simply wet sand and buff it out as you will lose a lot of longevity out of the paint. If it is a defect, I would insist on a full repaint.

Please keep us updated with what the dealer says...

Tim

[mreim769]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Matt, I would definitely go to the dealer and have them inspect it closely. It could well be that these specks are in the paint itself and are a consequence of a defective paint job, in which case you may well have strong grounds for demanding a replacement vehicle.

Though my situation is not comparable to you, perhaps it may prove instructive. Earlier in the year I had my passenger door repainted. Two weeks later, after a wash, I noticed white dots in the paint. I returned it to the body shop. They wetsanded and buffed the door. It looked fine when I picked it up. A week or two later, I noticed that the dots were there again. I took it back to the body shop. They were insistent that the cause had to be environmental at my end, but they eventually agreed to bring in the paint rep. The guy looked at my paint under a microscope and determined that the dots were in the clearcoat. Neither he nor the body shop had an explanation for how they had been introduced into the paint, but he agreed that whatever they were, I was not responsible for them; and so the body shop re-sprayed the door.

That is a very interesting insight. Thanks. I am going to the dealer tonight and have a chit-chat with them as to why this was not shown to me before I drove off with this car. They had a nice thick layer of dust on the car when I went to pick it up which I was fine with because I really didn't want them to go crazy with the DISO. Didn't think they were using it to cover the specs.

[akimel]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Matt, I would definitely go to the dealer and have them inspect it closely. It could well be that these specks are in the paint itself and are a consequence of a defective paint job, in which case you may well have strong grounds for demanding a replacement vehicle.

Though my situation is not comparable to you, perhaps it may prove instructive. Earlier in the year I had my passenger door repainted. Two weeks later, after a wash, I noticed white dots in the paint. I returned it to the body shop. They wetsanded and buffed the door. It looked fine when I picked it up. A week or two later, I noticed that the dots were there again. I took it back to the body shop. They were insistent that the cause had to be environmental at my end, but they eventually agreed to bring in the paint rep. The guy looked at my paint under a microscope and determined that the dots were in the clearcoat. Neither he nor the body shop had an explanation for how they had been introduced into the paint, but he agreed that whatever they were, I was not responsible for them; and so the body shop re-sprayed the door.

[mreim769]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Generally metal flake only shows around the area that the light is hitting it in, not all over the paint surface. If its under the clearcoat it sounds like your only option would be a repaint. I would go to your dealership and demand an explanation or a repaint. Just my 2¢.

Yeah man. It looks like that is my only option.

[Calais]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Generally metal flake only shows around the area that the light is hitting it in, not all over the paint surface. If its under the clearcoat it sounds like your only option would be a repaint. I would go to your dealership and demand an explanation or a repaint. Just my 2¢.

[mreim769]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Hi Matt,

Do you have any other pictures from different angles or in direct sunlight?

The vehicle has not been painted and it is all over the paint on every panel or just certain ones? Have you used the hand in a plastic sandwich bag trick to see if you can feel anything on the surface?

Tim

Hey Tim,

All the other angles, especially in direct sunlight, don't show anything except for the lovely DISO. This is a brand new vehicle. It is on pretty much all the panels except for the lower portions of the door panels. Lots on the hood and trunk lid (the picture is of the trunk lid). I have tried the hand in a plastic bag (both ziploc and grocery) after claying to see if any bumps remained and there were none. This is not a metalic paint job and it looks kind of silly on a straight black car. I would appreciate any help you can give me.

Matt

[Tim Lingor]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Hi Matt,

Do you have any other pictures from different angles or in direct sunlight?

The vehicle has not been painted and it is all over the paint on every panel or just certain ones? Have you used the hand in a plastic sandwich bag trick to see if you can feel anything on the surface?

Tim

[RoGuE]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

I've never seen metal flakes spaced out that much.

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Might even be acid rain or some type of chemical etch, hard to tell from pic.

[roushstage2]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Any other pictures? To me, at this point, it looks like metallic flakes in the paint. If it is not, and is in fact in the paint, there is nothing you can rub on the paint to make them go away. Perhaps give a call to the dealer or manufacturer to find out if your paint is metallic or not? If it isn't, you should go show your dealer and get something figured out.

[mreim769]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

[mreim769]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

On a clean panel spray some quick detailer or water on a panel, then put your fingers inside of a plastic bag (Ziploc), and rub your fingers tips over the panel. If it feels 100% smooth, it is inside/under the paint. If you feel bumps, it is something like can potentially be removed with clay or paint cleaners.

As I stated in the original post I have clayed to a smooth finish which means it is under the clear coat. Thanks for your help anyways.

Look on the info plate in the driver door jamb located down on the bottom of the " B " piller for the paint code and let me know I work for a Nissan Dealership and will dbl chk for you if they had any Issues.

My colour code is KH3. I would appreciate any updates you can give me.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

On a clean panel spray some quick detailer or water on a panel, then put your fingers inside of a plastic bag (Ziploc), and rub your fingers tips over the panel. If it feels 100% smooth, it is inside/under the paint. If you feel bumps, it is something like can potentially be removed with clay or paint cleaners.

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

Perfect, I have both of those and will try to use them as soon as I can. What kind of pad do you suggest? A more aggressive cutting pad or just a lighter polishing pad?



Pretty much all the painted surfaces with the exception of the lower portions of the door panels. That is what originally led me to believe it was rail dust. Might it be overspray or maybe dust in the paint booth?

Look on the info plate in the driver door jamb located down on the bottom of the " B " piller for the paint code and let me know I work for a Nissan Dealership and will dbl chk for you if they had any Issues.

[WhiskeyRock-a-roller]

Re: What I thought was rail dust.....

I will try it by hand first then. Do you by chance know how aggressive the white polishing pad that comes with the PC 7424 is? My new pads are all on order and won't be here for a bit.

It's garbage... I wouldn't reccomend using it... Everyone I know that has used it said it was horrible.

Mine has been reserved for polishing my canoe... lol.

I'd wait for your pads to show before hitting it with the PC. You wouldn't wanna risk making it worse....