Neglected Black 350Z

[RaskyR1]

So I was bored after work and thought I'd play around with my roommates 350Z. I think it's a 2004 and he has not waxed it since it was new. I don't know if I've even seen a more neglected car of this status. My clay bar will be toast after this car.
The clear was weird on this car and I had some trouble finding a combo I liked. I started out using my FLEX with Meguiars #80 equipped with a W8006 pad which had little results. I stepped it up to #83 and still had minimal results. Then I tried #80 with my rotary and that made some progress but still not to my likings. Finally I pulled out the new #105 on the rotary and then the paint finally came to life. Check out how bad the paint on this car is! It had all kinds of above surface defects, etched in bird droppings, deep scratches and scuff. To top it off the whole front end was chipped really bad which I thought was odd since it only has like 40K on it. I will actually finish the car another and I only had time to do the hood since he was leaving for the night.


door

roof

hatch

etched bird poo

large scuff on door

deep scratch on door

major scratches down low

more etched bird poo

after #80 with rotary

after #105 and rotary....(#105 rocks!)

finished product....(notice all the chips!)

I should have finished pics in a few weeks. Just need to find a time when he is actually home for the weekend.

[wytstang]

The half and half shows a huge improvement awesome results. Now how does and 04(?) end like that so quickly is sad.

[Jimmie]

Good job. Looks like he could use your advice on washing also.

[Streetlife]

Paint chips is an ongoing problem With the Nissan 350z. Nissan really needs to improve their quality. It's a great car that Nissan just doesn't have enough pride in. Personally, I love the 350Z that's why i'm waiting until they improve the interior and shorten the wheel base, and install a more driver friendly suspension. Edmunds.com says that the new 350z will be called 370z, it's supposed to have all of the improvements i've been waiting for. For the love of detailing, i hope they give the 370z a better quality paint job.

[RaskyR1]

Thanks guys!

Yeah he really has no knowledge of washing a car let alone claying, waxing, or polishing. I'm actually going to be showing him how to do everything the day I go to finish it up. I'll have him do the wash, clay bar and even run the PC. I'll do the rotary work though. Honestly, I don't think he's even hand washed it before...only the auto washes.

It’s really sad to see a car like this be so abused. I guess to some people it's just transportation, not a work of art.

[Pyrocite]

Still waiting on update :P

[RaskyR1]

Originally Posted by Pyrocite

Still waiting on update :P

LOL....yeah, he wants me to show him how to do it himself and I just haven't had the time between working full time and going to school part time. I'm also less driven to do it knowing he still won't take care of it.


Maybe next spring since the car is going into storage soon.

[Pyrocite]

Well im available, you can show me! (car detail only please )

[matt@autogeek.net]

Great job. Can't wait to see the full afters!

[gohandbz8]

As a fellow 350z owner, it pains me to see the car in that condition. Very nice turnaround on what you've done so far. Look forward to the finished job. Nissan has some really soft and thin paint. I also have quite a few paint chips on my hood. Hopefully they will step it up a bit on the 370z.