I purchased a White 2005 Frontier King cab last year. Everything has been great and I love the vehicle. That is, until I finally gave it a thorough spring washing this week. I noticed that on the lower parts of the parts of the truck there was a lot of rust colored spots. I started looking closer at these, and low and behold it appears that the spots are rust forming under the paint and clear coat. Even the rear ‘splash guard’ (piece of plastic on the front side of the rear wheel well) has spots forming underneath it with no signs of rocks penetrating the plastic. The spots are noticeable when viewed from 4’ away although they are small enough that you can’t see them from afar. So far this truck has only been driven in city / light highway traffic and garaged every night. I do live in Wisconsin, so we get salt on the roads every winter, but I didn’t expect for it to destroy a new car within one winter.
I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem with their nissans. While I am concerned about the appearance of my new vehicle, I do not want to be ‘that guy’ that comes into the dealer irate about a common paint problem.
Last edited by MSwart : Apr 29th, 2006 at 07:49 AM.
are you sure that they are under the paint? I work at a dealership, and every now and again, we have to pull "rail dust" off of a vehicle. Sometimes vehicles get shipped by train rather than truck, the dust kicked up by the trains wheels and brakes will actually embed itself in the paint on the car. It is especially noticable on white vehicles. You might take it somewhere, and see if they can buff the vehicle to see if it might come off., or you can try some polishing compound at home, just test a small area first. It should come off, but it may take a while.
It sure feels like they are under the paint. There is a little bump or bubble where they are right now, but it doesn't feel like a break in the paint coat.
That is very interesting regarding the rail dust. Would've this been something that I would have noticed when I bought the car, or takes place over the course of a winter? Will I see this re-appear consistantly in the future?
I've taken a picture of a trouble area, maybe you could take a look and see if this resembles what you have seen in the past.
The black spots are little tar things I haven't scrubbed off yet. I got pretty discouraged after not being able to remove the rust spots by scrubbing and quit detailing the truck early.
It sure feels like they are under the paint. There is a little bump or bubble where they are right now, but it doesn't feel like a break in the paint coat.
That is very interesting regarding the rail dust. Would've this been something that I would have noticed when I bought the car, or takes place over the course of a winter? Will I see this re-appear consistantly in the future?
I've taken a picture of a trouble area, maybe you could take a look and see if this resembles what you have seen in the past.
The black spots are little tar things I haven't scrubbed off yet. I got pretty discouraged after not being able to remove the rust spots by scrubbing and quit detailing the truck early.
I'd try some Bug & Tar remover, then I'd go over the area with a clay bar and then wax it. If you still have the spots after that, I'd bring it to the dealer. FWIW, I had similar looking spots on my Grand Am when I first got it (used) and after doing the above, they were gone and never returned. Good Luck & let us know how it turns out.
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Jerry
2004 Frontier, King Cab, XE, 4x1, 4-cyl, 5-spd My Frontier Page
What jerryp58 said. I have used the clay bar on all of my vehicles and it does a very nice job of removing contami-
nants from your paint.
I too have an Avalanche white truck, but the only problem
I have had is the chips.
Since the mud guards are made of a plastic material there would be no rust forming on them. It would more likely be some contaminant that was not removed before they were painted.
I have pitting in that area too. It's rather disappointing for this to happen with only 2,000 on the truck, but my Ranger had the same problem and it really didn't blossom into anything major, so I won't worry about it. I wish that bellow the belt line they would have sprayed rubberized undercoating like my Sentra has.
Well, I got a clar bar and here are the results: Wow, that thing actually works like a champ. I do have to deviate from the directions and apply a moderate pressure (instead of light pressure) to the bar in order to get those marks out.
Thanks for the advice guys, saved me a trip to the dealer!
Well, I got a clar bar and here are the results: Wow, that thing actually works like a champ. I do have to deviate from the directions and apply a moderate pressure (instead of light pressure) to the bar in order to get those marks out.
Thanks for the advice guys, saved me a trip to the dealer!
COOL!
__________________
Jerry
2004 Frontier, King Cab, XE, 4x1, 4-cyl, 5-spd My Frontier Page
2005 Frontier - Bad Factory Paint Job?
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