How's the Paint on the Solara?

[fotodad]

I recently bought a brand new Nissan Murano. I'm relatively pleased with the car/SUV with the exception of the paint...IT SUCKS! Now I know stone chips are just a fact of life unless a bra of some kind is installed, but the paint on the Nissan is so flimsy I get chips even if a bug hits the thing. Just the other day I was trying to remove a bug splat from the bumper and the paint started to rub off, and I was NOT rubbing too hard. Enough about the crummy paint on the Nissan, how's the paint on the Solara? Is it durable? Does it chip easily? Is the finish glossy? Does the finish have an "orange peel" surface or is it nice and smooth?

Wow! Lots of questions! Thanks for helping me out with some or all of them.javascript:emoticon(':D')

[SammySolara]

You just got a Murano and now you want a Solara? wow your rich uncle must have just died... I like those Murano's they are very slick but I love my Solara even more. The Solara's paint isn't too great but you can always get a paint job and change your identity (color) after a while.

After my wreck I got a paint job and it looks better now than it did before... My Solara is an 02 so built in fall of 01 so thats nearly 2 years old and you could tell. Now my car looks BRAND SPANKIN NEW but just make sure you take care of it and use products and it should be sparklin'!

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

for front rock chips, i'd advise you to investige on the invisible bra (use the search button here, and you'll see pic's). Basically, its like having a bra...without making the front of the car look like its wearing shades...regular bra's are great too...do the job right and look decent...

As far as the paint on solara's go, i think its not as good quality as others manufacturers...but then i see soo many 2003 models that look older than they really are..and thats when i appreciate my paint!

[700t]

[quote="fotodad"] , how's the paint on the Solara? Is it durable? Does it chip easily? Is the finish glossy? Does the finish have an "orange peel" surface or is it nice and smooth?

:/quote]

I worked in the Paint shop at TMMC the entire time the Solara was being built June1998-Dec2002.I can tell you that the paint Tmmc buys from the supplier is top quality and they have very strict standards as to specifications of the material(paint).
The clearcout is acid resistant but it does tend to be prone to stone chips.
As for the finish it is no better than a Corolla or Matrix which I feel you should have a smoother glossier finnish because of the price difference in the cars. How durable it is remains to be seen.

[guest]

I think the paint on the Solara should be better. I have a '99 SLE with 115,000 miles. I wash and wax it regularly with Zymol. Yet the paint has definetly lost it's shine and looks weathered. My dad has a '97 Acura RL and the paint on that car looks new. People can't believe it's a six year old car. My Solara is newer, yet it looks older.

[HKSV6SLE]

i think the paint on the solara is ok...mine still looks fairly new...and i've driven my car through everything...desert, bugs galore..and probably everything in between....i have cips all over the front of my car...but realitive to how i drive i think it's holding up well..my car is a 99

[Missay]

I'm not that impressed w/ the paint. My 99 w/ 45k already has a rust spot and a few substantial chips (although one was my fault ).

Although, my rust spot my be a result of a "suspected accident" before I bought it on the driver's side rear. I didn't run a carfax, but the body shop that fixed my car thought it was my second accident and wanted to know who did the "crappy paint job" on the side