Lexus Paint

[5918mike]

.....is terrible! At least mine seems to be. I`ve started really detailing it and the paint seems to be chipped and scratched a ton more than my S-10, the Lex is 2 years old and is driven 20% of the time and truck is 5 years old and driven 80% of the time, so I just don`t get it.



Any other Lexus owners feel this way, or have any of you other guys heard something that might explain this.

[autoweenie]

Yes, I have asked the same question at the Lexus forum.



My wife drives a 2003 RX (white pearl).

There are already about 20 chips in the front of the car.

(some of them quite large :eek: )

At first, I thought it was the profile of the car - but may be not.



Recently, I bought some fairly expensive touch-up paint pen

to fix these chips. The results were not very satisfactory.

(I generally stink at fixing up things :sosad )

[GoodnClean]

In my experience the paint is soft (dark colors) and hard (light colors). That means the dark colors scratch easy and the light colors chip easy. The paint is visually nice though and cleans up well...

[jfelbab]

It is my understanding that in order to meet new strict VOC emission regulations, manufacturers have changed their paint formulations which has resulted in much more brittle and chip prone paint.



There are only a couple of options to help this situation. There are now clear bras that are nearly invisible. These work but are expensive and their longevity is limited. Another is to start following the three second rule. Lay back behind the car in front of you by 3 seconds. This gets you out of the stone zone and will minimize the occurrences of damage.

[autoweenie]

Yeah - blame the EPA - that what those Lexus forum people told

me.



Unfortunately on our freeway, the 3 second rule means that it

will take exactly 3 seconds for another car to cut in in front of you

if you leave sufficient room between you and the car in front of you.

[Deanski]

I feel your pain!



I have a 2003 SC430 and within 5 days, I had several chips on the hood, front bumper and side mirror. I spoke to Lexus about this and they claim it`s the design of the car:rolleyes: right.....



Anyway, I had Lexus fix this problem, then I did my research and had Armorglove installed. Armorglove seem to be the best and best looking film. Other films have a bit of orange peel look.



So, I had the front bumper/air-dam, hood (wrapped under edge), fender wings, rocker panels, side mirrors and door cups.



Best investment I`ve made! If you could see where the stones hit, it`s frightning.



Here`s what it looks like, granted I had to leave wax on the seam as it`s darn hard to pick-up far away. Close-up you can then see it.



Armorgloved SC430 (http://www.autopia.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3701&papass=&sort=1)



My advise, if you love your Lexus... GLOVE IT!



Oh yea, see my rant on Club Lexus!



Regards,

Deanski

[autoweenie]

Just curious - how much does it cost.



Thanks.

[jimmybuffit]

I don`t own one, I just detail `em.



I think the Lexus paint is among the best. Just inn the last few days, I`ve seen a 92, `99 and `01. It is the best black that I`ve seen, some are single stage, some models are BC/CC. All of them polish out VERY well.



OTH, I have a white (aren`t they all pearlescent?) Lexus coming in, in about a week or so... Has a penney sized chip above the right rear well. My paint guy says it is a 3-step paint. Yeah?



Jim

[Deanski]

Cost of Armorglove with install: $1000.00 for all.



Lexus black: Single stage paint, no clearcoat.



Pearescent: Crack easy, known issue on some Lexus forums. You will see quite a few in the bodyshop for repairs. Seems that it`s too brittle. I believe it`s a PPG system.



Other than that, I love the way some of the silvers and metallics just glow and look as they are under 3` of clearcoat!



If you have a Lexus that sees alot of road use, better find some paint film! My previous 2001 RX300 in black did not have as many problems.



Regards,

Deanski

[5918mike]

Thanks for the replies guys, the Lexus is blue and the truck is black. The black shows the scratches and chips more but the Lexus seems to get scratched just sitting in the garage, everytime I wash it I find another damn scratch or rock chip somewhere.