Lexus clear coat marks

B1RMA · October 29, 2018

After taking my car for a good blast yesterday I came home and noticed in bright sunlight the enormous number of swirls in my paint finish.

If anyone wants to see the worlds worst example go have a look at the RCF for sale in Poole it is unbelievable, my car is nothing near as bad but does look like it's in need of some attention.

I pondered whether to get a chap I know to do the complete job but at about £500 I decided to put to work my Meguiars DA polisher and some Ultimate Compound.

I am very pleased with the results and finished it off with a coating of Souveran Pinnacle wax. I'll post up some pictures later today in the sunshine, having had a good inspection there are only about two areas in need of a bit more attention. Debating whether to just carry on applying a coat of Souveran every few months (the £80 tub goes an awful long way) or brave putting a ceramic coating on.

Twellsie · October 29, 2018

I have just had mine ceramic coated and I am super pleased with it its stay clean for too much longer now and even rain washes away most dirt!

looking forward to seeing your pics

B1RMA · October 29, 2018

2 minutes ago, Twellsie said:

I have just had mine ceramic coated and I am super pleased with it its stay clean for too much longer now and even rain washes away most dirt!

looking forward to seeing your pics

I'm still in two minds about ceramic coatings versus regular waxing. I've more or less brought the clear coat up to a decent standard with only one or two areas needing a more abrasive clear coat friendly cutting compound to achieve a perfect top coat.

The wax I use is so easy to use and I enjoy doing it, plus one tub lasts for ages. I understand that most waxes contain solvents that can attack the ceramic coatings so that again has prompted me to do a bit more research.

Twellsie · October 29, 2018

/this is the first time I have had a car ceramic coated, I was really astonished at the finish it gives, its literally like having a layer of glass over your paintwork!

my detailing guy has advised so long as I don't take take to a car wash where they use truck was it will last around 2 years, without additional waxing, I asked about waxing and has you mentioned, most waxes contain solvents, so advised long lasting waxes that you can layer, this will build another sacrificial layer before the ceramic, I have always been a fan of the Bilt Hamber stuff so will be hitting it with some of that at the weekend

the paint on these cars is soooooo soft, it really needs a hard layer!!

B1RMA · October 29, 2018

I had a new set of Vossen wheels ceramic coated and was impressed, I paid £70 for the service so when I bought a new set of retro Rota's for my Minivan I bought a £24 dinky little container of the same stuff and did it myself. The results are really impressive the brake dust just washes off.

For my car I bought a cheaper knock off of a Gilmore foam gun on amazon it is actually better than the real thing and at £35 half the price. I use one for the snow foam and the other for the Autoglmn UHD shampoo, it's expensive at £18 a bottle but it dilutes down and lasts for ages. Plus when Halfords had a 2 for the price of 3 offer I went and bought three of them, a bit extravagant but it'll keep me in shampoo for the car for years.

Mattmech · October 29, 2018

1 hour ago, Twellsie said:

the paint on these cars is soooooo soft, it really needs a hard layer!!

Must admit i dispare at my paint at times, if I look at it the wrong way it seems to mark. The black shows everything! Tried all sorts on it, going to have to bite the bullet, get it corrected and ceramic coated.

Twellsie · October 29, 2018

5 minutes ago, Mattmech said:

Must admit i dispare at my paint at times, if I look at it the wrong way it seems to mark. The black shows everything! Tried all sorts on it, going to have to bite the bullet, get it corrected and ceramic coated.

mate, I have had 2 previous black cars and vowed and declared I would never have another, yet here I am!

bite the bullet dude, its super hard coating that will at minimum prevent it getting worse for the next 18-24 months!!

Mattmech · October 29, 2018

1 hour ago, Twellsie said:

mate, I have had 2 previous black cars and vowed and declared I would never have another, yet here I am!

bite the bullet dude, its super hard coating that will at minimum prevent it getting worse for the next 18-24 months!!

It’s got to be the way forward. I’ll start saving!

wendle · October 29, 2018

5 hours ago, B1RMA said:

I'm still in two minds about ceramic coatings versus regular waxing. I've more or less brought the clear coat up to a decent standard with only one or two areas needing a more abrasive clear coat friendly cutting compound to achieve a perfect top coat.

The wax I use is so easy to use and I enjoy doing it, plus one tub lasts for ages. I understand that most waxes contain solvents that can attack the ceramic coatings so that again has prompted me to do a bit more research.

The detailing shop that did my car told me that every time you touch you car with a cloth, wash fit, you will start to mark it, so regular waxing is not a good idea, and polish with its slight abrasives would be even worse.

I no its not practical but if you have a good ceramic coating

1.... snow foam

2.... two bucket method.

3.... Rinse with De-ionised ( pure ) water.

4.... blow dry, or more realistically, pad dry with a drying towel.

olliesgrandad · October 29, 2018

Now you have corrected the paint I would use chemical guys blackllight on the paintwork and spritz with their v7 every wash

B1RMA · October 30, 2018

9 hours ago, wendle said:

The detailing shop that did my car told me that every time you touch you car with a cloth, wash fit, you will start to mark it, so regular waxing is not a good idea, and polish with its slight abrasives would be even worse.

I no its not practical but if you have a good ceramic coating

1.... snow foam

2.... two bucket method.

3.... Rinse with De-ionised ( pure ) water.

4.... blow dry, or more realistically, pad dry with a drying towel.

I agree, every time you wash it and rub over with a sponge or cloth the chances of picking up a bit of dirt are there.

Sometimes these regimes as good as they are can get a bit tedious though, I've made my own procedure that seems to work and involves no actual contact, I snow foam let it dwell, then wash off. Blast again with a Gilmore gun to apply a foamy UHD shampoo, rinse off then carefully blast the water off with a flattened nozzle (home creation) compressed air gun. This way doesn't touch the paint.

Knowing now how soft the finished clear coat is I'll be doing regular sunlight checks although I do have some very powerful lights I have found strong sunlight shows up the swirls. All the above gives my wife plenty of ammo to take the p**s.

mrfunex · October 30, 2018

When I got my GSF (in black, so terrible for swirl marks), I had it ceramic coated by the dealer - don’t worry, I barely paid anything at all - certainly not the £495 I was originally quoted...

The trouble is, the dealer didn’t give the car a proper polish beforehand - so mine has the posh coating, but all the swirl marks and hologramming behind! It annoys me a bit when I see it in bright sunlight. Maybe when I have a spare half day I’ll give the car a good clay bar, polish, wax etc and see if I can sort it out...

...or I could just find someone local with experience who can do the work for me 😁

B1RMA · October 30, 2018

5 minutes ago, mrfunex said:

When I got my GSF (in black, so terrible for swirl marks), I had it ceramic coated by the dealer - don’t worry, I barely paid anything at all - certainly not the £495 I was originally quoted...

The trouble is, the dealer didn’t give the car a proper polish beforehand - so mine has the posh coating, but all the swirl marks and hologramming behind! It annoys me a bit when I see it in bright sunlight. Maybe when I have a spare half day I’ll give the car a good clay bar, polish, wax etc and see if I can sort it out...

...or I could just find someone local with experience who can do the work for me 😁

What a bummer, sounds like you need a real professional to sort that once a coating has been applied. I know a chap through local Pistonheads gatherings called Luke who has a first class reputation might be worth giving him a call.

Might be worth investing in a Meguiars DA machine and some Ultimate Compound, personally I find that combo pretty idiot proof. I bought mine about ten years ago and it still gives good service.

Twellsie · October 30, 2018

4 hours ago, mrfunex said:

When I got my GSF (in black, so terrible for swirl marks), I had it ceramic coated by the dealer - don’t worry, I barely paid anything at all - certainly not the £495 I was originally quoted...

The trouble is, the dealer didn’t give the car a proper polish beforehand - so mine has the posh coating, but all the swirl marks and hologramming behind! It annoys me a bit when I see it in bright sunlight. Maybe when I have a spare half day I’ll give the car a good clay bar, polish, wax etc and see if I can sort it out...

...or I could just find someone local with experience who can do the work for me 😁

sounds like a job for a professional to me as you will need to remove the coating

PhoeNicks · October 30, 2018

Having recently had Clark @ Polished Bliss correct my paint properly and ceramic coat it, I am fully away that if I use the car daily (that's what's it for) the paint is going to pick up imperfections. Short of covering every panel with self healing protection film - which is very expensive - I've gone as far as I am prepared to go (coating wise) to protect the paint.

I'll still park strategically in the works car park, but im going to stop worrying about my paint, or looking at it under a microscope after every journey. Life is too short. Maybe when I get a classic or weekend car, I'll look at the film again, but for now I'm just going to enjoy driving 😎

B1RMA · October 30, 2018

12 minutes ago, PhoeNicks said:

Having recently had Clark @ Polished Bliss correct my paint properly and ceramic coat it, I am fully away that if I use the car daily (that's what's it for) the paint is going to pick up imperfections. Short of covering every panel with self healing protection film - which is very expensive - I've gone as far as I am prepared to go (coating wise) to protect the paint.

I'll still park strategically in the works car park, but im going to stop worrying about my paint, or looking at it under a microscope after every journey. Life is too short. Maybe when I get a classic or weekend car, I'll look at the film again, but for now I'm just going to enjoy driving 😎

You're right of course you can get a bit obsessive about the cars finish. My last car had a clear film applied from the day it was new covering the bonnet, front grill area and the front wings and it was in incredible condition. There is a very respected guy in Waterlooville near me who does this and must admit I'm tempted.

PhoeNicks · October 30, 2018

I think the main issue with PPF is the cost. The old film could look tatty after a while, but with the new self healing stuff this wouldn't be so much of an issue. However to cover your bonnet, wings and bumper, well it's likely to cost the same as a front end respray.

Like I said, for the right car and under the right conditions I'd go for the film.

Just as a side note regarding paint hardness - Clark said my paint was all original but was surprised as it was quite thick and very hard. He assumed it would be soft and easy to correct, but it wasn't and took far more effort.

I don't know if this applies to just USB, but I wouldn't have thought so.

B1RMA · October 30, 2018

13 minutes ago, PhoeNicks said:

I think the main issue with PPF is the cost. The old film could look tatty after a while, but with the new self healing stuff this wouldn't be so much of an issue. However to cover your bonnet, wings and bumper, well it's likely to cost the same as a front end respray.

Like I said, for the right car and under the right conditions I'd go for the film.

Just as a side note regarding paint hardness - Clark said my paint was all original but was surprised as it was quite thick and very hard. He assumed it would be soft and easy to correct, but it wasn't and took far more effort.

I don't know if this applies to just USB, but I wouldn't have thought so.

I think I'll get a quote for the film as I have first hand experience of just how good it is at protecting the front area of the car.

Perhaps the clear coat on my red car is softer, no doubt about it just using a soft pad on the DA and using Ultimate Compound removed 99% of the swirls with very little effort. There are two small areas left with swirl marks so I'm going to use a harder pad to remove them.

Twellsie · November 1, 2018

On 10/30/2018 at 6:08 PM, PhoeNicks said:

I think the main issue with PPF is the cost. The old film could look tatty after a while, but with the new self healing stuff this wouldn't be so much of an issue. However to cover your bonnet, wings and bumper, well it's likely to cost the same as a front end respray.

Like I said, for the right car and under the right conditions I'd go for the film.

Just as a side note regarding paint hardness - Clark said my paint was all original but was surprised as it was quite thick and very hard. He assumed it would be soft and easy to correct, but it wasn't and took far more effort.

I don't know if this applies to just USB, but I wouldn't have thought so.

my detailing guy said quite the opposite

MNMJ · November 1, 2018

There appears to be some sort of self healing properties on the Sonic Red. In summer 2017 I had to drive a little to close to a bush to avoid a lorry, which left a very visible and nasty looking scrape along both wings and the door. I was fearing I would need a respray or professional help. 15 months on, it is invisible unless you look really closely. Anyone know if self-healing is designed in? I know Nissan had it over 5 years ago when I seriously considering a 370z convertible in a beautiful dark purple.

B1RMA · November 1, 2018

30 minutes ago, Twellsie said:

my detailing guy said quite the opposite

I have found this problem too where one detailer firmly believes one thing and another detailer thinks something else.

Which is why with so many conflicting views I tend to do it myself. In the 10 years I've been bugger**g around with a DA polisher I've found Ultimate Compound very good at removing most paint defects that a rank amateur can engage in, and as I have pretty much idiot proof.

The combination of this and Pinnacle Souveran wax has won me one or two awards in the Jap Car Club for the shiniest car (a black RX7) I still have the engraved piston award.

My last car had been treated with a film since new, it was like a brand new car so I can say worth every penny. Also when a very large stone hit the bonnet it just marked the film but the paintwork was unmarked.

NemesisUK · November 1, 2018

2 hours ago, MNMJ said:

There appears to be some sort of self healing properties on the Sonic Red. In summer 2017 I had to drive a little to close to a bush to avoid a lorry, which left a very visible and nasty looking scrape along both wings and the door. I was fearing I would need a respray or professional help. 15 months on, it is invisible unless you look really closely. Anyone know if self-healing is designed in? I know Nissan had it over 5 years ago when I seriously considering a 370z convertible in a beautiful dark purple.

Yes, the paintwork does have a self-healing top coat. It requires sunlight and heat to slowly recover. My dealer service chap commented it also requires special attention when using a DA polisher, no idea what this means. A quick look at the detailing World forum would suggest it's a topic much discussed ...

B1RMA · November 1, 2018

3 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

Yes, the paintwork does have a self-healing top coat. It requires sunlight and heat to slowly recover. My dealer service chap commented it also requires special attention when using a DA polisher, no idea what this means. A quick look at the Detailing World forum would suggest it's a topic much discussed ...

Well I'm not sure how the car at Lexus Poole could possibly heal itself, I have never seen a car which was sitting in bright sunlight with so many swirl marks. I have my doubts that any amount of sunlight will sort that one out.

I must admit the few swirl marks on my car were easily removed with only two areas left that maybe require a harder pad. My finished car looks amazing in sunlight and I know that the Ultimate compound I used is clear coat safe but says nothing about self healing.