Paintwork

splatty · March 4, 2015

Ok guys, so we all know about dealership valeters. Tonight when I went to fill the car up, I did see some very light scratches on the car in places, there are about three on the bonnet but you can only really see them under artificial light. I always find this is the norm, I don't think I've ever had a new car without them, I know a lot of people who are very picky with their cars ask dealers not to clean the car after a service because of this.

Usually I would just cut and polish them out as best you can.

My question is, what is this self repairing paintwork about that it talks about in the handbook ?

I have read that people reckon the Lexus paintwork is very soft. Is cut and wax the best option still, or just leave it till after a few washes to see as the paint settles ?

Not stressed about it, like I say, pretty usual unfortunately.

capese21 · March 4, 2015

My Fsport has the quite a few scratches the worst ones on the front passenger door. Not deep fortunately.

I used a Menzerna medium cut polish( by hand) and got rid of them. I clayed first and then a nice layer of wax.

I would have got the DA polisher out but at present we are living in a 2nd floor flat so no access to power. The finish is superb and surprisingly easy to achieve by hand so guess the Lexus paint must be soft.

No more dealer washes its the pressure wash and the gritty rag effect. I have no idea what self healing paint is??

Ed.

rayaans · March 4, 2015

The self polishing paint is a tricky one. Apparently you can only use a polish which is suitable for self healing paint but Im not too sure.

Best site to go on is cleanyourcar.co.uk. Check the descriptions for the polish to see if its self-healing paint suitable. Some of the Menzerna ones are and others arent according to the description so be careful!

Bratman91 · March 4, 2015

Lexus cars do indeed have very soft paint. I think that it because Lexus have switched to water-based paints to conform to EU regulations (must save the planet). My first two IS250s came with Supagard protection, which comes with a nice case full of things like shampoo, wheel protection sprays, upholstery cleaner and a non-abrasive paint polish. Lexus's own brand of polish is also non-abrasive. When buying my third IS250, I had to ask for the Supagard protection to be thrown in. The point I am getting to (slowly!) is that, if your car has Supagard protection, then using any sort of abrasive-polish will remove it. Even if it hasn't, an abrasive polish might start to wear away the finish if used too frequently. Personally, I use a non-abrasive polish and accept that this will not polish out small scatches but will not harn the paintwork. Your best course of action is to establish exactly what type of paintwork you have and, if there, what protective coats have been applied and then follow rayann's advice.

capese21 · March 4, 2015

I believe a polish which is silicone free is ok to use. I have Superguard but I doubt it was applied properly. My car has a few scratches and I can definitely see swirls pretty much all over it.

I have polished the passenger door and waxed and it looks superb. Stuff the Superguard my top quality wax is better. Just got to do the rest of it now.

Ed.

Stuno1 · March 5, 2015

Self healing paint is paint with VERY small capsules of paint within it. When the capsules burst from being scratched they slowly fill parts of the scratch. Not convinced it does much.

bluenose1940 · March 5, 2015

I got my IS on February 3rd and had the Gen3 Glasscoat applied. The finish does indeed look like glass and I was quite impressed.

i'm not sure what the life of it is and so I need to check out the best way of maintaining the finish for as long as possible. This traetment also came with a very nice carrycase full of goodies which I haven't yet examined properly. Might get round to that today as it is very nice and sunny outside!

Have a look here if you're interested.......https://www.gen-3glasscoat.com/

splatty · March 5, 2015

TBH I am probably being overly picky as usual, and the car did mist over last night as it got damp and looks like it has been waxed at the dealership.

Any marks are in the clearcoat I guess, and are probably from a "dirty" polishing cloth as the few on the bonnet are at odd angles to each other.

Gonna give the bonnet a clean tonight and then a good coat of Autoglym Super Resin and then see what it looks like as it gets dark. Looks perfect this morning in normal daylight.

Car is definitely going to suit my commute as it spent a long time in EV mode this morning. Currently showing 49mpg after I got to work this morning after the reset at the filling station last night.

Still lots to learn on the car, but it was nice that it got a lot of admiring looks this morning, and 15 plates are still pretty rare at the moment.

capese21 · March 5, 2015

The finish on a new car should look like glass with no imperfections. My F-sport was purchased at a year old and has suffered from dealer washes and I suspect mechanical car washes to.

Once polished however it looks superb with a deep gloss shine and only now am I seeing how nice the Mesa Red looks.

Supergard on paint in good condition is one thing but applying it over scratches & swirls is pointless.

Ed.

rayaans · March 5, 2015

Paintwork from the factory will usually be scratch free. Problem is the dealers wash it and they end up scratching it if they're in a rush.

Autoglym SRP is a filler heavy product. It'll just fill the scratches in for a few weeks.

I'd suggest Meguiars 205 on a white polishing pad to remove the swirls, then m205 again on a black finishing pad at slow speed with very little pressure to jewel the paint, it gets rid of holograms left behind by the first stage. Stick a coat of Soft99 Fusso on top and you should be good for 6 months, maybe more

splatty · March 5, 2015

Just want to use something that I can apply by hand idiot free mate. It really isn't bad, I may even give it a very light cut and polish on a bit later and see how it responds.

I usually use Dodo Juice Light Fantastic for my white cars/bike

rayaans · March 5, 2015

Just want to use something that I can apply by hand idiot free mate. It really isn't bad, I may even give it a very light cut and polish on a bit later and see how it responds.

I usually use Dodo Juice Light Fantastic for my white cars/bike

You can use M205 by hand with a german applicator pad - works the same but results arent as good as using a machine. Autosmart Topaz seems to be the one everyone is raving about at the moment for hand polishing!

splatty · March 5, 2015

Popped to bodyshop at work and they have given me some Farecla G3 to use on the bonnet. They swear by it for very fine scratches. I'll give it a go later then follow with wax.

Just been offsite ion the car, and TBF in the daylight it is absolutely perfect.

Possibly too picky for a fleet vehicle driver !!

rayaans · March 5, 2015

Popped to bodyshop at work and they have given me some Farecla G3 to use on the bonnet. They swear by it for very fine scratches. I'll give it a go later then follow with wax.

Just been offsite ion the car, and TBF in the daylight it is absolutely perfect.

Possibly too picky for a fleet vehicle driver !!

Id say get some Autosmart Topaz in a 5l container. Relatively cheap and does what it says. Leaves about 3 months worth of protection behind too

capese21 · March 5, 2015

Topaz isn't a polish though as it has no cut. Looks like good stuff but will not remove scratches and swirls but will fill them. Depends if you want to remove or mask them.

The G3 then a coat of wax seems a good choice.

Ed

rayaans · March 5, 2015

Topaz isn't a polish though as it has no cut. Looks like good stuff but will not remove scratches and swirls but will fill them. Depends if you want to remove or mask them.

The G3 then a coat of wax seems a good choice.

Ed

Thats true although it does last for ages though apparently.

Penny dropped - Autosmart Mirror Image would be perfect by hand with a coat of wax on top!