Frank64

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I am glad I found it. I need some feedback on an issue I have with
my RX 2013. It is back (Obsedian). I bought it as CPO (certified pre owned ) at a Lexus dealership in LA about 6 months ago.
After second car wash done by another Lexus dealership, I noticed heavy swirl marks on the hood, which were the result of a previous heavy buffing.
The first round of detailing with the dealer was not a success, neither the second round. Then
my car wash guy pointed out that the real bumper was repainted and had orange peel problem and also there were rock chips on the hood as well.
I took the car to the dealer in LA. They are promising to fix the issues which is kind of nice
They want to repaint the rear bumper and also asking me if I want the hood to be wet sanded and detailed to get rid of swirl marks and also manually fill l the rock chips. But they also offered to repaint the entire hood at no cost.
I was wondering if anyone had an advise whether or not to repaint the hood? They said the paint will match the rest of the car, but I have my doubts!

I will appreciate any advise on this!

Thx. Frank

vince22

+1 repainted rear bumper and the hood.

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

they 'shouldn't' have much trouble color matching black... it's usually the lighter colors I find a pain to match, especially if its got pearl in it... if they are offering to repaint the hood, I would take that over wet sanding... reason being, if someone has already botched the heavy buffing, they have probably already burned through a bit of the clear coat... wet sanding and an additional polish takes the clear coat down further... any touch ups they are doing for the rock chips can blend with polish, but if they are going to spray the rear bumper and not charge you to do the hood, I would let them... that is a few hundred $ job to redo the panel normally..

drewcam888

iTrader: (1)

Repaint all

CanadianRX

Wet sand wherever possible, if they repaint your hood I can almost guarantee that it will rust out. My advice is to always stay away from repainting any metal/steel area of the body. It's almost impossible to equal the quality and protection of a factory finish.

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

Believe me there isn't enough moisture in Southern California (except at the beach) to cause rust. I have different body parts painted on several cars and have never had rust. Repainting the hood is the best solution.

vlad_a

I would tend to disagree. I had some paintwork done on both IS300 I owned and a good body shop will be able to match factory quality. The paint also holds up better compared to factory - less paint chips.

When my last IS300 was brand new, a drunk driver scratched its driver side. I had the whole side painted and it lasted good 6 years. Then a semi-truck picked up a rock and threw it into the driver door. That did some nice damage to the paint. Now, at that time, there was a tiny invisible rust bubble that started to form under the paint. I took it in and had the whole side painted again. It was still fine another 6 years later. I am glad I got it fixed as I got the new look back.

neelnaik

Have them repaint the bumper and hood. Being in CA, you shouldn't have any rust issues. A good body shop can repaint panels and make it look like nothing ever happened.

NateJG

According to my selling dealer (JM Lexus) Lexus allows dealers to repaint (repair? can't remember) a small number of areas on the car and still sell it CPO. They (JM Lexus) reportedly routinely repaint bumpers - they take them off of the car - I was impressed - on their CPO vehicles (a tour of their lot reveals VERY nice looking CPO vehicles).

So, perhaps your dealership strives to be as good as JM Lexus - and if so, perhaps you're ok ( after you deal with the swirls )?

fastnoypi

Agreed, After sanding prep work and fill (if needed), good paint techs will apply a primer and base coat. A proper prep and 2 stage paint will equal a factory finish.

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

yes thats correct... when i bought my CPO two weeks ago, there was some rash on the front bumper... we worked into the purchase a repaint of the front bumper... it was done within a day by a mobile body shop they sub in house... turned out great...

CanadianRX

Nothing will touch galvanized sheet metal, once that is removed a primer is only so good especially in northern climates with salt. If your area does not receive salted roads it may be ok for quite a bit. Most paint shops are not equipped to galvanize sheet metal and it's also more difficult to work with outside of a factory. Just a word of warning to those up north. Bumpers are ok because it is not metal. That is probably the reason lexus allows bumpers and other specific pieces.

fastnoypi

Normal chips from road debris hit the hood sheet metal all the time down the the metal. Rust will form if the chip is not protected. People have been preventing rust for years by simply dabbing touch up paint.
. Good prep work and paint is more than sufficient for the affected areas. Galvanization is not a cure-all for rust but a prevention technique.

Take any piece of galvanized steel and expose it to moisture, it will rust over time but any areas that have been rubbed with any other pieces of metal will rust quicker because the extremely thin protective layer of zinc has been removed..

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Factory paint isn't invinsable it will rust too if the car isn't cared for. I live in the northeast and we get salt during the winter time. I've had my cars painted with no issue. Let say I seen plenty of factory paint rust out because off no winter pre. That being said I take a new paint job any day over touch up paint.

CanadianRX

I hate to go back and forth on this but some more points:

1- not all cars are galvanized at the factory (look at Mazda3's) so you will see them begin to rust out in 5 years. I was specifically speaking about Lexus paint, you can't judge all cars.
2- Even with paint chips on the hood the galvanization will prevent any spread so paint chips will not spread.

Lexus does a great job at rust prevention and this is why I advise not to repaint if possible. I've also had numerous experiences with repairs (not the cheap places) and they still rust out much faster.