Neophyte2b

I just bought a new-to-me 2015 Lexus CT200h. The exterior has a number of areas where there is a paint chip or bad paint. There's one small area that looks like there's some rust at the edge? What's the best way to take care of those issues? Should I bring it to a paint and body shop and ask them to just take care of those specific spots? Will a paint correction take care of those things? Thanks.

TobiasSing

Some pictures would help. Chances are, the whole car should be repainted if it's bothering you enough to justify the cost. Small paint chips can be sort of touched up with paint pens, but rust has to be fully removed, replaced, and painted. Bad paint can be a number of issues, some of which would be helped by a detailing shop. So if you're not into the DIY and learning these hard tasks, I'd start with a detailing place and see what they can do, vs what a body shop would need to do.

Neophyte2b

@TobiasSing Thanks! What's your opinion on spots like the following:

TobiasSing

I can't tell where the first two pictures are taken on the car, but obviously, those are metal panels. In the first picture, that is either a rock chip rusting from the surface, which can easily be sanded down and painted. But if it's rusting from behind, the rust is a lot worse than it appears. That second picture, someone has obviously already tried to use a touchup pen on that spot, you can see the original paint is missing and filled with new paint. Again, if that's rust from behind, then it's going to be a lot worse than you can see right away. But that might just be surface rust from the poor touch-up paint job with the pen (no primer used). The third picture is obviously the rear bumper, but that crack is concerning, because there should not be a crack there. There is no seam there. It looks like body filler (like Bondo) has been put there, maybe to fill a dent, and painted over, and now it's cracking because you can't really Bondo a plastic bumper that easily. The last picture is just missing paint on a doorhandle, which won't rust. But I wonder why the paint has bubble off like that. I wonder if this car has been repainted.

All 4 of those are things a body shop would have to deal with, not a paint correction or detail shop.

E46CT

Depends. if you want perfection: body shop. if it's an older car and you can live with "better but not perfect" then you can touch those up

for the rusty one, you can sand out the rust and fill it in with touch up and clear.

if you're really savvy you can take a wet sanding block after layering paint and clear, level, polish.

Lexmex

I am going to make a note of this post because in a few months when I can have time to take in my 17 CT200h (also white), in to get painted. I am going to ask the guy there about some of the options as I have a few such spots on the car. I do plan to have them repaint areas and/or replace parts and am thinking about doing an F-Sport grill since I have the base model, but will get the input. Wish I could do this sooner, but just am so busy this time of year with the car.

CENDIT

Let me know what you end up doing. I have similar issues and have been considering repainting the whole car, wrapping it or doing touch up work.