Jaythomas

Don't know where this thread should appear, but since I am looking at the 2016 ES 350, this is where I will post this personal observation.

Having read many posts regarding the "softness" of Lexus paint and being unexcited with the colors offered for 2016, I hate to pull the handle on a purchase.

Paint color is highly personal. What floats someone's boat is often not someone else's choice. I get that!

However, with the price that is associated with Lexus products, one expects the paint to be of superior quality and durability. When I look at dealership choices in their inventory I see black, white, gray.. Sometimes there might be one red, or a blue that has no options.

Lexus IS an elite brand. More quality and more options please.

chromedome

Light colors seem to sell better nowadays, especially the pearl grays, silvers and white. Dealers will stock whatever they can sell instead of having the entire spectrum. There's also brown, red and light blue but I've only seen one car for each color. You could always get a wrap if you want a more unique color.

Jaythomas

Please explain a "wrap." Is that the same as a custom order?

chromedome

It's a vinyl wrap over the existing paint. You can take it off easily and have the original paint untouched underneath.

12jimmyjam

I drove a gold 00 ES for 7 years. Hides swirls well, but I will never drive a gold car again. Wore me out on the color.

Jaythomas

Hard for me to grasp wrapping an entire car in vinyl. One would think, with today's research and technology, that auto paint manufacturers couldn't come up with a paint that is significantly better at resisting swirls and minute imperfections. I wonder if paint from other car companies is of better quality than that of Lexus? Does anyone know?

chromedome

I wouldn't say Lexus paint is soft, it's just as hard as most German brands. If you're really concerned about swirls, I'd bring your new car to a good detailer to get prepped and coated with a hard coating and then wash it gently yourself. Avoid dealer washes and automatic washes like the plague because those will scratch up the paint in no time. Don't bother with marked-up dealer paint coatings either.

Check the Auto Detailing subforum for more info.

Mike728

OP, what color are you looking for?

Jaythomas

Agree with the dealer coatings comment. Previously owned a '11 raven black Cadillac CTS and had the dealer coat the paint as well as a clear bra on the hood and door edges. It looked beautiful the first year but after that the paint coating didn't hold up well. When I traded for a '15 white pearl SRX I didn't get the coating. Also, I found with the black car that the well behind the door handles got scuffed easily from opening and closing the door. With a dark paint I'd consider having those wells covered in vinyl.

Jaythomas

Hard to make a decision. I like Atomic Silver and Nebula Gray Pearl but the dealers' inventory around my location don't have either with the options I want. I can easily find Obsidian, Eminent White Pearl, Matador Red, Silver lining. However I'd like the Marc Levinson/Navigation with the Premium which seems impossible to find in any color.

jollick

You may have to special order it as I did with my 2013 ES300h. It was worth the 4 month wait to be totally satisfied with my purchase.

KennyLexus

My 3M full clear bra kit came with protective film for my door handle cups...still looks new. Also, my whole front cap has clear bra; worth every cent.

lesz

Actually, paint on current Lexus vehicles should be better with regard to not showing swirls, surface scratches, etc. over the period of vehicle ownership. In the last several years, Lexus started to implement use of self-healing paint on its various models of vehicles, and I believe that they started to use the self--healing paint on the ES in the 2015 model year. My understanding is that, when the surface gets minor scratches, paint swirls, etc., exposure to the sun is supposed to gradually heal the scratches until they disappear.

It should also be noted that the reason why things like polishing swirls are more of an issue now than they would have been a number of years ago is because paint finishes are now actually so much better than they once were. They show greater depth, and there is virtually no orange peel on today's finishes. Even a decade ago, minor surface scratches would not even have been noticeable, both because the finishes had less depth and because the orange peel would have "hidden" them.

Jaythomas

Your comments are reassuring. I may hold off for 2017 to see what developes.

Jaythomas

I believe in those protective coatings!