SW17LS

Its all about how carefully you wash. If you use carwashes on the dark colors, you WILL get swirls.

jwhump

I have a new LS 460 2013 that is chipping paint on the hood. The chips are very deep and go to the white or grey primer or metal. I had a 2006 LS that looked better after 7 years than this brand new car. Is anyone else having this problem.
JWH

Arty101

No, I haven't had a problem, then again I have a clear bra. Then again, you're in the wrong forum too

SW17LS

You need to have a clear bra installed if this bothers you...

lesz

I don't see much, if any, difference in paint durability, resistance to paint chips, etc. in the last couple of decades. On one hand, I suspect that the more aerodynamic shapes of more recent vehicles are likely to cause gravel chips to be carried up more easily to the sloping portions of hoods than would have been the case with the less aerodynamically designed and boxier shapes of older vehicles. On the other other hand, the designs of more recent vehicles have made use of larger surfaces made of the rubber-like bumper material that should be more resistant to paint chips than sheet metal is.

I know that there are those who claim that the water-based paints being used in recent years are less durable, but I don't see the finishes on vehicles that I've bought in recent years as being either better or worse with regard to potential for chipping than those on the vehicles that I've bought in the past. What I do see, though, is that the clear coat finishes on newer vehicles provide better protection from the fading, environmental contaminants, etc., and, when the finish is subjected to environmental contaminants or gets surface scratches in the clear coat, the finish can easily be restored with the proper use of appropriate compounds.


When a clear bra is installed after the hood, fenders, bumper, etc. already have some paint chips, what does it look like? While I'm sure it doesn't make the damage disappear, does it either magnify the pre-existing damage or make it less obvious?

SW17LS

It doesn't look great. I had a couple chips when mine was put on touched up beforehand and you can see them, it doesn't hide chips. It doesn't make them look any worse, perhaps slightly better. I waited until 1,500 miles to have mine done, my next Lexus will be done immediately upon delivery.

I will say this, the paint on the two Jeeps we've had has been much more durable when it comes to chipping than the Lexus. I didn't do a clearbra on the 2011 Jeep and it looked great when I traded it on the 2014, so I didn't do it on the 2014 either. The Lexus has a nicer finish, but the paint on the Jeep is much more scratch and chip resistant.

lesz

I think that vulnerability to paint chips can be influenced by some factors other than just the finish on the vehicle. Things like proximity to the ground/road, the shape of the front of the vehicle, the angle of the sheet metal, etc. can all make a vehicle either more likely or less likely to get stone chips. The hood of your Jeep is, not only higher off of the road surface, but its shape and the angle of the hood make it, I think, less vulnerable to stone chips than the hood of your Lexus. I suspect that, with the Jeep, lots of stones that are caught by either the large grill or the lower portion of the bumper are ones that, if it were your GS, would have come up and given a glancing blow to the hood, and those glancing blows are the ones that cause the deeper and larger paint chips.

I know that I can see the same difference between my GX and my ES. I think a good indicator of vulnerability to stone chips comes from looking at where bugs collect on the front of the vehicle. With my GX, which has a more squared off front end, the bugs almost all collect on the grill or the vertical portion of the bumper, and almost none of them end up plastered on the hood. With the ES, bugs end up up being plastered over much of the surface of the hood. In the same way, I would expect most stones, with the GX, to hit the grill or the bumper, but, with the ES, the are more likely to strike well up into the hood area.

SW17LS

Good points, but the grill and bumper on both the GS and the Jeep are also painted. Oddly enough before I got the clearbra on the Lexus my chipping issues were on the bumper, not the hood. On my 2011 Jeep the lower bumper was black plastic, on the 2014 Jeep its painted, so we'll see how it holds up over time.

I notice a difference in etchings from bird crap too, if a bird craps on the Lexus it WILL be etched. Even if its washed off almost immediately. Bird crap can sit on the Jeep for a week and be fine. I even had terrible widespread bug splatter etching after a trip one time on my 2010 ES, the whole front end had to be compounded to remove it. Thats never happened to me before on any car.

Its not just my GS, every Lexus I've had has been quite prone to chipping. I finally bit the bullet and got the clearbra on the GS and will do it for sure every time now.

lesz

It is interesting that you had more paint chips on the bumper than on the hood because the bumper material should be at least somewhat more resilient and forgiving to the impact of a stone than would be the sheet metal on the hood, but I suppose that the chips on your bumper relate to the fact that, the lower to the ground a surface is, the more likely it is be impacted by a stone.

SW17LS

The problem is that the bumper material gets a little indent whenever a stone hits it, and the black urethane bumper is exposed underneath. On the Jeep these same indents happen, but the paint doesn't chip.

The issue is that Lexus paint is just prone to chipping. We've got threads like this all over the forum.

lesz

Yes, there are those threads, but, in the same threads, there are large numbers of people who disagree with the notion that Lexus paint is more prone to chipping than that of other manufacturers.

I know that none of the 3 Lexus vehicles that I've had have been any more prone to getting paint chips than any of the vehicles that I've owned from 5 other manufacturers in the last 20 years or so. My 2005 GX has one pinhead-sized chip on the hood and another pinhead-sized chip on one of the doors. I think that is exceptionally good for a vehicle that has been driven for 9 years in an area where there are lots of gravel and tar and gravel roads. My previous ES was bought used. When I bought it, it had a few chips on the hood and in the front bumper. I drove it for 5 years, and, during that time, I might have picked up 3 or 4 new pinhead sized chips. And I've had my 2013 ES for over a year. It has picked up one pinhead sized chip in the driver's side door. I know that 3 vehicles is a small sample size, but, based on my experience, it would be hard for me to say that there is a problem with Lexus paint with regard to resistance to paint chipping.

SW17LS

I also post on and read a lot of other manufacturer's forums though, and there are more threads about this here than on other forums. I've had 5 Lexus vehicles and one Toyota over the last 16 years, and all of them have had very easily chipped paint, moreso than other vehicles I've had at the same time from other manufacturers.

Its not a big deal, every company has their quirks its just something for people to be aware of. I won't purchase another Lexus without paint protection film...it solves the problem.

Amphibulus

Don't get a clear bra, get the hood wrapped, a clear bra you always see a line and it's annoying when you clean the car, all the wax and stuff get stuck. I have removed mine, I will get the hood wrapped, so you don't see anything.

SW17LS

"Getting the hood wrapped" is the same thing as getting a clearbra...its the same product they just do the whole hood and fenders with it instead of a line. Its still a "clear bra".

I just have the front 1/3rd of my hood and fenders done, the line doesn't bother me and you just have to be careful when you wax. I will get the whole hood and fenders done on the next car, because I have some minor chipping even high on the hood and fenders beyond the clear bra.

Arty101

The clear bra works well, entire or 1/3 of the hood, fender and bumper. It protects against about 95% of the road chips and bugs that hit the front of the car. I'm very happy with my clear bra. I should have done this on my other cars.