Keiffith

personaly, if its a daily driver, i find no need to fuss over a "perfect" paint.

my 15 year old car does get polished and waxed, but i try not to get **** about it, because it will get scratched and dinged more than it already is.

Afrosheen

Yeah, EPA regulations in different countries are literally ruining car paint jobs. Mercedes has it right with their ceramic paints, but it comes at a steep cost which they don't mind passing on to you. I really wish Lexus would step up their game with regard to paints though, having bird crap etch the paint after sitting overnight is ridiculous.

dwayne4lex

Its good to hear Im not the only one who is having paint concerns. This is my first black car ever so I was shocked at how unforgiving this color is. I guess I have been spoiled by the previous color Matador red. I have found a decent spray on wax I use after every wash which keeps the swirl effect down. Now I have to find a way to reduce my door dings and chips.

silguy

an update since my original post. I'm glad I installed the clear bra or invisible mask or whatever you want to call it. I got the 3m scotchguard. I bought the whole front kit from invisible mask.com. It was my first time install. I did everything pretty good, but the front bumper took me 5 hrs.. Just for the bumper! It's not 100% perfect, more like 85%. There are a few air bubbles here and there, misaligned areas and corner wrinkles, but you won't see it unless you walk up to the car. For the added protection, I don't mind those installation defects.
I took my car in to the dealership for the first couple of maintenance appointments and those freaks put in more scratches than I did. I won't take it back to them again. After they wash it, I see tons of swirl marks and fine scratches here and there. O well...at least I'm not alone...haha

FastTags

I have a large chip on the hood, a large gauge (got it last night) on the front bumper. It suks just like any other car.

terrycs

Oh man! All that work and you let the dealer wash it?!

smomin23

Opti-coat, I have an obsidian and opti-coat with professional detail does the trick. pm if you want houston area references

thanhn36

I recently just got a paint chip on my obsidian, any recommendations to remove it? and btw thanks for the recommendation of the opticoat, I have had my obsidian for about 3 months now and i must say its a pain in the *** to keep clean. i called my local detailing spot, and he's quoting me at 495.. is this the usual going price?

Afrosheen

495 sounds way high, but detailing services vary greatly in what they provide. Generally they have tiers and different pricing levels for each tier. Unless you're selling it tomorrow, don't blow 500 bucks on a detail job, because it's probably a top-to-bottom job that will make it look better than when it left the factory.

dagwag77

Not sure how much pricing depends on the market, but here in NY $495 is on the low side. Probably looking mid 600s + for a correction and coating (opti-coat, cquartz, etc.). You wouldn't want to skimp on the correction pre-coating. You'd want the paint to be as close to perfect as possible so you're not "sealing" scratches, swirls, defects, etc. under the "permanent" coating thats being put on. Like Afrosheen alluded, its not worth it to everyone to pay for a correction/coating, but if you use a true pro, your car will really look better than when you picked it up from the dealer.