SonyHome

You did the right thing to get it opti-coated in my opinion and from what I've researched it will help with this soft paint. Unfortunately for me detailer near me wanted $800 which I thought was steep for a brand new car but little did I know I would be starting with this many swirls already. But now thanks to Bob who invested his time to help me out, I've learned a lot about how to correct these things and with the money I saved by not going to the detailer I got all of the stuff I need to do this myself going forward. But it really is a lot of work. I can honestly believe they spent 12 hours doing that.

Irony of this is because I told my dealer not to detail the car which they didn't but sales guys states they usually compound the car to remove all the scratches so by me telling them not to detail it I think I saw more swirls! LOL! I have to believe they are doing something at the factory that may be causing this perhaps during final clean up before they ship.

SonyHome

I had one question about your professionally detailed car. Was/Is there any scratches beneath the opti-coat when you got it from them? Just wondering if perfect finish is something you can expect if the professionals do it since I struggled a lot with keeps scratches off even after getting it polished to mirror like finish.

Thanks.

crazych42

Thanks. I was planning to use Hyper Polish too if I had to do any correction. I understand it works well with opti coat since it's an optimum polish.

BOBFSPORT

There is not a certain amount of times you can do paint correction. It depends on how much clear you had to remove each time in order to correct it. The only way to know this is by using a paint thickness gauge (i don't own one). I just know Lexus is notorious for having a very thin soft clear and having already done a two step correction on the car i am not risking removing anymore clear. Paint correction is VERY time consuming and my GS is a lease so i am just learning to live with it and not be so OCD about the paint condition.

Black Moon

First of all it is a base coat clear coat paint. If the car looks like that the day you picked it up I would bring it back immediately. There's no way I would accept a car with any amount of scratches on it if it is really a new car. I bought my LS used over a hundred thousand miles and had it professionally detailed twice. Both times it looked worse than when they started. that's when I decided to wet sand and polish the car with 2500 3000. The car looks 90 % better but under fluorescent light you can still see light scratches. I would make the dealer either correct the problem or replace the car. That should never happen on an 80 thousand dollar car.

BOBFSPORT

Base Clear Coat paint? Whats your point? All modern Lexus paint uses a base/clear coat system!

Black Moon

I was simply replying to the earlier post saying that it was some kind of special paint with the clear mixed in with it. It is a two-stage paint with a black base coat and a clear coat over it. That is where the scratches are occurring in the clearcoat. Bottom line for a new car it shouldn't have scratches off any kind. I can't afford a new one. All I can afford is a high mileage used one. This being my third but they're great cars with any amount of miles.

Black Moon

sorry about the earlier misspellings. I'm using voice to text.

BOBFSPORT

Gotcha good catch. I have seen that myth posted a few times on this forum.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

The misunderstanding probably branches off of the fact that Toyota still uses single stage paint on some of their plain colors like white, black, and red... I know this to be true for their trucks, but am not sure about all vehicles. FWIW, single stage paint does not have 'clear mixed in'... there is simply no clear coat. It is an entirely different paint process.

You are correct in stating that OB (and all modern lexus paint) is in fact a base coat - clear coat system. For those who do not understand, it simply means that the color paint is sprayed (base coat) followed by a clear coat to protect the color coat and make the surface glossy.


In general, it is a great rule of thumb to NEVER allow the dealership to touch your paint. It only takes one wash to cause a lot of damage that will be expensive to repair.

When I go to the dealership, I place 2 signs on my dash, and one on my center console that say "PLEASE DO NOT WASH CAR".



I also remind the service manager that it should not be washed.

I have an article coming out on the Detailed Image Ask- A-Pro Blog next monday (1/20) about a Lexus IS that was washed at the dealership and the paint was trashed by one simple wash. I'll post a link to the article when it is published.



As far as detailing a new car... in my experience, most new cars (not all, but the vast majority) will require a full service just like a used car that is in decent shape. This means a thorough wheel cleaning, wash, decontamination (IronX & clay), polish, and protection. I have yet to see a new car that could not benefit from at least a fine finishing polish, and clearly all of them need to be properly protected.

Paint coatings are the best way to protect your vehicle. Opti-Coat is a fine product and is readily available to consumers so any DIY detailer can get a hold of it and use it. I prefer the CQuartz Coatings and offer CQuartz Finest as a premium coating option. The CQuartz coatings are perfect for owners who will still maintain their vehicles to the highest level, while OC may be more suited for an owner that simply wants the car protected and may wash it occasionally. In any case, no paint coating is bullet proof, and the vehicle should still be properly maintained. Proper washing and drying is crucial in maintaining your paint and minimizing wash induced marring and swirls.

Let me know if you've got any questions

-Zach

Rsnic

There are some very minor imperfections underneath the opti-coat that you'd really have to be actively looking for with bright lights aimed perfectly at the spots to see. Under normal conditions the paint looks pristine and after a full wash yesterday followed up with a quick detailer the paint looks great with no added scratches or swirls.

The reason for the minor imperfections though is that i only paid $550 when it should have cost me $800. The detailer i went to was great and didnt charge me for the extra work because during the first inspection of the car a lot of the swirls were hiding underneath the dealerships glaze they put on. For what i paid i am very happy with the results. Depending on what you pay the results will vary, if i had paid the full $800 i would have expected a perfect finish. Here is the link to the pictures of my car after it was done.

http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/Mr...ient%20Gallery

The Black IS250 is mine

LexusFsprt

picked my Obsidian F Sport this past Saturday (11 Jan) and the paint had swirls already. I forgot to tell them to don't detail it at all, just peel off the plastic but too late. Anything will swirl the clear coat.. Opti Coat looks sweet!

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

to prevent more swirls youll have to wash it yourself and make sure you use the correct microfiber wash mitts and microfiber towels to do everything.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

^What he said.

Check this article out: How To Properly Wash and Dry a Car

The small investment in tools and products now will save you a lot of time and money in the future!

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

^Post copied from the 2IS section