LS430FL

My 2011 LS460L is the first black car that I have ever owned. As far as Lexus goes, my two 430's I had were silver and white. I am very obsessive when it comes to my car and I really underestimated what I was getting myself into with a black car. I cant keep it clean, since it is not garage everyday it gets sprinkler water spots on it constantly as well. To make matters worse the Obsidian black (my detailer calls it obscene black because it is so hard to keep swirl free) is so soft that swirls appear constantly and really **** me off. I am really enjoying the car but the paint color is really making me regret the purchase.

I am thinking about getting a car wrap to change the color of the car. It is pretty popular in S. FL among the higher end cars. I thought it might be a good alternative to loosing my shirt and getting a whole new car.

If I do the wrap I was thinking of wrapping the whole car in Matte White or Shiny Red but keeping the Roof and mirrors black.

What are your thoughts on a wrap and the two color choices?

All opinions are welcome. You guys helped me decide on wheels in another thread of mine and they are now on the car as you can see in the picture below.

roadfrog

I share your grief on the Obsidian paint. I've learned to live with it, but it is a challenge. I could never hate it enough to do a wrap though.

Junglequac

As a fellow Obsidian Black owner. I will only say that I have a 7 inch rotary buffer in the trunk currently along with Maguire's Number 9 polish, and multiple other products like Scratch X.
I do think the 460 looks amazing in black and while this is my first black car, I have no regrets.

While not a total incompetent on a buffer, I have many friends who are truly gifted so when we are hanging I attempt to bribe them with some combination of food, beer, super quality coffee (really a major passion that I spend way too much on) and so forth.

The day I picked up the car it was overcast and could not notice the swirl marks. First sunny day...

dlbuckls10

Obsidian black is just beautiful and I have no regrets. I enjoy the time and effort it takes to keep it looking beautiful and new plus its always garaged.

comotiger

A full car wrap minus the roof could cost 2-3 grand, at least. So, are you willing to spend that much instead of getting all the supplies and spending quality time with your car polishing it? I would not wrap.

White and black combo should look fine. We have seen several examples of that on CL, especially with F-sports, so this look would go well with your wheels.

Red and black would not suit this car. The LS is not a sports car, and the red would look very cheesy.

I concur with others that you should keep the beautiful Obsidian and either spend hours keeping it shiny and unswirled or suffer in silence (like me). Try squinting and the swirls magically disappear .

Have you installed the mudguards yet?

Junglequac

I really think a great deal of the paint softness issues are a direct result of the change in formulation of all automotive paints a few years ago. When solvent based paints were phased out we now get water based paints that from all appearances are not as durable. Makes me curious about Lexus's "self healing clear coat" that was introduced later on that I have not done any real research on in that it might be an attempt to mitigate some of the issues of the less robust current water based automotive paints. That said, as LS430FL's 460 is a 2011, which is I believe is post "self healing CC", I doubt it makes much of a difference.

As for vinyl wraps, having fairly recently moved back from Florida after living there for a decade, they are quite popular. I find them to be an abomination, but I am a luddite.
That said, they really have gotten pretty darn good and I would bet many might not be able to tell the difference when the highest quality wrap is used.

If you do it, please don't do it in faux carbon fibre! One of my best friends has a cherry E46 M3 that he has gone CF crazy on. While 95% of it is real; including the steering wheel which gets so bloody hot during Charleston Summers that he has to wear gloves to drive it, there is enough faux CF for me to give him much grief for.

Duck05

I do not own a black car for the reasons discussed but I do admire them. When clean they look fantastic but the up keep is an investment in time. Even with our cars in the garage they take TLC.

Not sure (maybe other black car owners can advise) but have you tried a poly sealant product to protect from water spotting? Seems to do wonders on our SC and it cleans up fairly well (but it is not black....).

dlbuckls10

I purchased a new car in the late 80's and I had the full thermal guard treatment from the paint sealant, interior, trunk and undercoating. It was a joke and a rip off.

LS430FL

Thanks for all the replies. My biggest thing is that a proper pint correction is very expensive. I have done it once already. After it was corrected the car looked brand new. However, after regular washing even using the best techniques some swirls are starting to appear. I have looked into a coating like C Quartz finest which I believe is one of the ceramic coatings. However, if I were to have the car corrected again plus do that coating I am looking at well over $1100. That plus the prior coating and I have already paid more than half the cost of a wrap. Wrapping would eliminate the constant paint maintenance plus no more future polishing or correcting....still torn.

dnthrtme1

If it was me I would be full speed ahead with the wrap, just determine if you want to spend enough to have your door jambs done too! Id leave the roof and mirrors like you said!

lextout

black onyx is the blackest of the black colors, looks shiny even with dirt on it.

comotiger

My POV could be blasphemy on a car site, but I think it is crazy to spend 1000s of $ to paint correct and coat to keep the car shiny and swirlfree, or to wrap the car for the same reasons. I was very close to doing the first option a few months ago and decided it's not worth it. My car has tons of swirls and holograms, and yes it is a bit odd to look at in bright sunshine. But 95% of the time, the car looks gorgeous. Being in FL, perhaps you notice the defects more often. In any case, if you are going to wrap the car, why not use a clear wrap or wrap in black? We all agree that the black does look very good on this car.

WisBad

A newbee to the forum, recently purchased my first Lexus. 2008 LS460L. Nice, Very NIce!! So I had some slight sandblasting on my rocker panels, I applied 3M paint protection film and now they look brand new. Something to consider.

comotiger

Congrats, WisBad, and welcome to CL! Please share some details about your vehicle and post some pictures inside and out. Have fun driving this great car!

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Here's a tip.... steer clear of anyone that calls the process "paint correction". It's a simple buffing that anyone with a little experience can do just fine. If they are asking more than $200 to buff out the paint, they are gouging you.