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Hello everyone. I'm in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and have a burgundy LS430 with 190K miles on it. As you might imagine it has a few scuff marks and small paint chips missing from rocks etc due to all of the highway driving. Don't get me wrong the car looks good especially after a nice wash. I just had a car wash work their magic and clean my headlights and boy they look good. That caused me to think what can I do to beautify the car in terms of restoring paint so the chips and scuffs get minimized / eliminated? Anyone had any experience in this area? Do I bring it to a paint shop and tell them to repaint? If so, any idea how much places charge to do this type of work? I appreciate any feedback.
No repaint. Repaint is never a good option, unless the car has been in an accident and you're trying to fix it. Nothing like OEM paint. Plus, car will loose lot of value if you think of selling in the future.
I'm sure your car will look great with just a 3-stage polish. 1- Compound old paint, remove swirls, small scratches, love marks. 2- Polish the coat after the compounding to bring back clarity. 3- Wax, a good shine and pop to the color of the car.
Not many detailers master the art of reviving a car. To me, paint is something I take care of my own, never let it under any shop's hand. Steps are simple, but it is a process, it really is detail oriented work that requires experience to perfect.
Search around your area for a "Ceramic Pro coating authorized shop". I have honestly not came across a shop under their name with bad detailers. Ask them for a 3-stage polish.
I'd also recommend a ceramic coating, it will save the car for a good amount of time from many defects that can happen. They have a top level coating that can withstand door dings, even hammer smashes(don't know why one would smash your car, but you get the idea.)
I was quoted for about $650 for the 3-stage + ceramic coating. Decided I'll do it once my body kit is here and installed on the car.
Here's my car after some work I've done to it.
On the right is BEFORE, Left is AFTER... you can see the difference in the way the paint pops.
No filters on the photos I promise ;D
Paint is one of the things I'm really interested in, always want my paint tip top!
GL, appreciate the feedback. I will check out ceramic pro. I wish my car (some color and interior as yours) looked as good as yours. How many miles on your LS? Once again thanks and your car looks fab!
Looks good king911. The paint on my 04's is in good condition for a 11 year old car. I hear good things about the high end coatings but I don't know how much better that really is vs a good wax every 6 months. That is all I do.
Lavrishevo - also a great looking car. I have probably not done a great job maintaining the exterior of my car. Maintenance wise, I have pretty much stuck to the book - water pump and timing belt are soon to be changed at 190k. I have put a lot of highway miles on this puppy and and have paint chips from rocks and pebbles on the hood. From a distance my car looks quite nice, but if you look close you can see the swirls etc, thus the reason I am considering a "re-fresh" type detail. I wish I had been more diligent with exterior upkeep as I had been with maintenance.
Have it done for you if your don't want to do it yourself. Check out Yelp.com and look up auto detailing for your area. You can look at the reviews and this helps find a good shop. I would have them strip all the old wax off and clay bar the paint. Then put a fresh coat of wax. You can also go with a high end coating at 3x times cost. Should run you about $250 for the cleaning and wax. Paint chips can also be touched up for a decent price, around $100. I just hit 130k miles.
GL, appreciate the feedback. I will check out ceramic pro. I wish my car (some color and interior as yours) looked as good as yours. How many miles on your LS? Once again thanks and your car looks fab!
118k when I got her, she didn't stand out at all. You can see 10 years of paint negligence. It looks like any red car, any red Honda Civic. But our LS430's color's are mouth watering when well taken care of. They really pop out and shine.
She now has 140k on the clock and looking better than ever.
Paint is really fragile, one of the most detail oriented jobs ever. You really got to take care of it if you want it to pop and be different. You can tell your car between all other same colored cars.
Paint is like skin, it needs to be maintained to keep looking great.
But, the ceramic pro does decrease the maintenance you'd do. That's why LFA's and Aventador's go straight to a coating after they are sold to the customer. Just gives the customer the "don't worry" feeling. Can't wait to get mine done.
Lav, waxing is definitely a must, but as you may know, the wax gets dissipated by time and washing cycles, that's why you apply it every period of time.
But the coating is applied over the wax, keeping the car looking good for a long long time.
These coatings are warrantied for 3 years at least. Depends on the shop and dealer. Some give lifetime warranty.
You also don't really have to worry about your car getting dirty, because the coating is also repellant to water, dirt etc.
DIY claying and polishing for a first timer is going to involve a lot of time and a good amount of money spent. I'd estimate you're looking at around a $300-400 investment for clay, different stages of polish (m105 + m205 for example), a DA polisher, polishing pads, and a good sealant. The major investment is the DA polisher.
For someone who has never used a DA to polish before, you're looking at maybe 8-12 hours from start to finish for a thorough clay/polish/sealant paint restoration. If you think you're up to the task, I say go for it. It's never too late to learn and you'll be able to keep all of your paint on every car you own in showcar condition once you've got it down.
http://www.ammonyc.com/det-categories/drive/ has tons of informative videos, and I buy all of my detail supplies on autogeek. I can't really tell you much about having anything professionally done though as I've never gone that route.
I found a clay bar afternoon... followed up by polish and was did wonders for my two LS vehicles. I'd recommend this as a start. Relatively cheap to do and just takes some time and energy. I did this to my mom's gold, '01 with 160k on it one afternoon and she fell in love with it again. Really brought the paint shine out.
The forum sponsor over there has great experience and seems to be very helpful.
I also live in the DFW area (Grapevine) and I put a lot of highway miles on my 2001 LS430. I posted earlier today about the concerns that I have, some of which are the same as yours:
My front bumper cover is pitted from so much highway mileage, and got torn from the bumper slightly when my sweet little wife pulled away from the garage door some time ago. I was able to re-align it OK, but it's just not right. I want to replace it, but the online discount parts supplier that I use won't ship something that size. I'll have to pay retail at the local dealer unless someone could suggest another source.
Due to the highway use, there's a lot of pitting on the hood. I'd like to repaint it, and get a clear protectant applied, but I can't remember the name of the product.
The windshield is also showing a lot of fine pitting, for the same reasons. Other than replacing it, is there some sort of treatment that can be applied??
I've noticed that there are some very knowledgeable posters on here! The work that has been done with these exteriors is amazing!
I'm looking forward to getting more info. Good luck on getting yours in order!
LSDOC glad to meet you. I had a detailer from Arlington come look at my car (I work in the area) but reside in plano. He looked at my bumper and hood and saw the pitting and chips that I have and indicated that painting the hood would be the best way to go.
After several months he could put a coating on it - seems it takes several months for paint to fully set in. Knowledgeable guy I think and really good photos of work he has done. He doesn't do painting, but he recommended someone that would charge $700 or so to paint the hood. My hood has a number of chips, but not very noticeable unless you are looking in detail - the problem become rust at some point (I think). I'm going to talk to another detailer here in Plano this weekend. Check out the detailing link that was just posted. Looks like good info!
Originally Posted by LSDoc
TXLS430,
I also live in the DFW area (Grapevine) and I put a lot of highway miles on my 2001 LS430. I posted earlier today about the concerns that I have, some of which are the same as yours:
My front bumper cover is pitted from so much highway mileage, and got torn from the bumper slightly when my sweet little wife pulled away from the garage door some time ago. I was able to re-align it OK, but it's just not right. I want to replace it, but the online discount parts supplier that I use won't ship something that size. I'll have to pay retail at the local dealer unless someone could suggest another source.
Due to the highway use, there's a lot of pitting on the hood. I'd like to repaint it, and get a clear protectant applied, but I can't remember the name of the product.
The windshield is also showing a lot of fine pitting, for the same reasons. Other than replacing it, is there some sort of treatment that can be applied??
I've noticed that there are some very knowledgeable posters on here! The work that has been done with these exteriors is amazing!
I'm looking forward to getting more info. Good luck on getting yours in order!
In regards to the chips, I had good luck using the Dr Colorchip I found suggested in other threads. It really did make most the chips invisible from more than a few feet on my Flint Mica, and was very easy to use once you get used to the technique.
04-25-15, 10:08 PM
Need Advice - how do I make my car pretty again?
Making the LS pretty again...
