spender

Hello, my 2004 LS430 will be here within a week. It was owned by an older fellow in Montreal, who apparently took great care of it (I had it inspected by an independent guy and the Lexus dealer), but who wasn't fanatical about the paint like I am about vehicles (example: I was able to sell my 2002 Isuzu Trooper for $16,500 because the paint, etc. still looked like new). According to both inspectors, there were a few light scratches, with the only real trouble spot being on the right bumper (see picture, apparently looks worse than in real life).

I am quite familiar with the variety of detailing products out there, and clay bar my vehicles at least once a year, followed by Meguiar's NXT. My cars look good, although surely not as good as some of the awesome rides of many members on this board that don't have to deal with snow and ice.

My question here is, for these scratches and the first detail job after I get it, am I better off to bring it to a pro, or can I handle this in my own garage? How would you guys handle this? Any specific product/process recommenations?

jfelbab

I'd tackle that spot with ScratchX and a lot of passion. If you aren't able to remove it all you should see a lot of improvement. If you aren't satisfied with the results you are only out a few bucks and some time.

FlavesLex

iTrader: (1)

Give it a try on your own if you like detailing... The scratch does not look bad at all... Take in consideration that you WILL take a whole day, possibly two if you are going to detail the whole car. TAKE YOUR TIME DETAILING Post pics

spender

Thanks for the advice guys, based on your encouragement I will give her a go myself!

Here she is "before" (and no that's not my house ):

VroomVroom

You're passionate! Some folks think this is a disease, I think it's therapy. Give it a go yourself, and enjoy the time with your new car. (Congrats, by the way.)

After washing, give the finish a good inspection. My guess is you'll see a lot of swirl marks and that the paint is in need of polishing. If that's the case, you might want to consider visiting a professional detailer, or spending the money to purchase the equipment and product to do the work yourself. It really comes down to your comfort level - both with the look of the car and in your desire & patience to address any issues. The key thing is that it's black, which as you know....shows everything. Good luck!

Lexucan

The car looks dark blue to me. If it was mine - and I DO wish it was MINE - I would have it professionally detailed when it arrives, and then do the regular upkeep thereafter myself. Beautiful car, by the way.....congrats!

VroomVroom

^ I think you're right...my bad, I'd only looked at the thumbnail.

But, after a closer look, I'm not sure how much success you'll have. Those are pretty serious scratches and it looks like a few of them are deep. Definitely work for a machine - a PC at least, if not a rotary.

tod071

Do you have the proper equipment or plan to do this by hand? If you don't have any machines, I'd take it to a pro, get it done right, then maintain it.

spender

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I think I will probably bring it to a detailer here and have them take the first cut on it, but THEN I'll take care of it from there. Cheers!