After about a year of enjoyig our 350, we have accumulated several (like 8)small paint ships on the hood, plus a larger area at the rear edge of the hood caused by placing the wipers in the :winter: position which causes them to rub against the hood (manufacturer flaw, I'd say). My wife took it in and got an estimate of $500. First, this seems like ridiculously thin and fragile paint. Second, FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS??? Opinions welcomed.

 

That does seem high. Probably all labor. You might try an independent body/paint shop. Might be less than at the dealer.

 

I have about 7,000 miles on my Lexus and I have accumulated 10-15 chips already. I agree the paint does not seem to be very good. I'm not sure if its the clear coat or what. I have a 2000 Buick Park Avenue Ultra with 115K miles, same color as the Lexus and comparing, the Lexus far more and larger paint chips then the Buick. Has anyone else noticed how easily the paint chips?

 

Must agree, this is the worst paint to chip I have ever seen. The paint is very thin causing the chip to go all the way to the primer and standing out like a pimple on the nose. I have also noticed that it scratches very easily as well . You can cause a scratch drying it with a micro cloth and I have never seen that happen before.

 

I have a chip on my front hood that also is all the way down to the primer. My 10 year old Camry never had that problem.

 

well I have a clear bra which works great but the bumper is a different story here in Rocky Colorado, the paint on the bumper could be better, I see a lot of rock scuffs and paint dings, guess at some point ILl just have to get it painted.

 

I also have paint chips knocked off on 3-4 places on my hood. Since I have a black ES this looks really bad. $500 is alot. Do they go by count or is it just flat $500 for any # of paint chips to fix ?

I also have a ding which is kinda vertical line on my driver side door. An idiot banged his door on my ES Does any one know how much will it cost to fix it ?

 

ES/GS paint is way too soft. ClearBra helps A LOT, but I still managed to get some rock chips on the roof and part of the hood above clearbra line (covers 1/3 of my hood). I guess its a price to pay for putting 100 miles-a-day in commuting

Personally, I would just use a touch up paint. What else are they going to do for $500? Repaint the whole hood?

 

Obviously, different folks will charge different prices, but FWIW--I paid $120 to have two dings pulled; one of the dings was in a spot that I thought would be difficult for the guy to get to, but golly gee he was able to smooth it out.

 

My black 350 probably has the worst paint thickness I have ever seen. I owned a black camry for 6 years without a single chip, with the same amount of daily mileage. I currently have a chip in the center of my hood about a 1/8" in diameter straight to the primer. Seems to me there is a problem with Lexus' drying or primer process. Estimate to fix 4 chips on my hood from the dealer: $1200. Thoroughly disgusted.

 

Ok Here's a question. My 2004 SC is in Millennium Silver Metallic. I'd like opinions about whether a home DIY job as in this video could be successful. Thanks.