I've had my car for a a half and a half only has 9k on the dash. Barley highway driven, so I barley have chips in the paint. But what I do have is major scratches, everywhere! This began to happen the first day I got the car. Did some research and was informed Lexus paint is very soft. Came from a BMW prior to my last two Lexus's and never had any issues like this.

Started with hand washes for the first year and gave up because the car was still majorly scratched. Got a cheap wash today and this is the result.

I know it's easy to get a good exterior detail-my question is how long will it last? Is opti-coat a good idea, does it work?

 

Dang dude?!

What kind of cloth were you using? For a year I let the auto drive car wash monsters wash my car. Once I bought my house, it became rinseless car wash and premium towels. No scratches that I can see.

I wonder if your paint is defective?

matt

 

Paint is not defective. Lexus paint is soft, but what you got there is a major case of swirls. It shows especially well in black cars.

Swirls are caused by improper washing and cleaning. So when you use a "cloth" on the paint, it had better be a paint safe microfiber with detailing spray. Opt-coat will help and so does waxing, but this will only HIDE the swirls temporarily. The best way is to go to a pro and get the swirls polished out, THEN apply wax or sealant to protect the finish.

And when you wash, I hope you are doing a two bucket method with quality mitts.

You also said you went for a "cheap wash"... you get what you paid for right? Thats why you should wash yourself properly.

 

Well unfortunately I live in an apartment building and have my car in a garage so no washing for me. The hand wash I go to is great but the buckets are filthy I'm sure.

It's a lease I don't want to spend thousands of $$$ on paint correction but need something to fix this.

I'll admit going through the soft cloth wash made it 10x worse but was pretty bad to begin with. I fear i "fix" the problem and a week later get a car wash and I'm back at square one..

Any advice?

 

If its a lease, I wouldn't sweat it. Dealers don't normally charge you for swirls. But, if you want to hide it, wax the car. The wax will fill in the micro scratches so it won't be seen easily.

 

Get a paint correction and ceramic coating. It's expensive, but you'll never see another swirl ever again.

 

The paint isn't whats scratched, it's the clear coat.

 

Not worried about dealer lol worried because it looks like garbage right now for my own eyes. Just don't want to spend thousands for nothing.

Anyone in North NJ have a good recommendation for some good outside work at a decent price?

 

Well in that case, I'm not sure if you wanna fork over the $$$$ for paint correction. The best and cheapest alternative is a good wax job. If done right with high quality wax, it should last ~6 months.

 

I know this sound stupid but what should I be telling the detailer to do? Never had this issue before and it's my first black car so when getting details in the past it's straight forward and I don't go in there looking for an end result other then just a really good clean and shine.

Most places I feel will just clay the car and do a quick buff all around.

 

Im sorry, but no newer black car should look like that. None. I have a 10 year old black passat that doesn't even have half the swirl marks in those pictures.

 

Looking at those pictures just gave me the sudden urge to just cover your car in buffing compound and just rub away

 

Crdetailing hit him up on ig. Tell him Imran recommended you.

 

I have 2016 IS 350, atomic silver, recently went for some skiing in the mountains and decided on premium auto car wash on my return, $10 wash (most expensive choice), the car looked real dirty. The car wash offered undercarriage wash - this was important to me returning from possible salty roads. Was aware of possible swirl marks (specially considering the amount of dirt the car was covered with) so jumped out of the car to inspect it closely after the wash - no swirl marks that my eyes could detect. Two ski trips and two car washes - so far no problem.

 

Thanks for all the advise. I've been doing some searching and seems like lots of people here with a black car have this problem both new and old. My cars shine is also pretty much gone it's just very rough, the paint feels dry. I love in NJ not some drastic climate. Cold winters regular summers and everything in between.