Having a hard time deciding if I should wrap her or leave her alone. I was thinking either some sort of blue or black. Any recommendations?

 

If you have the money and want it, then you should do it.

I personally wouldn't cause it seems harder to take care of properly. I have my roof and window chrome wrapped but that's it.

 

Is that Obsidian or Caviar? If Caviar, I'd definitely keep it as-is. Easier to take care of than plain black and looks awesome, IMHO. You might just invest some time and money in washing and waxing regularly. Good way to get to know the car. And also, since it's relatively new, your self-healing coating should still be working great, if that helps with peace of mind.

 

Wrap it. No matter how tedious or what towels I used and wax, that clear coat on the Obsidian shows swirling as a result of any minor contact. But i did not ceramic coat it. Just lots of polymer wax...didnt matter. Most thought the car looked great, but as an owner you see every imperfection and its hard to avoid. I self washed a touchless method 95% of the time.

And I wasn't garaged at that time so looked fleshly cleaned for about a day tops.

Love the color. But too hard to keep it clean all the time. Some can deal with a less than clean car most the time or some swirling.

 

Waxing will not do anything for swirling and micro-marring, but it is easily corrected with a random orbital buffer.

 

I thought maintaining a wrap would be easier? Thanks for letting me know

 

Thanks, this is one is Caviar. I just wanted to keep the car clean and not damage the paint over the next few years. I wash it every week so it definitely stays clean but lately I've been wanting to do something to it but just not sure what.

 

So far no swirls or anything. I don't know if it being Caviar instead of Obsidian is a big difference, I love this specific black but just wasn't too sure on what I should do to it.

 

Having a wrap is kind of a nuisance. I need to find a brushless car wash now.. haven't washed my car since I got the wrap. But you should do it if you have the money for it

 

Nothing beats XPEL. Keeps the paint looking so fresh. Highly recommend it

 

Leave it alone. Waste of money unless you accidentally bought a pink or brown car. Your color is nice as is. You paid money for it.

Don't bother with no bro-applications people like to waste money on. Just a $15 bottle of wax once a year or twice a year and you're all set. Drive and enjoy.

If you constantly track your car, say twice a month, then sure get a "bro-x-racer" clear bra or whatever it is the kids use these days. But other than that it's unsightly (lines and inevitable discoloring), super expensive, and will leave your car with a bikini tan after it's done.

 

Also another note on clear bras/clear wraps and the like.. people say "BUT CT I WANNA PROTEK MY CAR SO I CAN ENJOI IT LATER"

My response is there's no better time than to enjoy your car while it's new. That's like saying you want to stay home in your 20s and 30s so you can protect your bones, skin, and joints so you can enjoy it later in life in your 50s and 60s instead.

The best time to enjoy something is before it gets old. It's the whole point of the thing you just bought. It's why you spent 40k. So leave your steering wheel covers, your seat covers, your clear plastic paint covers at home. They look bad and every time you look at your car, you will see it. You will know the plastic finish is there. Enjoy the car as Lexus intended. =)

 

I don't know what installer you are used to but the new stuff has no lines. Completely covers intended panel and can't see any evidence there was an XPEL film on it. Discoloration has been mostly solved if you use the newer stuff. The car also looks brand new after every wash because there is no pitting on the front at all. I paid about $1600 for the entire front, rocker panels, and portions of the rear near the wheel well and its the best mod to a car i've ever had.

 

You are adding a layer of plastic on top of your paint. Of course there will be lines. The film has to start and end somewhere. I think it's just a one of the biggest money makers of car shops that provide realistically no meaningful actual benefit to the end-user, especially not for the $2,000+ charged.

My cars have always looked pristine for 10-12-15 years with just a bottle of wax. Front bumper gets chipped up in 10 years? Sure, ok. Respray it for $500. Still cheaper than $2,000. You can respray your front bumper 4x.

 

Completely untrue. The film goes wraps around the entire panel and gets tucked in between the panels. There are no lines and if there are, your installer sucks. As I said, mine was $1600 for the entire front of the car including fenders, bumper, rocker panels, and rear bumper area. The film self heals so you get a pristine looking car all the time and my bumper doesn't look like it got a shotgun blast after a month driving on the 5 highway. Completely worth it.