Tom58

Here are some suspicious paint blemishes I noticed. Are those signs of a clearcoat failure?

There are three pictures, the first picture is the original size to give some perspective, the next picture shows the area in question in zoom.

Thank You

Turtlespd

Kinda looks like clear coat failure. Its very difficult to identify paint blems over an image. Some of the pics just looks like a good color sand and buff should take care of it but others do look like failure. It can be caused by abrasive soaps, ie dish washing soap. Abrasive soaps are only to be used when a complete removal of wax and sealers wished to be removed and reapplied. Others just use dish washing soap to wash their cars and forget to protect the finish and over time, sitting in the warm sun creates failure. i hope im wrong, love the color of your car.

svlexus

does it wash off at all? And dawn wont cause that (non abrasive dish soap) but it would remove wax and eventually the paint would get dull.

dtaylor

I had a similar condition on my black LS430. Had it fixed same time as other bodywork, and it looks great now. Unfortunately I have no idea what they did to fix it. I assumed re-paint the area but who knows.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The car didn't have one of those Teflon type coatings applied did it?

I've got a few clear coat blemishes in mine and they haven't changed in 8+ years. Might run it by a body shop or detail guy and have them make a comment. Might be easily rubbed out in which case, no worries.

jimbosr1

has the car ever been owned by anyone that lived near the ocean?that ocean mist sits on the car and eats the clear coat.

Tom58

I'm not so much concerned about the looks, but rather whether it will get worse if not treated, potentially requiring a whole new paint job.

It doesn't wash off, I just bought it from the dealer, so I'm assuming they cleaned and waxed it.

How much was it? And can you recommend a shop?

Hmm, I don't think so, but how would I know?

The car was registered in Florida for 3 years, but always serviced by the dealer in Wisconsin, so I don't think it was exposed to the ocean that much.

Turtlespd

good info, ill stick to dawn when i want to clean start.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

When the coating begins to fail/wear-out, it looks similar. As it continues to age, these spots will become larger and flake off. The coating is very thin so the closest analogy is like getting sunburn. Sadly, the coating wears typically on the horizontal portions of the car that get the most direct sun exposure, hood, roof and trunk lid. On the sides, these areas remain unaffected most the time. These coatings typically last 5-7+ years before they show signs of going bye-bye. Your '03 is in that timeline.

Bird droppings, chemicals can show similar results too. I suspect the car had a paint coating treatment that was optioned by the original buyer. If you can get the service history/purchase option detail, that would show if a coating was optioned by the buyer.

Best advice is have a body shop/detail guy look at it and give you a course of action to follow.

Tom58

I looked at the full service history and options from the internal Lexus database, and it doesn't show any special coating treatment.

Any recommendation where to find a detail guy that could answer those questions? The only detail places I'm familiar with will just clean your car but don't necessarily know anything about it.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Might ask in this section for a detail guy in the area
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/southwest-24/

Jabberwock

Wisconsin or Florida - unfortunately two harsh environments for paint. Paint jobs on cars in Florida last the shortest of any place in the US due to the intense Sun mixed with salt air. Next time you are down there notice how many paint shops are in Florida. Especially the dark or metallic colors have a very short lifespan in baking sun with Silver taking the prize for shortest lifespan in Sun and white the longest, lasting literally 20 times longer. Some silvers are nothing more than metallic flakes in a clear suspension clear coat - in the Sun the metal flake gets super hot and then literally cooks/bakes the clear coat medium it is suspended in. .

In Wisconsin the car's paint has to survive months of salt spray coatings from the roads in the winter. If it was not washed every week the paint would take a beating there also.

VNN326

iTrader: (21)

that can be anything, could be poor care of bird "crap" being baked into the paint.

jimbosr1

i bet it spent winters in fl and the summer in the north.the ls 430 i bought was owner in fl along the beach and i have a couple of spots on the trunk just like yours.i had it buffed out at a body shop and it looked good for a while,but it came back.i dont pay much attention to it now.not worth investing any paint work on it now.no paint job will look as nice as factory paint.i would keep yours polished and waxed and it will be fine.also in fl they have reclaimed and well water,both not good to leave sit on your paint.

Lawrenzo

Looks like clear coat failure.

What area on your car is this? (trunk/door/hood/fender/etc)