How swirl resistant is Toyota paint?

J

jdgamble

New member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
312
Reaction score
0
So my wife has a metallic white Sienna. Honestly, we abuse this thing. I wash it so carelessly it makes me feel guilty, but here's the thing... the paint is basically swirl free. Very light in a few places, but it's crazy. I just put a some DG601/111 on part of the car (that's how negligent I am... I seal in sections over time) and it looks flawless, other than the gouges my kids put in the car with their bikes and stuff.

So my question... does this sound like typical Toyota paint? Or could the dealership have installed a coating of sorts?

Quick plug - DG 601/111 is pretty sick. I wanted something for the minivan that lasts, and the application and results are impressive. If this lasts, it's a huge win.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
It could just be because of the colour so you're not seeing all the swirls. Like if you had a black car it might be horrendous.
 
I don't think so. I have a mineral white BMW, and granted, it's not quite as metallic, but I find swirls in my car using my LED lights and such. Using the same lights, I find almost none in this paint.


Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
 
jdgamble said:
Using the same lights, I find almost none in this paint
Click to expand...

look at it closely when you fill up with gas at a modern gas station at night. that usually does the trick for showing off swirls on tri-color pearl paints :)
 
jdgamble said:
So my wife has a metallic white Sienna. Honestly, we abuse this thing. I wash it so carelessly it makes me feel guilty, but here's the thing... the paint is basically swirl free. Very light in a few places, but it's crazy. I just put a some DG601/111 on part of the car (that's how negligent I am... I seal in sections over time) and it looks flawless, other than the gouges my kids put in the car with their bikes and stuff.

So my question... does this sound like typical Toyota paint? Or could the dealership have installed a coating of sorts?

Quick plug - DG 601/111 is pretty sick. I wanted something for the minivan that lasts, and the application and results are impressive. If this lasts, it's a huge win.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
Click to expand...

Metalic white is probably the hardest color to see swirls on thats all
 
Blizzard white ? It’s probably the best Toyota paint, that the bright silver and the gold for long term looks with out a lot of hassle. Sure there is still some marring there just harder to see.

I know for Honda it’s similar our white diamond pearl is “harder” and definitely less visible than the San Marino red Honda we have


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I guess I'll chalk this up to paint color. I wish my white car provided that kind of camouflage.


Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
 
Blizzard Pearl... that's the color

Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
 
Last edited:
Honda and Toyota have some of the softest paint I've ever seen. I've accidentally marred the crimson paint on my wife's Toyota with just a swipe of my finger.

I bet if you run a light polish or an AIO over your Sienna with a polisher, you would see a dramatic difference in color and gloss of the paint. This summer, I clayed and then applied an AIO to my mother-in-laws 6-month old white pearl Genesis G90. Despite being very new and very little work on my part, the difference was substantial. The pearl really popped, white color was was crisper, and the gloss was much higher.
 
My RAV4 is Blizzard White Pearl also. A really close inspection under the right light will reveal what you are not seeing. It does hide light marring well but it's there nonetheless. Machine polishing a test spot will really show the difference.
 
It sounds like a terrific blessing to me. I think it is unlikely that the dealership put a coating. I would say enjoy it and don't try to find imperfections.
 
We have two Toyotas....a 2008 Sequoia and a 2013 Tundra.....the clear is significantly harder on the Sequoia than the tundra. I swear sometimes I can put swirls on the tundra by looking at it the wrong way
 
The active ingredient in white paint is Titanium. This is why white is usually very hard. If your paint is a single stage paint, you will benefit from this hardness. If it's a basecoat / clearcoat, then it will have no effect on the resistance to damage.

In my experience, Toyota have soft paint, like all Japanesse manufacturers. Their paint is better quality than Honda, but it's still soft compared to German paint.

Good if you are not seeing any damage. It might or might not be there. White hides swirls well. If you want to be sure, polish a pannel. If you see no difference, then there are no swirls in your paint. If your pannel gets a lot shinier after the polishing, then you certainly have swirls and micro-abbrasions in your paint (as I think you do).
 
jdgamble said:
Blizzard Pearl... that's the color

Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
Click to expand...

We have two vehicles (2014 Prius, 2018 RAV 4 Hybrid Limited) that are Blizzard Pearl. I really like it and you really have to look hard with a very bright light or direct sunlight to detect swirls but you can see them under the correct lighting circumstances.
 
Calendyr said:
The active ingredient in white paint is Titanium. This is why white is usually very hard. If your paint is a single stage paint, you will benefit from this hardness. If it's a basecoat / clearcoat, then it will have no effect on the resistance to damage.

In my experience, Toyota have soft paint, like all Japanesse manufacturers. Their paint is better quality than Honda, but it's still soft compared to German paint.

Good if you are not seeing any damage. It might or might not be there. White hides swirls well. If you want to be sure, polish a pannel. If you see no difference, then there are no swirls in your paint. If your pannel gets a lot shinier after the polishing, then you certainly have swirls and micro-abbrasions in your paint (as I think you do).
Click to expand...

For Toyota, the paint is totally different for Japanese vs North America country of origin. The US has the EPA guidelines to follow: https://www.epa.gov/compliance/nati...azardous-air-pollutants-compliance-monitoring

Japan does not have these restrictions and can use solvent-based paints which are better. I suspect a lot of "soft" paint may be the result of these EPA regulations for transplant (foreign badge, domestic manufacture) vehicles.
 
I finally found some. I pulled it out in direct sunlight and found an angle that I could see a few. It turns out the ONLY cool think about a minivan is the shape doesn't reflect direct sunlight will. It's all vertical surfaces and a high hood/roof, so you basically never catch unflattering reflections. I tried to tell my wife how cool this is... she looked at me with a blank stare. I don't think we're compatible.
 
jdgamble said:
I finally found some. I pulled it out in direct sunlight and found an angle that I could see a few. It turns out the ONLY cool think about a minivan is the shape doesn't reflect direct sunlight will. It's all vertical surfaces and a high hood/roof, so you basically never catch unflattering reflections. I tried to tell my wife how cool this is... she looked at me with a blank stare. I don't think we're compatible.
Click to expand...

LOL men are from Mars and women are from Venus... don't sweat it ;)
 
I used to have a 2007 Toyota Matrix in the Pearl White option at the time. It wasn't bad but you could definitely see the swirls. This was just in my post high school days so I didn't know a thing about properly washing and protecting the car. I used to run it through the brush washes and you could definitely see the swirls on the car, especially with the faded paint that was on the car.
 
Calendyr said:
The active ingredient in white paint is Titanium. This is why white is usually very hard. If your paint is a single stage paint, you will benefit from this hardness. If it's a basecoat / clearcoat, then it will have no effect on the resistance to damage.

In my experience, Toyota have soft paint, like all Japanesse manufacturers. Their paint is better quality than Honda, but it's still soft compared to German paint.

Good if you are not seeing any damage. It might or might not be there. White hides swirls well. If you want to be sure, polish a pannel. If you see no difference, then there are no swirls in your paint. If your pannel gets a lot shinier after the polishing, then you certainly have swirls and micro-abbrasions in your paint (as I think you do).
Click to expand...

I work for a company that makes pigment dispersions, often used as the colorant for paint manufacturers. In fact, the ingredient you're talking about is actually Titanium Dioxide (TiO2), and although it is white (and the pigment used in white paint is almost exclusively TiO2), Titanium Dioxide is in paint of almost all colors, even some black paints. As a powdered pigment, TiO2 isn't that hard - Only 5.5 on the Mohs's scale, roughly mid-level.
 
mk9750 said:
I work for a company that makes pigment dispersions, often used as the colorant for paint manufacturers. In fact, the ingredient you're talking about is actually Titanium Dioxide (TiO2), and although it is white (and the pigment used in white paint is almost exclusively TiO2), Titanium Dioxide is in paint of almost all colors, even some black paints. As a powdered pigment, TiO2 isn't that hard - Only 5.5 on the Mohs's scale, roughly mid-level.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. This conflicts with information I had gotten a few years ago. Good stuff to know! What pigments wouldd you say make the hardest paint then? White is usually considered to be the hardest paint available (not counting Ceramic-clears)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top