Lexus paint question

G

greg g

New member
Joined
Nov 18, 2009
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Recently purchased a 95 SC400 and am about to start cleaning and bringing it back to its former glory. The paint is really pretty good for a 20 year old car but it has a few parking lot marks, not actual dent/dings, just the little white things where another door hit it.

I remember some people saying that the lexus paint is very hard and some folks saying it is soft. I am just looking for some advice from folks that have worked with these before in the past. I have Meguires and Pinnacle products both to work with.

Hoping to get the basics done this weekend like claying the car and a general clean up, vacuum of the interior.

Here is what I am starting with



Thanks

Greg G
 
ur right the lexus autos seem to have hard paint/clearcoat; have had 3 lexus and it seems to take some more agressive polish/pads to get a really perfect surface; everyone on this forum recommends try a test spot with less aggressive pad and polish,u can always move up if needed
 
When I had my 93 SC300 I was a lurker here on AG, it had a multitude of paint problems, RIDs, water spots, swirls. I got the full Rupes 21 system and wet sanded the deeper scratches then 4 stepped the entire car. I was into the full correction 10-12 hours. After 3 years I'd say these cars are middle ground, not as hard as a C5 or CTS but much harder than any BMW or Honda paints.
Here's a link to my write up: Completed my first full paint correction (93 SC300)
 
Thanks for the replies. I normally start low and work my way up but I thought I remembered reading that these cars had a pretty hard paint/clear. Figured I might start somewhere a setp or two above the really mild setup. And when I do a car for the first time I always do a few test spots to figure out what works best. If the weather holds I'll hopefully have a few pictures to post up this weekend.

Greg G
 
I don't want to add to the confusion but my 2011 Lexus IS250 was really soft. It would marr from a gentle wipe at removing polish residues. Maybe the earlier year models had harder paint?

Test spot is definitely the way to go. I try 3-4 combinations whenever I polish a car and use the most effective choice before doing the rest of the car.

Good luck!
 
My approach would be to assume it's soft and test it as such. The other half of my head thinking "least aggressive" approach tells me "might be pretty thin paint" after 20 years. You can always gauge from a test spot if it laughs at a mildly aggressive test and go from there. Just the way i think.
 
Actually for its age the paint is in excellent shape. Original owner from 95-2012 when she died. Was a Nashville TN cat and stored inside and only racked up 55000 miles in 17 years.

I'll definitely start least aggressive and go up from there.

Greg G
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top