I'm painting my car soon maybe sometime next month. Could somebody tell me if the original lexus paint is a 3 stage or a 2stage? im thinking about getting the new Crystal white since my car is already pearl white and..........could someone educate me on auto paint? what is the difference between dupon.....PPG.....sherman william.....etc..... THANK IN ADVANCE.

Good topic, has nothing to do with an Sc. Moved for you.

PPG is IMO the best you can buy. Dupont is good for homes, but generally makes a larger line of lower cost "cheap" paint for the maaco body shops and other lower budget shops. PPG won't even fool with such a thing. That tells me something.

PPG over Dupont...but if they offer Glasurit, go with that. Might cost more but definitely well worth it :thumbup:

so PPG is the best? is there something better? i see PPG on hondas and its realllllyyyyyyyy thin. lexus paint is really thick.

House of Kolors

so PPG is the best? is there something better? i see PPG on hondas and its realllllyyyyyyyy thin. lexus paint is really thick.
Um, it has nothing to do with the paint......... where you been looking at paint jobs? Find some examples by a better painter.

ohhhh.....gotcha. i have one more question. i went to some autoshop and they dont really sand down off the whole paint. does it matter if they do? should it be sand down to bare metal?

It depends on what grade of PPG or DuPont. My uncle used Dupont to paint my lower body panels to match the rest of the car. He did not use cheapo grade DuPont. He said it really depends on the car. Sometimes, he has used PPG.

ohhhh.....gotcha. i have one more question. i went to some autoshop and they dont really sand down off the whole paint. does it matter if they do? should it be sand down to bare metal?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
That is not needed and is only going to cause more work and problems, you can NEVER beat the factory base paint job. It is adhered very well. Only if the paint is so screwed up would you ever want to do that...

PPG and Sikkens is what I would use. Nexa Autocolor is probably the best you can get, it's hard to find.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
That is not needed and is only going to cause more work and problems, you can NEVER beat the factory base paint job. It is adhered very well. Only if the paint is so screwed up would you ever want to do that...

I have had a few nicks here and there on my fenders and my uncle actually sands it and puts on a paste of some kind to smooth it down. He never goes down to the metal, just takes off the shiny part of the paint.

I have had a few nicks here and there on my fenders and my uncle actually sands it and puts on a paste of some kind to smooth it down. He never goes down to the metal, just takes off the shiny part of the paint.

Yup, sounds like what I do. Just wetsand with 1500 and then use 3M Finesse It, polish about 3 times, then wax :thumbup: I did all the door dings and such when I bought mine and brought it back to where I bought it for some follow-up work and the mechanic was amazed how I did that.

House of Kolors

thats good stuff but pricey, I like PPG, good paint.

You never should sand down a car, you just shoot a sealer over the factory job and paint over it.

there is a company called standox. the paint is made by dupont. everything that i have seen so far came out really nice. my personal opinion i think PPG is a bit thin for my taste.

stock lexus & ferrari use ppg

stock bmw & mbz use glasurit

I don't know what's different, but the Diamond White Pearl on my 95 ES seems way tougher and more resilient than the Midnight Pine Pearl on my 01 GS. The GS paint seems softer and chips/scratches easier.

All automotive paints from all manufacturers chip just as easily now thanks to the water borne paints that they have been using for the past 6 years.

I don't know what's different, but the Diamond White Pearl on my 95 ES seems way tougher and more resilient than the Midnight Pine Pearl on my 01 GS. The GS paint seems softer and chips/scratches easier.

I'd also attribute that to the color. You might not see the scratches that form on the ES as easily as you can on the GS.

IMO, stay away from whatever the Germans are using. Mercedes is using something called Ceramiclear on top of their base coats, and it's a PAIN IN THE ASS to polish. The idea is that the clear coat is so hard that it will resist nicks and scratches. Problem is, if you do get a scratch and need to remove it, you'll likely never be able to unless you're properly educated in the use of high speed polishers and the correct compounds. Not something your typical Wal-Mart wax can fix.

How would one go about ordering factory Lexus paint if it's no longer being used? Would you order it through Lexus or have your painter color match it and form his own mix?

stock lexus & ferrari use ppg

stock bmw & mbz use glasurit

Ferrari always used to use Glasurit. Glasurit (BASF) is the best I know of, followed by Sikkens (Akzo Nobel) and PPG. Dupont is probably worse due to US government regulations. (but PPG is under the same regs). R-M Diamont is sort of a poor man's version of Glasurit.

I had portions of my '88 Supra (still have it) done in Sikkens 15 years ago. That paint is in better shape right now than the factory paint.

As O.L.T. was pointing out, thin vs. thick has much more to do with the painter and the paint job than the paint itself. How many coats, sanding process, clearcoat layers, etc. It's a you-get-what-you-pay-for situation, of course.

Ferrari always used to use Glasurit. Glasurit (BASF) is the best I know of, followed by Sikkens (Akzo Nobel) and PPG. Dupont is probably worse due to US government regulations. (but PPG is under the same regs). R-M Diamont is sort of a poor man's version of Glasurit..

Yeah that's what my bro meant to say (he was logged into my acct and posted) He works for a body shop that services high-end cars. So he knows pretty much about paint, bodywork and stuff like that :)

2 or 3-stage? Depends on what you mean by the term. Just about all new vehicles today.....including Lexus.......have one or 2 layers of clearcoat alone on top, not counting the color layers underneath.

The body shop I go to uses Sikkens and I have been really pleased with it. I know the painter did a great job but the paint itself seems to hold up really well against rock chips and such, compared to the stock paint

The body shop I go to uses Sikkens and I have been really pleased with it. I know the painter did a great job but the paint itself seems to hold up really well against rock chips and such, compared to the stock paint


where do you go Rich? I'm due for a hood and front bumper paint soon.