Diesel11

Two questions:

1. I'm going to Zaino this weekend, is the midnight pine 2001 clear-coated?

2. The car is in great shape, but has scratches and paint chipped off the drivers door edge, any concern that this will rust?

Fred

Guitarman

Fred, I have complete certainty that paint is cleared. You can reassure yourself though by rubbing some polish (swirl remover, even a cleaner wax) on it and if the car's color doesn't show up on the towel, you're clearcoated. ]

As for the chips, if you see the metal itself in them, it would be a good idea to use a sanding pencil or navel jelly on them, then apply a touch up primer and some base touch up then clear touch up. The Lexus electrocoat is pretty resistent to rust, but it can still start if bare metal stays open to the elements too long.

Down the road, you can have it resprayed if you wish, but for now, apply some paint to it. I think you'll sleep better.

Guitarman

BTW, Fred, I deleted your other post on this rust matter as it appeared redundant, exactly the same post as the top in this thread.

Diesel11

I might have made a mistake in the post, sorry. But there is new info, I didn't actually notice it until today (sunny today), but there is surface rust present on the rear door regions. I called the dealer and they said they contract someone to fix this and they will on friday. My question is do I have something big to worry about if they 'deal' with this?

Fred

PS Thanks in advance Dan, you are a real asset to the Lexus community.

Guitarman

Ok, my bad then, I gave it a quick read and thought it was referring to the same problem, but we can deal with it here...

I will just venture a guess, but it may be the result of "rail dust", the ferrous metal particles that land on the cars as they are transported to the dealerships via railroad from the ports. Most new cars exhibit this, and if left unattended, can start the process of what you *may* be seeing now. It appears first as pin sized dots of rust in the paint, but can get worse and dig in and corrode through the paint further. I have seen it on a few vehicles in my work, and I have some of the Autoint. products ( see link) to deal with it, if it's at an early enough stage.

Again though, that's only my guess. Either way, no matter what the cause, you should make sure they fix it to your satisfaction. Here is a link describing what would be done if it was rail dust particles;

http://www.autoint.com/tsb/ferrous_metal_removal.html

The only thing I can't say is whether or not that will work in this instance, I'd have to see it up close to be sure. If it's too far along they'll have to refinish the panel (s) to get it all.

You may want to pick their brain and mention the ferrous metal particles from rail transport, and see if they concur. Being that the vehicle is now about 4 years old, it may be too late to treat as prescribed by the Automotive International article. I hope they don't have to repaint, but either way, don't quit till you have peace of mind about it. Best of luck Fred.

Diesel11

The car is really growing on me and it drives like a dream. The rust was assessed and can be fixed, but still waiting to hear back from Lexus USA. Am I over-reacting for thinking a Lexus CPO shouldn't have rust on it?

I did look up midnight pine on autovisuals site and couldn't find the color.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Fred

(Note also posted in LS430 forum)

Guitarman

Absolutely not. It needs to be fixed. Don't settle.

I would try getting a lexus dealer to order that touch-up color for you. I have heard that some don't even charge their customers for touch up paint.