Help me fix all this! **PICS**
11-24-09, 03:05 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
Help me fix all this! **PICS**
Hey everyone, I'm gonna have about a week or so coming up to really clean and repair the ES300. I thought I'd take some pictures of all the troubled areas and get the best opinions on what products/methods to use that might help the best (keeping it within a reasonable price range 
)
The back bumper has some nice scuff marks on it from something the previous owner did, and then about a month ago a truck rubbed up against the bumper as they were pulling out
. Some of the scratches are obviously more than fingernail deep so I'm assuming touch-up paint is in order, but as for the scuff marks, they seem to be on the surface and could possibly be rubbed out with rubbing compound. I'm not sure how all of this works and want to get everyone's opinion before I go and mar up the paint. I'm also torn between dr. colorchip vs langka for some of the chips so any recommendations for that would be great too!
Truck scratches:
Scuff marks:
On the other side of the bumper there are these faint lines which seems like the paint is almost cracked in a way, and I'm not sure what the solution could be.
You can faintly see a bunch of these lines running the width of the bumper:
Next we come to the wheels. The back wheels still look new, but the front ones have what seems to be a ton of fine little scratches in them:
Picture of faint little scratches:
Lastly we move inside to the driver seat leather. The car unfortunately has to be parked outside and is subject to constant sun. On my list of products to buy are leatherique (both the oil and pristine clean) as well as 303 aerospace protectant to keep everything else protected inside.
Now as far as the leartherique goes, it seems like its the best product to really get the seats nice and soft again, but I'm sure won't make those scratches disappear. I'm not overly concerned about them, but perhaps some of you know of a better product that might be able to remove the scratches without too much messy dye (i'll keep my fingers crossed haha).
Picture:
So thats about it for the main areas of focus. Any recommendations on general swirl removers or anything along those lines would be great too!
) The back bumper has some nice scuff marks on it from something the previous owner did, and then about a month ago a truck rubbed up against the bumper as they were pulling out
. Some of the scratches are obviously more than fingernail deep so I'm assuming touch-up paint is in order, but as for the scuff marks, they seem to be on the surface and could possibly be rubbed out with rubbing compound. I'm not sure how all of this works and want to get everyone's opinion before I go and mar up the paint. I'm also torn between dr. colorchip vs langka for some of the chips so any recommendations for that would be great too! Truck scratches:
Scuff marks:
On the other side of the bumper there are these faint lines which seems like the paint is almost cracked in a way, and I'm not sure what the solution could be.
You can faintly see a bunch of these lines running the width of the bumper:
Next we come to the wheels. The back wheels still look new, but the front ones have what seems to be a ton of fine little scratches in them:
Picture of faint little scratches:
Lastly we move inside to the driver seat leather. The car unfortunately has to be parked outside and is subject to constant sun. On my list of products to buy are leatherique (both the oil and pristine clean) as well as 303 aerospace protectant to keep everything else protected inside.
Now as far as the leartherique goes, it seems like its the best product to really get the seats nice and soft again, but I'm sure won't make those scratches disappear. I'm not overly concerned about them, but perhaps some of you know of a better product that might be able to remove the scratches without too much messy dye (i'll keep my fingers crossed haha).
Picture:
So thats about it for the main areas of focus. Any recommendations on general swirl removers or anything along those lines would be great too!
Last edited by schmoozer; 11-24-09 at 03:09 PM.
11-24-09, 04:13 PM
#2
The paint is damaged in some areas and will not be repaired with just compounding as you note. The clear coat is scratched off in several spots. You might find a painter who can airbrush those areas to match. Compounding likely will remove/improve some of the scratches, those that you can't catch your fingernail in.
The leather is badly damaged. The urethane paint on your leather has cracked in many places and this can't be repaired with cleaning and conditioning. The leather is cracked and these cracks must be treated with care. Any cleaner or conditioner you use around these cracks can make the cracks worse. The moisture and oils will penetrate to the split leather underneath the urethane and potentially loosen its bond to the leather surrounding the crack making the crack expand. Clean it as best you can and try to keep the cracked areas as dry as possible. Apply a protection cream to seal the leather and hope for the best.
All-in-all the car appears to have been neglected for quite a while and you may wish to just bank the money and your time and plan on replacing it down the road. If the car has been so neglected what condition is the drive train in? Is it worth pouring money and time into?
The leather is badly damaged. The urethane paint on your leather has cracked in many places and this can't be repaired with cleaning and conditioning. The leather is cracked and these cracks must be treated with care. Any cleaner or conditioner you use around these cracks can make the cracks worse. The moisture and oils will penetrate to the split leather underneath the urethane and potentially loosen its bond to the leather surrounding the crack making the crack expand. Clean it as best you can and try to keep the cracked areas as dry as possible. Apply a protection cream to seal the leather and hope for the best.
All-in-all the car appears to have been neglected for quite a while and you may wish to just bank the money and your time and plan on replacing it down the road. If the car has been so neglected what condition is the drive train in? Is it worth pouring money and time into?
11-24-09, 05:03 PM
#3
Driver
Thread Starter
Thanks for being honest! haha
The car runs perfectly though and oddly enough gets compliments from time to time when I tell them its a 97 (add its been waxed recently ). It was previously owned by the GM of a Mercedes dealership and the previous owner to that was a lady in Texas (obviously none of which indicate care, but not the obligatory 16 year old hot rodder haha).
So anyway, I guess neither of these people know how to look behind them when backing up, but the rest of the car is in relatively good shape. For that front seat, I'd like to just replace the bottom part of it, but I'm not sure if that's cost effective or even realistic. The other seats are in great condition considering the 121k miles and Florida heat.
The car runs perfectly though and oddly enough gets compliments from time to time when I tell them its a 97 (add its been waxed recently
). It was previously owned by the GM of a Mercedes dealership and the previous owner to that was a lady in Texas (obviously none of which indicate care, but not the obligatory 16 year old hot rodder haha).So anyway, I guess neither of these people know how to look behind them when backing up, but the rest of the car is in relatively good shape. For that front seat, I'd like to just replace the bottom part of it, but I'm not sure if that's cost effective or even realistic. The other seats are in great condition considering the 121k miles and Florida heat.
11-24-09, 06:17 PM
#4
Well if the car is sound and you want to keep it for a while then go look for a body shop and ask them what they can do for you. Negotiate with them. Tell them that you are on a tight budget and are very flexible about when they can do the work. If you get them when they are really slow you might drive a good bargain.
The seat can be re-dyed and re-sealed. You can also look for replacements in a salvage yard. Worst case, you could consider after-market leather seats.
The seat can be re-dyed and re-sealed. You can also look for replacements in a salvage yard. Worst case, you could consider after-market leather seats.
04-04-10, 10:32 PM
#5
after looking at this guys project anything can be done with those leather seats: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...nd-redyed.html
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
