lesz

I'm curious about a couple of things (that are a bit OT).

First, both of your Lexus vehicles should have the self-healing paint. Have you found that it does, with minor surface scratches, actually repair itself over time? Also, have you tried using any (mildly abrasive) polishes to remove light scratches, and have you found them to be safe to use with the self-healing paint? I've read so many things that conflict with each other regarding what you can safely use with the self-healing paint.

My 2005 GX is the black onyx. A couple of years ago, someone backed into the driver's side door. The contact between the two vehicles was gentle enough so that the damage was limited to just scuffing the paint. I had the panel re-painted with a panel-to-panel match. I think it would be impossible for even someone with a trained eye to notice that the panel was re-finished. Had the vehicle had a color like the Atomic Silver, a white pearl, a light gold, a light silver, a metallic red, etc., I doubt that that would have been the case. With the GX, I do occasionally pick up surface scratches, but a couple of minutes working with something like 3M Hand Glaze has quickly removed them. I'm hoping that I will be able to do the same thing with the Obsidian on the new ES, but I will be reluctant to experiment with using any even mildly abrasive polish on it until I'm sure that it will be safe to use with the self-healing paint.

TechNut

I can't really perceive any difference with the "self healing" paints. Our NX only has about 3500 miles so far and the only scratch is a door ding on the right front fender. You have to hand it to some people, they really try hard to leave their mark. We had the expel film installed on the entire nose of the NX, and someone nailed us so hard in a parking structure that it cut clear though the film. Anyway, I haven't tried to treat any scratches on the Matador Red Mica yet.

Now the Atomic Silver is a different story. I have acquired some very fine scratches on the passenger side roof. No idea how they occurred. I have tried some of the hand polishes and they seem to work as well as they do on any other paint. The problem is the way that particular Silver and clear coat seem to react together. The scratches in the clear coat really stand out. The hand polishes definitely help though and you really have to look hard to see them now - but they wouldn't go away on their own.

So bottom line, no real difference that I can see from any other paint. I can't tell that any minor scratches disappear with time and I haven't seen any issue with the standard hand polishes. The only issue I have seen is that some colors reflect the scratches worse than others - but then we already knew that. What I didn't anticipate is that light colors can show scratches just as well as darker colors.

lesz

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the self-healing paint.

I've read that the "healing" process can take quite a bit of time before it is completed, but, since it requires warmth, typically from the sun, you can speed up the process by warming the surface with either with very hot water (I've read that it should be around 150 degrees) or even a hair dryer. When I do get some fine scratches on the new ES, I intend to try hot water or a hair dryer before trying to polish the scratches out.

JDR76

I would encourage you to look up some of the threads on the self healing paint/clear coat in the detailing forum. There's some good info there.

I haven't seen any benefit of the coating, so I polished my car and treated it with CQUK coating which, in my opinion, does a much better job at keeping my car look new. I've had my atomic silver GS for just about a year now with no scratches.

By the way, your new ES is beautiful. Congrats again.

lesz

I actually have read most of the threads about self-healing paint in the detailing forum. What concerns me is that there is a lot of conflicting information in those threads. I found several examples of posts where someone recommended using some product or technique with the self healing paint and, a few posts later, someone else posted pictures of a finish that was severely damaged using the same products and techniques.

JDR76

I just treat it the same I do any other car I've had, using the same products, and have had no issues.

USALV

Congrats, on the new 2017 ES350. Enjoy your new car!

Happy Thanksgiving!

bostonsnow

congrats!!! looks great!!!!! Great options!!

The stitching pattern for the seats and interior, and the linear wood paneling is the same look as my 2016 Lux Package. So I guess they use the same styling now for UL as for Lux as far as stitching, at least with the black leather interior. I'm not sure if that was true for 2015 and prior? I also like this stitching pattern. Gives the car more of a sportier, european sports sedan type look.
The difference of course is that with UL you have the nicer semi-aniline leather (plus seat extender)

bostonsnow

Do you have to have front license plates in your state?
If its not required, personally I think the front looks better without the front plate/plate holder.

imrankh24

Stitching is the same for all color leathers between lux and ul

lesz

Front plates are required here, but I'm okay with that. Since I really don't like the grille on the 2016-2017 ES, I actually like the way the license plate breaks up the otherwise large uninterrupted area of the grille.

lesz

Yes, I believe that the base ES with the NuLuxe seats still uses the same simpler stitching that was on the 2013-2015 ES, but the ES with the standard leather Luxury package seats and the Ultra Luxury package semi-aniline seats have the newer stitching.

I think that the combination of the stitching on the 2016-17 Luxury and UL ES vehicles, the padding on the forward portion of the console, and the wood on the console gives the interior a very different and more luxurious feeling than was true with the 2013-2015 ES.

As I said earlier in the thread, I really would have preferred the bird's eye maple wood, but I think that all of the black interior vehicles that are being shipped, for now, at least, come with the linear wood. Over time, I think I'll warm up to the linear wood.

imrankh24

In my parchment 16 I have birds eye maple. Looks amazing. Tho I love the linear wood that comes with flaxen.

lesz

I have a couple of follow up thoughts to the discussion earlier in the thread about Japan-built cars and US-built cars.

I've said, in a few threads here, that I've had, in the last 15-20 years, a good number of Toyota and Lexus cars (and Nissan and Infiniti cars) built in Japan and a good number of them built in the US. I've always felt that both were well-built, but I've thought that the Japanese-built cars were just a touch better with regard to fits and finishes.

That said, my 2013 ES, built in Japan, was probably not quite as good as the other Japanese-built cars that I've had. For example, the gaps between the panels weren't quite consistently the same size, and the sills on the front and rear doors didn't line up quite perfectly. Also, on the inside of the car, the glove box door wasn't perfectly flush with the surrounding area of the dash, and there were a couple of other flaws/imperfections on the interior. After having had the new 2017 for a few days and also having had the opportunity to inspect it much more closely, the body panel fits, gaps, etc. are consistent and just about perfect. The same thing is true for the various interior pieces. I don't know if there were any initial the Kentucky plant for the 2016 vehicles with it being the first year of ES production in the US, but, if my 2017 is typical of what the plant is producing now, I'm impressed. There is no question that the fits and finishes on my 2017 US-built ES are better than were the fits and finishes on my 2013 Japanese--built ES.

With regard to squeaks and rattles, the car seems to be completely absent of them for now, but I know that squeaks and rattles can appear and disappear with changes in temperature and humidity. So, I won't have a final verdict about squeaks and rattles until I've gone through a few seasons with the accompanying changes in temperature and humidity.

lesz

Right now, Lexus seems to be shipping some of the ES with the parchment and gray interiors with the bird's eye maple, but the black interior and possibly the flaxen interior seem to be shipping only with the linear wood. At some point later in the production cycle, I wouldn't be surprised if that might change.