Hues10

Washed my 2013 this morning, and think somehow I noticed a couple more minor scratches and stone chips. Nothing serious like a deep gouge, though I do have some of those as well, but I swear, if a bug crawls on it, it leaves a minor scratch. I keep it nice and sealed/waxed, but this paint color shows every flaw. Looks great from six feet, but get in close, and the flaws show up. It is too old to invest in PPF, so I will just polish them out every once in a while. It sits outdoors in Florida, so not much I can do. It is only a car. Have to accept the paint flaws as war wounds. Can’t see how anyone with a dark colored car handles it.

charley95

It's just part of driving. Maybe consider PPF on your next car. I had it installed when I bought my GS new. About a week after having it applied something hit the front and penetrated right thru it.

AJLex19

Liquid platinum hides the light surface scratches, swirls and marks better than any other color - better to just accept it unless it bothers you enough to get things repaired. My old 2nd gen GS was silver and it was hard to tell if things were scratched or just a light refraction/reflection in some instances.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

I put a ceramic coating on my 2013 LS recently. Just get the paint buffed so it looks as good as possible first. Amazon has ceramic kits for about $80. Buy the bigger bottle for 2 coats. It was very easy to apply, much easier than waxing. I found it gives me better protection than waxing. It's a hard finish. I prefer light color vehicles because of darker colors showing imperfections as well as dirt.

Neophyte2b

What ceramic kit would you recommend? Also, can you apply a ceramic coat over PPF?

swfla

iTrader: (1)

I used carpro cquartz 3.0, 50 ml kit. I used it over my ppf no problem. It bonds to ppf according to directions as well.

GibbsLexus

iTrader: (1)

Liquid Platinum is a great conservative color that don't require much effort to look clean. Both of our Lexus and my Tacoma are Liquid Platinum (both GS and RX) and Silver Streak Mica (Tacoma)

703

Yes just live with it. Trying to touch it up will make it look worse as metallic paint is very hard to factory match.

Hues10

Don’t get me wrong, I think the liquid platinum is a great color. I have a 2011 Acura RDX as well, that sits outside, travels the same roads, etc. and I do not notice nearly as many scratches and paint chips. I bought it last year with 53k on it, so it was not perfect then either. Maybe I will try ceramic coating in winter time in Florida. Getting too hot now. I wrote in an earlier thread one time after washing, a young child exclaimed the words “shiny sports car” when walking by. So it is stunning from six feet back.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

My understanding isLexus paints are formulated to be a bit soft, this is to allow a type of self healing. I'm not saying it's successful but that's why the swirls and chips. Do a General forum search self healing paint or even better Google Lexus self healing paint if you wish to learn the story. May is already too hot in FL for the work involved to prep for ceramic. You need to be in shade and mild temp. Unless you have access to air conditioned garage rental. Again, Google carpro cquartz for instructions so you know exactly what you're considering. Several people I have faith in, here, in the forum have done similar and love it.

thekhmer

iTrader: (2)

u have nothing to complain about until you own a black car lol..just looking at it wrong will create swirls

Hues10

My son has a dark blue corolla. One, super hot in Florida sun like any dark cars. Two, he is not very particular on the paint as I have seen him knock the keys into the door when opening. One plus for having keyless and pushbutton start. His car has many scratches that I would freak out over and be aghast. When I pointed this out to him, he kinda shrugged as if he never noticed and not a big deal. The car runs, and that is all that is important. I know my car is an object, I take pride in keeping it clean, but like others have said, let it go, nothing you can do, crap will happen. Keep the bird poop and love bugs off. Happy Mother's Day all!

initial

You're right lol. I had a black on black G37 and holy crap the swirls. No matter how many times I buffed and waxed, those swirls would come back quick.

BMGS

iTrader: (1)

Its all in the washing process. One bad wash can cause those swirls. I wrote the below up for my last black car and had no swirls for years, until the dealer washed it when I traded it in:

https://www.lxforums.com/board/detai...-wash-car.html

I am using the process still with my obisidan GS and its looking good so far.

My wife's current and past cars (NX200t and ES350) are the similar lighter silver color and I love taking care of them when compared to my black cars. They always look clean and do not easily show swirl marks unless you are really looking for them.

For touch-ups on the light silver (and in general) I always mix the OEM lexus touch-up paint with a bit of clear coat (about a 1:4 ratio of clear:color) before applying carefully with a microdabber. Most of the time that is fine but I can go the extra blending step of hitting the dried paint with a 3000 and 5000 grit wetsand (using a quick detailer or soapy water as a lubricant) and then hitting it with compound and polish.