Dr. Jekyll

iTrader: (1)

The color is a single stage paint. Only the metallic blacks have a clear coat. My 2004 has no clear either.

Johnny

History Of Base Coat/Clear Coat Paint

Most of today's' cars are painted with either with a 2 stage or 3 stage painting process, with the majority being 2 stage which is also known as a base coat/clear coat painting system. Typically the clear coat is a water-based form of paint. This painting method is much more environmentally friendly than single stage paint jobs of years ago.

Being that the clear coat is water based it is softer than most lacquer paint jobs and many enamels. Clear coat paint needs protected because it is soft and vulnerable to the elements like acid rain, the sun's UV rays, ocean salt and other air borne pollutants. Many people think that the "clear coat" the factory applies is a form of "protection" for the paint. This is very untrue. It is "clear paint" that needs protected even more so than single stage paint from the 70's and 80's.

The EPA mandated that the car manufactures developed a more environmentally friendly way to paint cars because they were releasing too many fluorocarbons into the atmosphere helping create a bigger opening in the ozone level. So they came up with base coat/clear coat. The base coat is the actual pigment color of the vehicle; the gloss is achieved through coats of clear paint. Usually the higher end cars like Mercedes & Lexus' have more coats of clear but they need protected just as much as the Chevy's & Fords do.

The best time to protect your new cars paint is within 21 days of you taking delivery of it. Do not wait too much longer. A typical car dealer will only apply a quick coat of "butter wax" so it looks good for the delivery. There is almost no protection with this butter wax just shine. You need to consider having a paint sealant or at least a good coat of durable wax applied to protect it against the elements before permanent staining or spotting occurs to the clear coat. Consider our Bling Bling Poly Seal that will protect your cars paint for up to a year!

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So, in the final analysis this controversial subject has two possible conclusions:

1. If Obsidian Black is a 2-Stage process, the water based clearcoat will be less durable, but it will be good for the environment.

2. If on the other hand Obsidian Black is a single stage process, the paint will be a harder more durable enamel.

Johnny

OK, I took my LS to a Lexus approved body shop in Vancouver today, and had the paint manager look at the car and asked him to comment on the paint. He looked closely to determine if it was metallic or not. As it was a sunny day, it was easy to figure that out. However, that was more out of curiosity as I had not addressed my real motive for being there. I then probed him about the single stage vs two stage paint. He quickly dismissed single stage as an old process and stated unequivocally that no shops are using single stage, and haven't done so for years. The only ones that do he continued, are amateurs or fly-by-night operators.

So that's it LS460 Obsidian owners, your car is a base coat/clear coat system.

And so are all solid colors applied by "reputable" body shop. For those of you who are still skeptical, I suggest you hop on down to your trusted local body shop and ask the same question.

dimapb

Some a-hole hit my car (rear bumper) yesterday. 4 pretty deep indents in it from the screws of the front license plate. Anyway, I took the car to a very reputable body shop here to figure out what it would cost me to get it fixed. He took the VIN number of the car and right away informed me that it will cost a bit more because it's a 2 stage paint process. My car is Obsidian. So, whoever said it is not, is incorrect. He said Toyota still uses 1 stage.

ojah

I see you live in MD. I live in Virginia and had a similar problem recently. Took my car to DARCARS of Silver Spring and wasn't at all pleased with the quality of their paint work. My LS460L is a Smoky Granite Mica. Problem was there were two many specks left in the new paint. This can happen when the painting is done in a dusty environment and some of the dust or other particles in the car gets painted over. You'd expect the bodyshop to get rid of these before returning the car to me. Well they didn't. I took it back and they said they hadn't buffed the car, that was why. So they buffed it and got rid of a good number of these annoying spots, but not all. Frustrated I took to car to a detailer who removed the remaining specks. This cost me about $200. So watch out for a similar problem.

By the way, can any Club Lexus member in the DC metro area recommend a good auto painter for future purposes?

dimapb

I took the car to ACS, in Westminster, MD. They work on high end cars, such as ours and others. My quote was $528.00. I think it's a bit too much and therefore have not decided if I want to get it done there just yet.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I happen to have single stage paint on my car and I love it. I get better results with single stage as far as removing defects and introducing depth into the paint.

But I try not to detail it too much because I do not want to remove too much paint. Then again, anytime you're using a polish and cutting pad, you're cutting into the paint's surface whether it be single-stage or clear coat.