daryll40

I don't know how you drivers of dark cars do it. My 7 month old SMOKY GRANITE (yes, Lexus spells SMOKY without the "e"....some language translation mistake or just cutsey??) LS is the most beautiful car I've ever owned. But man is it hard to keep that way. I've almost always driven white cars. This is the first dark color car. I could not resist the color on the showroom floor. But I'll never ever do it again. If I had to do it over I'd get silver. Not because I don't love it...I do! But I am just too OCD about car appearance. How do you guys do it?

2007es350

My prior ES350 was Smoky Granite too. I really loved that color but it was really hard to keep dust free. Now my ls460 is silver.

Luxofreak

You're not used to darker colored cars. BUT...... My car is Verdigris Mica (a dark green) and the first thing I did after getting the car was to have my detail shop of choice to apply ceramic matrix coating. It has been a year and a half now and 90% of the rain water beads off and dust doesn't stay on the car for too long. I wash my car once in a while at a high quality carwash here in town and have had absolutely no issues. My car in fact looks better than new.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

wow, the smoky granite is already one of the easiest color to maintain imho coz' of the mica (flake) in the paint. it's really hard to show swirls and scratches. any pictures of your car showing the problems? maybe you are using wrong method to wash your car and didn't upkeep it?

daryll40

Right now it's clean. But after a day or two...then some MINOR rain...the water spots on the hood are ANNOYING. Even after claybar, 3M Glaze then Malm's Pure Carnauba Wax. I'll post photos next time it's dirty (which, for sure, won't be long).

daryll40

What exactly is CERAMIC MATRIX COATING?

clemgrad85

I've had pretty good luck with my Smoky Granite. I've had silver and "gold" cars in the past that did do better with dirt, but I really haven't noticed my car being all that dirty. I do keep my car in a parking garage during the day and the evening, so maybe that helps a good bit. Also, I'm a bit realistic in that I realize a car is going to get dirty.

On a side note, I have cabin in the Gatlinburg TN area, and the address is Great Smoky Way....so it isn't just Lexus that spells "Smoky" that way. But I do agree, "Smokey" is the more common spelling.

dc935

I just bit the bullet and bought my wife a smoky granite 460L yesterday. We almost went with silver for the always clean look, but it was hard to stop staring at the darker smoky granite. I too had sworn off darker cars, but couldnt resist. Its def a bit more effort to keep clean, but if you keep it detailed with a good wax, then its not too bad. Ive had great results with Zaino on our other cars and its very easy in terms of upkeep.

Patric

I think some of the southern states with more sunny weather would help keep a dark color looking better longer than up north where we get more rain.

Also, parts of the country with hard water (high mineral content) are going to be more problematic with spotting than soft water areas.

I had a black Corvette I had to wash and dry in sections in the L.A. area (Fullerton) to keep the spots off but up here in WA. it was not an issue.


Pat

daryll40

That's how I ended up with Smoky Granite. It was (and is still) just the best looking color I've ever seen. I still love it, but just commenting that it's even WORSE when it DOESN'T look good.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

That's why I only buy light colored cars.

(Imagine how my motorcycle can look at the end of the day... )

dimapb

Philip,
Didn't you have a black ls460?

Gojirra99

His LS460L is Smoky Granite

Luxofreak

On their website you can watch a video that explains it. I am a long time Zaino user but on my LS-460 I haven't use Zaino at all. This matrix coating rocks because of its durability.

That are a few steps to do it right, that's why I used a detail shop here in WA to do the job. This shop is the only authorized Matrix seller here.

This is aviation grade stuff. http://hyperpolish.com/

What I like is the shine and the water beading effect. When I'm driving on the freeway on a rainy day the hood stays dry!

bsims_01

Well, I'm a fan of dark vehicles as well. Mine is obsidian black and I'm OCD about keeping it clean. The car is usually clean, as I drive my truck when the weather is bad. However, dust, pollen, tree sap and bird bombs are an ongoing problem. Once clean, I use a California car duster most days and use quick detailers a couple times a week.