Lexus Paint Question

R

RonMexico

New member
A buddy of mine just bought a 2009 Lexus IS-F. It is black and the official color is "obsidian black" i believe. It came in unbelivably horrible condition from the dealer and I am going to help him detail the vehicle. Initial detail will just be a wash, clay and lsp.



when looking at lexus forums (particularly is-f forums), a bunch of people were saying lexus does not clear darker colors (i.e. no clear coat). Is this true? Why would lexus not use clear coat?



before we get into detailing, I;d like to know as much about newer black lexus paint as i can.



Also, if anyone has worked on a newer black lexus, could you elaborate on whether it is soft, medium or hard?
 
You have a lot of good questions and I hope some knowledge people will chime in, because I'm not one of them!:laugh:



I own a Sapphire Pearl IS350 and when I bought the touch-up paint, it came in two parts: white & clear pearl. Apparently, Lexus likes to mix their clear coat. I've read quite a few threads about Obsidian Black and the best way I can describe it would be to call it a hybrid clearcoat. It does have a clearcoat. It's just not very clear. From what I remember, don't be too surprised if your white pads get a little darker from the paint, but it will not be the basecoat you are taking off. It will in fact be the "not-so-clear" clearcoat.



Don't take anything I've said (other than the touch-up paint) as fact. This is just what I've read at the Club Lexus forum.
 
I'm very familiar with Lexus paint. I own an 07 Smoky Granite Mica Es350. The black obsidian Lexus is the only one that does not have a clearcoat. The paint is fairly soft and easy to correct. I strongly recommend using a Lake Country white pad with Menzerna Power Finish for any Lexus paint. I've been able to finish my ES LSP ready with this combo. In your case, you may or may not need to follow up with Menzerna Micro Polish with a gray pad given that the obsidian is a darker color.
 
detaildoc said:
The black obsidian Lexus is the only one that does not have a clearcoat. The paint is fairly soft and easy to correct. I strongly recommend using a Lake Country white pad with Menzerna Power Finish for any Lexus paint. I've been able to finish my ES LSP ready with this combo. In your case, you may or may not need to follow up with Menzerna Micro Polish with a gray pad given that the obsidian is a darker color.
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WOW! so it is true.



i wasn't planning on trying to do any correction this time even though there are a ton of swirls from the dealer's special and secret detailing technique. I will probably do it sometime this summer or in the fall once i've "mastered" my g110 with menzerna.



I was going to use z5 pro...would this be ok? is there an issue with z5 pro on non clear coated vehicles? the reason i ask is because zaino makes z3 for non clear coated cars. however, i don't have any z3 since i thought non clear coated paint was a thing of the 80s...and i don't own any non clear coated vehicles. i am very fond of z5 pro on black vehicles, particularly ones with some sparkle/flake in them.



my other alternative would be collinite 845 and opti-seal (which i like).
 
detaildoc said:
I'm very familiar with Lexus paint. I own an 07 Smoky Granite Mica Es350. The black obsidian Lexus is the only one that does not have a clearcoat. The paint is fairly soft and easy to correct. I strongly recommend using a Lake Country white pad with Menzerna Power Finish for any Lexus paint. I've been able to finish my ES LSP ready with this combo. In your case, you may or may not need to follow up with Menzerna Micro Polish with a gray pad given that the obsidian is a darker color.
Click to expand...

Not true. Working for Lexus for the past 7 years I can tell you, Obsidian (code 212) is clear coated. Obsidian is a metallic black and Lexus has always clear coated ALL of their metallic colors. If you've run into a SS obsidian, it's a cheap respray.



Edit: It's not metallic in the sense that most people look at metal flake in paint. It's black that also contains colors of green and brown (very difficult to see)
 
mborner said:
Not true. Working for Lexus for the past 7 years I can tell you, Obsidian (code 212) is clear coated. Obsidian is a metallic black and Lexus has always clear coated ALL of their metallic colors. If you've run into a SS obsidian, it's a cheap respray.



Edit: It's not metallic in the sense that most people look at metal flake in paint. It's black that also contains colors of green and brown (very difficult to see)
Click to expand...



Awesome!



Z5 Pro...here the IS-F comes!
 
mborner said:
Not true. Working for Lexus for the past 7 years I can tell you, Obsidian (code 212) is clear coated. Obsidian is a metallic black and Lexus has always clear coated ALL of their metallic colors. If you've run into a SS obsidian, it's a cheap respray.



Edit: It's not metallic in the sense that most people look at metal flake in paint. It's black that also contains colors of green and brown (very difficult to see)
Click to expand...



Thanks for making me not seem too stupid!:lol:lol:lol
 
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