Paint quality (or visited the sun...)

[george_tlc]

So, was parked at the bank and noticed this parked nearby - is this a common malady for the 100 series (lx470) or the result of flying too close to the sun??

cheers,
george.

 

[jLB]

When we were shopping for my son's 100 series, we found that to be a common issue on 2000 model year LX470s, in one particular color ("smokey topaz" I believe) , but we didn't see it anywhere near that severe.

 

[Mike6158]

Mines a little worn but not near that bad

 

[Kabanstva]

OMG I've never seen anything like that around here. I know CA sun tends to accelerate clearcoat failure (especially the horizontal surfaces) on almost all cars, but this is beyond anything I've seen.

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

Bwhahaaa that's an amazing fail.

 

[Strand4x4]

It'll buff right out!

 

[dfrelich]

Jeez. A preview what mine would look like in a couple years. My smoky topaz is now starting to shed clear coat, but not that bad.

 

[SWUtah]

So, was parked at the bank and noticed this parked nearby - is this a common malady for the 100 series (lx470) or the result of flying too close to the sun??

View attachment 1330395

cheers,
george.

Damn that's nice. Just clear coat it to preserve the petina. Then you can sell it to some rich guy in California

 

[highonpottery]

Last few weeks I've been regularly seeing an LX with bad paint exactly like the one pictured, I thought it was the same one! Have never seen flawed paint on any other 100 series and I see quite a few in my area.

I see it daily on my way to work, its always parked on highway frontage rd waiting to pick up a passenger at the light rail station in the AM. At first I thought it was either shadows from the trees it parks under, or it was some funky camo wrap or paint that I couldn't wrap my head around someone doing to a stock looking LX. Last week there was traffic and I got a good look at it, definitely the clear coat peeled up like the pictures rig.

 

[tarbe]

Looks like the Millennium Falcon Edition!

 

[flintknapper]

98-99 year models in Smoky Topaz Mica, known to have problems. Not just the clear coat but the pigment itself.

My hood (99 LX470 in STM) is starting to develop some cloudy spots), the 'spoiler' on the lift gate as well.

 

[Warde]

That was a defect of that particular color that year

should rename the color "seen some s*** silver metallic"

 

[Tahomatom]

I have about a 3" circle where the clear coat is going on my 99LX. How do you fix or prevent from spreading.

 

[flintknapper]

I have about a 3" circle where the clear coat is going on my 99LX. How do you fix or prevent from spreading.

Not a good idea to try and spot in clear coat. Strip the area and re-shoot. Be sure the base coat is not affected too.

 

[burnoneforme]

My roof and tailgate are losing their clear coat. I've actually taken a razor blade and peeled back the bad clear coat, buffed it and resprayed some new clear...it doesn't look good. I'm going to have to get it repainted eventually. Yes it's a '99 smoky topaz. I've read and researched and had multiple dealers look at it. I was amazed how little information and knowledge there is about this issue. The clear literally flakes off.

 

[dfrelich]

I do wonder what happens if we don't fix it. How much of life will we have left out of these?

 

[OG 91 LC]

This answers my question to wtf is happening with my paint??

I have some spots on the roof and on the hood. There's a lot of fading where the doors meet the windows.

I don't particularly mind. I kind of like it. I didn't buy the truck to keep it all "fresh and clean" looking.

I have other concerns that are more important than paint. Like an 18 yr. old timing belt that's OG

Thanks again Mud for documenting this known defect.

 

[MattThompson]

I've always wondered about this issue on that color of LX. I've seen one locally since i was in college that I assumed was a bad repaint, but recently saw a second one and thought it was too strange to be a coincidence that both trucks had a bad re paint. Neither look as bad as the one above, but both look very cloudy and mismatched. The first one I saw was relatively new when I recall first seeing its paint let go, probably close to 1999-2000. I wonder why this wouldn't have been covered by Lexus? They generally have outstanding quality control and it seems they wouldnt have had any issue fixing this for the owner when the vehicles were under 10 years old?