Hey Y'all,
Didn't want to bog down the "what did you do today" thread with continued discussion of this issue. So I figured I'd make a new thread, summarize the options I've looked into this week, and see if others want to share their feedback and experiences here.
Blizzard pearl / super white paint recall
Toyota and Lexus started a notifying eligible customers in September 2019 about a program being started to remedy the issues with blizzard pearl (color code 070) and super white (color code 040). The lexus letter (here) is more vague than the toyota letter (here). The toyota letter lays out specific eligible vehicles. Per the club lexus post, folks don't seem to be eligible for any help from lexus if the vehicle is older than 2008.
I reached out to lexus corporate and didn't get very far. Was told my vin doesn't show as eligible, and that i need to go to a dealer for an inspection to even start a "case" with corporate. I have an inspection scheduled with nalley lexus of smyrna, but i'm not holding out any hope that lexus is going to help.
Options
There appear to be a variety of options depending on budget and desired outcome. I'm going to do my best to summarize the ones i've found and provide links to helpful threads.
Short term, I'll probably go with one of the $100 touch up kits just to get the bare metal spots protected and hopefully stop rust. Long term...i'm weighing my options between the most expensive maaco-style paint job i can get, professional line-x, and monstaliner. if i go the maaco-style route, i'd try to find the best-reviewed maaco shop in GA, and see what is the best single stage job they could do <= $2000. if i go the bedliner route, the professional option will likely be much better quality than i could do with monstaliner, and it also saves me the extensive labor hours. if i end up in a place with a garage / driveway / yard where i could set up a shade tree paint tent, i'd consider doing it myself. for now, though, this isn't something i could do while living in atlanta.
am i being too pessimistic about vinyl? should i consider it more than i am?
anyone with experience wrapping their truck, painting their truck, or bedlining their vehicle, please chime in! your experience is a valuable data point for myself and others dealing with the blizzard pearl issues.
any folks with blizzard pearl issues, what route did you pursue?
Didn't want to bog down the "what did you do today" thread with continued discussion of this issue. So I figured I'd make a new thread, summarize the options I've looked into this week, and see if others want to share their feedback and experiences here.
Blizzard pearl / super white paint recall
Toyota and Lexus started a notifying eligible customers in September 2019 about a program being started to remedy the issues with blizzard pearl (color code 070) and super white (color code 040). The lexus letter (here) is more vague than the toyota letter (here). The toyota letter lays out specific eligible vehicles. Per the club lexus post, folks don't seem to be eligible for any help from lexus if the vehicle is older than 2008.
I reached out to lexus corporate and didn't get very far. Was told my vin doesn't show as eligible, and that i need to go to a dealer for an inspection to even start a "case" with corporate. I have an inspection scheduled with nalley lexus of smyrna, but i'm not holding out any hope that lexus is going to help.
Options
There appear to be a variety of options depending on budget and desired outcome. I'm going to do my best to summarize the ones i've found and provide links to helpful threads.
- Rattle can touch up kits (~$100 - vendor: PaintScratch)
- by far the cheapest solution, but doesn't seem viable long-term
- my assumption is that, once the paint starts chipping and peeling, it's not just the visible chips / peeled areas that are bad...the rest will come off later
- Maaco - quality repaint (~$400-$2000)
- everyone is probably familiar with maaco quality paint jobs. the biggest impact on quality of a paint job is prep, and maaco jobs are so cheap because there isn't much prep
- not a great option if you're going for form and function
- from some general googling, single-stage enamel paint jobs seem somewhat common for vehicles that see a lot of off road use.
- you dont have to worry about trail rash ruining a clear coat
- the paint job is (relatively) inexpensive
- they're not the pretty (they can be really pretty, but you'll pay a lot for it)
- High-end paint job ($7000+)
- All of the highly reviewed paint / body shops that i spoke with in Atlanta / around the state quoted a floor of $7000
- this assumes they do all the work (removing panels, belt moulding, stripping off the old paint, etc.)
- none of the higher end shops were willing to have me do any of the prep myself as they've had issues in the past with customers damaging the paint when re-attaching panels themselves and fighting over the warranty
- YMMV in terms of price, but i spoke with 10 or so shops and everyone seemed to start around $7K and go up from there
- All of the highly reviewed paint / body shops that i spoke with in Atlanta / around the state quoted a floor of $7000
- bedliner on the entire exterior (~$500 - $7000K)
- price varies dramatically based on DIY vs professional job
- super durable and cheaper than a high quality paint job
- not the most aesthetically pleasing to some (i dig the look of it, but not for everyone)
- this thread on bedlining the 100 series mostly focuses on monstaliner, as the vast majority of users seemed to go the DIY route
- results seem mostly positive with the caveat that a good job required extensive labor to prep (~40 hours for some folks sanded, primed, removed glass, removed panels, etc.)
- monstaliner is incredibly affordable relative to the professional bedliner options, with a ballpark of ~$500 in supplies and bedliner
- the line-x shops around GA that i called quoted me anywhere from $3K (one in athens) to ~$4K-7K (one in alpharetta)
- downside is that line-x corporate does NOT warranty anything other than truck beds
- vinyl wrap (~$500 - $3K+)
- the ~$500 option is DIY, but with the peeling paint, there isn't a lot of room for error
- i called 5 highly reviewed shops around GA today, and the price range i got for a standard wrap using 3M vinyl (recommended as more durable than the thinner wraps like Avery) was $3500 - $5000
- most shops wanted $3500 - $4000 just to install the wrap, and then ~$1000 to do a ceramic coating. other options included a protective film that could be applied over top to increase durability
- the major downside to the vinyl (IMO) is that, when it comes time to replace it - either the entire wrap or a panel with a tear - it will likely bring off all the underlying blizzard pearl paint, and you'll need to prime that panel before adding new vinyl
- another downside is longevity. at best you're looking at 3-5 years, and that's with a wrap that is cleaned regularly and garaged
- the upside to vinyl (imo) is the variety of colors and the quality of the appearance relative to the cost of a quality paint job
- all in all, vinyl seems great if you lease a nice car and want to customize while also protecting the factory paint for the life of the lease. it seems less viable for a car you want to own long term
Short term, I'll probably go with one of the $100 touch up kits just to get the bare metal spots protected and hopefully stop rust. Long term...i'm weighing my options between the most expensive maaco-style paint job i can get, professional line-x, and monstaliner. if i go the maaco-style route, i'd try to find the best-reviewed maaco shop in GA, and see what is the best single stage job they could do <= $2000. if i go the bedliner route, the professional option will likely be much better quality than i could do with monstaliner, and it also saves me the extensive labor hours. if i end up in a place with a garage / driveway / yard where i could set up a shade tree paint tent, i'd consider doing it myself. for now, though, this isn't something i could do while living in atlanta.
am i being too pessimistic about vinyl? should i consider it more than i am?
anyone with experience wrapping their truck, painting their truck, or bedlining their vehicle, please chime in! your experience is a valuable data point for myself and others dealing with the blizzard pearl issues.
any folks with blizzard pearl issues, what route did you pursue?