Oxidation

[2000]

what would be the benifit of a high end car "not" using clear coat?

[jfelbab]

On a black car that is cc, a scratch or swirl stands out as white. Because of the way the cc refracts and reflects light, the clear coat magnifies any swirls and scratches. On ss black it is not nearly as noticeable.

Since black is a very demanding color to maintain, the softer ss paint surface responds to polishes faster making it a lot easier to remove swirls and light scratches. Granted that same softer finish makes it much easier to mar.

I prefer the look of ss paint on dark, non-metallic finishes. Well, most of them, but the newer tinted CC effects are pretty cool.

I did a little research on the Lexus black cc issue and found out that sometime near the end of 2000 Lexus decided to CC their black paint.

[DETLMAN]

I was told that the Black lexus paint has a "tinted" clear and that is what gives the effect of it being a single stage paint job. Easy to work but easier to make swirls. But never the less still a clear coat finish.

The information came from a very reputable source within Meguiars that also owns a black Lexus.

Just thought I would pass that on.

[6318]

Very interesting...
...I detail only on weekends (for now!) and have seen the car, but not 'inspected' it...I'll definitely have to look deeper into this when I pick up the car...

[2000]

where could I learn about tinted clear coats?

[jfelbab]

Here is a TSIB (Toyota Service Information Bulletin) PDF that shows the paint types and codes used. It is from 1996 but for the most part the paint codes are the same on today's models. I can't verify that the paint types have not changed since 1996 but it is still an interesting document in that it shows the layering used on the various paints. I don't have access to a more currant TSIB. Perhaps Meguiar's does?

Of particular interest is that some paints are covered with two clear coats, namely #6M2 Royal Jade Pearl, #6N9 Ebony Teal Pearl and #8J5 Midnight Indigo Pearl. I'd sure love to see a newer version of this document.

[2000]

I couldn't open it, but it is interesting about the two different clears, as I had no idea about different types of clear.

[jfelbab]

A PDF (Portable Document Format) file is Adobe's idea for cross platfom documents. You can download a free Adobe Acrobat Reader that will read these files. The free reader can be obtained here.

[2000]

thats very enlighting, thank you! I have to say I feel even more ignorant about what I'm working on. good news is my curiousity is raised so now I have some studying to do.