Paint Wear

Does anyone have a Tacoma in Barcelona Red Metallic?
If so how does it wear?
I have the blue ribbon metallic and I have faint swirl scratches and such. It just shows everything.

 

I have one but only for two weeks.

There is a thread "Let's see those Barcelona Red Metallic Tacomas" you can find in the "Search" area. Lots of good pics.

The consensus seems to be that the Toyota paint is not very durable.

 

Tacoma paint as with most automotive paint anymore isn't as durable as it use to be. If you want more durable paint then you'd have to reprint the whole truck.

 

I have a '06 in silver streak mica with over 100K mostly highway. Still in good shape, still get compliments.

 

The scratches come from things like, auto car washes with the brushes, dirty wash mitts or brushes, using the wrong towel to dry, using dirty towels, using not enough towels and they get dirty and you cause scratches, crappy soap, and many other things. Basically improper wash and drying techniques. A good detailer can get them out, but you have to keep them from coming back.
I spent 2 1/2 days getting the scratches out of my Brand New barcelona red truck because the dealer needs a new wash guy. everything on their lot is scratched. It was fresh off the truck and I told them NOT to wash it.

 

Yeah that was my problem with the blue ribbon. People using less than satisfactory towels.
Really pisses me off...

 

A major paint killer are automatic car washes. I'd either use them rarely or avoid them completely.

 

Toyota paint is soft. Best way to avoid swirls is wash it yourself. I stay away from automatic washes. I only use coin ops to rinse as there soap is harsh.

 

It seems that the paint scratches way too easy. I have the grey metallic and the primer underneath is a white color. A minor scratch stands out. Of course i'm not very talented with the touch up paint, so I make it look worse. Why not use a dark primer so scratches don't scream out " hey don't I look great" ? Day two, I stopped at a spray wash to knock the dust off and the hose picked up a small stone and it reeked havoc on top of the fender edges, I was cussing myself and the paint job.

 

You just have to deal with the thinner paint every auto maker uses thinner paint theses days it is not unique to Tacomas or Toyota. I guess I'm not that OCD about it I just accept that any vehicle I own will get some scratches sooner or later no matter how careful I am.... Murphys Law.

I can understand though. I knew a guy in the Air Force his parents gave him a 98 Civic SI. no joke he'd wash the thing by hand multiple times a week sometimes twice in a day. I remember once he drove across town after it rained well of course he ran through some puddles so upon reaching our destination he washed the wheels at a pay to wash by hand place. Then when we got back to base he washed the wheels again. Lol he handled finding his locker at the shop being rearranged poorly especially the paracord rigged bucket of water.

 

Anyways to save a buck...
What a shame

 

Im sure auto makers save lots of money with the thinner paint not to mention that its all done by automation the paint application. Think how much money they save there.

 

My detailer said that Tacoma paint is fairly durable... in comparison to Brz or Tesla paint. If I had to bet, I would say it's improper washing technique. My neighbor just got a brand new paint job on his car. He wanted to get it detailed and asked me some questions about it. His new paint job looked like a 5 year old paint. It had swirls everywhere and then he shown me his costco micro fiber towels that were stained black.

I've had black and other dark color cars before and I was able to get none to fairly minimal scratch for the entire year I owned my BRZ. I used waterless wash, just spray the car and go with one wipe one direction. I just washed my Tacoma yesterday this way. I also bought really high quality MF towels online. I never accept dealer free washes or go to car wash for hand washing. I either do it myself or get a detailer to wash (wipe) the car.

To be blunt...it's either you or the car wash that is leaving micro swirl and scratches.

 

Actually neither thickness nor automation is much of a factor in the durability of the paint. It's the 'environmentally friendly' waterborne paints that are being used.

And by the way, they are more expensive than solvent based paint.

Another trend you can thank California for kicking off.

In a production line, automated paint application (well monitored of course) will do a much better job than human painters. Over and over and over. Consistency is the biggest advantage of automation.

 

Yeah I know I mentioned that above. It sucks that the people at the car wash aren't using towels that are up to par.

 

that isn't the point really. they could lay on thick rhino liner paint if they wanted for the same cost

the problem is mass production painting, and the environmental laws and volatiles in paint. they need to reduce emissions and chemical evaporation as much as possible. so, the thinner 'eco' paints with the absolute minimum volatiles and overall thickness.

 

Paint correction will cost you about $600+ depending on how bad it is. I'm not selling you anything, just know what the going rate for paint correction. You could get it for less, but I always had concern about low end jobs that end up costing more with paint burn etc.

I doubt any car wash place will use quality MF towels. They have to compete with all the other car wash places and even then....the more money they make, the happier the owner. Really it's a detailer or you that will need to wipe down your truck. If you go off roading a lot... I wouldn't even bother trying to keep it perfect looking paint.

 

^^Paint correction IS pricey... or, you could spend about $350 on a quality random orbital, read some detailing websites, and keep your cars and trucks looking pristine.

That's what I did. You can get a bit OCD with it, actually.

http://www.detailedimage.com/

That's where I get all my stuff, and most of my tips/techniques.

 

Toyota paint is pathetic, I have bush scratches sown the side of my truck that end at the vinyl decals then continue on the other side of the decal. The paint is clearly softer than the vinyl.

 

Yes it is....but it's also labor intensive. I like to do it myself...been thinking about the rupes bigfoot...just concerned about burning my paint if I do it myself.

2013TuRD ... car paint isn't powder coat... take any new car and see if a brush from the desert or forest won't do the same or worse.