New 2020 TRD OR Debris in Paint

Took the truck to a local body shop on Friday for an opinion. He was very nice and I was surprised the time he took with me, they’ll definitely get my business if needed at some point. Anyway, he felt that wet sanding the debris would work but then I would have a small black spot where the paint is missing. He also felt that the mobile detail might work however blending with single stage would be difficult and he cautioned it may show up later in life several years down the road. He was convinced the super white paint was base coat/clear coat but it’s not like he tested it. He also looked over the areas to see if maybe it was a poor dealer lot repair and he felt confident it left the factory this way.

Bottom line, his advice was to live with it as is. He agreed it’s rather unfortunate and a few of the debris spots are in highly visible places but he felt that working on it might end up with something worse, or at least a larger area affected. I’ll need to think about it. Pretty disappointing to have this in a brand new $40k truck (I normally buy used) and I plan to keep this a long time. However he did say this is very common for all brands. In fact he showed me a brand new Tesla Model 3 with less than 50 miles getting two doors and the entire hood repainted because there’s so much debris under the paint.

I realize I might be too picky here as well.

 

Sorry...you really aren't too picky. My wife and I have had six Tacomas. I detail all of my trucks and am very picky. My 2018 Tacoma is the only Tacoma that has has debris in the paint. The previous five did not...nada. I think that Toyota is getting a bit careless...both with paint and body panel alignment. By the way, my truck is almost two years old. I no longer notice the debris in the paint nor the hood that is not aligned quite right. If you can't see the flaw at five feet, it isn't there. Just sayin'.

 

I’m a bit curious. The body shop I went to doesn’t ever spray single stage and they weren’t aware of anyone that did. Super White is used on so many Toyotas plus Honda used single stage for a long time, maybe still does.

If I’m ever in an accident how can I get the truck repaired? Would some panels be single stage and some base coat/clear coat? That’s seems awful because they obviously won’t age similar. There’s has to be people on this forum who have dealt with this. I bought white because I thought it would be the lowest maintenance for a truck and honestly now I’m regretting it.

 

I know this frustrating, I have a few spots in mine as well. I myself would live with it, sometimes the fix is worse than the problem. Yes this sucks, Toyota should step up.

 

There has been a bunch of discussion on this...single stage vs. base coat/clear coat. I've been following this discussion since 2005 when we bought our first white Tacoma. Right now we are on white Tacoma number four. Most contacts directly with Toyota say that it is single stage...BUT clear coat is mixed in with the base coat. Then applied. Body shop folks, including Toyota body shops, will tell you that they are to apply base coat and then clear coat. Go figure. My wife's 2011 white Tacoma required some major body work. It was done at a Toyota body shop where base coat was applied followed by clear coat. In just the right light, I could tell the difference. We only kept the truck for a year after the repair so I don't know what it would look like in four or five years. By the way....I do not regret buying white.

 

I feel your pain. My 2018 Barcelona Red has nibs on the top of the driver's side front fender (I'd post pics, but they don't show up very well). I took to a reputable local body shop. They recommended to polish what I could, but that attempting to remove the nibs entirely would probably expose bare metal and be more trouble (and expensive) than it's worth to correct. I showed it to my dealer and had them note it in my records in case it gets worse in the future. I'm the only one that notices it, but it's really annoying to know that it's there.

 

Well, that’s pretty much what I thought. I haven’t been in many accidents over the years but with my luck this truck will have one. I certainly wouldn’t be happy to have mixed paint methods on the truck, not sure how body shops get away with that since the repair should be back to factory standards. But you mention Toyota certified shops do the same thing.

Seems the white has worked well for you. I love the color I’m just worried about repairs, uneven oxidation and the dust nibs are super annoying but it sounds like other colors have some also.

 

My white trucks have been carefully maintained over the years. We have had four white Tacoma's and two white Ram Hemi's. One Ram and one Tacoma both had considerable body and paint work done. The Ram of course was base coat/clear coat and the paint matched extremely well. The Tacoma also had base coat/clear coat and it came out just fine too. Most shops do a good job of blending the repaired area into an area that does not need repair/repaint Sometimes they can get a good match by not doing that. The key is to have a shop with an excellent reputation do the work and letting them know up front that you are darn "picky". Then when a "great" job is done, praise the heck out of them. My trucks are garaged at night and are frequently waxed (four times a year if necessary). Most of the time when I trade trucks, the finish is in better shape than when it was new and just left the dealer. Just remember the five foot rule...if you can't see the flaw at five feet, it isn't there. Enjoy your white truck.

 

Don't hesitate to try a different dealership. I wouldn't have a patch Job done on a New Truck, the result might be worse than leaving it alone. BTW, Texas truck or made in Mexico? I know many will claim there is no difference, I'm just curious.

 

Texas truck

 

Just an update, the dealer is giving me the run around and typical avoiding me tactics. This is Burien Toyota in Seattle. If you're in the area and shopping i recommend avoiding this dealer.

 

The dealer is giving you the run around because generally they dont get paid for paint work, it gets subletted out to a body shop. So they deal with all the paperwork, and get none of the money.

If they dont want to do anything for you, you can always try to get ahold of a toyota rep and deal right with them.