Faded/Dull Paint

[Koddo]

Wanted to get some opinions before I pay the dealership to clay bar/buff the front left quarter panel and hood for $150. The paint is dull to the touch and somewhat faded. I think the last owner partially parked under covered parking and this part of the vehicle was hit with rain runoff/the elements. The service manager suggested I get it clayed and buffed by a reputable shop. When I called him back to get a suggestion who to do it he says they can. I'm a bit hesitant to let a dealership go at it and buff the paint to heavily and make it look worse with swirls....

Thoughts?

 

[cryption1]

Look for a local detail shop to do it - I've gotten the whole truck clay bared and waxed for $140 by a local hand wash place. Look on Yelp / Reddit for suggestions. There are guys who'se whole business is driving around and hand washing cars. They may even come to you, or do it at your work parking lot. Save you some cash and get better results.

 

[1engineer]

Wanted to get some opinions before I pay the dealership to clay bar/buff the front left quarter panel and hood for $150. The paint is dull to the touch and somewhat faded. I think the last owner partially parked under covered parking and this part of the vehicle was hit with rain runoff/the elements. The service manager suggested I get it clayed and buffed by a reputable shop. When I called him back to get a suggestion who to do it he says they can. I'm a bit hesitant to let a dealership go at it and buff the paint to heavily and make it look worse with swirls....

Thoughts?

If only parts (left fender, hood) of your vehicle are faded and dull then those parts have been repainted at some point. Take it to a bodyshop.

 

[Koddo]

I don't think they have been repainted....its really where the water hit/rested I think. I say this because the top of the front left headlight showed weathering too (clouded). And the dull paint area is mainly the corner-notched surfaces of the front quarter panel where water would rest. The hood really isn't showing weather besides mainly the hood scoop insert.

 

[NuclearN8]

Buy a flex DA buffer kit from autogeek and do it yourself... It's not rocket science... Bunch of YouTube tutorials out there from the Wolfgang guy. This is what I did and now I have a buffer so I can correct it anytime I want. Turned out great.

 

[daanbc05]

Wanted to get some opinions before I pay the dealership to clay bar/buff the front left quarter panel and hood for $150. The paint is dull to the touch and somewhat faded. I think the last owner partially parked under covered parking and this part of the vehicle was hit with rain runoff/the elements. The service manager suggested I get it clayed and buffed by a reputable shop. When I called him back to get a suggestion who to do it he says they can. I'm a bit hesitant to let a dealership go at it and buff the paint to heavily and make it look worse with swirls....

Thoughts?

Do it yourself. It's very easy. Wash the area to be clay barred. Get some clay and a water bottle with soapy water in it. Spray a small portion and use the clay bar rub off any debries, wipe clean. When the whole area is done put a nice coat of wax on it.

 

[Mistaken]

I agree to do it yourself, if you have the time and do your homework first. I enjoy detailing and learning about it. But that's me.

 

[shahsmerdis]

there are a trillion videos, just don't fall for the hype in the products they try to sell. for 150 bucks you can pretty much close to everything you will need to do the whole car.

Please post pictures on what you want to detail

there are synthetic clay bars that make it pretty easy to do.

4runners are a b**** to detail since they are so big. Take it panel by panel if you have to.

Google chemical guys, AMMO. they should give you an idea on what to do. Note you want to go for the least aggressive approach. Don't let a dealer or anyone just buff the car they can do more damage than anything. lots of socalled detailers apply glazes (or waxes with filling capabilities) , which hide scratches, so 6 month later the same swirls come back.

Wax does not provide shine, don't fall for that 100 dollar wax. well preped paint with no scratches gives the most gloss. wax and sealants are for protection.

 

[Koddo]

Thanks for the information. I'll probably end up doing this myself after doing a little more research. The only thing that gives me pause is if the paint is slightly oxidized and I should be polishing->clay bar->polishing or performing some specific steps that requires a bit of expertise/practice.

I guess I have a fear that I will mess it up more. My paint experience with cars has been limited to waxing the 4R 2 times since I've got it. Clay bars, polishing (different than waxing?) are new concepts...youtube research to commence.

 

[renau001]

Don't be fooled though, it is work especially for a vehicle as big as a 4Runner. If you don't ever plan on detailing again like this, could be a better option and value to find a reputable detail shop.

 

[shahsmerdis]

Thanks for the information. I'll probably end up doing this myself after doing a little more research. The only thing that gives me pause is if the paint is slightly oxidized and I should be polishing->clay bar->polishing or performing some specific steps that requires a bit of expertise/practice.

I guess I have a fear that I will mess it up more. My paint experience with cars has been limited to waxing the 4R 2 times since I've got it. Clay bars, polishing (different than waxing?) are new concepts...youtube research to commence.

Um You have a 5th gen I Doubt you have Oxidized paint. That applies to 10 year old cars.

Its always wash, clay, then polish then wax.

I slightly adapted it, after washing, do a quick wipe down with quick detail spray. I work on a gravel road, so dirt usually gets thrown on to the paint. I don't like to grind that into the paint as I clay or polish.

I can suggest a few products for you once you are ready. Note that polishing will take 40 hours to truly do it correctly. But if you plan to go through an automatic wash, or have the dealer wash your car or anyone. its not worth it you will be back to where you start. Just apply clay and wax and be done with it.



edit flow chart.



You can try to use a one step and see if that works for you.

 

[mkeegan27]

I wouldn't trust the dealer to detail your vehicle. For the price you will be paying I would find a reputable auto detailer and give them your business. You will end up with much better results and their products are probably superior than Toyota's. I detail cars as a side business and laugh at when they tell me my cars need to be detailed before I bring them home


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[daanbc05]

I had a 77 vette four years ago, it was corvette orange. It was dull and faded to hell after 35 plus years. I clay barred it, then used this stuff in a can called Liquid glass. Cost $25 a can. You can only apply it in one direction onto the vehicle, but you can polish it off in any direction. Then you let the car sit out in the sun for a couple of hours to let it bake on. EVERYONE thought I had repainted the car. The stuff works great. It's the only thing I use now.

 

[Chrisw05]

Detailing is one of those things I am afraid to do. I have no problem getting into the mechanics of a car, but touching paint just scares me. eep:

 

[shahsmerdis]

Detailing is one of those things I am afraid to do. I have no problem getting into the mechanics of a car, but touching paint just scares me. eep:

however careless you are, you are still going to care about how you wash your car more than someone else.


just be a little mindful on how you apply your products and use a little common sense. I followed and watch every youtube video on detailing. two bucket wash, going top to bottom. wash wheels seperately. all makes sense right? minimizing chances of swirls. But just like doing mechanical work, things are not always how they seem on youtube. it took me a while to realize where I made a huge mistake, but common sense made me figure it out.

I wash my car in our gravel drive way, and we have a lot of pressure, so when i rinsed the car down water was bouncing off my car then on the ground and flinging dirt back on my car. So when i went to wipe dry my car down, I didnt feel it glide, felt like sand paper. So claying, or polishing when the paint isnt 100% raw is recipe for disaster. Luckily I caught myself. People think oh its a hand wash its safe. BS. If you rube your car without lube it will scratch. So I modified it and use detail spray, (Cheapest concentrate I could find) to help remove the water and provide lubricity when i dried my car. I keep telling people, if you have to go into an automatic car wash, just be as touchless as possible, and don't let them hand dry your car with those crappy walmart bath towels they have.

Now on the other hand mechanical work scares me. oil changes ill do, and small things, but I am just not set up to do control arms, ripping apart a car lifting etc. I rather detail then do mechanical work. I dunno i guess everyone is different.

if it wasn't freaking 110 real feel temp here in nyc I'd do a video for you guys. Maybe ill do one in the fall since my 4th has oxidized paint.

 

[Chrisw05]

however careless you are, you are still going to care about how you wash your car more than someone else.

Very true, I do pay a guy to detail my cars but he does miss spots that are obvious to me. I bought a pressure washer, foam cannon and chemical bro products, they work really well! I will rinse the cars with the pressure washer, spray foam them and let it sit for a few minutes and wash them. Comes out very nice looking. I am afraid of doing clay bar and polishing. First I dont know what products to actually buy and second, how to do them. I have a Porsche Cayman and would HATE to screw up anything on the outside, speaking of which I have the entire passenger door taken apart to replace the window regulator. :lasercannon:

 

[euser]

Don't you think you have more of bad pant job/some sort of paint issue having a 5th gen with paint problems? My 14 year old 3rd gen's millennium silver has no fading/dull areas whatsoever. I never detail my vehicle besides running it through one of those automated washes, and its only been garage kept the last 2 years. It just seems odd a relatively very new vehicle should be having poor looking paint if you haven't abused it.

 

[catrains]

Wanted to get some opinions before I pay the dealership to clay bar/buff the front left quarter panel and hood for $150. The paint is dull to the touch and somewhat faded. I think the last owner partially parked under covered parking and this part of the vehicle was hit with rain runoff/the elements. The service manager suggested I get it clayed and buffed by a reputable shop. When I called him back to get a suggestion who to do it he says they can. I'm a bit hesitant to let a dealership go at it and buff the paint to heavily and make it look worse with swirls....

Thoughts?

looks like you have a 6 yr old vehicle well this should not be a paint problem.

perhaps its a cleaning issue using acid cleaners. car washes use acid products these do eat at the clear coat. using a quality car wash soap with additives in it to protect the finish is what I do. I have a black 1996 vehicle. original owner and it still shines really good. I did have to paint the roof because of some rust blisters but the paint still shined. roof painted last year.

I also use a variable speed buffer with a black foam finishing pad and use the 3m polishing compund . do this once or twice a year. car shines like a mirrior... big problem mirror !! turkeys see them selves with the reflection and peck at my vehicle.

turkey dinner ...