Paint chipping on hood

[scorpslvr]

I have a 2011 SR5 black 4Runner. I have to park it outside and I take it to the car wash and use the pressure washer. I noticed not too long ago that the paint on the front hood is chipping....small spots everywhere. Someone told me the only way to fix it is to paint the whole car otherwise it won't match. Is that true? I don't like the idea of sinking a few grand into a 2011, but I also don't want to work another few years to pay off another car. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[fkheath]

I have a 2011 SR5 black 4Runner. I have to park it outside and I take it to the car wash and use the pressure washer. I noticed not too long ago that the paint on the front hood is chipping....small spots everywhere. Someone told me the only way to fix it is to paint the whole car otherwise it won't match. Is that true? I don't like the idea of sinking a few grand into a 2011, but I also don't want to work another few years to pay off another car. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Modern body shops do an excellent job of matching the paint; it does depend somewhat on what color your 4Runner is.

Last December, I had a truck slide on the ice into the side of my 4Runner and you can't even tell there was any damage; the paint matches perfectly.

It may also depend on if the old paint is faded or oxidized. Might consider just painting the hood after getting a good detail shop to work on the paint; certainly would cost a lot less than painting the whole vehicle.

On your next vehicle, what ever it may be, consider getting paint protection film (PPF) from 3M or Xpel; that will will keep the chips at bay. All my cars with PPF never have any chips on the front.

 

[Kandor]

Pick a good quality shop and have them blend the fenders and matching should not be much of an issue.

 

[scorpslvr]

Thank you so much for the info., and I will definitely get that protection if I upgrade. Thanks again!

 

[Bossman]

I've run into the exact same hood paint chips problem on my black 2011 Limited.

I've put up with it for some time, but it looks bad compared to the rest of the vehicle so I will be getting the hood painted this summer.

My body shop previously painted the rear hatch and the paint matched perfectly.

 

[flyrv9]

Good body shops have some kind of optical tool used for paint matching. It assesses your paint and creates a mix formula so it matches what you have. This compensates for fade due to age, sun, etc.

 

[scorpslvr]

Oh, that's good to know, thank you!

 

[scorpslvr]

Oh wow, that is good to know, thanks! By the way, what would be considered a "good" body shop, paint shop, etc. I know nothing about them. I have a really good/trustworthy mechanic, should I just ask him since he's been in the business forever, or does anyone have any recommendations? I'm in SoCal.

 

[Humble Leader]

if you repaint get the PPF over the hood. my wife's RX has no PPF and there are little chips everywhere. I use the touchup paint to fix them and never have had an issue. my 4runner has almost 100,000 more kilometres than her RX but has PPF. not a single chip.

depending on how many miles and the condition of your rig it might not be worth it to drop a few grand on paint and PPF. the toyota touchup pen costs like $20 and could fill in all the chips in one go

 

[fkheath]

By the way, what would be considered a "good" body shop, paint shop, etc.

Observations:
1. Body shops used my most insurance companies do it "on the cheap". Avoid those.
2. Body shops that do custom paint work, for example antique cars or "hot rods" will do excellent work, but cost a fortune.
3. Find out what high end car dealers would use; i.e. Porsche, Mercedes, etc. Great results, but again pricey.
4. Find a body shop that does a very long warranty against fading, mismatch, etc.

Note: if you want to put PPF on the new paint, you must wait a few weeks or a month. You cannot put PPF on new paint until the paint has fully cured.

 

[scorpslvr]

if you repaint get the PPF over the hood. my wife's RX has no PPF and there are little chips everywhere. I use the touchup paint to fix them and never have had an issue. my 4runner has almost 100,000 more kilometres than her RX but has PPF. not a single chip.

depending on how many miles and the condition of your rig it might not be worth it to drop a few grand on paint and PPF. the toyota touchup pen costs like $20 and could fill in all the chips in one go

Great, thank you for that info.!

 

[scorpslvr]

Observations:
1. Body shops used my most insurance companies do it "on the cheap". Avoid those.
2. Body shops that do custom paint work, for example antique cars or "hot rods" will do excellent work, but cost a fortune.
3. Find out what high end car dealers would use; i.e. Porsche, Mercedes, etc. Great results, but again pricey.
4. Find a body shop that does a very long warranty against fading, mismatch, etc.

Note: if you want to put PPF on the new paint, you must wait a few weeks or a month. You cannot put PPF on new paint until the paint has fully cured.

Great, thank you for that, I appreciate it.

 

[El Dusty]

I have a 2011 SR5 black 4Runner. I have to park it outside and I take it to the car wash and use the pressure washer. I noticed not too long ago that the paint on the front hood is chipping....small spots everywhere. Someone told me the only way to fix it is to paint the whole car otherwise it won't match. Is that true? I don't like the idea of sinking a few grand into a 2011, but I also don't want to work another few years to pay off another car. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Toyota sells small touch up paint pens for $15-25. I bought one years ago and mine has a pen tip one end for chips, when you unscrew it you can use a small brush for streaks or scratches. Will not be a perfect paint match with fade and the depth will be off but its an easy fix and makes it look decent from a distance.

 

[Humble Leader]

Toyota sells small touch up paint pens for $15-25. I bought one years ago and mine has a pen tip one end for chips, when you unscrew it you can use a small brush for streaks or scratches. Will not be a perfect paint match with fade and the depth will be off but its an easy fix and makes it look decent from a distance.

I've looked everywhere for the version of the touchup pen you have - the pen with the brush. in canada all they have from toyota OEM is the pen with the felt-type brush on each end - clear coat and base colour

 

[JC_Offroad]

I have a 2011 SR5 black 4Runner. I have to park it outside and I take it to the car wash and use the pressure washer. I noticed not too long ago that the paint on the front hood is chipping....small spots everywhere. Someone told me the only way to fix it is to paint the whole car otherwise it won't match. Is that true? I don't like the idea of sinking a few grand into a 2011, but I also don't want to work another few years to pay off another car. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Depending on the oxidation of the paint, you may be able to get away with touching up the chips with a factory touchup paint pen, and if it's only on the front end, you could touch up the chips and then cover up some of them with a bug deflector shield?

Another option (not for everyone's taste), but could also consider going with a contrast color on purpose (matte black wrap, carbon wrap) or even an aftermarket hood vs the cost of respraying and blending.

 

[scorpslvr]

Toyota sells small touch up paint pens for $15-25. I bought one years ago and mine has a pen tip one end for chips, when you unscrew it you can use a small brush for streaks or scratches. Will not be a perfect paint match with fade and the depth will be off but its an easy fix and makes it look decent from a distance.

Thank you, I will look for that, or one close to it!

 

[flyrv9]

This reminds me of a paint issue with GM cars back in the late 80's - early 90's. Pontiac Grand AM and Chevy Corsica models had a couple different paint problems. Grand Am's had paint chips falling off in various places and Corsicas had a paint fading issue. I had a Corsica with the fading problem and a co-worker had a Grand AM with chips on paint falling off. My car as an 88 and I think his was an 89. The paint chip issue was due to bad primer and the other to bad paint on certain colors - like metallic.

GM issued a "no notice" recall and we didn't find out about it until it was too late. I missed it by a month and Chevy wouldn't do anything. Not sure about my friend. This was before the internet really; so finding info about this kind of thing was hard to do.

I don't know if "no notice" recalls still exist. They were for issues that didn't involve safety issues. Just another way auto makers to screw the customer! So, I would look into a possible recall or lemon issue if these paint issues are happening to lots of you.

 

[henley]

I’d get a body shop’s opinion before considering a full repaint. If the damage is mostly confined to the hood, there may be more targeted options.