I'm wondering if the factory paint job includes clear coats. My salesman told us that the Blizzard Pearl had a 7 coat clear coat finish and all the other colors had 3 clear coats painted on them. This is the same salesman that told me that using synthetic oil would void my warranty, so I thought it might be wise to verify what he said.
Don't believe your salesman. Blizzard Pearl paint has 23 coats of clear coat. You should use only extra virgin olive oil, not synthetic oil. Keith P.S. Would you like to buy a bridge, only used on the weekends....
Not all but many salesman are so untrained/unknowledgeable about the product they are selling it's a shame...
if it had seven coats that means it would go through 7 times. i think that would hold up the line quite a bit
...yeah, he also told me there was "not even a $600 mark up" from invoice to MSRP. But back to my question, is there even a single clear coat applied at the factory to any or all of the 2010 colors?
Yes, most pearl or metallic colours have a clear coat. One, usually, unless it's an aftermarket enthusiasts painter. You can usually see the clear coat by shining a bright lamp off the paint at a very sharp angle (hold a bright flashlight against the car and shine it along the fender, for example). The Toyota "Pearlescent White" had three coats of paint after the primer. You had to pay extra for it. Most do two coats after the primer, the colour coat, and the clear coat. Also, I'm told they now use water based paint, to reduce the effects on the environment of painting.
All Prius colors except Black are clear-coat colors. Blizzard Pearl has an additional pearl coat beneath the clear-coat, hence the color surcharge.
You sure? All modern paints are clear-coated. When my black Prius was rear-ended and had to have the bumper replaced, the shop applied clear coat over factory Black 202.
Your car has: primer coat White base coat Pear metalic coat Clear coat. Your dealer needs to know that your sales advisor needs special training. ? Would you invest money 20k in a product so you can make less he $600.00? NOT!!!!!!!!
So, does Black have a clear coat? I am getting ready to buy a 2010 Prius III with Nav in Black. However, I would be concerned if it doesn't have a clear coat. Thanks.
This thread talk quite a bit about colors and clearcoats. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...customer-service-paint-chipping-must-see.html From reading in there it seems they do Black 'single stage' because it makes it look a lot richer and deeper according to SW03ES.
I just had to google a little bit to learn myself, but I read that single stage paints (what supposedly is used on a black Prius) have clear in them but it is mixed in with the paint and then applied. On a two stage painted car it has the clear over a base coat. Here's the info I got: What\'s the difference between single stage and two stage paint jobs on a silver paint job? BobA two stage job has a base coat and a clear coat. The base coat which would be the silver color is applied first. After it dries a clear coat is applied over it. In a single stage paint job the color and a mixing clear are applied together in a single app
From http://www.toyotapart.com/EXTERIOR_COLOR_AND_SCRATCH_RESISTANT_AND_ANTI-ACID_PAINT_TS-PA003-07.pdf "To improve appearance and durability of the refinished paint surface, it is recommended that a clearcoat be used when refinishing color 202 (non–metallic black)."
No idea, maybe Toyota should be contacted to finally put finality to this question. I'll see if I can get an answer tomorrow, though it will be hard right now with the auto show happening and all. If it is in fact single stage and a clear is mixed in with the paint, maybe just it being in there makes it set up to the top as the paint dries and creates a barrier? I don't know a thing about painting vehicles, but I have contacted Toyota so when they can get back to me they will.
That's what I thought too, then I read that old thread on this subject and it opened up the can of worms again lol. I still find it hard to believe they are not clearcoating with a final coat of clearcoat though... I'm waiting to get a final answer direct from Toyota on this and then I'll let ya'll know what they say.
Many times your sales person just want to say it so it sounds great to sell you the vehicle. But really they don't know anything about paint. (Ex-Fleet Manager at a dealership):mod:
For decades vehicles were painted with tough, durable paints where the top (finish) coat was the color of the vehicle (red, blue, white, etc.) Many show cars also had clear lacquer finish which enhanced the finish giving a very deep rich looking appearance. Those original clear lacquer finishes required a lot of effort (regular washing, waxing, etc.) in order to maintain the beautiful deep rich luster and were not applied to protect the base color of the paint. I remember about 20 years ago, manufacturers started applying "clear coat" finishes in order to give new cars that "show car" type of appearance. How many of you guys remember seeing seeing cars with a clear coat that after a few years had a white milky appearance that looks like an ugly skin rash? Those clear coat finishes really did nothing to provide a life-long beautiful exterior appearance. Clearly paint manufacturers have improved the chemistry of clear coat finishes where they are as durable as the underlying paint finish. But the question remains - do all cars require a clear coat on top of the base color coat? With most metallic paints, the answer seems to be - yes. With a generic non-metallic paint which is very durable, adding an additional clear coat doesn't seem to do much to increase the lifespan of the exterior finish. However it does provide the vehicle manufacturer a way of adding several hundred dollars to the sales price for a few dollars of additional investment of material and labor. Since most owners of automobiles do not wash and wax their vehicles regularly to take advantage of that rich deep luster that is provided by a clear coat after the first year of ownership, I seriously wonder if it is really worth going to the additional time and expense of adding a clear coat to non-metallic finishes. Keith
