Black Paint - Does It Have To Be Lexus Genuine?

[daxilic]

Basically I was in a very poorly lit car park at night and I accidentally backed into a bollard, there's a crack on the bumper but most of the paint has come off. At the moment I'm having a go at doing the work myself and so far have done all the sanding and fillering, just need to do primer and painting now. The thing is I'm wondering what paint to use, I could use the Lexus genuine paint (in my case that would be black onyx code: 202), but how many variations of black can you get? I'm thinking if I use standard black gloss spray paint from Halfords maybe that would blend just as good as the Lexus paint? this came to mind when I took the car to a bodyshop to get a quote and the guy said it would be straight black no metallic. Also does anyone know how much it would cost to get the genuine Lexus paint and how big the can is? if it's not too expensive I might just get that. Thanks in advanced :)

[Monster-Mat]

as you know the paint code just get that code paint from Halfords............

however......

as you didnt know that you need to match the paint codes, are u sure you will be able to paint, and do a good job of painting the bumper

[daxilic]

well that's what I would have done to start with but I've checked Halfords and they dont do Lexus paint, I heard Halfords dont stock Lexus and Toyota and that you need to get them directly from the dealers.

Well I've not done it before but I know what the process is and I have a friend who's a mechanic and has done a lot of respraying before. I'm trying it myself first cause I cant really afford to pay someone £150+ to do a professional job. So I don't know how it will turn out but if it's not noticeable then that's good enough for now B)

[Mossyn]

well that's what I would have done to start with but I've checked halfords and they dont do Lexus paint, I heard halfords dont stock Lexus and Toyota and that you need to get them directly from the dealers.

Well I've not done it before but I know what the process is and I have a friend who's a mechanic and has done a lot of respraying before. I'm trying it myself first cause I cant really afford to pay someone £150+ to do a professional job. So I don't know how it will turn out but if it's not noticeable then that's good enough for now B)

My local Halfords mixed up a spray can of Lexus Blue when I had to do a minor repair on mine.

Was a good match too.

[daxilic]

what they have a section in the store where they can mix up specific codes?

[Mossyn]

what they have a section in the store where they can mix up specific codes?

Oh yes.

My son worked there, texted him the code number and he came home that evening with it.

I notice that you live in Southampton too.

Take your paint code to the Halfords in Hedge End.

[sprinter2012]

I think THIS is what you need.

Toyota/Lexus Astral Black, which although it doesnt say on the web page, is paint code 202, it says on the paint rack in the shop but its listed under Toyota Altezza.

[daxilic]

oh I see, yea I've been to that Halfords a few times but not for a while I'll check it out :)

ah right didn't know that, forgot about the Altezza. Have you used this before? I'll definitely give it a go thanks a lot man

[Jimxms]

Depends how fussy you are imo. Even with the right paint code and a proper can of paint, there is still the chance of noticeable variation between your bumpers 'aged' colour, and the colour of a fresh can of paint.

I'm getting my rear bumper professionally resprayed for £120 which i consider reasonable for a perfect colour match.

[jay_russell]

you can get it from toyota aswell 202 black

[daxilic]

Thanks for the tip, got the astral black and the colour matches perfectly, only problem I've got now is i cant get a good finish. infact the finish is terrible looks like a 3yr sprayed it. i put the paint on and it looked pretty good wet but once it dried it went all matte and non-reflective, some bits were reflective but it was like a cloudy reflection and didn't blend at all to the original paintwork. I'm spraying the can at the right distance and spraying in lengths distributing the paint evenly so what am i not doing? someone told me you have to let the paint dry in warm conditions and it might be the cold that's making the paint dry differently.

[Jimxms]

Thanks for the tip, got the astral black and the colour matches perfectly, only problem I've got now is i cant get a good finish. infact the finish is terrible looks like a 3yr sprayed it. i put the paint on and it looked pretty good wet but once it dried it went all matte and non-reflective, some bits were reflective but it was like a cloudy reflection and didn't blend at all to the original paintwork. I'm spraying the can at the right distance and spraying in lengths distributing the paint evenly so what am i not doing? someone told me you have to let the paint dry in warm conditions and it might be the cold that's making the paint dry differently.

After spraying you'd also need to flatten it down with sandpaper and then use a cutting polish to bring out the shine.

There's a bit more to it than this too, but I rekon there should be plenty of guides around that are more detailed then I could ever be :P

[daxilic]

how do you mean flatten it down? i sanded between coats of primer but didn't think you would need to do that with the black paint. and I'm guessing cutting polish is different from normal Car Polish?

[Jimxms]

Yeah basically do the same on the black as you did with the primer.

- Soak some 2000 and 3000 grit for a couple of hours in a bowl of water to soften it up.

- Starting with the 2000, mix some water with a bit of fairy liquid to make it glide better.

- Rub 2000 over the sprayed part in straight lines only.

- Hose bumper down and clean off sandpaper every few strokes to ensure you don't end up scratching the surface unevenly.

- As you progress you'll slowly see the uneven orange-peel-like surface go to a flat finish.

- Move to the 3000 paper using some new water+fairy liquid.

- Rub the 3000 in a different direction to the 2000 so that you can see once all of the sanding marks from the 2000 have disappeared.

- Grab some cutting polish. Meguiars #83 is good stuff, but any cutting polish will do so long as it is not too abrasive.

- Apply polish either by hand or using a rotary polisher until you are happy with the shine from the paint.

- Seal you work with a good wax.

Job done :)