Is300H Colour Choice

[Simon99]

After having driven an is300h f sport demonstrator for a few days, I'm about to place my order for delivery 1st March 2014. I'm a company car driver, currently driving an Audi A5, and I was very impressed with the is300h f sport. However, I have a dilemma with choice of colour. As I cover a relatively high mileage in my job, I need to choose a colour that is easy to maintain and one that doesn't readily show stone chips. I've narrowed my choice down to two colours - sonic titanium or ultra blue. I love the ultra blue colour, but haven't seen one 'in the flesh' so difficult to judge how the car really looks. Sonic titanium looks like a 'safe choice' but I was wondering if any other members have experience of these colours regarding looks and serviceability?

[rayaans]

Ultra blue is an awesome colour, however, high mileage and a combination of lexus soft paint means it will be absolutely full of stone chips and they WILL show due to the colour being rather bright.

Sonic titanium is a pearlescent paint, rather than a metallic. It looks lovely and changes colour depending on the light and of course, stone chips are much more difficult to see on this colour.

[Simon99]

Thanks for the feedback Rayaan. Is there any form of protection that could be used to protect the paintwork to prevent deterioration? I did also consider f sport white, but ruled this out due to serviceability. The demonstrator I drove was mercury grey which personally I didn't feel did justice to the styling of the f sport. It seems like the car is very 'colour sensitive' and I want to make sure I choose a colour that fully does justice to the styling yet is practical in everyday use.

[Silver Arrow]

White or Silver - small problem with Silver is that when stones go through the bumper, you see the black of the plastic.

Lexus paint is so brittle....you'll see what we mean when you get it!! Good luck!

[Roger Bill]

Hi Simon, The same 8U1 Ultra Blue colour is also an option on the Lexus CT200h. To get some indication of it's resistance to stone chips you could try searching the Lexus web site for 2 or 3 year old Ultra Blue CT200h at nearby dealers. I've just gone through this process with Mesa Red and the couple of used cars I saw had very little in the way of stone chips or scratches. Satin Silver would probably be the safest choice but my last couple of cars have been silver so I feel like a change and I think red, which is a mica paint that sparkles in the sunlight, really suits the new IS; as I'm not planning on going for the F Sport, Ultra Blue isn't an option for me.

The new IS paint has a coating which is supposed to provide some "self healing" properties. I understand warm temperatures are supposed to "heal" very minor scratches.

Like you, I'd also be interested to know if there is a treatment to provide a worthwhile extra degree of protection. I'm somewhat sceptical because I would have thought the car manufacturers would use such coatings if they really were effective & the paint treatments I've been offered when buying previous cars all seemed expensive.

Hope you enjoy making you choice.

[Simon99]

Thanks Silver Arrow and Roger Bill, your advice is appreciated. I've now sent an email to Lexus Head Office to check which nearest dealership to me has an ultra blue F sport in the showroom so I can go and have a look at one for real. I do still have a question regarding ways to protect the paint. I've heard about these 'paint protection films' but have no experience if they are effective or not. I also understand that there are some 'protective waxes' that can be applied. Does anyone have any knowledge of these products?

[Wicksy]

After having driven an is300h f sport demonstrator for a few days, I'm about to place my order for delivery 1st March 2014. I'm a company car driver, currently driving an Audi A5, and I was very impressed with the is300h f sport. However, I have a dilemma with choice of colour. As I cover a relatively high mileage in my job, I need to choose a colour that is easy to maintain and one that doesn't readily show stone chips. I've narrowed my choice down to two colours - sonic titanium or ultra blue. I love the ultra blue colour, but haven't seen one 'in the flesh' so difficult to judge how the car really looks. Sonic titanium looks like a 'safe choice' but I was wondering if any other members have experience of these colours regarding looks and serviceability?

Hi Simon

I have the Ultra Blue and am delighted with my choice - it really does look stunning - especially when the sun shines. I've only done 500 miles so I'm "chip free" at the moment but I've no doubt at all that they will show up much more easily on the blue than a silver colour. I just think the Blue suits the car perfectly.

[Silver Arrow]

Th only thing you've got to consider is whether or not the car at a forecourt is a motorway miler or not - thats where chips occur on the whole. So you really want to see a car that's been averaging over 12-15k per year to make sure you're getting a reliable indication.

I've had a Mesa Red IS220d, gorgeous when new and polished, but a real pain to keep scratch free. Even with just a few motorway journeys in the first 6 months the front was pretty much peppered.

My 5 series saw much more motorway action and was no where near as bad after 5 years. For that reason I decided on Silver this time. Having said all of that some b@5**** keys my Lexus all the way down one side whilst parked on a side road! So just go with the colour you like lol

[rayaans]

I think the best in terms of protection is probably a ceramic coating on the car. Lasts for ages and its rock hard. The expensive ones even make sure keys cant penetrate them. Believe it or not, there are even some clear bra solutions which will not key. They are very expensive and are actually more expensive than a respray and a full detail combined.

Another point to consider is to make sure you regularly wax the vehicle after getting it. White turns cream, red turns pink and blue and green become dull. Happens with all colours eventually but a good cheap waxes such as Meguiars #16 or collinite 476 last for about 3 months easily. FK1000p is easier to use than collinite or Meguiars and really lasts for about 5 months without much extra cost on the other two.

[DJP]

Colour choice is so subjective it's difficult to know whether posting is helpful or not. I thought I'd like the blue until I saw it on a CT and it just didn't look right to me, although I appreciate that's not an IS300h.

When I saw the car I bought, Sonic Titanium with Dark Rose I was completely sold on it, and it really does look a different colour in different light settings.

I've only done 1300 miles and few of those are motorway, so impossible to comment accurately on the stone chip issue. I did have the car Supagard treated, I think this is more of a waxing product than protection. Here's a couple of pics that may or may not help.

Whichever way you go the car will look brilliant and it's great to see another new Lexus owner come on board!

Make sure you let us know what you choose!

[Simon99]

Hi All, many thanks for all your comments regarding colour choice. I agree that it's very subjective! However, good news! Yesterday evening I e-mailed Lexus Head Office to ask the location of my nearest dealer with an ultra blue F sport in the showroom. This morning I received a reply and today I visited the dealer to see it for myself. I agree with Wicksy, ultra blue really does suit the styling of the F sport. I was very impressed, so much so that tomorrow I am going to place my order for my ultra blue F sport with sat nav. I have to say that I am very impressed with the Lexus customer service, and the dealer personnel I have encountered have been friendly and knowledgeable. I now have one remaining point - just what is the best and most cost effective method for protecting the paintwork? Thanks again to those members that have posted replies to my original question. It's good to be on board!

[Silver Arrow]

Oh my word DJP. That is the best colour....!

[Wicksy]

Hi All, many thanks for all your comments regarding colour choice. I agree that it's very subjective! However, good news! Yesterday evening I e-mailed Lexus Head Office to ask the location of my nearest dealer with an ultra blue F sport in the showroom. This morning I received a reply and today I visited the dealer to see it for myself. I agree with Wicksy, ultra blue really does suit the styling of the F sport. I was very impressed, so much so that tomorrow I am going to place my order for my ultra blue F sport with sat nav. I have to say that I am very impressed with the Lexus customer service, and the dealer personnel I have encountered have been friendly and knowledgeable. I now have one remaining point - just what is the best and most cost effective method for protecting the paintwork? Thanks again to those members that have posted replies to my original question. It's good to be on board!

Good choice Simon - you won't regret it!

Regarding paint protection I have just given my car a couple of coats of Autoglym High Definition Wax - its around £40 a pot but it does seem very durable and gives an excellent shine. Other than that I haven't invested in clear bra or anything like it so am just hoping to dodge those boulders! I hope the wait passes quickly for you :)

[rayaans]

Hi All, many thanks for all your comments regarding colour choice. I agree that it's very subjective! However, good news! Yesterday evening I e-mailed Lexus Head Office to ask the location of my nearest dealer with an ultra blue F sport in the showroom. This morning I received a reply and today I visited the dealer to see it for myself. I agree with Wicksy, ultra blue really does suit the styling of the F sport. I was very impressed, so much so that tomorrow I am going to place my order for my ultra blue F sport with sat nav. I have to say that I am very impressed with the Lexus customer service, and the dealer personnel I have encountered have been friendly and knowledgeable. I now have one remaining point - just what is the best and most cost effective method for protecting the paintwork? Thanks again to those members that have posted replies to my original question. It's good to be on board!

Great news! Firstly, although Autoglym hi definition wax is a good wax, albeit expensive for what it actually is, it wont protect your car from stone chips and marks which is what you seem to be most concerned about.

I would personally recommend WOLFS HARD BODY. It does help in stopping mild stone chips and scratches. You can find it here

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/wolf-chemicals-hard-body-nano-sealant/prod_1083.html

Its £30 but lasts about a year in my experience. However the best product is by far in my book is definitely gtechniq c1. This is a very very good product and can be found here

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1254

Its expensive, no doubt, but it is worth it in terms of protection. BTW please DONT apply the supaguard protection. It lasts about 2 weeks and the dealers make a mess of the paint by applying it. Im sure they charge about £200 for application but you can get the supaguard products off eBay for £30.

I personally ask the dealers not to add any protection at all and do it myself in order to get the best finish as well as the swirls that dealers tend to put on as they are ALWAYS in a rush!

[wendle]

I agree with Rayaan’s suggestions on protection, I use wolfs
hard body, and so far so good, although I don’t do a lot of motorway driving
and when I do I tend to keep well back from lorries as I consider them as the
worst culprits in throwing up stones.

[Silver Arrow]

I agree too - Klasse AIO (cleaner, polish and Glaze) and then 3 coats of Klasse Sealant Glaze (24 hours in between each to let it harden). Then 2-3 coats of P21s (or other pure Carnuba wax), and it looks lovely. That will give you a much better finish than anything a dealer will charge you for. Just a few hours of effort!!

My whole kit cost about £95, including an electric polisher (!), and you don't need a £200 cable porter polisher - even the cheapo ones work almost as well (mine was £15 off ebay).

As stated, there are loads of good products out there, and by buying the kits yourself you have enough to do several cars over and over again for the price of what the dealers claim it costs, and get things like a good random orbital polisher, and it would still cost less.

So you takes yer choice.

[Simon99]

Hi All, thanks again for your feedback. Well, I placed my order today for my Ultra blue F sport! So now the wait until 1st March 2014 begins! I've been driving Audi's for the past 15 years so this is a big step for me. However, my experience so far of everything lexus has been positive. I'm looking forward to the F sport experience and the fact that both I, and my company are saving money by switching to the F sport is a real bonus. Regarding paint protection, the advice seems to be the application of hard waxes. I've read about paint protection films on the internet but they appear very expensive. I'm happy to apply wax on a regular basis if this can really prevent stone chipping.

[DJP]

Congratulations! I'm sure the wait will be worth it and we look forward to some pics in due course.

[rayaans]

Hi All, thanks again for your feedback. Well, I placed my order today for my Ultra blue F sport! So now the wait until 1st March 2014 begins! I've been driving Audi's for the past 15 years so this is a big step for me. However, my experience so far of everything lexus has been positive. I'm looking forward to the F sport experience and the fact that both I, and my company are saving money by switching to the F sport is a real bonus. Regarding paint protection, the advice seems to be the application of hard waxes. I've read about paint protection films on the internet but they appear very expensive. I'm happy to apply wax on a regular basis if this can really prevent stone chipping.

No wax will prevent stone chipping. Only a good ceramic sealant will do that as it becomes very hard when it sets. Wolfs hard body and gtechniq c1(the absolute best ever product IMHO) are both sealants which become very hard and hence prevent minor stone chips and marring.

[Simon99]

Hi Rayaan, can you apply the gtechniq on top of the wolfs hard body?

[Simon99]

Hi again Rayaan, I also notice that it is a 30ml bottle. How much is needed to treat the car? Thanks, Simon.

[rayaans]

Hi again Rayaan, I also notice that it is a 30ml bottle. How much is needed to treat the car? Thanks, Simon.

Theyre both sealants so no, either apply one or the other. Not a lot is used and I would say you could do 1 car with the 30ml bottle. Only 3 dabs is needed for one panel as it goes a long way.

However, I would say that Wolfs Hard Body is really good and in reality, theres not much point in trying the c1. I only tried it to see if it was any good and yes it is better than hard body but its bloody expensive too. In the end, you wont go very wrong with both of these products.

[Silver Arrow]

I think a clear 3m Bra is the only way to protect a new Lexus from stone chips, or clear Vinyl wrap

[IS 300h]

I am a high (ish) miler, so bound to get chips, no amount of protection stops a stone hurtling at 70 MPH, compounded if coming head on.

Just wash and a reasonable quality polish for me. If the rain water collects in large bubble wrap type bubbles that indicates good protection from UV and road grime etc. If they do not form, time to re polish.

T cut for stubborn tar spots later as car gets older.

Always touch up chips regularly.

Oh and I always polish the alloys as this helps to prevent brake dust and corrosion onset.

[rayaans]

holy hell, dont use t cut! its like the most abrasive thing ever! tar spots need to be taken off with a tar remover. Youll be going through the paint with t cut in 2-3 applications