Anybody else think the factory paint job sucks on our trucks . . .

Just saying, I own a 2011 with the Navy blue paint, pretty low miles, 59k on the changeling meter.

Its kind of absurd how much crap has baked into the paint, stuff like bug guts, bird shit stains, hard water spots, etc. Granted its a used truck and I don't know how it was cared for. Just saying the 3 stage pearl white paint on my 1992 Lexus SC300, a car that is 26 years old with 103k on odo has much nicer looking paint. That car you can swim in the paint its so deep, there aren't a bunch of surface/clear coat imperfections, it isn't swirled over like the paint on my Tundra.

I'm thinking about buying a low speed buffer and some compound and seeing if I can't get this paint looking better on my truck.

 

Huge difference between white paint vs Navy blue (prerry much black).

Depends on how the previous owner cared for his truck. Some make love while some fuck and leave.....

 

I have a black 07..wax it spring & fall, still looking good. if i take the buffer to it, looks new again. no garage, Wisconsin winters. 210000 miles daily driver. ..so i think it's painted pretty good.

 

I have no complaints about my Nautical Blue 2008 with 109K. Put in some elbow grease hours and do some homework on detailing or have it professionally done and see where you are at. Good luck. D

 

OP might be able to get the paint looking good again with a quality detail / paint correction job to make up for the prior owners lack of maintenance. My truck is fairly new but there are a lot of older Tundras around here and the paint seems to last as well or better than anything else in the Arizona sun.

 

My 2011 radiant red Tundra still looks great. Unlike my current black one, I didn’t take any special care with it. I used automated car washes, never used any coatings, etc. It’s never been clayed (besides a panel I did yesterday as a test for another member), polished or anything. It has about 110k on the odometer, and still shines up beautifully.

 

My ‘13 has been sitting in the south FL Sun it’s entire life. Wax 2-3x a year and it looks brand new again every time. It has the factory paint protection not sure if that really matters but maybe it does since some people seem to think Toyota factory paint sucks and some think it’s great.

Of course my paint is also a SUPER color... so there is that.

 

Not sure what you call it’s but it pinstripes worse than any truck I have had. Mine is quick sand so not exactly a dark color. I can get most out with a buffer and aggressive compound but I’m afraid a few more clean ups and the paint will be gone.

 

2-3 wax jobs a year will make the paint look good for years.

Sounds like you need to do a full restoration. Lots of fun and elbow grease ahead for you. Should be able to bring it back.

 

The pinstripes on my '13 are in rather poor shape also, but the basecoat/clearcoat is doing fine.

 

Yep it may have been abused all it’s life. Mine has 110k on it and is a 2012. Doesn’t have a single paint flaw besides all the scrapes I give it. I try to do a simple wax twice a year. Mine is also kept in a barn so that helps a lot in the Florida sun.

 

he means the paint scratches very easily from things brushing along the sides.

 

That is true also as the "new" clear coat are softer than pervious generations.

 

No complaints on my 08 185K Silver Tundra....and it goes through the dam car wash twice a week....

 

And it's much appreciated!

 

My complaint is how easy this truck is to scratch and chip. My 05 Saturn took a beating and had just a couple of little scratches before she got put to rest (RIP TARDIS). This truck,on the other hand, has a couple of chips already and a plastic cooler scratched the hell out of my bed. . . I mean an F-ing plastic cooler!!!

 

That'll buff out. Duplicolor came out with a new clear bedliner. Seems pretty sweet.

 

Two different scenarios.

Plastic cooler was sitting on the bed and probably moved a little here and there and in turn scratches the paint.

I m sure your 05 saturn didnt have a bed and aint no plastic cooler sitting on the roof while you were driving around town.

 

no, but my doors didn't get chips either :-(

 

Wasn't the Saturn solid colored plastic door panels. No paint to scratch or chip

 

No disrespect intended by why not have some type of bed protection? That would be like leaving the cooler on the roof or hood and driving around...would you not expect scratches do that?

 

I agree. Even a drop in liner is better. Not ideal cuz ot gets scratched under it still but its something. A cooler to me is as bad as taking a sander to your paint. I know my coolers are far from spotless on the bottom and often literally covered with sand.

I have a drop in and actually looked under it today lots of scuffs. If I didnt have my tonneau keeping it bone dry under there I'd be pulling the liner and getting it sprayed. I may still pull it one day and spray the bottom myself and put the liner back in.

 

LOL! This thread is hilarious.

Any car is going to look like shit if you allow bird shit and hard water to sit on there long enough. Anything really will look like shit if not cared for, no matter the manufacturer.

As far as the bed...strap the cooler down. I'm sure the bottom of that thing isn't pristine and it's picked up tons of stuff off the ground. Get a bed mat at minimum.

In my opinion, Toyota paint is pretty damn good. It was great on my Lexus, it's great on my Tundra, and it's better than my brother's 2017 F-150. A little bit of wax and good washing practices will help the paint look great for years.

 

Bed liner is next, complicated but I didn't have the $$ and dealer didn't throw it in.

 

Looking good D

 

I've painted just about everything under the sun and can say this about black tundras, what ever clown that program's the robot's for the clear on black doesn't put the clear thick enough on the first coat. The black makes the clear dry to quickly then in return it makes it orange peel. It was an overcast day the day i bought my truck and was dark by the time i got home, the next morning i was back at the dealership with a mouth full. Didnt get to far just had to suck it up in the end, will be giving it a clear coat in a year or so and never buy another vehicle from that dealership. Hopefully they have corrected the problem with the black. If your buying a black one have a reputable body shop look it over on your test drive.

 

Go to your Line-x dealer. The guys doing spray ins are giving them away. Or, craig list. Cheap! Beat’em up on price. Nothing to lose!

 

Or put a rubber mat down in the bed. That's what I did on mine. Stupid plastic bed liner that was factory did scratch the shit out of the bed floor and a couple spots on the fender humps though.