Is my dealer full of hot air? Re: Blizzard Pearl Paint

He's an idiot. Paint (for the most part - and especially OE paint) is paint! The pearl is a 3-stage process but it's just as susceptible to damage as any other color.

 

I am not an expert on paint, my response may not be correct.

Tougher I don't think so. Baked on maybe to a point, it is common place for a freshly painted car to pass through an oven to help to cure the paint faster. BP is a three part paint making it more labour intensive to paint and more expensive hence the $220 charge. The three parts are 1. Base coat, 2. Pearl coat, and lastly 3. Clear coat. The only thing I think is tougher with PB as compared to the other colors is repainting after collision damage or other body work.

Hope this helps and is accurate, someone else will square us away I am sure.

 

It is tougher, but not in the way he mentioned. . It's tougher to match if you ever wreck a portion of your car. Some of toyota's paint colors look very different in various lighting. Blizzard Pearl is one of those that drive body shops crazy.

 

Nope. Mine chips just as easily as any other car I've had.

 

He is right, to an extent.

White paint uses titanium dioxide as its pigment, which makes it more durable than most other colors. White paint is typically more durable because of this.

I worked with paint for a number of years.

 

I understand the pigment process w white but I'm willing to bet my newly acquired Prius that the dealer is not that clever/smart/educated/informed about the topic.

Chances are he's just an idiot.

 

You shouldn't write someone off like that, you might lose a prius.

 

since we're talking about rock chips & such, is there a 3M clear "mask' for the front bumper of the Gen III? I'd much rather prevent chips than try to deal with touchup paint later.

Since my car is still new & has no marks, this is the time to get one.

 

Yes. Do a search for it and you'll see several conversations about it. Price is about $700 +/- 10% for a professional installation, guy in a van who comes to your house is a bit cheaper than the Toyota dealer.

Typical install is entire front bumper, half the hood, the front edge of front fenders, door edge guards, mirrors and door handles.

 

I just had the 3M paint protection film installed on 2012 Prius IV. It is virtually invisible! I have the Pearl White, after one week of driving I had a stone chip in the bumper that exposed the black rubber. I had it fixed and decided that I needed to protect the paint. I love the 3M film. It cost $925 installed and will prevent future paint damage. The film has a 5 year warranty. If you are interested in having it done, go to the 3M paint protection website enter your zipe code and it will provide you with a list of certified installers. Hope this info helps.

 

Anything with metallic speckles ( reflective particles ) in the paint (e.g. Blue Ribbon) makes it difficult to repaint or touch up because its difficult to get the metallic speckles to look uniform. The exterior paint formula used on the Prius is *soft* and easy to scratch or scuff up and is the only thing sofar about the Prius - that makes me think "maybe I'll trade her in early..."

 

Yes he's an idiot and a liar, none of us know anything except how to rip people off and we use our lunch break to roll in all the money we steal from ignorant consumers every day.

On another note, not all colors Toyota offers have clear coat. Super White is one of them, Blizzard Pearl does get clear however. My opinion, all of our paint sucks because it's too soft and too thin. However, you would be happy to know, or you will just say I'm lying, all Master Certified technicians can submit DPR's (Dealer Product Reports) about quality issues be it paint, interior, mechanical, etc. Anything we feel doesn't live up to Toyota quality. I've lost count of how many I have submitted. And no they don't get lost in the trash bin at TMC. I toured the engine plant here in WV a couple years ago and on their bulletin board was a DPR concerning an oil leak which was then corrected on the assembly line. They DO listen, but if you're a jerk I could care less if you get your car fixed. If you're respectful and APPRECIATIVE I will go out of my way to help a customer. That is all, carry on.

PC36100 ? 2

 

All dealers are liars and scumbags. Do not forget this when you are buying the car or taking it in for service. If their lips are moving they are lying.

 

A vehicle can be painted with lots of flex additive in the paint to make it more durable. I bought a new Mazda in 1992 which ended up getting tons of chips on the front end so the dealer repainted the whole front clip under warranty with what they told me lots of flex additive added to the paint so it will be more durable, and it was.

Mike

 

Actually ALL colours and types of modern automotive paint use clearcoat. It's used because that's the only way they can seal the water based colour coat. All automotive paint is now water based for environmental reasons.

So -WE'RE- to blame for the poor paint!

 

Yes this is true, we thrive in your ignorance. My lips were moving when I typed that so......

PC36100 ? 2

 

No, they don't.

PC36100 ? 2

 

Maybe you are not reading all the post here of dealers lying to customers. The worse is the service department. They are always selling unnecessary maintenance. Dealer always try to sell you items that are not in the scheduled maintenance. They are scumbags.