Metallic paint issues?

Bit of an urban myth, paint technology over the last 10 years has improved 10 fold.

New paint finishes are very durable and can take a fair knock.

All of Australia is in a high UV area.

Electronic rust devices will not make your paint last longer and for most people they are a waste of money.

All we do is was the 4x4 well and polish it every 3-4 months with a good polish.

All you have to do is watch out for bird droppings on the paint as it will eat down to the metal in some instances.

Also up north bat droppings. The bat droppings are like acid and worse than bird droppings. I would make it a point to wash all bat squirts off the car every morning or I would be looking at metal in a day or too.

David

Hi Matt,

The biggest problem for metallic paint is that it's not naturally glossy, so manufacturer's have to apply a clear-coat over it to get that nice shiny finish that we all like. I don't know why, but this clear coat seems to be a little less robust than a solid colour. Note that if the clear coat is lost/deteriorated, you will still have the protection of the metaliic paint, just not the nice glossy finish. It's true that paint technology has improved significantly, and I'd also expect your Toyota would have a better quality paint on it than some other cars around.

Keep it in the carport, out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, and out of the frost at night (probably not such an issue in the Pilbara!), clean the bugs, salt water spray, bird droppings, etc. off straight away and give it a good polish with a non-cutting polish at least twice a year and you'll keep your pride and joy looking good for a while yet.

As for the rust prevention, you might want to take a look at thread 69554 - from what they've said there, it seems those things actually accelerate paint deterioration.

I have a HDJ79R 2006 as well, with Partchment Metallic Paint.

It is covered normally, but always open to the air.

I have been on a few bush trips in it and it still polishes up to near new looking.

It has never been in a car wash, I always prefer to wash it by hand.

I have long forgotton how much extra it cost me, but I'm glad I chose the option.

Cheers
Alan

Just polish it with a quality polish twice a year and it will always look like new.