Maintenance Tips?

pc1990 said:

Hey guys I have black IS-F and the maintenance is killin' me. I could cope with washing it regularly. But the little scratches are heart breaking. I dont know where the hell they came from. but all these little scratches always popping up out of nowhere. Also I have Perma-Plate so Lexus can fix all the little scratches under that perma-plate deal right? One more thing any advice on protecting the car from so much dust! would be helpful.

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I can give advice on this from my own personal experience. The little scratches come from wiping the car with whatever you or your car wash guys are wiping it with. My best advice on black (I've owned a black vehicle now for almost 9 years) is to hand wash only with a microfiber sponge and dry with a CLEAN, NEW man made chamois. If you drop either the sponge or the chamois on the ground either throw it out or spray it off until you can't spray anymore. If you are hand washing, wash the wheels last with a completely different sponge. The brake dust contains small metallic pieces that will act like sandpaper on your paint! I also use a light liquid detailers wax on Most of the painted surfaces almost everytime I wash. It takes an extra 20-30 minutes but worth it. It fills in the small scratches. Microfiber towels are your best friend. Was the Perma-Plate something you got from your local dealer? I've not heard of it before.

I haven't heard of the Perma-plate program before but like SuperFreak said, it sounds like a dealership program.

One of the biggest things to keep the car clean is what Doug said, wash the car with clean hand sponges, use fresh microfiber towels or chamois', etc. I would even say if you really want to be particular you can use two buckets to wash your car, one with soap and one with clean water to wash off your sponge after you have washed an area of the car with it to keep the dirt from accumulating at the bottom of the soap bucket.

As for dust, honestly, I would say use some type of Meguiars Quick Detailer or like Doug said, a quick liquid wax. It helps repel dirt, protect against scratches and keeps it looking shiny. I use it after every time I wash.

Some people love the California Car Duster but I personally haven't used one. I was thinking about getting one but heard that it can cause some scratches if you get dirt or something in it or if you press it to hard on your paint

P.S. check your PM shortly

yeah i never heard the perma plate before but i heard of the 3XP program which is what i have i think its pretty much the same thing!, honestly its really hard to maintain any kind of dust or grime to the car!, i have it in a garage and its the same as if it was outside but its life who cares no one looks at that much detail into your car, no one else knows but you, honestly beginning right when i got the car i was so obesesed and i parked away from everyone and like did anything to get away from all other cars, the more i did that the more i found random scratches, but now i kind of changed and park normally but still leave a lot of room or sometimes take up two spots lol, and i don't get anything if u get minor scratches just buff it out and its like as if it was never there!, just dont worry about it really! just enjoy the car as long as you have it for, i mean obviously you want to look fly, but wash it once a week or once every two weeks, a car is bound to get dirty...enjoy it