4Runner paint quality?

[jordan57]

I've had my Trailhunter a year now, and have about 12K miles, including a fair amount of highway, some dirt roads but not serious off roading, and a New England winter. I'm noticing small (about 1mm square) pits in the paint on the hood and sides. I presume this is from small bits of stone being kicked up and hitting my rig. I would have thought the paint would have stood up to this for some number of years?

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[SNDR]

Yes the paint is very thin. Even a paint a few mils thicker would chip. This isn't solely a Toyota problem. We did have a heavy winter, so I'd say it's mostly from salt bits hitting the paint.

Only sure way to protect it is with PPF.

 

[John2112]

I've had my Trailhunter a year now, and have about 12K miles, including a fair amount of highway, some dirt roads but not serious off roading, and a New England winter. I'm noticing small (about 1mm square) pits in the paint on the hood and sides. I presume this is from small bits of stone being kicked up and hitting my rig. I would have thought the paint would have stood up to this for some number of years?

They are using very thin coats of paint and what you or experiencing is typical. I tried ceramic coating when I first got it a year ago but that didn't help. The only way to protect it is to wrap it it with ppf or like when going to do is go to a quality paint job and put some good paint on it.

 

[Trose_808]

My fender flares came color matched and boy was the paint job piss poor. Toyota is starting to prove to me that quality has gone down hill. To make matters worst we are paying a pretty penny for these rigs and this is the finished product we are getting. Unbelievable.

 

[SteveS]

As others have stated and discussed in other threads, the paint is soft and poorly applied. I saw my 4R arrive at the dealer. I explicitly said, DO NOT DETAIL. They did.

swirl marks ans scratches all over.

My first and last Toyota.

 

[JD013]

Toyota's paint is extremely thin. If you look at it, it chips. Some colors worse than others. The 4th gen Tacoma I traded in for my 4runner had around 15k on it. Due to alot of highway driving, it had a fair amount of chips on the front end. Honda's paint is no different and maybe even worse. It all has to do with how the paint is applied these days.

 

[MKM_56]

I think by cheapening out on the paint coverage maybe they’re saving $100 to $150 in paint. Everything that they’re eliminating and making cheaper omitting altogether Toyota probably just think that people can just buy it in the aftermarket just like the engine cover, steel or aluminum skid plate cover or PPF your vehicle if you want added paint protection. Just wanted to add my black paint I think it’s pretty flawless. Don’t see any defects in the paint at all.

 

[NotApplicable]

If you go to any forum for any mainstream manufacturer you'll see this exact thread

 

[JD013]

If you go to any forum for any mainstream manufacturer you'll see this exact thread

This is the truth. This isn't a problem specific to Toyota. The way paint is applied today is much different than how it used to be applied. It's much softer and prone to chipping.

 

[Gator 22]

And if you actually take it off road regularly, all the well earned scars will be a lot worse. Don't worry so much and have fun.

 

[CO/ZA]

100% of the Japanese brands use cheap, thin paint.

If you go look at paint on Fords, Volkswagen, and the other German brands it's immediately apparent that it's thicker and better quality.

Toyota, Nissan, etc. still use primitive paint techniques relatively speaking - like people actually hand spraying paint on the Tacoma line in the door jambs and other areas.

Whereas companies like BMW, VW, M-B, etc. use cermaic infused, scratch resistant paint applied by robots only after they've dusted the chassis with emu feathers and do a full dip & tumble in electrostatic solution with galvanized steel panels.

 

[js_panda_rnr]

I chipped a piece of paint off of my roof this weekend while removing the plastic roof rail cover. A piece of plastic, not sharp at all, rubbed a spot of paint right off. Terrible.

 

[Nodak]

This is the truth. This isn't a problem specific to Toyota. The way paint is applied today is much different than how it used to be applied. It's much softer and prone to chipping.

its because they changed the base component of paint from oil to water base to be more environmentally safer.

 

[Watty7400]

I had these issues with my 2007 Impreza, 2011 F150, 2012 Acura TSX, and 2018 Mustang GT. When I talked to my buddies father who has had an auto body shop in the family for 50+ years, he said paint is more fragile now because of the plastic fenders that aren’t as rigid as metal fenders which is why you would often see an old car rust before seeing pain chipping. Apparently, that small bit of flex is just enough to impact the bond of the paint/primer. Seems to make sense to me because my 4Runner has a couple small front bumper chips but a rock was slung from my tire and hit just behind my rear window, and that looks like 90% could be buffed out. And this was a rock probably the size of a nickel.

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