DavidB

If you have washed it a few times, the stain may now be set and permanent. You can give it one las shot with Stoner XENIT. I have had good luck getting ink out of carpet and fabric with XENIT. db

The final finish after a re-paint or repair has a lot more to do with the "blend" than anything else. Most body shops (95%) use a rotary buffer and a wool cutting pad to buff both the new paint and the ajoining panels of original paint to bring old and new paint to the same level of finish (gloss and texture). On solid color paints, the clear coat makes very little different in the final finish. However... over time, in particular if the car is heavily exposed to the sun, the clearcoat and non clearcoat finishes will fad differently. This difference is most noticable on red. Black and white are less of a problem. FYI, all most all paint systems available today are multi-stage finishes (primer, color, clear). Most painters like using a clear because it hides a multitude of repair sins. db

The easy solution is Detailing Clay. It is specifically designed to remove this kind of paint contamination without damaging the paint. In your case, super hot metal and brake pad particles are striking the paint and fusing. The orange is oxidation. You should get the problem fixed ASAP or you'll be looking at a paint job and new brakes! David

Hi Rusty, If you can post pics it would help diagnose the problem. Leather should not have a white lining. Are you sure the portion scratched is leather and not vinyl? Most leathers don't fade unless the leather has been highly exposed to UV. The most likely problem is that the leather is bone dry. When the leather dries it expands causing the leather to look lighter in color. Try hydrating the leather with several back-to-back applications of leather conditioner. If the Zymol product is not getting the job done, you might try our Sonus brand (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-610.html), which I have used to restore many different leather products. David

For the stains, give 303 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner a try. I used it inside the house a few weeks ago when the kids spilled grape juice on my new white carpets. Stain gone! On the leather, if you like you leather to be a nice satin finish, rather than glossy, I recommend the 1Z Leather Care. You will need to repeat application 2-3 times on the dry areas (one a week for a few weeks) to restore softness. db

I will see if I can get a place and propose a date.

I am aware of a few cases of a water blade causing damage. In each case the person was misusing the device. Running the blade over a dry surface or using it on a car that was less than perfectly clean. All users should know there is some risk, but the risk is minimal if you follow the simple usage guidelines. db

No problem... I live in the great state of confusion!

Thanks for the warm welcome! One of our recent customers works in the Toyota/Lexus corportate leasing department in Irvine, CA. I asked him how big the So. Cal. market is and he indicated that it was the largest single Toyota/Lexus market in the world. I suspect we would not have a problem getting quite a few Lexus owners for a meeting. What if I could get use of the Meguiar's classroom facility in Irvine? They have classroom space for about 25 and a nice detailing garage. db

Hello Lexus Fans! As many of you know, the LexusCarCare.com store was created specifically to support this community forum. Everyone at The Perfect Shine, LLC appreciates your business. In the spirit of community, we are offering LexusOwnersClub.com members a 15% discount on all orders over $20 through Feb 1, 2004. Please use the coupon "LCC" at checkout. For a limited time, we would also like to make our detailing guide (Autopia Guide to Detailing) available as a free download. I have created a special version for LexusOwnersClub.com members. Links in the book lead back to lexuscarcare.com, which supports this site. To download the ebook (MS Windows format), browse to http://lexuscarcare.com/lib/lexuscarcare/AGTDLCC.EXE and save the file to your Windows Desktop. Click on the car icon to run. To view all chapters, please register your copy. Your name/email will only be used to notify you of new versions (2-3 times a year). A future version will be specific to LexusOwnersClub.com with all Lexus pictures and information. I am available as a resource to your club. I don't know it all, but detailing and making cars beautiful is my passion. I've probably make every mistake and have seen every possible problem. So, in that regard I've been around the block. If you have a Lexus specific question, I have the resources to find the answers. If enough people are interested, I'd be happy to host a Lexus Detailing Day in So. California. Thank you! David

I have created a special version of my detailing guide for LexusOwnersClub.com members to download (free). The book normally sells for $14.95. The links in the book lead back to lexuscarcare.com, which supports this site. To download the ebook (MS Windows format), browse to http://lexuscarcare.com/lib/lexuscarcare/AGTDLCC.EXE and save the file to your Windows Desktop. Click on the car icon to run. To view all chapters, please register your copy. Your name/email will only be used to notify you of new versions (2-3 times a year). A future version will be specific to LexusOwnersClub.com with all Lexus pictures and information. Enjoy! David Bynon

Generally speaking, if you can feel it with a finger nail, it's not going to come out all the way. Technically, if the scratch has not penetrated the clear coat into the color coat, you should be able to remove all visible signs of the scratch. To do so requires two grades of polish: a fine rubbing compound (scratch remover) and a gloss enhancing paint polish to restore full gloss. db

Meg #20 is not a cleaner/wax. It has been around for more than 15 years, and is still one of the best products they make. It is quite durable, easy to use and provides a very nice shine. Due to the level of solvent in #20 it cannot be layered (it simply removes itself). However, you can apply #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax over #20 for a great look. db

I clean my engines 2-3 times a year. I've not had a problem since 1978 when I was driving an old FIAT Spyder that did not like having a wet distributor. Since then, I always dried after washing with a compressor or a vacuum (http://www.lexuscarcare.com/mvc-vnb-83ba.html). If you're not familiar with engine cleaning, you might want to start here: http://www.lexuscarcare.com/inf-engine.html BTW: I recently started using a product from Meguiar's called Engine Kote. It's only available in their professional line, but it's well worth getting. It's a great replacement for the wax the manufacturer sprays on the engine at the factory. It comes in gallons and you simply pour it off into a sprayer. After cleaning and allowing to dry, spray on everything under the hood and allow to dry... DO NOT WIPE! Your engine will be perfect.

This is really interesting. I'm not aware of very many dealers preping cars with clay before delivery. This speaks volumes for your dealer that they go to this level of prep on their new cars. I think all dealers should do it to remove transportation contamination before delivery to the customer. Most new cars a filthy by the time they get to the dealer. Last weekend I needed to wax my gf's new car (a used VW Passat). The paint is in good shape, but it needed cleaning before I could wax. It was a cool day (57 degrees), and I was having a hard time with the clay being hard, so I tried something new. I filled my wash bucket with warm water and added a normal amount of car wash shampoo. I tossed the clay in the wash bucket for a minute and it was as easy as can be to mold. I simply used by wash mitt in one hand to lubricate and the clay in the other to clean. It worked great. I rinsed 2-3 times as I went, but I had the whole car clayed in about 10 minutes. It was fast. db