muffalones

Yeah, the 2010 is a big improvement over the earlier models. My brother bought an '09 a few months ago. He says he doesn't care, but I think he is really kicking himself for not waiting. What he really hates are all the goofy treehugger commercials toyota makes for the prius. Not everyone interested in a prius is a freak. Those commercials are just embarrassing.

Wow, that looks great and really unique (in the US). I would love to get one of those. Was it hard to replace the grill?

Thanks. I wanted the grain to show through, but after putting one coat of the tint on I didn't like how it looked so I put another on to cover it up. I'm surprised it still looks as good as it does.

I just saw one today. It wasn't as nice looking as I thought it would be. It looks like it should be wider and I thought it was going to be a little bigger from photos I've seen online. It's still a million times better than a prius. I always thought those looked like mini-minivans.

Here are some pictures of the wood pieces around the shifter knob I painted. I'm extremely happy with how it turned out, but now I really need to paint the rest of the trim to match. I think the wood on the steering wheel looks awful in comparison.

Wow, that looks great! I love the dual-exhaust.

Not raining, humidity: 91%. Supposed to rain the next 3 days. wtf. Just to make sure: put 2 light coats of clear 10 minutes apart then 1 medium wet coat 10 minutes later, let dry, THEN wetsand w/ 1500 grit paper and repeat? Can says "Dries to touch in 30 min, can be handled in 1 hour". Should I wetsand then or wait longer? thanks, I'm sure I'm starting to get on your nerves with all these questions. :)

This has all gotten a bit personal and we're way off topic now. Cduluk I would definitely pay you to help me refinish the wood in my car if I lived anywhere near you. You do really nice work and I'm sure plenty of people would love for you to refinish the wood in their lexus too. I really do appreciate all the (free) help though. If I can ever figure something out maybe I would take you up on refinishing the steering wheel in my car (if I have enough money... :P ). Back on topic, I'm praying it doesn't rain all day tomorrow like it did today so the humidity will go down and I can start the painting.

If it was something that I disliked so much that I considered spray painting over it and buying a cheap auto parts store wheel cover to hide then I absolutely would not purchase the car. Of course its a factor. A Lexus is not an economy purchase and its a luxury item, I would no sooner buy one that had something that disgusted me so than I would buy furniture that I didn't like or buy a shirt in a color I hated just because it was on sale... These cars are everywhere pre-owned, and you have to live with the purchase for a long time. I simply do not understand why you would buy something you hated...instead of saying "I love my Lexus" every morning when you get into it you immediately say "I hate that wood..." Not me... Dude I'm sorry if I offended you or something. Since you seem so interested in my reasoning I'll explain: Before I bought this car I had bought an 07 camry (new) and loved it. Everything about that car was perfect. About 8 months ago I hurt my back pretty badly and I haven't been able to work since. I still was able to go to school and I commute almost an hour each way to get there. The camry was way too uncomfortable after my injury and even my physical therapist and doctor recommended I get a more comfortable car (SUV) since I can't move closer to school as my wife has a good job nearby. I test drove about 15 different SUVs (and sat in many more) and the RX was the best by far. Only thing is that not all used RXs have good seats for me. Some are worn in certain places, some are too firm, some are not firm enough. I sat in I don't know how many RXs and this one was the best. There is no way I could have bought this model (year) if I didn't get the deal I did. I still took a beating having to sell my camry and get this, but I think I can afford $50-$100 to make the car more to my liking. So I don't like the wood and want to paint it. Who cares. I do love my Lexus (I'm posting on the lexus owners club forums for god's sake) and I was exaggerating when I said I "hate" the light wood color. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I won't stop talking about how great this car is and it has definitely helped my back and pelvis get a little better. In fact I'm starting back at work next week. I don't think I'll ever buy a different brand! And did you even look at the wood piece cduluk painted black with the tint? It looks awesome!

I found the tinter and everything at a local superstore. I still need to get some acetone and I guess you use 3M scratch remover to polish. Thank god I didn't buy everything from autozone because I went there later and everything was about double the price. The clearcoat I got was Dupli-Color Truck, Van and SUV clear top coat. The guy I talked to at autozone said it should be good and liked the idea of the tinter but said to only be really careful to not use too much and it can be messy as hell. My last questions before starting: When putting on the clear I obviously will need to put on a few coats. Any idea of how many coats, how long to let it dry in between, and do I actually wetsand it in between coats? The can says to apply 2 light coats and then a medium coat all 10 minutes apart, but thats obviously for a car's exterior. Do I need to use the oven to force dry the clear since I'm using the spray-can or maybe I could blow dry it? Would I do this for each coat? Obviously I don't know crap about doing this :D . I was a painter for a couple of years so you'd think I'd know more, but this is pretty different I guess. I took my car to the mechanic this afternoon to get a little work done and I should have it back in the afternoon tomorrow to start painting. Thanks for all the help. I'll try to take pictures.

I'm going to try and find some of that tinting paint tomorrow and try and start the shifter pieces. It may be a while before I have time to do the doors. School starts up again soon and I'm heading back to work in a week . I'm going to have to go with the spray-can clearcoat and hope it works since I don't have an airbrush (or much money). I don't have a machine polisher either, maybe I can rent one somewhere. Thanks for all the help.

Wow, that looks amazing. I can't believe you did that. Thanks! Of course I have some questions: :D Do you think it would still look that good if I just leave the panels in the car and use the use the clearcoat in a spray can? Do I need to use a machine polisher? Any tips on masking off the car interior? My wife will kill me if I get any paint anywhere else. Can't thank you enough!

The shifter knob is from a RX330 Thundercloud Edition. The color is black birdeye and its all wood. I guess it's slightly grey, I think it looks pretty black though. I wish I could post a picture. I do like that walnut wood a lot. I think black will look fine though and it will be very unique. By the way, would I have to sand the panels before applying the tinting paint (or at any other time)? Thanks again for all the help. Most forums are usually full of people telling you that you're retarded for asking anything.

I got a great deal on the car! It was from a Lexus dealer nearby that was planning on detailing it and selling it for a lot more than the price I paid for it. They already had it listed online for $2500 more, but since I had already been out to look at it they negotiated from the cheaper price (without detailing) and I got them to take another $600 off. It was much cheaper ($1000) than any other other RX from the same year with similar mileage that I could find online.

Dude you are so helpful. Silver is a really good idea. The reason I was thinking black was because I already bought a black shifter knob. I couldn't stand the (orange) light wood knob that didn't even match the other wood in the car or the tan interior. I have little to no experience painting something like this so I am worried about the staining. I was just going to paint the trim around the shifter knob black and do the rest of the wood later, but the silver may be better. Either way there is both silver and black around the stereo so it shouldn't look too bad. Removing the factory clearcoat looks awful to do, so the steering wheel is probably just getting a cover. Maybe I should get a piece of trim to practice on. Any idea what kind of paint or clearcoat to use? Thanks. God, I'm jealous of your car.....

Thanks that was super easy. I didn't even need to use a screwdriver. Now if I could just get the guts to paint/stain those panels. I hate the light wood. I was thinking of painting them black and putting on quite a few coats of clearcoat to get it real glossy. I'm a little worried it will look cheap though. Any ideas?

That is the best looking wood trim I have ever seen! I wish I had gone with the black interior after seeing your car. I just had one question. How do you get the trim panels off around the shift knob? I'm scared I'm going to break them. thanks.