[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

To ceramic or not to ceramic.

Need the inputs of experts here.

The 3M PPC on Bagheera is now 5 years old. I am thinking of removing it entirely and having ceramic coating done. Both the removal and ceramic will be done by Lexus at their service centre. the ceramic comes with a 3 year warranty from Lexus.

Has anyone done this before. My concerns are on (i) the paint peeling off in parts; (ii) the glue of the 3M PPC getting stuck on the paint and needing to be removed (iii) the two - PPC first, ceramic later may not be compatible. Lexus said they have not encountered this before. Either I'm a fool or a high risk taker or both. I'm talking to the experts at Lexus to see what is feasible if at all. Inputs will be deeply appreciated.

In my opinion, leave it as it is.

If the PPF is damaged in places, then replace the PPF only in that area. By removing the PPF and ceramic coating the paint, you lose the the excellent protection offered by the PPF. Agreed, you do lose out on the looks. The PPF looks plasticky. That is a tradeoff I would be happy with compared to little or no protection offered by Ceramic coating against impacts.

Paint peeling off when removing the PPF is a possibility mainly if the fiber parts(Bumpers) are repainted. Very less chance of paint peeling from metal panels even if repainted.

Also, PPF can be polished. Just like paint. Check with 3M if their PPF supports that. If so you can get the PPF polished to remove that dullness from one of the many reputed detailers across NCR

[V.Narayan]

After some homework, some not perfect, I've decided to have to plastic film of 3M removed and replaced with a ceramic treatment. All by Lexus. I'll take the risk of the paint peeling off - it may, it may not. More as we progress.

[V.Narayan]

All the 3M film has been removed. thank fully {fingers crossed, touch wood,} no paint peeling took place. I've requested Lexus to search for tiny scratches and see if they can be touched up before the ceramic coating is laid over. The process of removing the 3M film took 2 working days {don't know how many man hours}. Photos below of the car after the 3M film was peeled off. So far so good.

The 3M film, Lexus's high quality of the original paint work and careful driving has helped keep the paint in almost new condition 5+ years later.

Today they start on the pre-treatment for the ceramic. More updates follow.

[Turbanator]

Not sure, if removing the PPF is a right thing or not. My LC, that had 3 M PPF too ( though charged as self healing type- turned out regular only) was dull with swirl marks/ scratches all over. I sent the car to Dazzle guys and they did a fabulous job by cleaning and polishing existing PPF. Will post some pictures in relevant thread.

[V.Narayan]

The 3M film has been fully removed. After that the surface needed to be treated to remove the residue of the glue. Pictures post that stage. Tomorrow the car will undergo a wash to get it ready for the ceramic treatment. Update follows EoD tomorrow.

[V.Narayan]

The pre-ceramic treatment is done. Over Saturday and Sunday they will finish the ceramic coating and deliver Bhageera on Monday. I'm relieved the original factory paint did not peel off - maybe it is a function of Lexus's original quality of factory painting and the skill of the workmen at their ASS shop. The original paint work was examined carefully and did not need any touch up paint either. Fingers crossed, so far so good. If this comes off well then it shall give old faithful's good looks another 3 to 4 years of life hopefully.

Time permitting I'll do a photo shoot on Monday/Tuesday to show off Bhageera the purple panther

[V.Narayan]

Bagheera’s gets its 7th servicing and a shiny new ceramic coating

Bagheera is back. The experiment with removing the 3M film and then applying ceramic coating all over has proved to be a success. Even Toyota/Lexus were not sure about the original paint peeling off when the 3M was removed. In between the two there was a stage of cleaning and preparing the surface for the ceramic. Fortunately car did not need any touch up paint. I was surprised because I expected at least some touch up work at the for corners at the extreme. Credit to my driver for the care with which he drives. Maybe some credit to me too. The entire ceramic exercise cost Rs 79,000 before tax. The Lexus ceramic job comes with a 3 year warranty. Interestingly the 3M job was around Rs 1.5 lakhs.

The car also underwent its 7th servicing as it was close to its 12-month time cycle. The main job that needed addressing was replacement of the rear left shock absorber which had started giving a khat-khat sound. That replacement cost Rs 28,000 plus tax. This is the first major component changed in the Lexus in 65 months. We also changed the carpets which set me back by another Rs 27,000. Steep I thought but then I was reminded of today's generation's phrase YOLO.

Total expenditure on the Lexus’s maintenance thus far is now totalling to Rs 295,000 or Rs 5.26 per kms or Rs 4538 per month. This includes the change of all 4 tyres on completing 3.5 years. I’m not including the original 3M film or the ceramic coating as both those are non-engineering items unrelated to reliability. Including them the gross outflow thus far comes to ~Rs 525,000.

My thanks to brother BHPians for their advice and suggestions - @Turbanator and @ Sagarpadaki.

All told I’m as happy as a kid in a candy store.

Next two minor jobs are to get the leather on the driver's seat restored or replaced and fit a new front number plate. The current one has curved up a bit and doesn't do justice to the car.

[psispace]

Bagheera’s gets its 7th servicing and a shiny new ceramic coating

Bagheera is back. The experiment with removing the 3M film and then applying ceramic coating all over has proved to be a success

Congrats on that. She looks good as new now.

The entire ceramic exercise cost Rs 79,000 before tax. The Lexus ceramic job comes with a 3 year warranty.

Thats' incredible value.

Total expenditure on the Lexus’s maintenance thus far is now totalling to Rs 295,000 or Rs 5.26 per kms or Rs 4538 per month.

All told I’m as happy as a kid in a candy store.

No wonder ! Thats' incredibly low maintenance cost for a car of this class. Speaks volumes of their reliability. Wish you many more happy miles.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by psispace

Congrats on that. She looks good as new now.

No wonder ! Thats' incredibly low maintenance cost for a car of this class. Speaks volumes of their reliability. Wish you many more happy miles.

Thank you dear @psispace for your kind words and good wishes. The car has been running less than usual due to 18 months of covid19 or else the 7th service should have been at the 70,000 kms mark and not the current 57,000 kms odd mileage. That would have meant an even lower cost/kms. Volvo's service, which we both enjoy, is very good but Lexus is at another level altogether. I hope they stay that way. The reliability of the car plus the fuss free state of the ASS is what makes them attractive and every time I salivate looking at a Merc's royale stance I remind myself of these factors.

I'm toying with the thought of coaxing Lexus to do the 3M film removal + ceramic for my Volvo XC60. They are a bit uneasy the XC60 being of another brand but let's see. The engineer in charge at Lexus Mr Sanjay Baluni who led this job and has looked after my car these 5 years said that to best of Lexus's knowledge this is the first case they have known of removing the 3M film and applying a ceramic coat on it.

[BhayanaV]

Next two minor jobs are to get the leather on the driver's seat restored or replaced and fit a new front number plate. The current one has curved up a bit and doesn't do justice to the car.[/quote]

How would you order a new number plate, isn't it HSRP?

[sagarpadaki]

From the pics, it looks like the number plate plastic frame is bent. Not the number plate itself? Won't fixing new frame solve the issue?

[Hashed]

Congratulations, Bagheera looks as good as new, hats off to your maintenance! (and probably speaks to the high quality of the product and ASS).

I’m curious about your comment on the driver’s seat needing a refurbishment. Does it just need freshening up, or has the leather actually degraded? I would have expected the leather to hold up well for 10+ years; is it possible to share any pics to understand the extent of wear and tear?

[Jeroen]

Great, nice to see this car being looked after so well. I have never owned a Lexus, but I have always admired them. A bit understated (which I like), drives and handles really well. Extremely well build and lasts you a life time.

You argue about looks but from a technical, reliability and durability point of view Lexus is a class of its own. Somehow the market seems to undervalue this brand by a mile.

Enjoy your car for many more years to come!

Jeroen

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by BhayanaV

Next two minor jobs <>

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Won't fixing new frame solve the issue?

Originally Posted by Hashed

I’m curious about your comment on the driver’s seat needing a refurbishment.

Only the holder of the number plate needed to be changed. Done & dusted. The leather of the seat per se is okay but dirt marks have seeped in only on the driver's seats' edges. The regular cleaning, they do doesn't seem to fix it. Several Team BHPians had rendered advice earlier on. Now I'll put that into action.

[Maky]

Thanks for sharing V.Narayan.
A few questions..

-The service/ownership costs you quoted, how do they compare to if you had brought an equivalent Merc/BMW/Audi?

-The car looks quite low, atleast in pictures, you no scrapping issue whatsoever through the life of the car though?

Thanks! : )