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Lexus ES300h: 3M PPF removal for ceramic coating & 7th service update

2nd September 2022, 11:33 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

Total expense on the car's maintenance so far has been Rs 2.95 lakh or Rs 5.26 per km or Rs 4,538 per month. This is excluding PPF & ceramic coating.

BHPian V.Narayan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

All the 3M film has been removed. Thankfully (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' high quality of the original paintwork and careful driving has helped keep the paint in almost new condition 5+ years later.

Now they will start on the pre-treatment for the ceramic.

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. Next, the car will undergo a wash to get it ready for the ceramic treatment.

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' original quality of factory painting and the skill of the workmen at their ASS shop. The original paintwork 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.

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, the car did not need any touch-up paint. I was surprised because I expected at least some touch-up work on the 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 the 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 Lexus’ maintenance thus far is now 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.

The 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.