So, I haven't posted forever, 'cause I can never remember the "new" password the system forced upon me, but hey, with enough wine, the memory came back.... So, yesterday, I was rotating my tires (first time and my car has 10,747 miles) and noticed that along the bottom of the car, the paint looks like it has goosebumps. Went to look at my husband's '03 Camry and no goosebumps...It was pretty warm, about 54 degrees, so I don't think that had anything to do with it....and I suppose all your '08 Prius' have the same goosebumps, but, and I gotta know, what is the point of it.... And yes, my original Goodyear Integrity tires are about 3/4 gone on the front tires, that I just switched to the back and about 1/3 gone on the back tires, that I just put on the front.... So looks to be about a 15K tire for me....
Are the bumps only on the lower panels? The lower panels have some sort of coating that makes them a little bumpy. Tom
Yeah, that's some sort of chip protection I think. My Subaru also had that kind of paint along the bottom of the doors. I've got 25K on my Integrity's and the tread is still good on them.... Nice to see you again
The orange peel on the rocker panel? Ya that's the anti-chip coating. I have no issues using a harder bristled brush to wash that area cause I know I won't scratch the paint. Our 02 Camry has the same effect in the rocker panel but not to the extent of the Prius.
Are you making your Prius sleep OUTSIDE?!? The poor thing is cold! Put a sweater on it! :welcome: [Yes, it's bumpy on purpose.]
The Prius has a very mild case of this compared to what my 05 Tundra had. That thing looked like it had Line-X sprayed on it.
Why do they refer to this area as a "rocker panel"? It doesn't cover any rockers. It's just a terminal body panel strip. And yes, the orange-peel finish I believe helps prevent chipping from small stones thrown out by the tires.
It's my opinion that "rocker panel" is actually a corruption of "Rock panel"... the panel that would catch flung up rocks from gravel roads. Hence the need for sturdier paint. Line-X is like spray on truck bed liner stuff.
It's a thick when sprayed polyurethane coating, so it doesn't flow into an even coating, hence the roughness. It's the same stuff as "Line-X" and others, though I'll bet Toyota will claim it's different and better. Polyurethane is epoxy. Epoxy paints are polyurethane. I'm not a chemist, but I believe "epoxy" refers to a two part chemical reaction that causes the polyurethane to harden or polymerize in an exothermic reaction.
This is not quiet correct. Epoxy and polyurethane are similar in some respects, but they are not the same. Epoxy covers a wide range of polymers optimized for differing uses. Polyurethane is the generic term for the cured product which is formed from a chemical reaction between a polyol resin and a polyisocyanate hardener. There are also single part polyurethane paints, which, unfortunately, are sold under names such as EasyPoxy, just to confuse consumers. Tom
