Lexus Starfire Pearl Tricoat (077) Touch Up Paint

The Look

Your GS350 or ES350 wears what many enthusiasts consider the gold standard of luxury whites. This color defines the era when Lexus moved away from the flatter, starker whites of the nineties and toward a finish with genuine depth. Since your car has likely been on the road for several years, you have probably noticed how the paint behaves differently in the sun compared to the shade. It is a warm, creamy tone that avoids looking yellow, but it is certainly not a simple "refrigerator white." This finish was designed to highlight the body lines of the GS430 and ES300 by catching light on the curves while holding a deep, soft glow in the recessed areas.

Technical Details

This is a pearl tricoat, which is the most sophisticated and challenging finish to replicate at home. Unlike a standard metallic that uses aluminum flakes for sparkle, a pearl finish uses translucent pigments that rely on light passing through multiple layers. The challenge here is the density of that middle pearl layer. If you apply it too thick with your nozzle or brush, the repair will appear darker or more "golden" than the rest of the panel. If you go too thin, the spot will look like a flat, chalky white patch. Matching this color is about building those translucent layers slowly rather than trying to cover the damage in one single pass.

Best Practices

You can find your paint code on the manufacturer's sticker located on the driver's side door jamb, usually listed next to the "C/TR" heading. Before you spray or dab Lexus Starfire Pearl Tricoat (check for code 077), you need to shake it for 60 seconds. The pearl pigments are heavier than the base paint and settle at the bottom of the container; without a full minute of mixing, your color will not match. Because this is a multi-step process, test the color on the included card to see exactly how many layers of the pearl mid-coat you need to reach the right depth. Always work in a cool garage or the shade to prevent the paint from drying too quickly. Keep the container moving at all times during application to ensure the pearl particles distribute evenly, and allow the full drying time between layers to prevent the finish from becoming muddy.