Toyota creates technology to paint over a car’s original colour

Toyota says it has created a new way to paint over a car’s original paint, allowing customers to change colours while protecting its exterior.

Toyota says customers can choose from more than 100 colours, according to news outlet Nikkei Asia, with a high-pressure water spray used to strip the temporary coat from the car without damaging the paint originally applied at the factory.

Normally, repainting a car is a labour-intensive job costing many thousands of dollars, though vinyl wrapping has increased in popularity in recent years as it allows the owner to keep and protect the car’s original paint.

The carmaker says the technology is due to owners wanting to retain their cars for longer, allowing them to keep their original paint protected and improving resale values.

While the average age of vehicles in Australia increased slightly to 10.6 years in 2021, motorists in Japan are now holding on to their cars for roughly 14 years.

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A high-pressure water spray will be used to remove the paint, similar to washing your car.

The new paint technology will be offered to customers using the Toyota-owned Kinto car subscription service in Japan.

Earlier this year, Kinto announced it was offering a restoration service for slightly older Toyota and Lexus models, whereby customers can get their cars refreshed, as well as getting the latest safety and technologies retrofitted.

There’s no word yet on pricing for the repainting from Kinto, but we recommend watching the 1997 Bruce Willis film The Jackal to get an idea of the process.