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Toyota paint code
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Still need help? Call us at 971-770-2372 or email us at CustomerService@ERAPaints.com
Toyota Touch Up Paint: Finding Your Paint Code, Color Matching, Applying Paint, and Essential Tips and Tricks
Not everyone knows how easy it is to fix scratches, dents, dings and rock chips on your Toyota yourself. You don’t have to go to a body shop to get your Toyota OEM paint looking factory new. You can buy perfectly matched Toyota touch up paint and fix your car yourself. Read through our straightforward how-to and you’ll be able to restore your SUV, sedan, hybrid or truck to its original finish in no time and at a fraction of the cost.
The Ultimate DIY Toyota Body Work Guide for 2020
If you have questions about Toyota touch up paint, then you’ve come to the right place. ERA Paints comprehensive guide on DIY Toyota repair will walk you through everything you need to know to fix scratches, dings, dents, and rock chips.
Whether your Barcelona Red Camry needs work near the bumper, your Super White Tacoma needs help on the hood, or you just want to know the paint code for your Blue Crush Metallic Prius, we’ve got you covered. Already know you want Magnetic Gray Metallic for your 4Runner. Easy!
In this Toyota paint how to guide we’ll cover everything:
- How to find your Toyota paint code yourself?
- How quickly and easily can you fix chips or scratches on any Toyota?
- Which touch up product should you buy (Toyota paint pens, spray paint or touch up bottle)?
- What supplies will you need to do the Toyota touch up job yourself?
- How much money can you save if you fix your car paint yourself?
- Special precautions to take when working with DIY auto paint.
- What are the most popular Toyota paint colors we sell?
If you have a question about Toyota touch up paint that isn’t answered here, check our FAQ, our videos, or give us a call 971-770-2372! We have legendary customer service and are always ready to help out.
How to Find Your Toyota Paint Code
On a lot of cars, finding the paint code is like looking for a lost treasure. But not so with Toyota. On every Toyota, there is a color ID number on the inside of the driver’s side door jamb.
Time needed: 3 minutes.
It’s very easy to find the color code for your OEM Toyota paint. Just follow these steps:
- Open the Driver’s Side Door
- Look for the metal plate bolted to the door jamb The door jamb is the part of the door that you can’t see when the car door is shut.
- Examine that metal plate. Look for the code, “C/TR” The metal plate has a lot of codes and numbers that refer to features of your car. On a Toyota, the prefix of the exterior color is always “C/TR”
- Your Toyota paint code is the first three characters (numbers and/or letters) that follow “C/TR” Those three numbers and/letters are the code for your paint color. Example: 040/40 Super White, 202 Black or 4Q2 Desert Sand Mica
- Always order auto paint by the paint code; never by the color name. The color name can be the same for different paint formulas! Be sure to find your color code to order OEM matched touch up and spray paint!
Where on the VIN (the metal plate bolted to the door jamb) is that “C/TR” code?
Look at the VIN plate and find the code: C/TR. The paint code is the first three numbers and letters that follow. You can ignore everything else.
Our how-to video goes through finding the Toyota paint code step-by-step. We also have videos on YouTube for every single car manufacturer if you are looking for other paint codes.
Car companies use a lot of different names for the same paint color. The paint on your sedan might be called Moon Gray, while the same company’s truck line with the same paint code might be named Maximum Gray. But despite the different names, the code and the formula for the paint will always be the same. Once you have the right paint code, ordering touch-up paint that matches your OEM genuine Toyota paint is simple.
If you can’t find your paint code in the door jam, there are three alternative easy ways to find out your color.
- Use our color code drop-down to look up your Toyota truck, car, van or SUV.
- Call Toyota customer service: 1 (800) 331-4331.
- Call your dealer and give them your VIN. They can look your color code up for you.
How quickly and easily can you fix chips or scratches on any Toyota?
It doesn’t matter if you are fixing your Rav4, Tacoma, Corolla, Camry, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, or Sienna. The steps for fixing any Toyota will be the same. The big question you might be asking is: can you really do it yourself?
The answer is, yes! You absolutely can fix scratches and rock chips on your Toyota yourself and without going to a body shop. How easy is it? In less than an hour and fifteen minutes of work and a day of drying, your Prius, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, Tundra, or whatever Toyota you drive, will look brand new again.
Here are the basic steps and the time needed to apply touch up paint:
- Prepare your Toyota for touch up paint. (Total time: 15 minutes.)
- Hand sand the scratch area with 600 grit sandpaper. (Total time: 25 minutes.)
- Apply two medium coats of primer. (Total time: 5 minutes per coat, one hour dry time.)
- Apply two medium coats of Toyota touch up paint. (Total time: 5 minutes, 40 minutes to dry.)
- Spray the repair with clear coat 3 times. (Total time: 15 minutes, dry 10 minutes between each.)
- Let your Toyota repair dry for about a day.
We have detailed instructions here. And we have how-to videos for Toyota on YouTube. Also, when you order, your paint will come with simple-to-follow instructions. Equally, our legendary customer support is just a phone call away if you want help or pointers.
What form of paint should you choose to fix your Toyota?
When you are buying touch up paint, you basically have three choices:
- Paint Pens
- Aerosol Can Auto Paints
- Paint Bottles and Dabbers
Paint Pens for touch up work? NOPE!
What about automotive touch up paint pens for your Toyota? We don’t sell them and for good reason. The truth is, paint pens don’t match OEM colors very well and the ink blobs up as you work. As if that weren’t enough, they are not advised for anything larger than the tiniest chips. But the worst thing about paint pens is that if you are applying a metallic paint (like retouching a Falcon Gray Metallic Toyota Corolla or a Sandy Beach Metallic Toyota Sequoia) the pen will not lay the metallic flakes down correctly. If we can’t stand behind a product, we won’t sell it.
We don’t sell paint pens because we can’t stand behind them. Quality means everything to us at ERA Paints.
What About Aerosols versus Bottles?
When you are trying to decide between paint bottles and aerosol paint, the choice really comes down to how much paint you need, and what you are fixing. Brush-in-bottle paints are good for scratches or rock chips smaller than a dime or if you have a lot of smaller chips or scratches. If you are fixing a larger scratch or large surface areas, spray cans are best. For example, if you are redoing an entire bumper or hood, you’ll want to get multiple spray cans (3 to 8 depending on how large your project is.) Note that unlike some competitors who sell 10-ounces, our Toyota OEM color matched paints come in 12-ounce cans (by volume) so you get much more for your money.
What supplies are needed to DIY paint your Toyota?
You don’t need much to fix the paint on your car yourself. Unless your car has an unusual problem (and you need putty) the supplies you’ll need to touch up your Toyota yourself are:
- Primer
- OEM Matched Color (Spray or Brush-in-Bottle Paint)
- Clear coat
- Wax and Grease Remover
- Soap and Water
- 600 Grit Sand Paper
- Masking Tape
- Newspapers and old rags
- Spray Can Trigger Grip (optional, but very helpful.)
- Nitrile gloves
- Scuff Pad
If you want to save some money, you can buy a Toyota kit that bundles all of the essentials together. When you buy a kit, we pass the savings on to you.
Our kit includes everything you need. If you only want color matched paint, be sure to also get clear coat or the result won’t have that factory shine.
DIY is way cheaper than a body shop for rock chips, scratches, superficial paint damage, and bumper scrapes.
How much would the same paint job cost you at an auto body shop?
Don’t take your car to a body shop for the little stuff. Sure, a body shop is worth it for the big stuff, but the value just isn’t there for smaller paint jobs. According to insurance.com, body shops charge between $150 and $900 out of pocket for rock chip repair and repainting. Unlike body shops, you can do it yourself for the much more reasonable cost of $40 and $100 depending on how much paint you need. And, we help keep the cost down by always offering free shipping.
| REPAIR | ERA PAINTS | BODY SHOP |
| Rock Chips | $40 to $80 | $150 to $900 |
| Dinged Bumper | $40 to $80 | $450 |
| Small “Key” Scratch | $40 to $80 | $150 to $300 |
| Medium “Shopping Cart” Ding | $40 to $80 | $150 to $400 |
Here is something body shops and car detailers do not want you to know: we all use the same paint!
There are only a few top-level manufactures of auto body paint, and they each sell different tiers of paint, from premium to budget. We only sell the highest quality premium paint, and it is one of the only paints made in the USA. If you go to an auto body shop you literally cannot get better paint, and you likely will get a mid-tier, or low quality paint, if they are cutting corners to make more money.
What special precautions do you need to take to DIY Auto Paint repair your Toyota at home?
There are several pro-tips for painting your Toyota yourself. Knowing these can really help your car look like it did the day it came off of the factory floor. This is just a summary of the most important tips. We’ll give you full instructions with your paint order.
- This one is pretty obvious, but read the instructions all the way through before you start. If video tutorials work better for you, we have video instructions on our YouTube Channel.
- Always test your color on some out-of-the-way place before you start to make sure the color matches well. We provide a test card with every order so you can always test your paint to match!
- Do not sand between color coats or clear coat applications.
- If you are using touch-up paint (and not spray), dabbing the paint on instead of brushing will minimize the “brush stroke” look.
- If the paint looks hazy after you have applied the clear coat, there might be moisture trapped below the last clear coat layer. When the clear coat is totally cured (a week or two) a polishing compound will make it look sharp and shiny.
ERA Paint’s top 11 favorite Toyota paint colors for 2020
- Salsa Red Pearl
- Silver Sky Metallic
- Celestial Silver Metallic
- Obsidian
- Predawn Gray Mica
- Super White II
- Attitude Black Mica
- Desert Sand Mica
- Matador Red Mica
- Sunfire Red Pearl
- Blue Streak Metallic
If you have more questions, you can always call us 971-770-2372 or email us at CustomerService@erapaints.com . If you’re ready to make your car look sharp, you can shop for aerosol spray paint, and touch up paint. We hope we can help you make your car look new again!