2010 Prius body paint

Most cars on the road today use pretty much the same paint from one of the major suppliers (ppg, DuPont, or BASF). The only care that your paint job needs is gentle washing. The worst thing you can do to a modern automotive paint coating is to apply some sort of 'polish' to it which does nothing but weaken the paint in exchange for a possible short term increase in lustre (added by the polish) that will quickly fade away. If you are already reaching for the touch-up paint on a 2010 vehicle then the paint was either improperly applied (EXTREMELY unlikely with a Prius), has suffered some sort of road damage (as you suggest), or has been exposed to some kind of chemical attach (brake fluid and oxygenated gasoline are the biggest culprits). Throw the polish away, wash your car with soap and water, and watch for further deterioration.

The chips and scratches have left the primer exposed so the touch-up paint is going to be a necessary evil since the primer is not going to be able to protect the car from the road salts that the local governments are famous for using every winter. The body needs to be protected until it can get repainted.

I am using Meguiar's car wash - which I believe is one of the better brands.

I have applied two applications of NuFinsh Car Polish per the manufacturer's instructions. It does not require any abrasive mechanical polishing because it is a liquid polymer. Liquid polymer coatings like NuFinish only seal out chemicals/water but donot protect from dings, projectiles, and other flying objects. The paint job on the Prius appears very delicate so I am going to try to avoid any general use of abrasives or micro-abrasives.

I am driving in the Washington DC Metro Area which its share of air pollution, road hazards, road salts and ozone like bad stuff.

Priuschat forums suggest that this problem is not uncommon among Gen 2 and Gen 3 Prius vehicles. Some on Priuschat blamed the paint formulation that Toyota was using. Others blamed the body plastics and metals being used by Toyota claiming that it was too prone to bending/flexing. There was no consensus as to what was the root of the problem.

To reduce the risk of body rust, I am thinking that within two years I will get the entire body repainted (with the same color) and then have a new clear coat applied every 4 years thereafter. Clear coating is suppose to protect the paint from chips and scratches from what I understand.

What does your dealer tell you about this paint problem? I guess there is still some warranty on the carpaint?

hmmm. Good question. I'll have to check up on that...

I would not even think about doing touchups myself or even think about repaint in a few years, I would be pissed at toyota and think about warranty and demand they fix my new car. Dont use polish or a cleaner that does anything special, use soap. Its a NEW CAR you have a warranty, use it. Paint should look good for 10x longer than what you are getting.