Was getting an XR8, local dealer tried to convince me to get paint protection. I sussed out some good quality paint shops they said "It aint worth shit" (unquote). "Just keep a good quality wax up to it"
All three paint guys told me to look at the fine print, the brands that were recommended stated that detergent type car wash should not be used as it can damage the protection..... Ahhhhh der what the ? If car wash can affect the protection what would bird crap do to it.
Now getting a GT, this dealer tried to flog me the paint protection. I pointed out the fine print,
Their reply....... "Well car wash liquid is very powerful these days"
My reply "What, is it stronger than acidic bird crap ?"
wait for it your, gunna love this reply.....
"Well of course it is, it has to remove the dird droppings"
Paint protection of any kind is a good thing.
Paint protection sold off as some kind of fancy covering which will protect your paint for 3 years or so is complete nonsense.
Most paint protections are no more than a high quality wax applied in the same fashion you would do it yourself, and will last no longer than around 6 months.
Buy some Maguirs (or similar) and do it yourself every 3 months, that is the only way to keep a durable waxy finish on your paint.
I did order the dealer paint protection & rust proofing. After reading the fine print, I noticed not to use car wash liqiuds. So I phoned the dealer and asked what to use, he replied " use a mild detergent and recommended to use BABY SHAMPOO". I couldn't stop laughing. Now every time I wash my car, I get wierd looks when they see the bottle. I've heard of people calling their car BABY. but this is going over board.
I negotiated a 'Defender Pack' this morning. Won't say what price I got, but I figure it was worth it. We had a good chat about it and it boiled down to what it was 'worth'. So, I'm happy.
I had it on my existing car and I thought it was pretty good, paint protection wise.
i got the total package, exterior and interior, rust, ect ect
when ever i washed my car i noticed more and more fine lines, and being a black car, it was very noticable.
i was spewing i got it.
it looked good for a few weeks but you have to get the dealer to keep re-applying it at every service interval...
i got the dealer to do this 3 times in 18months....done every 3 months.. then afer the applications i was pissed cos they never done a good job and only half done the job.
in the end i went to Autobarn and got some meguires pre-coat, fine line remover and finally the polish.
wased the car several times and chammos.. apply as per instructions..
i found 2-3 apps of pre coat was enough to get 80% of the fine scratches out
looks unreal!
but book a whole sunday doing it..it takes forever!
now ive got a ENJO garage glove and mirco star chammos.
it was weired at first only using water.. but FARK does it come up better than new!
I had the full job done on a '93 ute when new. The ute still looks great today - just as it came out of the showroom. Only ever used meguiars shampoo and Quick wax to bring up the final shine. Though I wont have the same done on the new car. Paint protection is useless when you have a stone chip or when you have to polish out a mark from the carpark.
Anyway what is better than polishing your pride and joy on a sunny saturday afternoon??
i got the total package, exterior and interior, rust, ect ect
when ever i washed my car i noticed more and more fine lines, and being a black car, it was very noticable.
i was spewing i got it.
it looked good for a few weeks but you have to get the dealer to keep re-applying it at every service interval...
i got the dealer to do this 3 times in 18months....done every 3 months.. then afer the applications i was pissed cos they never done a good job and only half done the job.
in the end i went to Autobarn and got some meguires pre-coat, fine line remover and finally the polish.
wased the car several times and chammos.. apply as per instructions..
i found 2-3 apps of pre coat was enough to get 80% of the fine scratches out
looks unreal!
but book a whole sunday doing it..it takes forever!
now ive got a ENJO garage glove and mirco star chammos.
it was weired at first only using water.. but FARK does it come up better than new!
What's an Enjo garage glove mate,
and to everybody else is wax and polish the same,because I have only ever polished my car and look's great but why and what is waxing for,cheers.
When in Newcastle with my Te50, I ended up paying a detailer up there $400 odd to cut and polish her, he managed to take very scratch and swirl mark out of the car, and presented it in better order then it was from ford.
Go figure
(mind you it took 4 weeks for the 1st swirl mark to appear again!)
being in the new car industry myself. the paint protection is a clever ploy to extract more money from a customer. usually if the salesman hasnt made quite enough out of the deal he will introduce you to whats nicknamed the "Ming Mole" more often than not its an attractive longlegged, big titted woman who you can not say no to.
we looked at the Ming paint protection deals and the markup was absolutely incredible eg. a full paint protection cost dealer something like $300 and the dealer than retails it for about $1200. that was just one example, it had a whole page of crap like that.
....but wait they will give you a refill of ming carwash!!! for $1200 i would want shares it the company.
Paint protection is one of the best products avaliable ( depending on which brand, Waxgard is good) for keeping the finish of your car.
The reason you are not to use other car washes except for their own is based upon the fact that most Joe Blow's go out and get Wash & Wax's which actually remove the product. They then go back into the dealer pissed off because their 'paint protection' isn't working.
Using baby shampoo or normal hair shampoo on a car is the best solution because it's not expensive and if it's gentle enough for you it's gentle enough for your car.
When washing the car 2 sponges should be used, one for the top portion of the car (where it is less dirty) and one for the bottom (where all the dirt mainly sits). And only clean your rims/mags after all your car has been done.
Another main problem is that people go to 'Car Lovers' where they think they really taking care of their car. They also promote recycling water, which is good for the environment but not for your car when you a using a high pressure hose that is spitting fine particles of dirt at your car. With paint protection you seal the clear coat on the car and this does damage it causing 'streaks'. And don't get me started on the brush that is used.
usually if the salesman hasnt made quite enough out of the deal he will introduce you to whats nicknamed the "Ming Mole" more often than not its an attractive longlegged, big titted woman who you can not say no to.
Iam ROFL, how true. I signed up for a GT, after all the paperwork had been signed onwards to the babe in the black low cut mini.
"Sir would you like datadot with your GT ?"
Guess what, she was not impressed once I told her that it came standard. These people are trying to make a living yes, but I can only speak for my experience they do not know the products, I enquire about the fine print, and its like Iam making a personal attack on them
I know a panel beater of repute in the business for over 30 years, (and he isn't ole school he keeps up with technology) who keeps well away from them. He has said that he can make money by flogging it, but he doesen't believe in it. In the cut throat repair industry you dont stay in business for that long if you take shortcuts.
RATT: is asolutely on the money with the carwash places, recycled water, dirty water, and some of the automated wash's the water is directed at pressure.
Without giving me secret identity away (just joking) I'm actually an industrial chemist and manufacture a variety of cleaning chemical products. The post of the bird poop being weaker in harm than the detergent had me laughing. Even raw egg left on your paintwork for a few days will PERMANENTLY damage your paint finish as our old van proved after it got egged once. A good automotive detergent will have no abrasive compounds within it, mild in pH if not neutral (7), good foaming properties to aid solubilising the soil on the paintwork (hang time you could say) water sequestrants (softening properties) so that you can still get the cleaning power using hard water found in Queensland compared to the liquid nectar of H20 in Tasmania. A detergent is designed to lift the dirt off the paintwork without needing to be too aggressive, stop the dirt from re-sticking somewhere else on the surface and be carried away as you rinse. Generally cheaper detergents are made with a higher caustic soda or some other alkaline chemical ingredient in its production. The better quality products would have none or very little however would require more ingredients to act as a replacement hence bringing costs up. I could produce a detergent that would clean most things easily, be as thin as water, produce no foam; look water-like yet no one would believe it would work if it had the above properties. Try some detergent in a cup, foam it up with water and squirt vegetable oil into it or some milk and watch the foam die. Kills the foam but doesn’t mean the detergent no longer can help clean. Being in the game I knocked back paint protection and rust proofing, (I live bayside Melbourne where it can have salty air) simply because a good wash, a simple wax with a non-abrasive product will be fine and as my formulation guides tell me, you shouldn’t “hard” polish or cut ‘n’ polish a new car before 2 years unless there is a problem.
I think that if you drove in a dry area away from a salty environment it would not be a great help and rather a good regular wax to protect the paint from UV rays would be better, while in a salty area you must wash regularly to flush out the salt build up in the drip channels, between panel joins, under wheel guards etc.. where paint protection might not even be applied fully or effectively. Today's undercoating technology is far superior and unless you scratched the car to base metal it's cost vs benefit of a third party paint protection pack is questionable at best.
I questioned my local smash repairer about this "Paint protection." Now at the dealer this lady told me the benefits of the stuff and said without it, my car will turn pink in a few more years.
The smash repair guy told me it's the biggest waste of money you could splurge into the car. Fabric protection, yes. Vynil protection, yes. Paint protection - forget it.
Go to a car park and try and spot the cars that have paint protection. Good luck.
Personally I prefer to use Mothers Pure Caruba Wax.
I questioned my local smash repairer about this "Paint protection." Now at the dealer this lady told me the benefits of the stuff and said without it, my car will turn pink in a few more years.
The smash repair guy told me it's the biggest waste of money you could splurge into the car. Fabric protection, yes. Vynil protection, yes. Paint protection - forget it.
Go to a car park and try and spot the cars that have paint protection. Good luck.
Personally I prefer to use Mothers Pure Caruba Wax.
I just discovered the best paint protection, park it under cover at night, those damn possums have shitted on my car, tonight I'm staying up, the golden retriever is sleeping outside the front door and "we gunna have some possum burgers"...."is that smoke you can smell?.. no its the bbq warming up..?
meguiars nuff said......... you pay for what you get........
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