Author Topic: new car protection - advice needed  (Read 4987 times)

Offline jamieall

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new car protection - advice needed
« on: 26 March 2008, 13:34 »
Help needed
What would you recommend to protect paintwork from new?
dealers offer protection stuff be for 250 quid must be possible to do better for less?
SE30 - Build week 18 should have it early June

Offline Cornish Pixie

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #1 on: 26 March 2008, 16:34 »
Hi

The paintwork protection that your dealer is offering will be a sealant that bonds to the paintwork and if maintained properly will give 3-6 years protection (Auto Glymn Lifeshine is said to protect paintwork for 10 years but I doubt it) The key with these types of sealant is application and maintanance, if it is not applied properly it is not likely to last very long and if it is not maintained in line with the manufacturers  instructions again it won't last very long. The upside is that you should get a warranty and if applied  properly they can provide protection and added shine. £250 sounds about right for a non franchised dealer, franchised dealers generally charge around £299 - £399.

The other option is to get an experienced valeter/detailer to apply a sealant for you. This will open up a whole new world of options as there are many many different sealants out there, however these will not usually come with any form of warranty. They will however lift the finish of even new paintwork. Cost will vary from firm to firm.

Where abouts are you?

As a guide I generally charge £150-£175 for Jewel Ultra Diamond Bright sealant which comes with a 6 year warranty and is used by many franchised dealer operations. If finish is more important than a warranty then some of the more specialist sealants might be right for you and again as a guide I would  generally charge around £175-£200 to prepare and seal a new car of the size of a Golf.

Hope this helps, feel free to give me a buzz if you want any more info/advice - The numbers on my website www.kcpv.co.uk

Mark           
www.kcpv.co.uk
www.karlssoncollins.com

Professional Valeting And Detailing

Dinky

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #2 on: 26 March 2008, 19:12 »
Mark,

Quick question...how long does it actually take you to apply the sealant? and what actual work is involved afterwards for to maintain it?

Thanks

Di :kiss:

Offline Cornish Pixie

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #3 on: 27 March 2008, 07:59 »
Mark,

Quick question...how long does it actually take you to apply the sealant? and what actual work is involved afterwards for to maintain it?

Thanks

Di :kiss:

Di,

Application time is driven by the condition of the paintwork i.e. does it have swirls and light scratching? if so the car should really be machine polished to remove or reduce these prior to application so.................on an average condition used car it would take me 3-4 hours including a full valet (that's inside and out cleaned, prepared and protected) Most (and I mean most) don't bother with correction and apply straight on to the cars paintwork, which kind of defeats the object if you are after a good visual enhancement.

On a new car, applying the sealant prior to delivery, with car already valeted - an hour at most. If the car is new but has been driven home or driven for a few weeks 2-3 hours.

Maintaining the sealant depends on the brand used, most of the sealants sold by stealers require you to use the shampoo supplied with the kit at each wash to maintain the sealants properties. Diamond Bright is a little different in that a conserver is supplied along with the shampoo. Once the supplied shampoo is used up, you can get away with using any good quality ph neutral shampoo. Once a month  the car should be washed, rinsed and then rinsed again using a bucket of clean water and a cap full of conserver. If you use a car wash (shame on you!!!) apparently you can get away with applying a small amount of conserver to the leading edge of the bonnet, though to be honest I don't know if this actually works because none of my clients use car washes once I have prepared their car.

Hope this helps

Mark             
www.kcpv.co.uk
www.karlssoncollins.com

Professional Valeting And Detailing

Offline jamieall

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #4 on: 27 March 2008, 13:14 »
very informative don't mind getting my hands dirty so who does makes the best sealant products?
SE30 - Build week 18 should have it early June

Offline Conker

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #5 on: 27 March 2008, 14:18 »
I was given a box set of that dealer lifetime shine autoglym stuff.  The paint sealant in the box smells and looks VERY similar to autoglym Extra Gloss Protection, although it perhaps smells a bit more concentrated.




Offline Cornish Pixie

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #6 on: 27 March 2008, 14:31 »
Hi

Who makes the best sealants? Now you've asked a question!! TBH who is the best is a very subjective question because some people rate durability over depth of shine, some people like a product that beads water well etc etc.

All of the brands used by stealers are fine if as said above the end user follows the manufacturers application and care instructions. These are not however officially available to the general public, but can be found on e bay (no I don't sell my Diamond Bright kits on e bay because they cost more to buy than they will fetch on the bay) Track down a valeter that works at a main dealers and they will probably sort you with a kit (apparently some less scrupulous employees at stealers don't apply the sealant when it is ordered by a customer) 

Of the less well known retail products I tend to favour Duragloss TPP

http://www.duragloss.co.uk/sb-products.asp?productid=2374&category=86

This gives a good finish and lasts around twelve months if the pre cleaner and polish bonding agent are used prior to application of the TPP.

Mark V Glisten is another excellent sealant which is available as a retail product - really easy to use  and gives a nice finish

http://www.carnaubawaxshop.com/shop/index.php?view=category&category_id=14

There are loads of others: Zaino, Poor Boys, Meguires etc     
www.kcpv.co.uk
www.karlssoncollins.com

Professional Valeting And Detailing

Offline Cornish Pixie

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #7 on: 27 March 2008, 14:34 »
I was given a box set of that dealer lifetime shine autoglym stuff.  The paint sealant in the box smells and looks VERY similar to autoglym Extra Gloss Protection, although it perhaps smells a bit more concentrated.





Did your kit have a small bottle of Super Resin Polish in it? some do, which is quite frankly baffling as SRP is abrasive and would remove the life shine from the car.

www.kcpv.co.uk
www.karlssoncollins.com

Professional Valeting And Detailing

Dinky

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #8 on: 28 March 2008, 18:48 »
Many Thanks Mark :smiley:

Dinx :kiss:

Offline Conker

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Re: new car protection - advice needed
« Reply #9 on: 03 April 2008, 20:52 »
[Did your kit have a small bottle of Super Resin Polish in it? some do, which is quite frankly baffling as SRP is abrasive and would remove the life shine from the car.

No, it didn't have any SRP, just the sealant, a load of applicators/cloths, the glass sealant and the windscreen washer fluid and all the stuff for your seats (presumably a bit like scotchguard).