Recommendations for paint protection

Ecko_1 said:
Yeah. It depends on the thickness of the OEM clearcoat and how far you have to cut to correct the paint. With that black Polo I had one proper detail done and maintained it with proper wash techniques thereafter. 2 years later it was mostly swirl free. Pointless detailing properly and then sending the car to a normal car wash.
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This is another area where a proper detailer can assess an advise the client. With my black Polo the detailer showed me some deeper scratches which he could polish out but it would mean that the clear coat would be very thin in that area. He advised to rather live with that swirl instead of compromising the clear coat.

Different colours as well as differing brands have different thicknesses and softness or hardness of paint.

With all these variables concerned my faith in commercial places such as amazing glaze that push volume is low. They just don't have the skill or capacity to put the required effort into a detail.
 
But to add. I think the original topic has been derailed somewhat.

Not sure if the OP is referring to protection from swirls and scratches or stone chips because ceramic coatings and ppf have very different properties.
 
Ecko_1 said:
But to add. I think the original topic has been derailed somewhat.

Not sure if the OP is referring to protection from swirls and scratches or stone chips because ceramic coatings and ppf have very different properties.
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Yeah, but it was interesting nonetheless. I was referring to protection from minor scratches and essentially keeping the original paint looking as new as possible for as long as possible. Protection from stone chips might require more expensive wraps.
 
linkinpark said:
Yeah, but it was interesting nonetheless. I was referring to protection from minor scratches and essentially keeping the original paint looking as new as possible for as long as possible. Protection from stone chips might require more expensive wraps.
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PPF will achieve this but it isn't cheap either. I think it starts from R5k up for partial front film (bumper and front of bonnet). The films can be quite thick so they will have some resistance to stone chips and scratches. If damaged you can peel it off and redo (at your cost). I personally dont like them as most times you can see the line on the bonnet where the film ends and it ruins the aesthetics for me. I've lived with the stone chips as respraying a bumper is in the R3k region which is actually cheaper than applying the film.

I just bought a new car last week and will either be glass coating or ceramic coating it.

A friend had his car ceramic coated via the dealer prior to delivery. Car is black and a year old now. It goes to normal car washes and there isn't a swirl on it. It has stone chips on the front bumper thougj.
 
linkinpark said:
Yeah, but it was interesting nonetheless. I was referring to protection from minor scratches and essentially keeping the original paint looking as new as possible for as long as possible. Protection from stone chips might require more expensive wraps.
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It would also help to say which city you are in so people can post service providers close to you.
 
Ecko_1 said:
It would also help to say which city you are in so people can post service providers close to you.
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I'm in Durban, what's the ballpark figure for the ceramic coating? Been hearing prices ranging from a R2k to R20k
 
linkinpark said:
I'm in Durban, what's the ballpark figure for the ceramic coating? Been hearing prices ranging from a R2k to R20k
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Friend paid R12k on new car. Supposed 7 year life.

Price can vary greatly. Remember that if the car isn't new the detailer has to correct the paint prior to applying the ceramic coating and this takes time.

You could probably by just the ceramic coating products yourself for about R2k but I doubt any detailer will do it less than R5k and that is assuming your car needs zero paint correction. Even if the paint is in absolutely perfect condition the car will need decontamination before applying the coating. Decontamination is normally tar remover, iron fallout remover and claying. Claying is a labourious process and takes time and elbow grease. It takes a friend and I about 3 hours to clay an average sized hatch back with 2 of us going at it.
 
The best way to protect your paint long term is to always wash your car yourself using proper wash techniques. Swirl marks and scratches are mainly caused by bad wash technique and washing with dirty cloths which fell on the ground. Also always use a hose first to rinse off as much dirt as possible before washing.
 
SaiyanZ said:
The best way to protect your paint long term is to always wash your car yourself using proper wash techniques. Swirl marks and scratches are mainly caused by bad wash technique and washing with dirty cloths which fell on the ground. Also always use a hose first to rinse off as much dirt as possible before washing.
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Correct.
My technique is as follows
Rinse with high pressure cleaner
Foam car with foam cannon and leave on for 5 minutes
Rinse again with high pressure cleaner
Wash wheels with wheel cleaner and 2 bucket method
Rinse wheels.
Wash car with shampoo and 2 bucket method.
Rinse thoroughly with high pressure cleaner
Sheet water off car with normal hose
Dry with microfiber waffle weave towel.
 
1 wash per Mitt or drying towel. If it falls on the ground it gets replaced with another.

Wash all cloths in the machine between washes with liquid soap and no fabric softener. Hang indoors to dry
 
Ecko_1 said:
Correct.
My technique is as follows
Rinse with high pressure cleaner
Foam car with foam cannon and leave on for 5 minutes
Rinse again with high pressure cleaner
Wash wheels with wheel cleaner and 2 bucket method
Rinse wheels.
Wash car with shampoo and 2 bucket method.
Rinse thoroughly with high pressure cleaner
Sheet water off car with normal hose
Dry with microfiber waffle weave towel.
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To add. Both my buckets have grit guards at the bottom to make sure none of the dirt particles come up and end up on the wash mitt
 
I think high pressure can also cause grit to rub against the paint and cause scratches. I always use medium pressure/shower mode to rinse before washing.
 
SaiyanZ said:
I think high pressure can also cause grit to rub against the paint and cause scratches. I always use medium pressure/shower mode to rinse before washing.
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Yip. I have a small hp machine though. Think it only pushes out 100bar
 
Dude, if you not going to get your car washed properly every time, then detailing your car will be worthless.
 
Thanks for the replies, seems I shouldn't really bother doing any of this for a brand new car.
Instead i'm better off just carefully washing it manually.
However, i'm hearing detailing can reduce the orange peel effect, just depends how bothered I am by it.
 
linkinpark said:
Thanks for the replies, seems I shouldn't really bother doing any of this for a brand new car.
Instead i'm better off just carefully washing it manually.
However, i'm hearing detailing can reduce the orange peel effect, just depends how bothered I am by it.
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ppf for new cars ... that shmee150 youtuber does it for all his new cars
 
Ecko_1 said:
Correct.
My technique is as follows
Rinse with high pressure cleaner
Foam car with foam cannon and leave on for 5 minutes
Rinse again with high pressure cleaner
Wash wheels with wheel cleaner and 2 bucket method
Rinse wheels.
Wash car with shampoo and 2 bucket method.
Rinse thoroughly with high pressure cleaner
Sheet water off car with normal hose
Dry with microfiber waffle weave towel.
Click to expand...

And then take the car for a spin so that all the droplets that were in the nooks and crannies can be dispersed.
 
stroller said:
And then take the car for a spin so that all the droplets that were in the nooks and crannies can be dispersed.
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The other option is to use an air compressor, but I don't have one of those.
 
I am a bit late to the party here, but I saw some earlier posts mentioning Amazing Glaze. I need to name and shame here.

A few years ago I took my then newish car to get that glaze put on in their Pinetown branch. I got it back with scratches in the interior plastic, a bonnet that wasn't quite as straight as it used to be (as if someone sat on the one side, and it didn't line up properly anymore), and a front door handle that was clearly ground by their polishing machine.

They sorted out the door handle after a lot of arguing. The rest was something I just sucked up and dealt with alone - I noticed things too late, and I was done with them by that stage. The service was absolute crap, as were the people there. My newish car was damaged more by them than I've done in the last 6 years I've had my car.

If you care for your car, take it somewhere else.
 
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