Volvo XC40 Forums

UPDATE

Below is what I plan/going to do. This my opinion and my opinion alone. What others have done in the past is not wrong or right.

Our car is now at the dealership and will be picked up very late September or early October. It was initially ordered with GardX but after much research, deliberation and mainly negative comments on here, we cancelled the application.
So, what are we going to do instead?

First and foremost, I have to say that it’s a mine field out there with regard to car care. It appears there is no straightforward solution to protection.
But I had to make a choice and have decided I’m going down the ‘DIY’ route.

Looking at detailers online and their pricing structure, the costs vary from reasonable to outrageous. £550-£650 is the normal (at least in the London and South). I’ve looked at prices well over £1k!! This is madness.
I’ve joined a detailing forum mainly frequented by professionals and posted my intentions to go down the Ceramic route. Even seasoned detailing guys (some, not all) say stick to waxes. Advice given by one pro detailer was unless it’s a “garage queen and only driven at weekends” steer clear of Ceramics. Another posted how one coat was so hard that an extremely aggressive machine polish was required to remove it. Why it needed removing wasn’t made clear. Perhaps accident damage and panels needed repainting. It got very messy and expensive.

I will apply a product from Gyeon. It is a very basic coating but nowhere nearly as hard to apply. It can last a year but probably won’t due to its lack of hardness.
But what isn’t really up for debate is preparation. Machine polish - just a light polish - is pretty much unanimous. Even on a brand new car with the protective plastic covering still attached will need a machine polish to get rid of all swells, marring and residual waxes.
I’m not prepared to have that done.

So I will jet wash, snow foam, jet wash, dry, wipe the car down with panel wipe and then apply the Gyeon product.

Wish me luck - Rob

A couple of coats of a good quality wax, something like Collinite 476 would do the job.

Thanks for this post Rob, I bet you cannot wait to pick the car up! don't forget to post some photos.

I have been considering the Ceramic coating option a lot and found the discussions for and against very confusing as well. Let us know how you get on with Gyeon. Just read some reviews of the Collinite 476 wax (never seen this mentioned before) and it sounds great.

Pirots wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 4:08 pm A couple of coats of a good quality wax, something like Collinite 476 would do the job.

DarrenF wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 10:39 pm Thanks for this post Rob, I bet you cannot wait to pick the car up! don't forget to post some photos.

I have been considering the Ceramic coating option a lot and found the discussions for and against very confusing as well. Let us know how you get on with Gyeon. Just read some reviews of the Collinite 476 wax (never seen this mentioned before) and it sounds great.

Thanks both.

I have a tin of Collinite. Found it was a pain to use because of its hardness (physical hardness). The tin needed to be warmed up in water to get it to melt. Then, a small amount of hot water needed to be drizzled on the top surface of the wax. It was then applied. A bit of a job to buff it off if memory serves. Good results though.

I certainly think you have made the right decision. My own view (apart from perhaps with a black car) is that a good wax is all that is needed to keep a car looking smart. Has to be applied more often but doesn't have to be applied by a professional.

Metallics particularly, still look good after many years, with the odd wax now and then, which is all I've done with the TT and that still looks great. Let's face it, for a car that is being used and in most cases is kept outside then it only takes a day or so before it gets dirty or dusty again.

I went for gtechniq applied professionally, nowhere near £500 and looks great. I leave the car at airports a lot etc and a similar treatment worked very well on my previous V40. Is it worth it? Who knows, but it makes it very easy to clean!

I tend to use a bucket of warm water with a splash of washing up liquid (Fairy Liquid is recommended), once a year, whether it's dirty or not.

USERof XC40 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 09, 2019 9:33 pm I tend to use a bucket of warm water with a splash of washing up liquid (Fairy Liquid is recommended), once a year, whether it's dirty or not.

Add in a Brillo pad for tar spots and stubborn grime and you've got it all sorted.

And use a broom for cleaning the roof!