Paint Protection. I’ve got it but is it worth it?

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Dermottdog
Posts: 768
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:39 pm
Location: Orpington, Kent

Post by Dermottdog »

I used to be indecisive but now I’m not so sure!
I emailed the the dealer and asked him to disregard my request to stop the GardX protection being applied. My reasoning for this relates to future paint issues should they occur (unlikely I know). I figured, and I know most on here may disagree, that I have greater consumer protection if the dealer protects the car and therefore if any issues manifest themselves a few years down the line, a third party can’t be blamed. I know that in my line of work, if another company carries out any work on equipment still under contract with my company, we will try to offload responsibility. It is what it is.
R Design Pro T5 AWD in Crystal White. Convenience Pack, Front Parking and Apple Car. Couldn’t afford anything else!! Arriving late September 2019.

Deleted User 1894

Post by Deleted User 1894 »

If the situation you portray arises, the dealer will simply say that there's no way of proving that it was their application of the protection that caused any issues with the paint.

Simply put, you're wasting your money. It'll be applied by someone who really doesn't care about your car and who really doesn't care about doing a proper job. The only beneficiary is the dealer's bank account. It's a rip off, plain and simple. The same goes for any wheel/tyre/upholstery protection. It's as worthwhile as PPI was ten years back, and we all know how that turned out.

You can do a far better job yourself in an afternoon, or get a professional dealer to do a proper job for pretty much the same price.

I've just looked on eBay. You can pick up a GardX kit for about £15, which says a lot. How much are the dealer charging?

Incidentally, most people on here disagree for a reason. Please, please, reconsider what you're doing. You may as well flush your money down the toilet.
ChrisLF
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:21 am
Location: Heart of England

Post by ChrisLF »

The manufacturers paint warranty is usually to cover any defects arising from under the paint finish e.g. defective rust proofing so anything that is done to the surface of the paint won't make any difference anyway.

To be honest I think that all this surface finishing is all hype. I polish and wax my cars because I enjoy doing it and now have the time, being retired. But in the past I've had many cars where I've kept them clean and maybe waxed them once a year if they were lucky and they always came up a treat. Most were metallic with a clear coat (which I think is applied to solid colours as well now) which helped. Black probably needs a bit more care, which is why I won't have an all black car, but other than that I don't think it harms the paint if you don't do anything to it.

In fact I haven't polished and waxed my fun car, Audi TT roadster, for quite some time, and after a wash it looks lovely. The paint feels smoother after a polish and wax but it doesn't look much different if it is only washed.
2023 B4 Plus Dark FWD in Silver Dawn. Tinted Rear Windows. Spare Wheel & Tow Bar dealer fitted.

Gone - 2019 T4 R-Design FWD in Bursting Blue. Winter & Convenience Packs, Power Seat, Front Park Assist, Rear Camera, Spare Wheel & Tow Bar.
michael123
Posts: 168
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2019 6:14 am

Post by michael123 »

I applied today nano ceramic coating to my new XC40, FYI the process takes around 6 hours (gross) with professional detailing shop

With wife's mini cooper it was absolutely worthwhile, and given you are doing this once every 3 years, not really lot of money

Just find a professional detailer, working with good materials
DarrenF
Posts: 274
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 4:50 pm

Post by DarrenF »

On my current car I had the "Diamond Brite" paint and interior product applied by the dealer when I brought the car with a whole load of promises and guarantees. One being Bird crap was covered as long as it was washed off in under 3 days. 3 months later I park the nearly washed car at my work, I finish 8 1/2 hours later to find a massive bird crap on the bonnet. I get some water and a rag to wash it off only to find it has eaten through the expensive coating and ruined the paintwork. Long story short they said it must have been there for days and it was not covered and after a several months of rejections I gave up fighting it.

100% agree with Septercius
XC40 T5 R-Design Pro in Bursting Blue with Convenience, Intellisafe Pro, Winter Plus and Xenium Packs and a few other bits. Ordered July'19 picked up end of Nov'19.
Dermottdog
Posts: 768
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:39 pm
Location: Orpington, Kent

Post by Dermottdog »

Ok. Well after research, I’m going to stick with GardX. Looking at the tinternet, there are plenty of guides of how to properly apply a ceramic coating which I will briefly list here.
1. Loosen the dirt with a jet washer.
2. Use a snow foam gun.
3. Rinse with jet washer.
4. Wash car with shampoo.
5. Rinse with a jet washer.
6. Towel dry.
7. Clay bar the car.
8. Machine polish the car.
9. Use special body cleaning fluid to remove any traces of polish.
10. Apply Ceramic Coating.
11. Finish off with a micro fibre cloth.

Now, being a car lover, I have always used good quality car care products. I have a snow foam gun. I always use the 2 bucket wash system with a lambs wool mit but as I get older, I’m finding it more of a chore than a pleasure. Of course, washing a car gives you pride but I think sometimes it goes too far.

As regards to GardX, they must be doing something right otherwise they would have gone under long ago. Also, it has been mentioned that the dealer doesn’t really care about the car when the product is applied at the dealership. I’m afraid that goes on in all walks of life. Who’s to say the ceramic Coating company will do a better job. I’m afraid it’s one of situations where we ‘agree to disagree’ - Rob.
R Design Pro T5 AWD in Crystal White. Convenience Pack, Front Parking and Apple Car. Couldn’t afford anything else!! Arriving late September 2019.
ChrisLF
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:21 am
Location: Heart of England

Post by ChrisLF »

I use the two bucket and lambs wool mitt method. Have thought about trying snow foam but have never gotten around to it. Likewise with claying the car. Keep thinking about doing the TT but after a wash and maybe a polish/wax I think why bother? It comes up great. I've had bird crap on it which sometimes I haven't noticed for a couple of days but fortunately it hasn't left a mark. Unlike with my wife's Mini where I think the paint was very soft. It also suffered badly from paint chips even though it was very low mileage.
2023 B4 Plus Dark FWD in Silver Dawn. Tinted Rear Windows. Spare Wheel & Tow Bar dealer fitted.

Gone - 2019 T4 R-Design FWD in Bursting Blue. Winter & Convenience Packs, Power Seat, Front Park Assist, Rear Camera, Spare Wheel & Tow Bar.
K1t
Posts: 45
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 1:08 pm
Location: Leamington Spa, Warks

Post by K1t »

Happy days! Just picked up, this rainy pm, my pride and joy from the detailers, as mentioned in my other posts. Having spent a frustrating 3+ weeks of ownership not actually touching the paint work with anything more physical than a weekly jet wash and DI water rinse (no drying required)
Chris and his team (wife!) at Heritage Detailing Centre, near Banbury, have truly made the wait worth while...........the finish, inside and out, I must say is truly glorious! I took a few shots to try and show the quality of this Quartz (Glass) sealant/coating treatment they did, despite it being a dull rainy afternoon when collected. YES it is definitely worth every penny for up to 3+ years of protection offered. BTW, Chris also double-stacked the roof and bonnet areas, which he recons should last up to 5 years! Hope these pics reproduce well enough in this post.............This is the (new) product they used.......

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XC40 T3 R-Design (as it comes, no frills) FWD, Manual, my2020, 163bhp, Crystal White, Tempa Spare Wheel Kit, Folding boot floor, Sunglasses Holder. Paintwork/Trim sealed with Zirconite Quartz Nano Coating, Park assist camera kit (self fit)
K1t
Posts: 45
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 1:08 pm
Location: Leamington Spa, Warks

Post by K1t »

.....and these are a few 'after' treatment shots.... :o 8-)

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XC40 T3 R-Design (as it comes, no frills) FWD, Manual, my2020, 163bhp, Crystal White, Tempa Spare Wheel Kit, Folding boot floor, Sunglasses Holder. Paintwork/Trim sealed with Zirconite Quartz Nano Coating, Park assist camera kit (self fit)
Dermottdog
Posts: 768
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:39 pm
Location: Orpington, Kent

Post by Dermottdog »

Nice. I’m still working on it...
R Design Pro T5 AWD in Crystal White. Convenience Pack, Front Parking and Apple Car. Couldn’t afford anything else!! Arriving late September 2019.
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