[Help] Best paint protection/treatment for new car?

[Goldstone1976]

I'm taking delivery of a new car in Dec and want to protect/treat the paint job before ruining it by, err, driving it around.

I'm totally ignorant about this topic, so would welcome some views/advice please.

TIA

 

[Springal]

No specific recommendations on product but a good local valeter should be able to help.

I’d avoid big garages or car dealership packages

 

[Gordon Bennett]

No experience/recommendations but these videos might be of general interest? Matt Watson works for Carwow and reviews cars on YouTube. These videos are of him getting his own car treated/protected just after he bought it.

 

[andys320]

Really depends on what you want to do.

A professional polish, and ceramic coating with something like gtechniq could cost from £850.00 to £1500.00.

Something like cquartz uk, (a very good ceramic and easy to apply, even I've done it) which could be applied outside if temperature is within parameter can be bought for less than £50.00. It does require decent prep though, even on a new car. Clay bar as a minimum.

A ceramic will offer better protection, but needs to be applied properly, for absolute ease of use you could buy some Wowo's crystal sealant which is a good compromise and easier to apply.

 

[jakarta]

A good coating of bitumen should do the trick...

 

[Icy Gull]

Waste of time if you park at supermarkets. Some kid will kick the door of Mummy’s 4x4 open and dent your car within a week

Being serious a PPF coating is probably the best idea. Whatever you do don’t let the dealer you buy from do it. They’ll almost certainly skimp on it. If you must have it done bite the bullet and get a car valeting company to do it. It will cost but it’ll be done properly and you have a comeback

 

[Icy Gull]

Really depends on what you want to do.

A professional polish, and ceramic coating with something like gtechniq could cost from £850.00 to £1500.00.

Something like cquartz uk, (a very good ceramic and easy to apply, even I've done it) which could be applied outside if temperature is within parameter can be bought for less than £50.00. It does require decent prep though, even on a new car. Clay bar as a minimum.

A ceramic will offer better protection, but needs to be applied properly, for absolute ease of use you could buy some Wowo's crystal sealant which is a good compromise and easier to apply.

Ceramic coating will make the car easier to clean it will not protect paintwork from dents and scratches in any way …imo

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...ting-vs-ppf/&usg=AOvVaw0p_mu8swixngdrU_sR3wma

 

[Creaky]

Vinyl wrap

 

[Bry Nylon]

Being serious a PPF coating is probably the best idea.

I believe he’s currently serving a ban

 

[andys320]

Ceramic coating will make the car easier to clean it will not protect paintwork from dents and scratches in any way …imo

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...ting-vs-ppf/&usg=AOvVaw0p_mu8swixngdrU_sR3wma

TBF nothing is going to prevent a dent, or scratches, without PPF, even then dubious.

I guess we need to know the car to be protected and budget to do so before proper recommendation.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Just leave it in the garage, and don't use it.

Nobody else is interested in your rusting heap of scrap metal anyway.

 

[zefarelly]

Waste of time and money. IMO

The factory/restorer should apply good enough .. . If they don't you bought a turd to start with! Having said that Nothing lasts forever, so budget for a tidy up if you're a vanity whore.

I have a car that's 58 years old, cellulose paint, original from the Dagenham factory, it aint perfect, and it will never look better.

 

[Goldstone1976]

TBF nothing is going to prevent a dent, or scratches, without PPF, even then dubious.

I guess we need to know the car to be protected and budget to do so before proper recommendation.

Tesla, budget = whatever it takes to give me the best result.

Thanks all for the suggestions so far.

 

[zefarelly]

Just leave it in the garage, and don't use it.

Nobody else is interested in your rusting heap of scrap metal anyway.

POint one - totally agree, its probably aesthetically @ Susan Boyle on the babe Scale ( whatever that is)

Point two. It wont rust, its plastic!

 

[beorhthelm]

i remember when you relied on the paint to just do its job. then maybe a 7-10 warranty became a thing.

what we seem to be talking about here is additional protection for the paint.

 

[Baldseagull]

Bonnet bra maybe.

 

[zefarelly]

i remember when you relied on the paint to just do its job. then maybe a 7-10 warranty became a thing.

what we seem to be talking about here is additional protection for the paint.

More bonkers than a heavy smoker, especially given said vehicle will be gone before the paint fails.

I bought a shiny SUbaru in 2009, 89k miles, 4 yeras old, spangly clean. Washed it twice a year, polished its maybe 4 or 5 times . . . 11 years and 90k miles later it was rust free, still shiny and I got more than 25% of my beans back.

Modern cars are cloaked in hard plastic. If not made of plastic. Spending more on bling + is just wrong on so many levels IMO.

 

[upthealbion1970]

Despite it being new it’ll probably need paint correction before treatment to get the most out of protecting the paintwork.

There are a lot of companies that will take your money and not do a particularly good job, it’s been a real growth sector in recent years. There are however some very good guys out there but expect to pay for a good quality job.

It won’t stop dirt building up or protect against dents or scrapes but it will be exceptionally easy to clean without ending up with swirl marks or water stains and will need redoing after a few years.

 

[Icy Gull]

Waste of time and money. IMO

The factory/restorer should apply good enough .. . If they don't you bought a turd to start with! Having said that Nothing lasts forever, so budget for a tidy up if you're a vanity whore.

I have a car that's 58 years old, cellulose paint, original from the Dagenham factory, it aint perfect, and it will never look better.

I’m more interested in how the three or is it four year old unreliable rust bucket is holding up?

 

[Knocky's Nose]

Okay.. this is an area I'm pretty clued up about, so I'll chime in.

Do not pay for anything to be done at the dealership. Any kind of specialist coating to a car is way beyond the remit or capabilities of 99.99% of dealership 'valeters' (and I use that term loosely). They are paid minimum wage or just above, are poorly trained, and are employed to do as many cars as possible in the shortest frame of time. Not their fault - the dealership wants to pay them buttons for any valeting job, so they have to employ noddies.

A good ceramic coating job involves a proper machine polish, proper panel wiping with quality fluid, a base coat which takes 24 hours to cure properly, then a top coat which is so hard that if you screw it up you need to sandpaper it off with wet & dry. Doing a car correctly is a two day job - and these boys get about an hour.

Refuse all packages from pointy-shoe boy, then go visit a proper detailer. Ball park for a proper job is about £600. I highly recommend GTechniq as a brand of coating, but there are some other very good products. Look online for detailers and reviews. There are good ones, and like any tradesperson - if they're booked up, they're good. Book your car in, and wait as long as it takes.

Spend £150-250 on an AutoGlym LifeShine at the dealer and I guarantee you will be dropping your cash down a toilet. The car will not have been prepared properly, the product will have been applied badly, and the whole thing will wash off the first time you take it to a car wash.