Bit of an experiment.... Long term car protection...

[Andy Monty]

Well over the next few weeks i have this little box of wonders to play with which has cost me a pretty penny

Having done some reading and watching various youtube videos ive elected to try some of CARPRO's offerings on the advice of a friend..........

wave hello to the best part of £85..




Anyhow the paint work and wheels will have to wait for the next few weekends

But itching to try it i cracked open the DLUX






This can be used on Black plastic textured trim and Alloy wheels.......... 30ml works out about £25 but so far it seems to be going a VERY long way i have done ALL the black trim on my EVO...I couldnt even till i had been in the bottle its that economical... The liquid is clear and takes about 24 hours to cure fully in which time it should be kept bone dry and free of rain... although it can be overcoated with their Reload to protect it during curing...



then thought i ought to document it so say hello to a very "gray" Fiat 500 wing mirror....


Doesn't look too bad does it stupid digital camera......



First the plastic needs to be clean of all previous treatments of trim black,..

I opted to clean first with a strong all pourpose cleaner (Autosmart g101) with a stiff brush rinse well and dry (I blew the water out using a air line (it needs to be 100% dry)

Next i stuck with the brand and used Carpro Erase, Which is a degreaser / panel wipe type product and wiped it away regularly refolding the cloth.... so the cloth can soak up what ever it releases from the surface.....




Anyhow it comes with a pack of suede cloths and a foam / sponge block.... The Suade MUST BE BINNED AFTER USE as the "glass" which cures as the product dries will cause damage if re used and it cant be cleaned out readily the insructions say they can be cleaned if caught fresh using all purpose cleaner but ( 1:8 G101 didnt do any good)



Then apply several drops i used about 4 drops per mirror dont saturate the plastic...








as you can see it goes black on contact....


Now for buffing off its a strange product it depends on ambient temperature and humidity so a test swipe is needed the product should just turn tacky so it grabs the Microfibre cloth as you buff off the excess if its not tacky you will just re-spread it.. should only need a light buff.... times vary between 1 -10 mins dependent.... avoid contact with paintwork if you do buff it off immediately... And keep off glass at all costs...

once "dry" buff with a short pile microfibre to remove excess ((again bin it once you have finished))


From this point it should be allowed 24 hours to cure fully in the dry....


Now rightly or wrongly i over-coated with RELOAD which is intended to protect the paint coating from damp for the first 24 hours... but since the composition is similar i decided to take the gamble. and as a top up after washing........

 

[Venters]

Looking forward to the long term review.

 

[Andy Monty]

and now the WHEELS


First jack the car up safely and remove the wheel.....

I had used some cheap wheel seal (armour all) on them so straight onto a 1:8 wash using G101 all purpose cleaner which will remove the coating and begin the deep clean..... few old paint brushes come in handy too...





Next I used an iron fall out remover....



Then tar remover (no pics) then


Clay bar.......


Quickly rewash,.


If swirled or marked a good polish with body shop safe polishes should be done now...

I blew the rim dry and used blue roll....



Then as an extra fail safe to ensure all remaing sealent was removed used a body shop solvent wipe and lots of blue roll do a small area then throw away so not to move the dissolved sealant round... (and polish residue if used)



Now the wheels should be squeaky clean

A wipe down with carpro Eraser



Now back on with the Nitrile gloves and out with the DLUX





Add a few drops to the applicator suede



and get applying might need to use the suede off the block for the intricate bits....



once applied leave for it to cure as with the plastic once it becomes grippy its time to buff it off lightly using a short piled microfibre cloth....



Now keep the alloy dry for one hour after one hour apply a thin coat of RELOAD and buff to a shine..


then refit to the car

And allow to cure for 24 hours (the reload should protect it from damp but ideally keep them dry as you can) and yes it started to rain as i did the 2nd wheel :bang:

 

[Andy Monty]

Well onto the body work using the same method as for the wheels..... With a machine polish thrown in good measure...

 

[Andy Monty]

And a couple more..

Its important once the buffing cloth has done several panels BIN IT as the buffed off residue builds up and can cause scratching as the remaining solvent turns to glass....

once all done check for any smears....

then wait one hour and apply reload..

then the car MUST be kept dry for 24 hours and no detergents used on the car for one week to allow the coating to fully cure and bond.......

 

[Andy Monty]

Had a shower of rain over night...

 

[Andy Monty]

Looking forward to the long term review.

Well today i decided the coating is dead........

water just sat flat on the paintwork

black plastic trim gone the same dull gray it was before...

Im a tad disappointed for the cost of the stuff i expected more .



still it rekindled my love for bilt hamber autobalm :devil:

 

[gadge]

Hmmm I don't think doing just the one car with the one colour is a good enough test? ..... I think you should try it out on another car for a more balanced view. Perhaps a different colour like, I dunno .....red? And of course it'll have to have alloys - big ones are best to test on....... I'll tell you what I you can use my car - no it's fine honestly I don't mind ......your comming to brooklands right

 

[Andy Monty]

Hmmm I don't think doing just the one car with the one colour is a good enough test? ..... I think you should try it out on another car for a more balanced view. Perhaps a different colour like, I dunno .....red? And of course it'll have to have alloys - big ones are best to test on....... I'll tell you what I you can use my car - no it's fine honestly I don't mind ......your comming to brooklands right

Nice try sisters 500 in White has had it too (done a week after i did mine)

Dads Big RED focus with BIG alloys






which is holding up ok ish but it lives one week in the garage one week out as he car shares

 

[gadge]

Needs to be a 3 door for it to be a real test

 

[Andy Monty]

Best update this about a year on the car still has a cracking shine once I gave it a decent wash the coating seems to be holding on but I have no way of actually testing its still actually there got enough to recoat it if I get time before Stanford hall next month

 

[SeanW]

For a direct comparison, could you coat say, half the boot lid and leave the other half uncoated? Might look a bit odd...but it would allow for a direct comparison

 

[Andy Monty]

For a direct comparison, could you coat say, half the boot lid and leave the other half uncoated? Might look a bit odd...but it would allow for a direct comparison

Might try that....... On my sisters car :devil:

 

[SeanW]

Might try that....... On my sisters car :devil:

Sisters car...they have to serve so e purpose other than irritating their brothers!!

 

[Andy Monty]

Sisters car...they have to serve so e purpose other than irritating their brothers!!

She is very laid back about her 500...... till something visually goes wrong (like loosing the windscreen wiper the other week) :bang:




she never even noticed the starting problem she had with it until i mentioned it when i went to move it on the driveway........ "oh its been doing that a while" :worship:


what a biach of a job that was....


https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guide...lso-includes-battery-removal-upper-earth.html