Lexus Paint Protector

[NXnoob]

Hi all

I have a new NX on order which, after much deliberation with the other half, will be in Velvet Black.

I know that being black and non metallic, light scratches and swirling will show up more readily than on lighter bodywork. As such we were considering taking the Lexus paint protector which I think is through Supagard. 

So my question is will this type of protection even help towards preventing swirls etc. And if so is the Lexus offering good value/worth while? E.g. would I be better off taking it to a third party auto detailer? Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated 

Thanks all

 

[NemesisUK]

Generally speaking, if one can get this added as a 'sweetener to clinch the deal, then they are fine. If one has to pay the dealer you will be paying well over the odds for the product. It's also questionable as to whether the dealer will prep the car properly before application.

All said it's probably better to get an independant detailer to prep and apply a protection coating and SuperGuard wouldn't be high on the list. 

No coating will give 100% protection but will delay the inevitable. There is an opinion that one should simply take the car, wash it oneself carefully and then after a year or so pay to have it 'corrected'.

[C Mclean]

As Nemesis says, see what kind of freebie you can get, but I wouldn't pay for the likes of Supagard as it's pretty useless and is vastly overpriced, product costs a few quid and the rest is profit between the person applying it and the salesman. Check out what detailing places are near and go for one of the high tech coatings, plus I would recommend GTeqniq glass coating for the windows. Anything above 30-40mph in the pouring rain and all you need is the wipers on the lowest intermittent setting.

[NXnoob]

15 minutes ago, C Mclean said:

As Nemesis says, see what kind of freebie you can get, but I wouldn't pay for the likes of Supagard as it's pretty useless and is vastly overpriced, product costs a few quid and the rest is profit between the person applying it and the salesman. Check out what detailing places are near and go for one of the high tech coatings, plus I would recommend GTeqniq glass coating for the windows. Anything above 30-40mph in the pouring rain and all you need is the wipers on the lowest intermittent setting.

Thanks McLean. Any advice on specific products for the paint work?

Also is would I need to get this applied before general use or is it ok to wait a week or so? 

[C Mclean]

I had my IS and my sons GT86 done with Koche Chemie a few months after getting them. All they needed was a good wash, decontaminate and a couple of swirls polished out. Coating applied and ready for the road the next day. For the NX, it was Gyeon that went on the paintwork, seems to work just as good as Koche Chemie. Price wise, all three cars came in around the £300 mark and have lasted well. Not sure if you're interested, but I've fitted colour coded door edge guards and body side mouldings, if you look in the pics in my account you can see them on the IS.

Have a look here for more info. "http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php"

[NXnoob]

Thanks for sharing, really helpful. Can I ask if those additions were done through a Lexus dealer or did you source them yourself? I'm considering the side mouldings but not sure if I like how they look on the NX. 

[rayaans]

To answer your primary question, the Supagard will not prevent you from getting swirls and scratches. In reality, supagard is a glorified sealant which does nothing more than stick to the paint and prevent contamination from bird poo, brake dust etc.

Now, supagard in itself is not a bad product for the price (£30 or so off ebay). However, Ive found that many dealers sell it at an inflated price mostly consisting of labour charges and whoever applies it makes a half-hearted attempt resulting in poor protection and ultimately, premature failure.

Essentially, what you are after is a ceramic sealant. These include the likes of CQUARTZUK, Gtechniq Exo and Nanolex Si3D

In all honesty, I would say (and I have a lot of experience with these coatings) that there's no point going beyond the realms of the ones mentioned above. There are many coatings out there and all pretty much have the same durability and properties, the only difference is their price points and ease of application.

Im a big fan of CQUARTZUK actually, its cheap and cheerful yet still punches well above its weight. The thing to remember is that new coatings come out every year or so and they receive lots of hype for the sake of being NEW!

[NemesisUK]

Just enjoy the car, drive it, clean it and in a year or so get it detailed and start again.

There are far too many uncontrollables that will cause deterioration of the paint finish to get too hung up about it.

[DanD]

The product Lexus offers is good enough... if you don't pay for it. My dealer has always offered it to me, but at no charge.

The one that I was offered in the past was not Supaguard though, it was 3G GlassCoat I believe.

[rayaans]

4 minutes ago, DanD said:

The product Lexus offers is good enough... if you don't pay for it. My dealer has always offered it to me, but at no charge.

The one that I was offered in the past was not Supaguard though, it was 3G GlassCoat I believe.

The 3G glass coat is slightly different in that its an actual ceramic sealant. The product itself is great and works. The problem seems to come from the application.

Ive seen a few rushed cars where bits were missed and therefore the whole car would bead in the rain after being washed........ apart from a few bits on the bonnet, bootlid and doors! 

Id say it looked worse than a car with no protection on it as it left odd patterns on the paintwork

[NXnoob]

I actually made a mistake as it isn't actually Supagard, it's called Lexus ProTect which I assume is just Lexus rebranding for another product. 

But it seems to me that the main problem is the application not necessarily the product. I'm in two minds about whether to add protection up front or just use and restore in a years time. I'm looking for some local detailers at the moment. If anyone can recommend one in the Surrey area that would be great.

Thanks all

 

[C Mclean]

20 hours ago, NXnoob said:

Thanks for sharing, really helpful. Can I ask if those additions were done through a Lexus dealer or did you source them yourself? I'm considering the side mouldings but not sure if I like how they look on the NX. 

Didn't get Lexus to do the coating, I used Dominion detailing in Edinburgh, he does excellent work at good prices. Not much help to you as it'd take hours to get to him..

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, NXnoob said:

I actually made a mistake as it isn't actually Supagard, it's called Lexus ProTect which I assume is just Lexus rebranding for another product. 

But it seems to me that the main problem is the application not necessarily the product. I'm in two minds about whether to add protection up front or just use and restore in a years time. I'm looking for some local detailers at the moment. If anyone can recommend one in the Surrey area that would be great.

Thanks all

 

Never heard of that one but likely to be inflated in price. 

Are you any close to any of these guys?

https://www.cleanandshinydetailing.co.uk/

http://allthatgleams.co.uk/detailing/

[NXnoob]

Thanks. How about the door mouldings? Standard Lexus fit?

 

[C Mclean]

57 minutes ago, NXnoob said:

Thanks. How about the door mouldings? Standard Lexus fit?

 

Standard Lexus items, but the NX ones come unpainted. I just gave mine several coats of primer, colourcoat and lacquer. Cleaned up the door panels, marked them up and popped them on. I'll try and get a pic once the weather clears up..

[NXnoob]

14 hours ago, rayaans said:

Never heard of that one but likely to be inflated in price. 

Are you any close to any of these guys?

https://www.cleanandshinydetailing.co.uk/

http://allthatgleams.co.uk/detailing/

They're about 40mins away from me so definitely a possibility. Do you have experience with them? 

[C Mclean]

Dan, here are a couple of pics, not brilliant quality but it'll give you an idea inc the mudflaps.

[rayaans]

10 hours ago, NXnoob said:

They're about 40mins away from me so definitely a possibility. Do you have experience with them? 

Some of clean and shiny's work:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=30

https://www.instagram.com/cleanandshinyuk/

All that Gleams is very good too.

[NXnoob]

2 hours ago, C Mclean said:

Dan, here are a couple of pics, not brilliant quality but it'll give you an idea inc the mudflaps.

They look great, nice job. I definitely wouldn't trust myself to do a neat job of that. One last question and then I promise I'll leave you alone. With the door mouldings and mud flaps did the Lexus dealer supply and fit at their standard rates or did you order the parts and fit yourself? 

 

Thanks

 

 

[C Mclean]

I painted and installed the door mouldings myself, a fairly easy job as they came with full instructions and measurements, plus I had already done them on my previous IS. For the mudflaps, the dealer added them free, but I paid for fitting, anyway they are very simple to fit, just a couple of screws and plastic clips. The door edge protectors, which you can't see in these pics, took about 10 mins to fit, measure up against the door and tap them on with a rubber mallet. Any other questions, just ask away..

[Tel]

My IS is being coated with Gardex which results in a lifetime guarantee provided you care for your vehicle in the normal way.

An additional coating if correctly applied is a no brainer particularly if it is part of the Deal & Velvet Black needs it to pass the Fluorescent Light Test !

Tel

[rayaans]

On 16/02/2017 at 0:50 PM, Tel said:

My IS is being coated with Gardex which results in a lifetime guarantee provided you care for your vehicle in the normal way.

An additional coating if correctly applied is a no brainer particularly if it is part of the Deal & Velvet Black needs it to pass the Fluorescent Light Test !

Tel

Hope you didn't pay for that. I believe they sell it for £300 and it costs £25 in the trade

Doesn't work and good luck on the guarantee! 

Watch how many excuses they make when you say it doesn't work 

"Sorry sir, you weren't washing the car with the dedicated £50 a bottle, galactic space foam gold lined super shampoo"

"Oh and you can't visit a hand car wash"

"Or even a automatic car wash"

"Actually, you shouldn't be washing your car once its been applied"

"You took it off by looking at it"

"You shouldn't have parked your car under a tree"

"You shouldn't park your car outside"

"In fact, you should always keep your car covered with our £500 GardX Bomb Protection car cover with its PTFE, non stick coating and premium materials blended from Sumatran Striped Rabbit fur, Lion's mane and Kevlar"

 

"The fact of the matter is sir, that GardX is designed to protect your car when stationary, hence, should not be driven after application - it's the main thing our suppliers forget to tell you - we're extremely sorry for the inconvenience. However, we will make things right and as a goodwill gesture, give you the royal middle finger" 

[Tel]

Current IS was a showroom car which had been Gardexed to display. I,like you, was Very cynical & refused to pay for it !

However,my car which has always looked Mint, has been cared for using Meguires Products on a Gardex Base & I never allow Service Valetting.

The 2017 IS is offered with Wheel/Tyre/Scratch/Paint/Trim Protection & The Lexus Protection Pack to sweeten the deal if I agreed to go ahead in January.

Delivery was April & then my Dealer got allocated my car which was originally destined for a Showroom in the South.

A Dark Colour needs all the help it can get & I find my cars can attract unwanted Trabants even in deserted Parks.

I am content.

Tel

[GSLV6]

It's funny how we managed for years without these new fangled paint protection products!  So paints have changed from Isocyanate or Cellulose base to water base with lacquer top coats. Finish hardness is probably as good today as always if not better, so regular washing and waxing is all I've ever done and once a year perhaps, I'll use a corrective polish, maybe a 2500 followed by a 4000 grit, and DAP and go over the car once washed and perhaps clayed first if needed.  Takes half a day to do a reasonable job.  A day if clay work is needed.  This is needed prior to applying a sealant too.  (anyone know if Lexus use these steps before applying their products?)

However, having paid out a lot for our latest Lexus, I am paranoid about getting it scratched (too late as the neighbours cats have already obliged on the bonnet, hence a recent acquisition of a very large dog might help reduce that "paintwork risk"), so I will be applying a sealant.  It's really not any more difficult than polishing with Car Polish.  The main point is the preparation, which is what takes the time and skill.  On any car which is a year old or more, you'll likely need some sort of corrective polish to remove oxidised surfaces and environmental rubbish including tiny bits of embedded dirt and tar.  If unsure yourself about this, have the corrective polishing done by your local accident repair shop or friendly pro-car detailer.  It won't cost a bomb unlike Lexus paint protection schemes.  

Then apply CQUARtZ or GYEON sealant from the kit (£40 or so) and sit back and admire your shiny new paintwork.  It may not stop stonechips but will up the protection and help reduce environmental grime build up.  For a deeper more organic shine, you can wash and wax as normal once in a while. For now, I'm just washing and using the Menzerna sealant as it's already in the garage ready for use (more to protect against bird dropping damage etc).

[Goggy]

My dealership tried to sell me Gardex but I said no. They did it anyway, for free, including the seats with the interior version.