Paint protection ?

[Crazy Harry]

Not asking if it’s worth it ! Looking at buying a Lexus that’s 2-3yrs old and the sales always want to sell paint protection kit etc, how can you tell if the cars already had it done ? Probably when it was sold new ?

[NemesisUK]

Mine came with a sticker in the windscreen and a tote bag of solutions for aftercare. After 2yrs probably not a help though. To be honest it's probably not worth worrying about it. If you want paint protection get it done on whichever car you decide on. Find a reputable detailer, will do a better job than most dealerships.

[Jgtcracer]

I use ceramic coating on my cars and it’s brilliant!  Lasts a couple of years if done right and makes the paintwork look brilliant.  To be honest it’s probably not the time of year to be doing it unless you have a garage and somewhere you can keep the car warm for a few days however…

Detailer will be able to help but will cost a chunk of money.

[LenT]

1 hour ago, Crazy Harry said:

Looking at buying a Lexus that’s 2-3yrs old and the sales always want to sell paint protection kit etc, how can you tell if the cars already had it done ? Probably when it was sold new ?

If it’s a product such as Supaguard it should come with some kind of Warranty, which will normally be in the car’s Info Pack.

As for deciding if it’s actually there …well, Supaguard claims that it produces a beading effect if you pour water onto the bonnet.  

Frankly, if you want to invest in really effective paint protection that could last up to ten years, then a good quality ceramic finish is the way to go.  Check out a local Detailer.  The newer the car, the less prep work they require - which is why some new owners take their cars straight to a Detailer for treatment. 

[Linas.P]

Paint protection of any sort only lasts 2-3 years at best. Sure best in business ceramic coatings claim they can last 5-10 years if cared for properly, but because you buying used car and you don't know how it was cared for I would just assume it does not have it, or if it had it, then it is long past it's best to use date. 

That said - I do not recommend dealer applied protection, they just not good at it, product is good, but their application is bad. Ceramic coating in particular require proper preparation, basically all car polished and cleaned carefully, and that is just not in average dealers capability, they most likely will send their "best" cleaner to do it (and I am not even joking! literally the guy from agency on minimal wage who cleans the floor).

So my recommendation - buy the car and find detailer you trust (in my case that is only myself) and get pain protection properly applied. 

[Linas.P]

12 hours ago, Jgtcracer said:

To be honest it’s probably not the time of year to be doing it unless you have a garage and somewhere you can keep the car warm for a few days however…

That is very true - I have once done ceramic in winter, not sure what month but temperature outside was ~ 4C and I do have garage, but it is not heated, so let's say 10C inside. Applied the coating and it just doesn't flash off, after hour, after day... so car ended-up all splotchy and I had to polish it again. I thought it is shaite coating or something, later used same coating in the summer (say 20C) and it was amazing to work with, flashed off in 10 minutes as per instructions, buffed off easily and everything was fine. 

So yes - application temperature is something to consider, for most ceramic coating to work the temp should be 20C+.

[LenT]

52 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

So yes - application temperature is something to consider, for most ceramic coating to work the temp should be 20C+.

And of course professional Detailers use infrared heaters to bake the ceramic coating, which gives a much harder surface.

 

[Linas.P]

Sometimes... 

Some "professional only" ceramic coatings require heaters, I don't think it overall gives harder surface, but it get's to full hardness much quicker. So let's say it requires 24-48 hours to cure normally, and with IR heater that can be achieved in 4 hours, so it saves time for detailer/customer and car be picked-up in the same day. As well it removes risk - because IR is required to cure the coating, sunlight naturally has IR, but then you have dilemma - park it outside to get "sun cured" and risk the rain (very topical in UK I heard) or even dust, splatter, stupid kids touching it whatever it may be, or you leave it garaged, but then cure time is exponentially longer. In summer that usually is not a problem, but how much of proper summer do we get in UK? This year I would say none at all!