Supagard

[Jan&tone]

£15 and it does the same job as a professional firm would do????? I think "Pay cheap regret later".

A professional firm ?, the dealers do it, they don't send it out to a "Professional" valet company. It's sometimes done by the workshop lackey and sometimes it's not even done at all, but still charged.

Speaking to a valeting lackey who worked at a main dealer (not Toyota BTW), he said basically you are paying for a wash and polish which you could have done at a hand car wash place for £15-£20 and the follow up kit. They used a bulk Polymer based polish and gave the customer one of the Supagard kits (like you see on eBay for £30) to use themselves to maintain the Guarantee.

I would never pay hundreds of pounds for something I can't see, like the Emperor's new clothes.

You can tell if its been done in two ways:-

1. The car paintwork feels silky smooth, far smoother that an untreated car does.

2. Its very easy to clean and stays clean with dirt just falling away when it rains. Its almost a self cleaning car!

I am really pleased with the treatment on my new Prius. It does what they said it would do, it keeps the car bodywork in show room condition with very little effort from me. That's what I payed for becuase I don't want to spend half a day cleaning and waxing a car which in the long run results in swirl marks, damaged paintwork and a gradual reluctance to do the job at all.

Agree. The paintwork is as smooth as a baby's bum, cleans easy too!

[Phoenix999]

Its is most interesting.... the paintwork on every one of my new cars has been silky smooth and the untreated ones just as good as the 'one' Supagard treated car I had 9 years back

Yes I was ripped off once with this product and I too saw how it was applied once I had paid for the stuff.... no experience required and a far far cheaper product can do just as well

[Seamaster73]

I used to work in the auto-refinish business and products such as this were routinely dismissed as snake oil.

You'll get the same, if not better, protection from a good quality modern polymer polish/sealant and a little elbow grease.

[MLW2233]

Ive been using Turtlewax Platinum series which a few of the car mags thought highly off. This gets the marks out etc and provides a good shine. Then I use Turtle Wax Gloss Guard, which is a clear sealer. The two give good protection for about 4-5 months.

However, like every other polish I have used over the years, they just don't last long enough. I think Gloss Guard has been discontinued. Has it? A shame as it is so easy to put on and polish off.

The only reason I am interested in Superguard is if the 'professional' service says it lasts X number of years, I would be happy to apply the £20 eBay stuff and get one year.

If nobody really rates it at £20, I'll get the Autoglym High Definition Wax which has first class reviews.

Any opinions?.

[Phoenix999]

....Any opinions?.

Yes.... stay with a good product such as Turtlewax, Autoglym, Zaino or Meguiars as they do a better job at a far cheaper price when put alongside the dealership offerings

As Seamaster73 suggests products such as Supagard are 'snakeoil' and frankly I much prefer to polish my own car every couple of months, that way you can monitor it's condition as you work on it

[kithmo]

I used to work in the auto-refinish business and products such as this were routinely dismissed as snake oil.

You'll get the same, if not better, protection from a good quality modern polymer polish/sealant and a little elbow grease.

I totally agree, I applied one coat of PTFE car polish, which is basically a polymer based product, last November (2010), £20 off eBay, and have only just last week needed to re-apply. One thin coat lasted 9 months and the only reason I had to re-apply is because at work I park next to a company that does a lot of concrete cutting and the car gets the dust from this on it and with rain showers then hot weather the dust tends to bake on. The car had been silky smooth until this dust got on it. Now I can feel a slight occasional grittiness as I run my fingers across it so I'm going to claybar it then put 2 or 3 coats of this polish on.

[cbcdesign]

It seems that those of us who have it rate it and those that don't are of the opinion that it is not worth having. I wonder how much people are being influenced by the high price as opposed to the merits of the actual product?

Of course valeters who are in business to make money by offering regular car cleaning services are going to diss a product that makes their services somewhat redundant. I would take advice from such authorities with a pinch of salt frankly.

This is the view of a company that restores cars:-

http://www.clean-image.co.uk/articles/paint-sealant-faq.html

[Sagitar]

It seems that those of us who have it rate it and those that don't are of the opinion that it is not worth having. I wonder how much people are being influenced by the high price as opposed to the merits of the actual product?

Of course valeters who are in business to make money by offering regular car cleaning services are going to diss a product that makes their services somewhat redundant. I would take advice from such authorities with a pinch of salt frankly.

This is the view of a company that restores cars:-

http://www.clean-image.co.uk/articles/paint-sealant-faq.html

. . . and the views of an organisation with an interest in selling it to you are no more detached than the views of a detailer.

My personal experience is based upon having it done to a Nissan Maxima some years ago. It had a dark blue metallic finish and it was not my impression that the sealant made the car any easier to keep clean than the following car, a QX, which was the same dark blue metallic but did not have the sealant. Both cars were built in Japan and it was my impression that the paint finish was rather harder than we get today.

I had a door panel damaged on the car with the sealant (some kids playing with a football) and the body shop remarked that colour matching was made more difficult by the presence of the sealer. They could of course have been kidding me.

I have owned four other cars since then none of then sealed, but all well looked after and I cannot say that I have missed it.

The experience of others may be different.

[Andy Kerry]

Any tips on this stuff, had it put on my Auris when i brought it. Always been a miguires man never delt with this. Anything worth getting to use when cleaning it. I always wax after a wash so idea if waxing with maguires after a wash is cool?

[Phoenix999]

It seems that those of us who have it rate it and those that don't are of the opinion that it is not worth having. I wonder how much people are being influenced by the high price as opposed to the merits of the actual product?

Of course valeters who are in business to make money by offering regular car cleaning services are going to diss a product that makes their services somewhat redundant. I would take advice from such authorities with a pinch of salt frankly.

This is the view of a company that restores cars:-

http://www.clean-ima...ealant-faq.html

I have HAD Supagard in the past and that is why I do not have it now.... it is overpriced and does not do a better job than many products that can be bought at the local motor factor shop or online

Now I will be controversial.... those that praise it are those that have it.... they have to praise it as they have to justify their reason for paying the silly prices

[Peter Sale]

One of the reasons for the high price of Supaguard is the amount of commission to the salesman !! You might be surprised ...

[cbcdesign]

One of the reasons for the high price of Supaguard is the amount of commission to the salesman !! You might be surprised ...

No doubt and main dealer hourly rates are not cheap either!

I won't pretend its not expensive, it is and no doubt could be applied on a DIY basis for a lot less money. It is a good product though and claims to the contrary seem a bit disingenuous to me.

". . . and the views of an organisation with an interest in selling it to you are no more detached than the views of a detailer."

At face value a fair point but consider two factors:-

1. Restorers have a reputation to consider and are not likely to use a product that doesn't work or damages their reputation.

2. They don't get repeat business on the vehicle like valeters do!

[Sagitar]

It is a good product though and claims to the contrary seem a bit disingenuous to me.

I tried it once and concluded that it wasn't good value. If you are so naive as to believe that anyone who expresses an opinion contrary to your own must be engaging in deception then there is no more to be said.

[Jan&tone]

Now now children

We all have our opinions of supagard/gard-x and the like, we all have our opinions on how to keep our cars pristine...

Let's agree to differ on what works for you and what works for Fred down the road...

[cbcdesign]

It is a good product though and claims to the contrary seem a bit disingenuous to me.

I tried it once and concluded that it wasn't good value. If you are so naive as to believe that anyone who expresses an opinion contrary to your own must be engaging in deception then there is no more to be said.

Oh dear, touched a nerve did I?

Value, in my experience is another way of expressing an opinion that its too expensive! I am talking about the merits of the product in terms of its performance, not how much it costs. I think we all agree its expensive but it does work too, at least for me and others. Lots of things are too expensive, it doesn't alter the fact that they work though.

Lets just agree to disagree. You have resorted to calling me names and frankly it isn't necessary or worth it. Its just a protective finish for crying out loud so lets lighten up a bit shall we?

[Doesn'tExist]

I had it on the Murano from new and also on the Navara from new (different dealer), won't be buying it again. In fact on the Navara within a year I used the rotary polisher to remove the darn stuff.

Let's be very clear, it is a sealant and not a wax. Beading effect is minimal, and deep shine is as good as the car was cleaned before it was applied minus one stop because of the coat.

Haven't actually had it on two cars I do not think it is snake oil, it is actually an effective sealant. The problem comes with how and when it is applied. I've seen the monkeys at Nissan washing my car ready to apply it, seen them drop a sponge on the floor and then picked it up and continued like normal. So nice swirl marks, no deep polish, water drops all just like you get your car from the dealer after a wash, and then a sealant gets applied so it is nicely stuck underneath. Nah never again, or if you do get it done by someone who prides their work and takes it serious.

I now do it by hand, beading from my dodo juice light metallic paint wax is still beading after 17 months....

[balli hi]

But in essence, if you did it yoursel;f with a £15ish ebay package is it any good?

How long does it last till beadding goes off?

Supagard is the same no matter where you buy it so don't pay any more than you really have to.... having it done by the dealership is a serious rip off!

£15 sounds good but you can do just as well by buying a decent silicone based product as they the same and for just as long

Don't fall for the pathetic hype that Supagard is the best.... it really is not

I whole heartedly agree, i had it done when i bought my car, but never again :censor: , its a rip off, if you've money to burn then pay for Supaguard, if not, listen to phoenix.