Toyota ProTect paint protection

[estate]

Just about to take delivery of a Avensis Excel and was considering having the Toyota ProTect paint protection applied to the car. I have no experience with any of these products and I've never had it applied to any of my other new car that I've bought. It cost £399, so its not cheap but the product looks impressive in the brochure and on YouTube. Would appreciate any advice and suggestions.

[Heidfirst]

Any help? http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/keywords/?word=polish+and+paint+protection

Seems to suggest trying to get it (or similar) for ~£200-£250 as a lot of the price is usually commission,

[estate]

Thanks Scott, will try and get it down to the £200-250 mark, Honest John implies it cost about £60 for the kits and a you say most of the cost is on commission.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Paint protection systems have been around for a few years now (Supagard, G3 Glascoat, etc) but recently some car manufacturers have been promoting their own re-branded systems (eg Hyundai use G3 Glascoat).

Some need the use of conserver to maintain the finish on paintwork - usually applied once a month after car has been washed. Add the specified quantity of conserver to a bucket of water, sponge over the vehicle, and rinse off.

We've had these on each of our new cars since 2003 (9 vehicles), especially if the car has been a solid red, which tends to suffer more from bloom, etc. Never paid full price. If one looks at the cost as a percentage of what you're paying for the car, it works out to be a relatively small percentage.

As with most things, some people like it, some don't.

 

[estate]

Thanks Mike, taken onboard your comments and as the car is red in colour, will seriously consider having the Toyota ProTect applied, if they can lower the price, or may have to shop around for a similar product.

[Heidfirst]

How did you get on with this?

[estate]

Hi Scott I didn't bother with any of the paint protection coatings, just bought some Soft99 Fusso Coat wax, that got an excellent write up in Auto Express, so just got to wait for a run of some dry weather to apply it. At £20 a tin its a reasonable price.

[Mr Wolf]

Hi Frank

Hi Frank

I think you were probably right not to have the manufacturer paint protection put on your new car. Some experienced professional car detailers will tell you not to buy paint protection systems from the dealer - some are an expensive sham (basically a spray on sealant that coats the car for a month or so).

Any new car will have picked up environmental contaminants while it's in storage and on it's journeys from the manufacturer to the dealership. How reliable and professional are the dealers' staff in then preparing cars for sale? Do they remove contaminants and ensure that dust and grit is carefully removed before washing and waxing? If not, then paintwork will have swirling that is visible at certain angles and light.

I checked the paintwork surfaces of my new car by lightly rubbing over it with my fingers with a plastic bag/clingfilm to feel for bonded contaminants, as new cars regularly pick these up in storage/transport and they can eat away at the clear coat. If one feels any roughness using the clingfilm then the car can be clayed as this will get the surface squeaky clean. If the paintwork has swirls then I've used a swirl remover polish eg Meguiars and then finally applied a wax and/or sealant. This treatment can last for up to a year. 

[estate]

Thanks for your inpup Mickey. 

What you mentioned is exactly what I intend to do. I've bought some Soft99 Fusso wax, that was highly recommended in the Auto Express magazine and I'll apply it after spending a few days with a clay bar. 

I did the same with my last Avensis and was really impressed with the finish.