I am awaiting delivery of my new VRS and was speaking to a guy who does minor repairs on bodywork and alloys. He is feom a reputable franchise and was encouraging me to have Diamond shine paint protection put on it. He wanted £200+VAT to do it.

Questions, I know they are a paint protection product but what exactly does "Diamond shine" or Auto Glym "Lifeshine" do / consist of ?

Is it worth it?

I've been offered something similar for mine, would also be interested in whether or not it is any good.

Put simply it's a long-life paint sealant. This has been covered quite a few times before and the general consensus is that a proper car detail done, for around the same price, will yield more benefit. Take talk of a 'lifetime warranty' with a pinch of salt.

Or if you are set on this type of protection system, the kits are available on eBay and the like for around £30.

Steve

Yep, it works, but you can buy the Diamond brite kits and do it yourself for a fraction of the price - it's not difficult

Don't waste your money £200 + vat is a rip off,I had it done on my new Smart car in June and am disappointed. The products themselves are quite good, but can be picked up dead cheap on e bay and do it yourself. Personally I have been using Proshine waterless wax system, from ideal world or netparts on ebay. Took it with a pinch of salt at first but results are superb and no fine scratches on the paint work from washing, my Smart and black Octy vrs look superb after using the Proshine.

John

Yep rip off, buy a wax like Collinite 845 and microfibre towel and pad and do the job yourself, cost about £25 and much better results!

Told my Dad to ignore any such requests for his new TT. Going to give it a quick going over myself and sealing the paintwork with 2 or 3 coats of collinite wax.

had lifetime on my last 2 skodas, but got it for £99...I don't expect it to last a lifetime, but found it's a very good base to do my own detailing..fantastic results with lifetime and my own work ;-)))

Audi dealer wanted £550 to do it on my A4. Told him id got the lifeshine kit at home and then gave me a load of rubbish about spilling milk on my seats till I pointed out it was a leather interior not fabric

Is it worth it?

One of the car mags did a comparison of these products recently and the Comma product came out best value for the ease of use and protection it gave. I was offered the Autoglym product at a similar price but declined until I checked the sp on these and concluded it's 85-90% labour charge at those prices. Actually the 'standard' delivery shine stuff they use seems pretty good so far.

Hehe, Comma

The mags should really start to realise what other products are out there, and what the proper detailing companies are producing. I mean FFS, one AutoExpress test had polishes and waxes in the same group test, under the same criteria?! What chance has the average punter got with that level of advice??

200 quid challenge, dealership monkey with 'life' product vs. pro-detailer, or even competent amateur. I know where my bet would be for which would win on looks, protection and longevity.

Steve

I bought the supagaurd kit off ebay for £15 - and ended up not using it, then after doing some more research bought some CarLack 68 sealant and Collinite 476s wax (about £25 for both). Applied this when the car was new in October and the water is still beading as it was when I first applied it. Also was very easy to do.

I got the Autoglym thrown in as part of my deal because I'm lazy. It looked very nice on delivery though a few weeks on needs a good rinse. But the thing that sold me was the lifetime bit where they valet and redo it (well, that's what they told me .. kinda makes you wonder how long the basic treatment is supposed to last in that case!) every three months.

I didn't know about detailing before I came on here and I'm sure I'd get a better result that way. But I'm more than happy for someone to clean and valet my car quarterly for life at no further cost to me!

Had GardX included in my deal but as with all of these type of products, you are supposed to apply a conserver at least once a month, which I do. So far I'm pleased with the results and I have had both Superguard and Diamondbrite in the past. Was not so keen on the Superguard but the GardX & Diamondbrite seem pretty much on a par with each other. Over the years I have used many different products for hand detailing (now have a cupboard full of products surplus to requirements) and providing the said conserver is applied at least monthly, the GardX stacks up very well.

http://www.gardx.co.uk/

Hehe, Comma

The mags should really start to realise what other products are out there, and what the proper detailing companies are producing. I mean FFS, one AutoExpress test had polishes and waxes in the same group test, under the same criteria?! What chance has the average punter got with that level of advice??

200 quid challenge, dealership monkey with 'life' product vs. pro-detailer, or even competent amateur. I know where my bet would be for which would win on looks, protection and longevity.

Steve

Thanks for all the advice but, scuse my ignorance but what is a pro detailer?

Thanks for all the advice but, scuse my ignorance but what is a pro detailer?

A person who, some might say obsessively, cleans cars for profit. I assume the detailer part comes from the attention to detail applied in the "cleaning" process.

Take a look here for examples:

http://briskoda.net/forums/forum/8-styling-and-car-care/

Edited 12 December, 200916 yr by Phil_P

Thanks for all the advice but, scuse my ignorance but what is a pro detailer?

Yes, pretty much as above really. Detailing - the process of proper car cleaning and care. The devil's in the detail I suppose

www.polishedbliss.co.uk might give you an idea, as well as the www.detailingworld.co.uk forum...

Also not mentioned Is the fact the dealers won't prep the car correctly before putting on the product, so what they are In fact doing Is putting It on top of the grime inbedded In the clear coat.

Hehe, Comma

Anything wrong with the Comma products?

I'm planning to protect the paint work of my new Octy when I get it but am undecided what to use. Can anyone explain what the difference is between Collnite 845 and Car Lack 68, are they a similar product or is there a difference in what they do?

Are these sealing products safe to use by a novice (and reluctant) car cleaner. By that I mean, are these sealants like traditional car wax where if you apply too much or get it wrong, you are just left with some residue that can be polished off or are these products more permanent such that if you don't apply them properly you risk making a mess of your paint.

Anything wrong with the Comma products?

Yes, in that there are far better products out there.

I think when I get mine, I'm going for scotchgard on the seats, clay the paint, then a couple of coats of Jetseal 109 and some Collinite.

I'm planning to protect the paint work of my new Octy when I get it but am undecided what to use. Can anyone explain what the difference is between Collnite 845 and Car Lack 68, are they a similar product or is there a difference in what they do?

Are these sealing products safe to use by a novice (and reluctant) car cleaner. By that I mean, are these sealants like traditional car wax where if you apply too much or get it wrong, you are just left with some residue that can be polished off or are these products more permanent such that if you don't apply them properly you risk making a mess of your paint.

First of all I used a clay bar to prep the paint surface - very easy to do, then using a micro-fibre sponge applied the carlack 68 which is a liquid paint cleaner / sealer. Wait until it dries then buff off with a microfibre cloth. The Collinite is a hard wax which will protect the finish. Again apply with a microfibre sponge and buff off with microfibre cloth. It was the first time I had tried either of these products - the finish was much better than the car when we picked it up from the dealers. I bought them after searching for a decent paint sealer / wax on a detailing forum. I think the only way you could damage your paint is by not using a decent cloth to apply/buff the product or not following the simple instructions.

Hi,

You will be surprised at the results if you clay bar the paintwork even on a brand new car, then apply a good wax either Autoglym high definition wax

or collinite. I have been in the motor industry for 25 years & tried just about every product over those 25 years & find the 2 i mention currently the best

for the money that the vast majority can afford. Always remember good preparation is the key to an excellent finish, no short cuts. Once 2 or 3 coats

of wax have been applied over the course of 2 days all you then need if not too dirty is a good detailer liquid like meguiars or Autoglym.

Excuse the ignorance but what exactly does 'clay the car' mean, I've heard of clay bars being used for detailing before but i haven't a clue what they do.