hwoarang
11-05-2006, 02:59 PM
Hello...I`m a total noob and got suckered into the "touch of class" sealant package from the Lexus dealership when I purchased my IS350 a couple months ago..... I believe they told me it was a LIFETIME warranty so that`s the main reason I got suckered into it.
Now when I researched the forums I hear that it`s just another coat of wax that has to be reapplied every year? I am wondering what I should do? Try to get my money back for the touch of class? And I would love to Zaino my car but can I put it over the "touch of class"?
fdizzle
11-05-2006, 05:22 PM
a sealant is a sealant . . . like anything else . . .
though there are countless threads on this already, ill fill you in . . .
Perma Plate, Touch of CLass, and many others, are sealants offered by dealerships who claim they can last for 5 years all the way to the lifetime of the car.
If there were anything that lasted that long, it would be, in reality, another coat of clear paint on your finish . . . .
outside contaminents, car washes (machine or hand) systematically break down LSPs (liquid surface protectants)
if you want to maintain you car correctly, Personally I would use a mild clay on the vehicle, strip anything the "dealer" put on by usinga 50/50 mix of distilled water and rubbing alcohol, doing a mild polish to eliminate any marring or spider web swirils that may have shown up, and then applying a sealant of your choice. . . . (klasse, jeff`s werkstatt, wolfgang, poor boys world, chemical guys)
carnuba wax products like pinnacle souveran or sig. series, p21s, collinite and poorboys world natty`s paste waxes offer incredible depth and clarity to your finish, but as you may be aware carnubas do not last anywhere near as long as a sealant . . .
but if your car is a dark color, you will appriciate several layers of sealant applied correctly, given proper time to cure (usually a 8-24 hours) followed by a "topper", or coat of carnuba wax on top of the sealant . . . its quite a process, and will take you some time, but the results are far greater than your current finish, despite being a new car . .
before you do anything, browse the many threads on this forum, visit online stores like danase.com, autogeek.net, properautocare.com, top of the line.com, even autopias own store, to get the low down on the most popular products, methods and tips on application
you have a bad *** car . . . it shouls have a bad *** finish . . . many people, myself included, own cars others would consider "beaters" but they have concours quality paint finishes on them . . .
its all about prep, proper application, paitence and using quality products.
many high quality products can be purchased over the counter (otc) at places like kragen or autozone....
meguiars NXT products are very popular amoung many autopia members here . . .
you have a lot to soak up . . . but try not to get distracted by the sheer mas ammounts of information and products avalible.
best of luck . . . . :waxing:
cwcad
11-05-2006, 05:34 PM
I agree that reading the threads will give you an idea of what products that you should use. Process is more important than product. If the vehicle is taken care of from the very first day it is easier (not easy) to maintain it.
Mother`s, Mequiar`s, Poorboy`s, Pinnacle, or what ever you chose to use the most important thing in my mind is protect it.
I have migrated to a certain product because it fits my needs. I have not put a product on my vehicle that did not protect it. Some just last longer than others. If you put a product on once a month I doubt that you will notice much difference until the techniques of your preparation are well honed.
Until that time get something on it for protection and learn how to take care of you vehicle with proper prep techniques.
Accumulator
11-06-2006, 11:32 AM
hwoarang- Welcome to Autopia!
I`ll go against the tide just a little bit here and say that the dealership applied poly-[crap] isn`t *always* all that bad. Like most stuff a lot has to do with the guy who prepped your car and some of those products are OK stuff (a friend with physical limitations has such stuff on her SUV and it looks OK).
IMO you`ll never get any money back, so I`d at least get a little use out of the application that`s on there now. It oughta hold up OK for a month or two (at least).
In the meantime, I`d study up as this detailing stuff is a little more involved than many might think. Washing without marring the paint is a *lot* trickier than most people would ever imagine and it takes some practice. I`d practice now while the paint already has something on it. Just learning the ins and outs of properly washing and drying the vehicle can be a project.
You might do a little research on "foamgun" and develop a plan for the regular cosmetic maintenance. Washing is what gets done most often and IMO it`s when most of the damage (scratches/etc.) happens to the paint.
And if you want, you can apply most any wax over top of the dealership stuff. I always recommend Collinite because it looks OK and lasts a very, very long time.
abbeysdad
11-06-2006, 01:30 PM
Well, you can`t really put Zaino (or other sealant) on top of a wax product. You can try and get out of the `touch of class` thing, but odds are this might be tough. I don`t know how much you spent?
Ask yourself if you want to void that waranty and take on maintaining the surface yourself?
It`s really up to you.