Patrick
11-24-2003, 12:01 AM
I wrote Prestone several weeks ago, with an inquiry about their new synthetic wax. Several days later, I had a $3.00 coupon in my mailbox. So off to Pep Boys today, to make the big $3.50 purchase. Ya see, Im a synthetic fanatic, so I have to try everything i can get my hands on.
I wrote them, because I was curious if their product had any cleaners in it. There response was no, it was just a sealant, a synthetic sealant. The ingredients tell me otherwise, but I wont hold it against them. (She just may not have known, nor did she think an Autopian would get his hands on it) I washed up the ol Ford Taurus today, a 2000, white, with a decent finish for Ford, no orange peel if ya know what I mean Ford owners. No major swirls, no major scratches. So here goes my Prestone review:
I used my Porter Cable with a yellow Megs pad, on "4.5" for application, then "6" for working the product in and around. Prestone has a slight solvent smell to it, thus implying cleaning properties, albeit minimal, but nonetheless, it does have some cleaning ability. The first thing I noticed was its lack of "oilyness", unlike Blackfire and Platinum. It spreads fairly well, but not like the above mentioned products. You would probably use twice as much Prestone as you would BF or Plat, due to its lack of mega oils. However theres a trade off, no smearing. Again, another trade off, it doesnt remove like polymers im familiar with, its more like S100, where as if you let it haze up, it can be more difficult to remove. I had some difficulty finding "just the right amount", and I think this was due to its lack of oils. Some areas, were slightly difficult to remove with a MF do to too much product. I cant fault the product, just the applier (me). The product states to let haze, then remove, and I did just that. With the exception of areas where there was too much, it came off fairly effortlessly. It left an excellent shine, and thats about all you can do with white. Very glossy, very white, just what i had expected. Theres no powdery residue, and its not black plastic friendly, at least on my side mirrors. The surface felt very smooth and slick, and without an oily residue. I even had a neighbor fellow compliment me on the results, little did he know this was a first time product trial, under Autopian scrutiny......
So a quick wrap up...on a scale of 1-5.
1:bad 2:below avrg 3:average 4:above avg 5:Very good
Cost: $6.50, minus $3.00 coupon
Smell: Slight petroleum, not bad.
Ease of use: 4.0 (S100)
Ease of removal: 4.0 (#20)
Filling ablility: 0 (Doesnt claim to fill)
Cleaning: 2.0 (Doesnt claim to clean)
Shine: 4.5 (like #20)
Slick ? yes
Would I buy again ? Too soon to tell
Will I use again ? Definetely
Would I use on other than my own car ? Yes
Would I recommend to others ? Yes
All in all, a pretty decent product, worth the $6.00 or so, ive been waiting to try since it came out, it has had some other reviews on Autopia, some of them lacked proper prep or apllications process resulting in less than favorable results. My car was pretty good to go so I went right with the Prestone application, and got what I expected.
Hope this is of help to all
I wrote them, because I was curious if their product had any cleaners in it. There response was no, it was just a sealant, a synthetic sealant. The ingredients tell me otherwise, but I wont hold it against them. (She just may not have known, nor did she think an Autopian would get his hands on it) I washed up the ol Ford Taurus today, a 2000, white, with a decent finish for Ford, no orange peel if ya know what I mean Ford owners. No major swirls, no major scratches. So here goes my Prestone review:
I used my Porter Cable with a yellow Megs pad, on "4.5" for application, then "6" for working the product in and around. Prestone has a slight solvent smell to it, thus implying cleaning properties, albeit minimal, but nonetheless, it does have some cleaning ability. The first thing I noticed was its lack of "oilyness", unlike Blackfire and Platinum. It spreads fairly well, but not like the above mentioned products. You would probably use twice as much Prestone as you would BF or Plat, due to its lack of mega oils. However theres a trade off, no smearing. Again, another trade off, it doesnt remove like polymers im familiar with, its more like S100, where as if you let it haze up, it can be more difficult to remove. I had some difficulty finding "just the right amount", and I think this was due to its lack of oils. Some areas, were slightly difficult to remove with a MF do to too much product. I cant fault the product, just the applier (me). The product states to let haze, then remove, and I did just that. With the exception of areas where there was too much, it came off fairly effortlessly. It left an excellent shine, and thats about all you can do with white. Very glossy, very white, just what i had expected. Theres no powdery residue, and its not black plastic friendly, at least on my side mirrors. The surface felt very smooth and slick, and without an oily residue. I even had a neighbor fellow compliment me on the results, little did he know this was a first time product trial, under Autopian scrutiny......
So a quick wrap up...on a scale of 1-5.
1:bad 2:below avrg 3:average 4:above avg 5:Very good
Cost: $6.50, minus $3.00 coupon
Smell: Slight petroleum, not bad.
Ease of use: 4.0 (S100)
Ease of removal: 4.0 (#20)
Filling ablility: 0 (Doesnt claim to fill)
Cleaning: 2.0 (Doesnt claim to clean)
Shine: 4.5 (like #20)
Slick ? yes
Would I buy again ? Too soon to tell
Will I use again ? Definetely
Would I use on other than my own car ? Yes
Would I recommend to others ? Yes
All in all, a pretty decent product, worth the $6.00 or so, ive been waiting to try since it came out, it has had some other reviews on Autopia, some of them lacked proper prep or apllications process resulting in less than favorable results. My car was pretty good to go so I went right with the Prestone application, and got what I expected.
Hope this is of help to all