5 star shine, yeah, I actually bought the stuff...

[kiwi133]

a couple months ago actually. Wasn`t actually intending on using it for another few weeks, but I was just washin my car and, well one thing led to another (you know how that goes)



I won`t give any details yet, maybe none for a day or so because I have so far put 4 hours in and am only half done (and am way behind on my homework). On a dinner break now. I expect another 2 hours most and I`ll be done.



I will have BIG photos, would somebody please host for me?



thats all for now, back to work! :bounce

[tpgsr]

i will host, pm me for details

[Blk_Mach]

:showpics

[kiwi133]

Well that was fun! I type it up all nice and submit reply kills the computer. :mad:



So now you get it quick and dirty. only the facts



Washed outside, most of polishing done in very confined and cluttered garage. about 60 degrees out, mild to moderate humidity.



I washed the car with a wash mit and generic car soap



Directions say to pour all of the ionizing wash into 1 gallon of water, then wipe down the car and let it dry (10-15 minutes)



For a normal sized car, you only need 1/4 of this.

I used a terry cloth to wipe it down.



The "ionizing wash" smells like windex, but I have been assured by the company it is not.



It is really sudzy, and extremely slippery. While waiting for it to dry I tried it on our beater, and it cleaned crud off VERY well



after it dried i rinsed it off with lots of water

dried car with water blade

finnished up with a cloth.

(very important to get all water off, 5SS does not like to apply in the presance of water)



It must be applied VERY thin. Unfortunatly it spreads worse than fat free store brand butter.



Work in fast tiny circles, going over an area multiple times before it dries. (it actually takes a while to dry enough to be removed, but it seems to become too dry to work with quickly)



If you put it on too thick well have fun. It will weld itself on your paint. (this, on my hood, is what took 2 hours to correct. Don`t know if it was that which caused my pounding headach, or the smell of the stuff)



removeing it is ok, just use light pressure and, multiple multiple passes, turning the (i used terry cloths) frequently. Almost no dust is produced, and the towels fowled up over about 1/3 of the car.



This stuff is the most difficult polish to apply I have ever worked with. Absofrigginlutly a major pain in my ***.



Swirl hiding/filling ability, average.



Shine, above average.



Look, not really wet, but dispite how thin it is applied, adds considerable dimension and depth to the pearl/metalic.



Feel, i have felt slicker, but it extremely smooth, soft to the touch, yet it is very hard feeling.



Conclusion. None yet, need to still observe its durability and let my passionate hate for the application experience die down.



I will comment more, when I get the pics up (THANK YOU TPGSR)



btw, anybody thinking about buying this stuff, be aware that you only get 2oz of the polish and 2oz ionizing solution damnit! I am pissed that this is not made clear on their site. That i saw anyway.

[jerry@robs]

Cant wait for the long term update for this one.

[Scottwax]

It had better last forever if it takes 6 hours to apply.

[kiwi133]

Originally posted by Scottwax

It had better last forever if it takes 6 hours to apply.



Damn right it better!



The internet died and took my more detailed explination with it. If I was to do this again I could probably do it in less than 3 hours (time for claying, washing, stareing, the whole shibang)



Screwing up slows ya down. Also you will see in one or two of the pics, only haveing 1 to 1.5 feet workspace around the car slows things down. (needed the light in the garage, and garage is full of junk) At any rate, its not a 1 hour job as advertised.

[tpgsr]

Here are the pics, You can click for higher resolution:



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p1.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0004.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p2.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0007.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p3.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0012.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p4.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0014.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p5.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0019.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p6.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0019a.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p7.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0024.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p8.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0027.jpg)



http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/p9.jpg (http://ubrf.diamonddetailing.biz/kiwi/Pict0028.jpg)

[Anthony O.]

Looks nice and I applaud all your hard work......BUT the finish does not balance out with all of that hard work! Imean it`s nice but the look reminds me of an S100/P21S gloss and shine.



It would be interesting to have a side by side comparison to another product.



Thanks for the write up:up



Anthony

[kiwi133]

Ok 1st pic:

Just a nice pic, so I put it up.



2nd pic:

Showing off the pearl, also color is very accurate.



3rd pic:

Shows how thin it has to go on. the far side of the roof was already buffed off. (the reflection there is only blurry because focus was on the paint surface, not the distant reflection)



4th pic:

I though it showed the range of apperance well, from only reflection, to only pearl. Color was very accurate again except for the sun reflection got bright and freaked the camera out making it look cyan there.



5th pic:

The standard "what i used shot"



6th pic:

roof again, only outside (click for more detail people, there is a lot of detail in these)



7th pic:

this was a cool shot (notice how cramped a space i had to work with lol)



8th pic:

good contrast to the 7th one.

In the 7th one i didn`t use a flash, only garage lighting. The paint is a reflection almost everywhere. the pearl drowns it out at the right angles.

the 8th pic however was no light except my flash. Notice how the garage and inside the car got illuminated just fine, but all the flash was reflected off the paint. except for were it was straight on in front there, the pearl showed up.



9th

just another angle



The shine would be as good with any good product, but what i really noticed was how deep the pearl became, and how transparrent the surface is. (its just like the shine floats over the pearl) surface feels real nice too.



Thats all I can say for now, must wait for durability tests.



any questions?



btw: chadster, I`ll let you use that pic of the 5SS reflection however you want if I can get some more free...

[imported_norahcrv]

Thanks for the honest review - I think you just saved me a lot of blood, sweat & tears! I too, was very tempted by all I read on their web-site - but leery because the only "testimonials" praising the wonders of their product, were on their site - no independent reviews - your`s was the first I`ve found - thank you Dalmore @ Detail City for forwarding me the link! I`m looking forward to "durability" results.

BTW - where do you live? I was thinking of doing my new CR-V to protect it from our AZ sun.

[LightngSVT]

Sounds like you can achieve the same results with other products that are much easier to work with?

[kiwi133]

I live in Columbia MD, land of the trees from hell.



I don`t know if I will be patient enough to get a decent durability review. (I have never been able to make myself leave my cars un waxed for more than 2 months which usually happens in winter)



It has been raining for the last few days, and it has beaded really nice. but a waxes true properties usually come out after the first wash (which I have not done yet)



Anyhow, about that impatient thing. I will be re-applying the stuff to the whole car again within a week. (i hope there is enough left) I refuse to believe that this stuff is actually as hard to apply as I initially found it to be.



I will wash the car well, and then do the `ionizing` thing (i think the stuff is just a really really excellent cleaner that cleans out all the pits and what not in the paint makeing %100 of the surface able to contact the polish/wax/whatever)

Then I will use a MF to apply the 5SS again by hand. I think the little nasty foam circle they give you may be the cause of my previous pains.

[kiwi133]

Finally did it again, only took 2.5 hours (includeing washing the car like 5 times)



Looks the same as it did before.



But, Using a small MF cloth (instead of there nasty foam thing) made application sooooo much better.



Now to their credit:

The car was washed once, a day or so ago after like 3-4 days of rain. I wanted to start fresh again so washed the car with a high concentration of auto soap...

bead like crazy.

ok, dish soap...

bead like crazy.

well fine then, I`ll wash it real good with the "ionizing stuff" (really good cleaner) they supply.

bead like crazy.

Again with the ionizer, (mind you the first time I used the ionizing stuff before, ALL previous wax or anything was gone. paint felt real raw, NO beading)

still really good beading.



fine whatever then. I applied the ionizer and let it dry (though it was mostly repelled, and then hosed it down real good, dryed, and applied the 5SS again.



The bad: still difficult to apply, and felt more difficult to remove this time.

I did not notice the paint staying any cleaner on its own.

and I used up the rest of my whole two ounces (wow thats so much :angry such a great deal! :rolleyes: )



The good: it is most likely a long lasting finnish, seeing as how I couldn`t get it off! and it is a really nice feeling finnish even after I tried to strip it.



If they GAVE PEOPLE A DECENT AMOUNT OF STUFF! I would be all over it.

[imported_chadster]

Hi Kiwi, Chad here. Thanks for writing up such a thorough review and for posting the pics etc. Now I know you see why I said to use a reeeeeaaaaly thin layer. I also want to say that there are many great products out there. 5 Star is one that emphasizes looks with long lasting durability.



I can understand your frustration with the amount of product that you get, but I want to emphasize that the 5 Star system is a kit.



We do state that one kit does a specific number of vehicles (1-2) You can`t really compare it to a huge bottle of regular wax that you would use over and over again every few months.



Think of how much normal wax etc. you would use over the period of a year, 2 or 3. One 5 Star kit eliminates that bottle of other wax etc. You can do an entire Ford Excursion with one kit and 2+ regulars like yours. Maybe in the next production lot I can see about getting a bigger bottle.



There are people out there that enjoy washing and waxing their cars which is great. After using 5 Star, the wash process is much easier. You can wax over it if you like the way wax looks. You`ll have a wax look that in some people`s opinion looks better to them along with great protection underneath. Keep in mind that the wax will attract dirt when it gets hot outside and melts. It kinda defeats the purpose, but some do that for a certain look they like.



Thanks and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future. There are other on-going user reviews on www.nicoclub.com Search the forums using `5 Star Shine`.







Thanks Again,

-Chad