I wrote up this review for Team-Integra.net, so please disregard if some of the stuff is slightly elementary
Anyways, I began at 8:45AM yesterday morning with the interior which was an absolute disaster from truckin around friends and being too busy to really clean it. I finished it around 11, then went to the paint care.
I washed with Mother's Gold Wash (trying to get rid of it), then clayed the whole car with Clay Magic. I'll say this right now...I use homemade lube (10:1) Water:Car Wash Soap. If you do this, go for an even higher ratio like 16:1 or 20:1. The problem is, the soap cleans the dye out of Clay Magic and the blue sh*t gets everywhere. It sucks, but I have found a wet, clean car spraying light amounts of lube (but enough to keep it slick) works best.
I then washed again with Mother's Gold Wash to remove any dyes and residue. I moved onto the polishing stage. I polished using my Makita 9227 Rotary @ 1500rpm and a Lake Country Polishing Pad. I squirted about 4 spritz' of Meguiar's Quik Detailer on the pad to get it moist, then made a big "X" on the pad with Meguiar's #82 Swirl Free Polish. I attacked the "oh so aggressive" hood, but also a PITA to polish with 8" pads in sections of 8. I cut the hood in half (in my head) then sectioned it in 4s. I applied generous amounts of SFP to the surface in the form of longs lines/beads because I was doing it in direct sunlight. With the automatic sprinklers and sun moving, it was tough to get the whole car in the shade, so I had a hottt hood to work on.
Did you know that the hottest color paint in the sun is not black, but actually dark green?
Anyways, I did 3 passes, each pass lightening up on pressure (moderate, medium, very light) to insure full cutting, polishing, perfecting. This insured the Meguiar's diminishing abrasives to work themselves out and leave the surface swirl and buffer hologram Free. The whole car took about 3 hours to wheel out including the lighting and wheels. Yes, you can use polish on your lights, but use generous amounts insuring the polish does the work, not the heat of the polisher. On the wheels, they are clearcoated, so I treated them like paint.
Now onto the 4 Star products...
First up, the 4 Star UPP Pre Cleaner. First thing that comes to mind after using this stuff is Klasse AIO. It goes on like a bear removing the oils from SFP and comes off like 'budda'. For this I used a MF applicator for application and towel for removal doing 1 panel at a time. "Wax on, Wax off" You use almost NOTHING. Look at the pic, the bottle is no more than 2 ounces, if that and look how little I used on a full sized Grand Prix GTP.
This stuff left a much more reflective surface and I thought it looked pretty damn good. It was an excellent cleaner, like I said before, removing oils and any polish residue leaving a reflective and pretty slick surface. It was also very forgiving...By this I mean, it didn't matter how much you applied, thick or thin, it came off with the same ease.
Would I buy? Well, since most of the new sealants come with preps for their own (Wolfgang, Klasse, Zaino), I don't think I would need it, but when my Klasse AIO runs out I think I will have to pick this stuff up.
Second up, 4 Star Ultimate Paint Protection (UPP). This stuff was an absolute pleasure to work with. It went on with ease...think of butter on a hot frying pan. I applied with a MF applicator. It was such a pleasure to put on, I figured, if this stuff came off like it went on, I've got a winner for the easiest product used. Well, the sad part was the wait...You have to wait 30-45 minutes til it dries, then remove. My girlfriend was going to her parent's for the weekend, so we said our long goodbyes and by then 35 minutes had passed. I jumped on the paint with my Pak Shak Ultra Fine Microfiber, which I have to say is an amazing final removing tool. Anyways, this stuff came off so easy, it was scary! I barely had to put the weight of my hand on the towel and this stuff came right off revealing a 'glowing' finish, not to mention among the slickest I've ever touched (actually slid off...lol) other than Wolfgang. It was glowing so nicely, I had to stand back as my friends were already in awe over how sick it looked. I was very impressed how well it brought up a slightly neglected (polishing wise) finish and really brought out the metallic flakes.
Here's the best pic
SORRY about the lighting. My bro went to his gf's in NJ for the weekend so I will snap more after I wash it for him and put it in the direct sunlight.
My final thoughts
I like this stuff a lot. If I hadn't already tried Wolfgang, Dwayne at PAC would alreay have an order for this stuff from me. However, after using it and viewing it, Wolfgang has an edge in every category. Their cleaner is easier to apply, the sealant spread just a little bit better, and the finish glows definately more than UPP. Not to mention Wolfgang has a slight edge on slickness too. It seems to me that they took UPP, broke it down, and improved it in every area. In no way does this product suck, I prefer the look over Klasse since it isn't so artificial, but for my buck, Wolfgang > UPP.
Enjoy!
Anyways, I began at 8:45AM yesterday morning with the interior which was an absolute disaster from truckin around friends and being too busy to really clean it. I finished it around 11, then went to the paint care.
I washed with Mother's Gold Wash (trying to get rid of it), then clayed the whole car with Clay Magic. I'll say this right now...I use homemade lube (10:1) Water:Car Wash Soap. If you do this, go for an even higher ratio like 16:1 or 20:1. The problem is, the soap cleans the dye out of Clay Magic and the blue sh*t gets everywhere. It sucks, but I have found a wet, clean car spraying light amounts of lube (but enough to keep it slick) works best.
I then washed again with Mother's Gold Wash to remove any dyes and residue. I moved onto the polishing stage. I polished using my Makita 9227 Rotary @ 1500rpm and a Lake Country Polishing Pad. I squirted about 4 spritz' of Meguiar's Quik Detailer on the pad to get it moist, then made a big "X" on the pad with Meguiar's #82 Swirl Free Polish. I attacked the "oh so aggressive" hood, but also a PITA to polish with 8" pads in sections of 8. I cut the hood in half (in my head) then sectioned it in 4s. I applied generous amounts of SFP to the surface in the form of longs lines/beads because I was doing it in direct sunlight. With the automatic sprinklers and sun moving, it was tough to get the whole car in the shade, so I had a hottt hood to work on.
Did you know that the hottest color paint in the sun is not black, but actually dark green?
Anyways, I did 3 passes, each pass lightening up on pressure (moderate, medium, very light) to insure full cutting, polishing, perfecting. This insured the Meguiar's diminishing abrasives to work themselves out and leave the surface swirl and buffer hologram Free. The whole car took about 3 hours to wheel out including the lighting and wheels. Yes, you can use polish on your lights, but use generous amounts insuring the polish does the work, not the heat of the polisher. On the wheels, they are clearcoated, so I treated them like paint.
Now onto the 4 Star products...
First up, the 4 Star UPP Pre Cleaner. First thing that comes to mind after using this stuff is Klasse AIO. It goes on like a bear removing the oils from SFP and comes off like 'budda'. For this I used a MF applicator for application and towel for removal doing 1 panel at a time. "Wax on, Wax off" You use almost NOTHING. Look at the pic, the bottle is no more than 2 ounces, if that and look how little I used on a full sized Grand Prix GTP.
This stuff left a much more reflective surface and I thought it looked pretty damn good. It was an excellent cleaner, like I said before, removing oils and any polish residue leaving a reflective and pretty slick surface. It was also very forgiving...By this I mean, it didn't matter how much you applied, thick or thin, it came off with the same ease.
Would I buy? Well, since most of the new sealants come with preps for their own (Wolfgang, Klasse, Zaino), I don't think I would need it, but when my Klasse AIO runs out I think I will have to pick this stuff up.
Second up, 4 Star Ultimate Paint Protection (UPP). This stuff was an absolute pleasure to work with. It went on with ease...think of butter on a hot frying pan. I applied with a MF applicator. It was such a pleasure to put on, I figured, if this stuff came off like it went on, I've got a winner for the easiest product used. Well, the sad part was the wait...You have to wait 30-45 minutes til it dries, then remove. My girlfriend was going to her parent's for the weekend, so we said our long goodbyes and by then 35 minutes had passed. I jumped on the paint with my Pak Shak Ultra Fine Microfiber, which I have to say is an amazing final removing tool. Anyways, this stuff came off so easy, it was scary! I barely had to put the weight of my hand on the towel and this stuff came right off revealing a 'glowing' finish, not to mention among the slickest I've ever touched (actually slid off...lol) other than Wolfgang. It was glowing so nicely, I had to stand back as my friends were already in awe over how sick it looked. I was very impressed how well it brought up a slightly neglected (polishing wise) finish and really brought out the metallic flakes.
Here's the best pic
SORRY about the lighting. My bro went to his gf's in NJ for the weekend so I will snap more after I wash it for him and put it in the direct sunlight.
My final thoughts
I like this stuff a lot. If I hadn't already tried Wolfgang, Dwayne at PAC would alreay have an order for this stuff from me. However, after using it and viewing it, Wolfgang has an edge in every category. Their cleaner is easier to apply, the sealant spread just a little bit better, and the finish glows definately more than UPP. Not to mention Wolfgang has a slight edge on slickness too. It seems to me that they took UPP, broke it down, and improved it in every area. In no way does this product suck, I prefer the look over Klasse since it isn't so artificial, but for my buck, Wolfgang > UPP.
Enjoy!
