IS3FIDDY

I know this may be a post for the detailing forum, but it seems many here are concerned about the "swirling" that seems to be common among Lexus owners. I've had my IS for only 2 weeks now, and after 1 wash, I'm beginning to see the swirls everyone is talking about...I can't believe the clear coat is so weak!

Anyway, I used a "poly seal" product from Ziebart on my car several years ago while on the East Coast, and I absolutely swear by it. They put on a coat of liquid polyurethane to bond with the existing clear coat and you can actually see the teflon-like clear coat after it's applied. I honestly never had to wax the car, and it looked glossy-wet every single time after I washed it. It was the single-best "mod" I ever did to my vehicle. I did have to go in to reapply the stuff annually, but it was well worth it!

The problem is that there are no Ziebart franchises here in SoCal (http://www.ziebart.com), so I'm wondering if there's any product similar offered here. Googling does not really produce any results, except for a place called "Detail King" (http://www.detailking.com/cali/). The site looks a little unprofessional and the president looks a little young. Still, maybe they do a good job...has anyone had experience with them?

Thanks in advance,

Ed

IS3FIDDY

awww, c'mon y'all! Someone has to have experience with polysealing! There's so much talk about waxing/claying, etc. but I think it's maybe because of a lack of experience with polysealing. It really does last longer, protect better and make the paint look "like new"...could I be the only one to see the value in this?

Where are some reputable places to do this work? I changed the title to mebbe get some more responses...

t0e

iTrader: (1)

Someone was telling me about a place in pasadena that has something simular to what you are talking about. I will get the info, and pass it on to you when it arrives

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

is this the same as the teflon paint sealant thing that the dealer tries to sell you after you bought the car?

IS3FIDDY

Would appreciate that. Thanks!

IS3FIDDY

Yes, it actually is...

BUT, the thing is that it's not that these products are not legit, it's that they're so overpriced by the dealer. I mean, these things go for maybe $300-$400 on the street, but the dealer tries to charge you $1000 for it. It's a rip-off.

Having used Ziebart polysealing first hand, I can honestly say that it's better than waxing or claying or whatever else you do to your car. Imagine having the car look BRAND NEW everytime you wash it...and you don't even have to wax it.

I just can't believe I'm one of the few who have heard/used these kinds of products. With all the talk of Zaino, Meguiar's, etc., it just shows me that people don't know how great these things work...

Anyway, anyone heard of Bling Bling Detail King?

Bichon

You're the first person I've encountered to rave about these; most people who've had it done, at least at the dealer, eventually conclude that they've paid hundreds of dollars to have their car waxed.

Regarding Ziebart, what color was the car you had done?

jfelbab

Ok, so it looks like you really believe this hype.

I've personally detailed cars that had the Ziebart Polyseal applied after about a year and they were full of swirls. You can buy good polymer sealants yourself and they are not all that expensive. If the car is prepped properly they can last up to 6 months in my experience. Products like Zaino and Meguiars NXT are polymer sealants. They do protect better than waxes but they don't prevent swirls. There are NO products that protect so well as to stop finishes from swirling. For that to occur the product would have to be harder than glass and certainly harder than the paint. So you see these products are just not what you believe them to be. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Lexkost

Here's one that will last about one year :

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1005&SKU=11075

IS3FIDDY

My car was black, and I used Ziebart for 4 years on it. It was a Jeep Wrangler, no less. As long as you keep going back every year to get it reapplied, the paint looked brand new after 4 years...no joke.

I don't necessarily *want* to rave about this product; I just had first hand experience with it, and no amount of waxing I've done works as well...

What have you used that you believe is better? I'm open to anything...

IS3FIDDY

Dude, I don't believe "this hype." I've used it, first hand and am just stating my experience. The thing that I've found that makes Ziebart different is that it is a silicone/teflon-like coating vs. a polymer paint protectant. It's actually like a layer of teflon on a frying pan or something, and is just as invisible/transparent.

Maybe I had some swirls after 4 years, but nothing significant. Every year I had it reapplied, it got rid of any swirling and made it look brand new all over again. Took off all the sap and bird poop.

Anyway, I would consider other options since there are no Ziebart dealers in SoCal, but I want to compare apples-to-apples. Are Zaino and Meguiar's like teflon coats? Again, I'll consider anything at this point, but I also dont' want to be reapplying this every month or even 6 months.

picus

It was the paint - American cars, Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep in particular, have harder clearcoats than Japanese cars. There are no products that will prevent swirls, just remove or hide them. Teflon needs to be applied at 1200F to bond to a surface, as a matter of fact Dupont has a disclaimer on their website about how teflon marketing in car care products is bogus. Silicone is in almost every available sealant on the market, including most waxes and polishes. It does *nothing* to prevent marring. At this time there is not a single non-plastic product that will last on a car for more than a year. There are some being developed, but right now the longest lasting sealants (which are all syntehtic polymers) will last about 8-12 months. All the "miracle" sealants you read about with teflon or xzilon or "glaze" or "glassin" are all marketing, period.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm just telling you that there is no product aside from a clear bra that will help mitigate swirling. Proper washing and yearly polishing is the best way to keep your car swirl free.

toyemp

If you look at their website description of what they do before they apply Diamond Gloss (I assume this is what you are refering to since it appears to be their top-of-the-line product), they do a chemical decontamination, polish out all the defects (swirls, scratches, etc), and then apply the Diamond Gloss. The polishing step is what any good detailer will do to remove any paint defects (and some will perform the chemical decontamination too if needed).

Basically, it wasn't the Diamond Gloss that was making the swirls go away and make your car look "brand new", it was the annual polishing that they were doing for you. The fact that you had swirls at the end of the year indicates that Diamond Gloss doesn't protect against swirls and scratches any better than any other product out there.

You would probably be better off paying a local detailer to regularly maintain your car than going once a year to Ziebart. From the costs I have heard people pay for Ziebart, it might be cheaper too!

jfelbab

Teflon requires very high temperatures to bond it anything. So no, nothing mentioned, including Ziebart is like a teflon coating. All sealants and waxes, including Ziebart, are sacrificial barriers to dirt and grime that are designed to wear away over time. In fact from what I've seen, Ziebart's premium Diamond Gloss is inferior to Zaino and Meg's NXT when looking at optical clarity and wet-look shine. I'd place it more in line with a product like NuFinish. BTW, According to Ziebart's own literature, it contains neither Teflon nor silicon. If you like how Ziebart sealant looks after a year you will like how NXT or Zaino looks.

Here is a 16 year old daily driver that has been detailed every 3-4 months and sealed with Meg's NXT polymer sealant. Notice there are no swirls. I spend about 4 hours every 3-4 months to detail this car.




There are no products that look as good a year after they have been applied. In fact appearance begins to deteriorate after a few short months. Durability and appearance life depend on several factors including where you live, drive and the environment your car is kept is in. Take your black car out in the sun and look at the finish from a few angles a few months after your product has been applied and tell me there are no swirls. If you objectively look at the paint you will conclude that it will look better after the detail than it did before. That said, I'm **** about the appearance of my cars and would never let it go for a year.

IS3FIDDY

Hmmm...it seems all the serious detailers have come out of the woodworks...

It certainly does seem like Chrysler probably puts a harder clear coat than Japanese manufacturers...maybe that was it after all.

I appreciate everyone's responses and experienced advice.

I think I will definitely start looking into the Zaino products I hear everyone raving abount.

Thanks again,

Ed