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Paint Protection Systems
I have been in car sales for over 20 years. I have seen virtually all different types of paint protection products available. In setting up this site, I was determined to find the best alternative available. I therefore made sure I tried the various product types and consider each based on:
- Ease of application
- Durability
- Gloss / Shine
- Cost
Once I moved past basic wax and polymers, I found relatively little variation in cost. It was hard for me to measure durability, so I have relied on testimonials by independent users of the product types. Car rental firms, car enthusiasts etc.
Wax
I already knew the problems with wax, starting with its poor durability. There are so many reasons not to use wax that I wonder why it is still being sold at all. Here is a small selection of problems:
Wax melts on a hot day. Your bonnet is unprotected almost straight away for the same reason.
As the wax heats up, it breaks down and makes paint look very bad.
Wax does not adhere well to the surface of the car.
Silicon
It is true that silicon causes "fisheyes" if your car is repainted without first removing the paint underneath. Not normally a big issue, but enough to turn many people off silicon. Just make sure you don't use a silicon based tyre cleaner and accidentally spray some of it on your paint. (This is not an issue if you use Glare Infinity Plus as it withstands silicon). My own issue with silicon is that it doesn't last long enough (only a few months) and the shine is not that good.
Acrylic
The king of acrylic sealants is a German product called Klasse. Klasse All-In-One generally provides 4-6 months of protection. Not long enough in my opinion. Works out to be fairly expensive too.
PTFE / T3f*0n
PTFE is the chemical name of group of products that are sold under other names. For legal reasons, we are not allowed to mention these by name. That's why we call it T3f*0n instead of T****n. T3f*0n is a registered trade mark belonging to (*** Large international corporation with loads of cash for laywers). They said some years back that "T3f*0n fluoropolymer resin does nothing to enhance the properties of a car wax". Some claim that it makes the surface of your paint "slippery". It should be noted that the car care products containing PTFE only have (usually) less than 10% of PTFE in them. Additionally, as T3f*0n/PTFE is nonsticky in all directions, it needs to be baked at high heat (after first priming the surface) to stick to metal.
Logic will tell you that - unless you're baking it onto your car - the PTFE will slip off as soon as it hits the paint.
A final note on T3f*0n: (***Large International Corporation with loads od cash for lawyers***) involved itself with a car care manufacturer at the start of 2004. They are now putting T3f*0n in anything and everything they can think of. Even tyre shine. (I think that may be another hint as to the effectiveness of spray-on T3f*0n/PTFE. Who wants slippery tyres?). I have been unable to find any positive testimonials regarding this range of products. (***Large International Corporation with loads of cash for lawyers***) says the market for car care is about US$750M in North America. I guess they want a share.
Glaze
There are a few different "Glaze" products on the market. They generally contain a formulation of wax and silicone. In some cases, they contain resins. In almost all cases, glaze products do not disclose what is in them. One very popular glazes has a melting temperature of 140°C. Compare this to Glare Infinity Plus which handles up to 400°C. Another very popular "glaze" product contains an abrasive polish. Glare Infinity Plus is not abrasive.
It is difficult to properly evaluate glazes unless you know what's in them. If you have any questions about specific products, please contact us.
PPS
PPS is basically a patented way of applying an acrylic/PTFE/resin based formula of paint protection. It works very well by all accounts. It is worthwhile looking up the patent if you are considering using the PPS sytem. It is patent number 5,081,171 and can be looked up here. Here is an extract from the patent documentation: "The surface is then buffed so that the buffing action in conjunction with the abrasive compound produces sufficient heat to polymerize the tetrafluoroethylene monomer, thereby creating a protective layer of polymer over the painted surface."
This essentially means that - if the correct temperature is not achieved in the application process - the adherence to the paint will not happen. I suggest you read more about it yourself, and get a good idea of just how complex the application of this system is. Note that this product can also be over-applied as it is not optically transparent.
Glassplexin / Glare Infinity Plus
Please click here to read about Glare Infinity Plus.
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