Holdne Paint Protection

[matt3020]

This thread is mainly directed at TinSnips, since he seems to be the resident detailing guru and well respected by others, but by all means is open for discussion with others

The paint protection that Holden offers when they sell you a new car, the XPACK I think it's called. In your opinion, does it do a lot for the car? Does it really help protect the paintwork/interior from sun discolouration and damage? I was told that with it, there is no need to wash your car as much, and in fact, using any kind of wax on the car voids the warranty of the protective layer. it isn't cheap either, around $2800 for inside and outside, including window tint, with a lifetime warranty.

Thanks mate

[Diesel_junkie]

They offered me that I think it's a complete wank! Maybe if it was a 1000 dollars but the price was bloody rediculas and to be honest I doubt it would do much. But I stand to be corrected.

[Mike08]

It's a complete load of crud mate, it will do more harm than good. Save the coin for a nice set of rims instead.

Have a pro like Tinny treat your paint work and it will not only look better it will out last any form of Paint protection they try to push on you.

Cheers.

[CustomSprayMods]

Paint and clear are tested in a lab with a special weathering machine that can imitate years and years of weather. I have visited an auto paint lab and seen it my self. It has uv protection already. There are products that do protect the paint. I know of one for $60 that can be applied yourself.
See what a pro detailer says they would know best.

[vicarious]

dont be mezmerized by the boobs that the ming mole shows when offering this xpack, too dear,doesnt do much, you have to take it to be "inspected" every so often at a cost to keep the so called warranty.Some advise from forum sponsors CCP will sort you out and a hell of a lot cheaper.

[Troy711]

Wolfs Body Wrap. Good shit.

[RiCeY]

As said modern cars have paint protection built in, save your cash and pay a professional detailer to apply some extra protection if you wish. Wont be anywhere near that price.

[vrollin]

Just get out there and get your hands dirty mate, learn how to use a claybar and get them polishing muscles working, will look better than the paint being left unpolished/waxed with the xpack shit...

[TinSnips]

The vast majority paint protection packs are no more effective than an off the shelf paint sealant. If you read the fine print, it will most likely state that it should be reapplied every 12 months (at your expense) and if it doesn't, then they're really having a lend of you. To be honest, if you, or anyone has paid for 'paint protection' it's unlikely there would be any remaining on the paint after 6 months, let alone a lifetime warranty. There are products available that will last years, but dealerships don't use them. As for the interior protection aspect, get some quality aftermarket window tint (~$250-$300), invest in a UV resistant trim dressing ($25 - though largely unnecessary as modern plastics are UV resistant anyway - but some of the dressings help prevent dust cling, so that's a bonus) and if you like, spray the fabric/carpets with something like 303 Fabric Guard or nanolex fabric sealant (Both from CCP). If you option leather it's already cleared, so whether you want to do anything to it is largely up to you - just steer clear of the oily leather conditioners, as they'll just sit on top and stain your pants. The only real reason that applying a wax over the paint protection should void the warranty would be because a lot of off the shelf 'waxes' are cleaner waxes - and the chemical cleaners in the products would be more than enough to strip the paint protection.

Your better bet would be to grab something like this for the paint Car Care Products / Car Care Products / Detailing Kits / All Categories / Enthusiasts Total Wash Essentials Kit and some duragloss 105 or 111 (from the same website - both around $25 bucks from memory). That will give you more than enough gear to maintain your car for quite a long time (remember, with most automotive cleaning products, you apply minimal amounts). If you find you have marring on the paint from transport (it will usually show up after about the 4th wash after all the fillers the dealership has used to hide them have washed out - if not clearly visible when you pick the car up), you'll need to look more into the paint correction side of things.

[RiCeY]

Whats the best leather conditioner youve come across?

[TinSnips]

Depends on the type of leather. Not much will get through the clear on modern holden leather though. The Duragloss leather cleaner and the conditioner are both good though and smell great. Not greasy. The lexol twins do a good job but don't smell so flash. Zaino is another good one. Leatherique is fantastic - but you have to use it on the right leather. Pretty pointless on cleared leather IMO. At best, a leather conditioner will soak in through stitching and any perforations but that's about it. There are a few UV protectants for cleared leather which seem to work on maintaining the clear, rather than trying to condition the leather it can't reach. CCP have one but I've not used that one Car Care Products / Nanolex / Interior / Carpet & Upholstery / Textile and Leather Sealant

[Bill44]

I use the Duragloss leather system on my leather Lazyboy recliners, magic stuff in my opinion.

[RiCeY]

Did the VZs have clear on the leather?

[TinSnips]

Yep. Genuine hide hasn't really been used for a long time now. It's just not durable enough and requires too much maintenance for them to offer any kind of warranty with it. If you flick a few drops of water onto the seat and they stay on top of the surface, rather than soaking in and discolouring it, it's cleared. Some higher-end manufacturers use what's called 'semi-aniline' leather, which is genuine grain leather, with a polymer coating over it - very few would still use aniline, or non-coated grain leather. Holden, and most other manufacturers, use corrected leather, where the 'grain' is stamped into the surface to keep it uniform, rather than going to the expense of having to match a grain (old jags were famous for grain matching).

[toey@carfx]

if you are after something to apply yourself there is many options that will cost less then $100. duragloss have a couple (111, 105 and the bonding agent 601), optimum optiseal, nanolex have a few (spray sealant, nanowax and their normal sealant), dodo juice waxes, wolfs body wrap, and many many more as these are just ones sold from car care products

if you dont want to apply it yourself and want to have a long durability get either some nanolex professional sealant applied (see wow wash for this- this is car care products detailing side) or get some optimum opitcoat applied by either dave at reflect effect in parramatta or scott from superior shine, or some gtechniq c1 but im not sure who to see for this in the sydney area.

also keep in mind that you may need to have the paint polished before hand. just because its new doesnt mean it isnt full of swirls and marks. best to get it near perfect then protect it rather then apply the protection over the defects