Paint Protection

[top_trucker]

Just got a black is200 and finding very hard to maintain. When I gought it the dealer tried to sell be a product called supagard ;) £299 (ouch) Has anybody used it or can they reccommend another product that may be designed for the IS paintwork and a little better on price ???

Stuart Johnson

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Black cars as you now know are always difficult to clean and they show every mark be it dirt or surface scratch / swirl.

Two products you can use to clean ( applies to all colours but more important on black ) are Mer and Autoglym, both are available at H**ford*. If you follow the instructions on the bottle they will give you a good finish.

Supaguard is a permanent protection on the paintwork and interior ( it's £299 = vat by the way ). It seals / levels the paint and is meant to amke it easy to clean. Supposedly you wash it & dry it & that's it ..... rain / dirt sheet off the car ....... rather than spotting.

I have ordered a car for March delivery and am still undecided ( i am going to try and get a demo of a car treated with it first ) .... if it's that good they should let me thrwo a bucket of water over it ...

There are a few comments on another post .... mixed opinions ...

Come on guys help us out please.

[marshy]

Just got a black is200 and finding very hard to maintain. When I gought it the dealer tried to sell be a product called supagard ;) £299 (ouch) Has anybody used it or can they reccommend another product that may be designed for the IS paintwork and a little better on price ???

Hiya Stuart,

I sympathise with you in relation to keeping black paint looking good. My IS200SE really looks fantastic when the paint is washed and waxed but it lasts about 10 minutes in the winter with all the salt and road spray.

After an incident at my dealer where the car got scratched while it was in for some warranty work they offered a mechanical mop over the whole car and then Supagard on the exterior and interior. The results are very impressive, I have only washed the car twice since it's been applied and both times I didn't need to chamois or rewax. The water sheets off and leaves the car virtually bone dry after washing.

The two negative points are the £299 application fee plus you have to use their shampoo which I reckon lasts for about 5 or 6 washes. Not sure how much replacements are but I guess they won't be cheap.

Try some haggling with your dealer. The cost price is £50, the rest is their markup and labour for applying it, if you feel up to the challenge they might just sell you the pack and you can apply it yourself. Be warned, it takes two days to apply and then a further 7 days to fully cure.

[top_trucker]

Thanks

I spoke to a mate today who also has the same car colour, he had a guy come out called *************? and fitted a product called Toughseal for £***** (LexusGold Club Offer). He reckons he has had Supergard and Diamondbrite in the past and they dont even come close to Toughseal, maybe i will see what he says.

Well i guess it down to who offers the best deal :D

I also spoke to a valeter who applies supergard and he reckons it takes about an hour to apply because its only a wipe on wipe off wax, dont know about 2days to apply it, maybe this is marketing to demand outragaous prices.

Editted to remove references to gold discounts

Edited February 17, 2003 by Matthew_McNally

[GRiM]

....... and fitted a product called Toughseal for £***** (LexusGold Club Offer).....

I negotiated that one!!

.. takes a bow ... :D

(GOLD MEMBERS DISCOUNT)

[Liam Dewhurst]

What was the price might consider it for my black is200se the wife has cleanned the car 3 times this week allready

[Matthew_McNally]

What was the price might consider it for my black is200se the wife has cleanned the car 3 times this week allready

I have already editted one post to remove the price - dont make me do another!!!

join Gold and become eligible for the discount

Its quite a saving!

(hint - you will save more than the £25 subscription on this item alone - not to mention servicing, insurance etc)

[Steve B]

I had my car treated before I picked it up. Like you I was undecided, but then got thinking, whats £300 when you're spending £21000 ish. The salesman told me it would keep the car looking younger for longer and would help the re-sale value when I go to change it in. It also seals the leather/suede so that should help. I use Autoglym shampoo and wax and the car comes up brilliant.

[leedsunited]

Has anybody tried the PTFE based polish 5 Star Shine, you can find it here

www.5starshine.com

It is a US based company but they do ship to the UK, plus has anybody any thoughts on the MER products.

Chris

[UKPulse]

Bought my 200SX new in '97 and had the SupaGuard treatment - looked gorgeous then, still looks like new so I reckon it was worth it! :D Going to have the same treatment on the new IS300...

(picture taken three months ago - so car is now 5½ yrs old!) B)

[Scorpion]

A a proud owner of a black shiny is200 sport i knew when

i purchased the car that i was in for a rough time keeping

it looking like new,after all, the joy of owning a LEXUS is caring

for it,(ENJOY IT)a little bit of effort is worth it.And it depends on

which polish,wax you use and how you put it on.

Myself, i use Autoglym products and bought myself a 24v polisher

it restores my baby to showroom condition and it's so easy,no

swirl marks just beautiful shiny paint. :D :D :D

Treat her like a lady,lots of T.L.C.she's worth it ????

Dont use MER to often it'll cut through the laquer

cheers,Pete :D

[Fever]

I agree guys...although black looks the nuts, its definitely a bitch to keep clean! However, I've found a good formula to getting rid of those swirl marks and keeping my baby clean and shiny!

First, use black colour restoring wax from Turtle Wax as a first coat, then do a second coat using Autoglym Polish! I know it sounds like hard work, but the results are excellent!! It makes the black paint work look really rich and good as new, with a real mirror finish!!

Give it a try!

Cheers - Neil