[Bananafishbones]

My MC is due in 9th April, and I've gone for the dealer supplied Teflon coating. Cleaning cars is a love/hate thing. Love it in the summer, hate it in the winter. Anyone else have this fitted to their loved one? Good or bad?

[andyupnorth]

The Teflon coating will be great in the summer - you can fry an egg on that hot bonnet without it sticking...

Seriously, I've never heard of a Teflon coating for car paint - only frying pans.

[obehave]

Eagle One used to make a teflon wax that I liked. Very good at bird poop proofing.

The dealer thing sounds a bit slippery to me. All the reading I've done here and I've never heard of it.
I'd look into it if i were you.

[qksilvr]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bananafishbones

My MC is due in 9th April, and I've gone for the dealer supplied Teflon coating. Cleaning cars is a love/hate thing. Love it in the summer, hate it in the winter. Anyone else have this fitted to their loved one? Good or bad?

Picked up our Mini last week and I wouldn't let them put Teflon on car but one of my hobbies is car detailing. I will finish detailing tomorrow and post pic's. Having said that if you dislike detailing your car let them do it. My car already looks a lot better than when i picked it up.

[markjenn]

Dealer-installed "paint protection packages" are expensive wax jobs, nothing more. A package that costs the customer $500 will often be sub'd to a contractor who does it for $75. The difference is pure profit that goes to the dealership and the finance mgr who is typically the one who pushes this stuff at closing time.

- Mark

[Bananafishbones]

Thanx for the responses guys. Might reconsider this, and just smother it in AutoGlym Extra Gloss Protection - that stuff is fantastic!

[Julz]

I would recommend Simoniz Teflon polish, this works a treat and doesn't mark black trim!! They do a shampoo too which is good, but I'm now re-stocking the polish cupboard with Meguires (all their stuff smells like sweeties!!), just to try it out!! I stand by the theory that you don't know if something is better til you try everything else first!! (even the Zymol has been turfed!!)
The Meguires Quick Detailer was perfect at a recent car show, skossh iy on, buff it off and this is what you get.....

[Leccy_Blue]

My brother works for BMW, he reckons that paint protection is charged out at about £300+ but only cost the dealer £30 max. It's just another commision based product for the salesman. Any good car polish and regular cleaning will help keep to keep your car in tip top condition.

LB

[Bananafishbones]

That's a very very sparkly MCS Julz, Meguires looks like it's worth a try, can you get it from Halfrauds?

My dealer is offering to do the inside aswell with some kinda coating that allows spills n stuff to be easily wiped up (I have 2 saucepan lids, who like smuggling crisps and sweets into cars, and putting half of them all over the seats ). Inside and out for £50. My brother-in-law works for em, and that's the cost price. He reckons it normally sells for about 250 to 300 notes, as you said Leccy_Blue.

It's a tricky one, 'cos I do enjoy a good polishing session

[Giuseppe Pepperoni]

According to G.R. Ansul of Dupont (the inventors of Teflon) it is 100% useless in protecting automotive paint. Teflon must be applied at over 700 F in order to be effective. Apparently Dupont's licensing department doesn't know what the tech department is saying.

[Windshadow]

Quote: Originally Posted by Giuseppe Pepperoni

According to G.R. Ansul of Dupont (the inventors of Teflon) it is 100% useless in protecting automotive paint. Teflon must be applied at over 700 F in order to be effective. Apparently Dupont's licensing department doesn't know what the tech department is saying.

That may be true for paint, I can not say as I know nothing about paint and the technology of its protection and appearance improvement, but Teflon micro grains suspended in silicone lubricants can provide many benefits... as a replacement for white lead in high pressure grease applications for one example... and in light lubricants in things like fishing reels.... teflon is used for lots of things other than pan coatings very successfully I think....

I try to be careful about making sweeping generalizations

[Giuseppe Pepperoni]

It's not a sweeping generalization. It's in print and very factual. I have a copy of the article. It's from Car Wash and Detailing magazine. I had it faxed to me by the chemist at Mothers Polish. I too was intrigued by these new products. But knowing how companies look for gimmicks to make a buck I had to check it out.

Flouropolymer technology hasn't changed since its debut. This is also a fact according to Dupont's technical department. Now if you ask their licensing department you will get a different answer.

Yes it has applications as a lubricant. It acts like a bunch of bearings in grease applications...kind of like marbles under a flat board. But grease for lubricating purposes isn't even close to the same application as car wax.

[Windshadow]

Quote: Originally Posted by Giuseppe Pepperoni

It's not a sweeping generalization. It's in print and very factual. I have a copy of the article. It's from Car Wash and Detailing magazine. I had it faxed to me by the chemist at Mothers Polish. I too was intrigued by these new products. But knowing how companies look for gimmicks to make a buck I had to check it out.

Flouropolymer technology hasn't changed since its debut. This is also a fact according to Dupont's technical department. Now if you ask their licensing department you will get a different answer.

Yes it has applications as a lubricant. It acts like a bunch of bearings in grease applications...kind of like marbles under a flat board. But grease for lubricating purposes isn't even close to the same application as car wax.

I was not disagreeing with you over these teflon paint 'treatments' at all. I am sure that they are a vastly overpriced 'shine job' (in both senses of the term) and essentially worthless as far as the rather pumped up claims that are made for them.

just pointing out that not all applications of teflon require that it be baked on a 700 degrees... and it has other uses than protecting pans from burnt on food...

I am a machinist by avocation and working on projects that might generate teflon dust you have to be sure that no one is smoking as if the dust gets on their lit tobacco and they then inhale the resultant fumes it can be deadly... but this does not mean I refuse to turn Solid teflon bearings... I just know and understand the products limitations and hazards

[Giuseppe Pepperoni]

Ah yes, good point. My brain was in wax mode when it came to the term application. Sorry for the confusion.

[Julz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bananafishbones

That's a very very sparkly MCS Julz, Meguires looks like it's worth a try, can you get it from Halfrauds?

I don't think so!! But I know you can get it on the internet, just can't remember where from, I think Google is required!!

[Ibb]

WE have dutch meber called Timmers something and he has had this treatment by Protech, yes it teflon coating, but its guarnteed for 5yrs, and all you have to do is just wash your car an no need for polishing or waxing, after the clean the car looks like its been waxed already.

Give him a shout he hasn't had any quibbles yet, there must be some truth behind it all.

[ScottyB]

Quote: Originally Posted by markjenn

Dealer-installed "paint protection packages" are expensive wax jobs, nothing more. A package that costs the customer $500 will often be sub'd to a contractor who does it for $75. The difference is pure profit that goes to the dealership and the finance mgr who is typically the one who pushes this stuff at closing time.

- Mark

I think my dealer told me it would be $800 AUD.....

Give it a miss, and do something aftermarket methinks

Has anyone had any paint woes without any protection? Bird poo stains etc?

[Ibb]

I've just done some reading, the "paint protection" actually has very little Teflon in it, as teflon itself is not a clear substance, a small amount is mixed with the "resin" that is used. The resin is basically the coating. The teflon makes the whole substance easier toapply and give it the slippery effect, helping to both give that show room shine and make things like bird poop not stick soo good.

Thats why waxing doesn't help, as it doesn't stick to the surface. Apparently all you have to do is wash your car with just water and a sponge. There's usually a gurantee that ranges from 3yrs to 5 yrs, and supposedly you can go back to them every yr for free to make sure the coating is still working good, if not they will top it up at no extra cost.

I'm gonna delve into abit more, see if I can get this done to my car without going through BMW, if they give me the name of the company, I'll see if I can go direct to em and hopefully miss out on the commision fees.

Some of the companies like Protech also offer the coating for alloy wheels, which sounds good, would make cleaning wheels an easy job.

[Babaza]

The Mini name for it is Diamond Brite. It includes protection for your paintwork and Scotchguard protection for your interior fabrics. Each year(I think it's 3 yrs total) you get a full valet and re-application. Cost from my dealer is £199 although I'm sure there is room for negotiation

I will probably get it on my convertible as I don't want leather in an open top and I have dog who enjoys muddy puddles. Scotchguard to the rescue!

[CelticLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by Babaza

The Mini name for it is Diamond Brite. It includes protection for your paintwork and Scotchgard protection for your interior fabrics. Each year(I think it's 3 yrs total) you get a full valet and re-application. Cost from my dealer is £199 although I'm sure there is room for negotiation

I will probably get it on my convertible as I don't want leather in an open top and I have dog who enjoys muddy puddles. Scotchguard to the rescue!

I too am waiting for my convertible. As I have ordered red, I was anxious as I had been told that red is a colour that fades fast. I looked into the dealer option. He wanted £300 for Supaguard which is for the exterior and the interior of the car. Claims it prevents the fading, protects the car inside and out. Inside, apparently coats the fibres to stop stains sinking in. I went to the supagard web site and found the number for them, however they told me that they could put me onto a valeter who would do this for me, but the price would probably be just about the same. In addition, valeters are here today gone tomorrow - if I try and claim on my guarantee in two and a half years time, would it be easier to go through the dealer or the valeter? I'm not sure about this, it seems a lot of money for something that Mini should be providing to their customers. We are told its a quality product, so why do I need to pay to protect the paintwork from fading??