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IGL Kenzo Ceramic Coating

12K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  MRB 
#1 ·
I do not have the luxury of several detailers to choose from in my part of the world. We have one business that does professional detailing (as opposed to hand washes or Autoglym type applications). Highland Polishing is our sole supplier. I went to see James, the proprietor, the other day to discuss getting a PROTECTIVE coating applied to the new F-Pace. I am not too interested in a glossy shine (I'll never maintain it!), but I do want to protect the paintwork from damage from salt and grit (which is liberally strewn around our roads in Winter) and other environmental contaminants. My previous Range Rover had problems with paintwork and required to be retouched a couple of times. James says that JLR use relatively soft paints compared to the likes of Volvo and Audi.

Any way, he used to be an approved supplier/applier of GTechniq coatings, but has given that up in favour of subject products as he says it gives an equal appearance but a measurably harder finish, which is ideal for our road conditions. However, as he is the only show in town I thought I would throw it out there for comment from "my learned friends", whether anyone has heard of this product and has any comment to make. As an additional query, he has given me an estimate of £750 and 4 days for the work. Does this sound right for this type of application?

Appreciate your thoughts.

Jock
 
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#2 ·
Heard of it before and meant to be good.
The cost is very good if he spends 4 days on it. I paid double that for a few days correction and getting ready then the coating,
Coating only takes a ha,f day - day depending what they do.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for your reply Mbadger77, I was beginning to think it was a figment of my imagination!!!!

No, in fact I posed the same question on the RRS forum. They have ten times the membership of this Forum so thought I was more likely to get a response on there. Which I did. Everyone says it's great (as does You Tube!), but still haven't heard from anyone who has actually had it applied to their car!!!

I was pleased with the quote. The Detailer said that paint correction wouldn't take too long as the car is less than 3 weeks old. As for the rest of the time, that's for application of the ceramic coating (has a 12 hour minimum cure time, although he said in our ambient conditions he preferred to leave it for 15 hours). He will also treat all glass areas, inside and out, including the pano roof. Finally, take all the wheels off and treat them inside and out with GTechniq C5 wheel gloss. The £750 he said may end up being £800 and the 4 days could come down to 3 full days, depending on the weather and how many people he has available when he actually does the job.

I am going for it and am booked in on 19th September. I'll write a critique when the work is complete.

Cheers,

Jock
 
#4 ·
Well, I bit the bullet and had the deed done! Collected the car yesterday and am extremely pleased. The paintwork was corrected, wheels removed and coated and glasswork (all including roof) coated. James, the Detailer said that he almost gave up on the preparation as in his words, "I have never seen such a poor finish on a new vehicle....... ever! Apparently the prep took him 8 hours longer than anticipated!!! However, he was a man of his word and did not charge any extra for his additional work.

You can judge for yourself the finished product.

Wheel Tire Car Land vehicle Vehicle
Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Hood
Car Land vehicle Vehicle Daytime Photograph
Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Automotive lighting
Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Automotive tire
[attachment=4]

Jock
 

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#5 ·
Looks absolutely stunning. You must be delighted. Interesting comment about the original paintwork condition. Was that damage caused by the dealer or at the factory I wonder...dealer most likely. I have heard that Jaguar use relatively soft paint finishes compared to German and Swedish car makers so perhaps this is the issue.
 
#7 ·
"I have never seen such a poor finish on a new vehicle....... ever!" Really???

He would say that wouldn't he your the poor sucker paying £800 to have your car polished!

Sorry mate but if you really believe that a liquid from a bottle is going to seriously protect your paintwork you are mistaken. A good machine buffing and a coat of Swiss wax or similar would have been just as good if not better and the price certainly no more that £150 and possibly another £50 for the removal of the road wheels.

The phrase snake oil comes to mind, you have been had big time.
 
#8 ·
Smitten said:
Looks absolutely stunning. You must be delighted. Interesting comment about the original paintwork condition. Was that damage caused by the dealer or at the factory I wonder...dealer most likely. I have heard that Jaguar use relatively soft paint finishes compared to German and Swedish car makers so perhaps this is the issue.
I saw the damage to the paintwork, which must have been done at the factory. It looked as though there had been a fault in the original clear coat and this had then been poorly repaired. There were 3 patches, one on the bonnet, one on passenger front door and another on near side rear wing. It looked as though dust grit had stuck to the clear coat and had just been blown over with another coat. This was compounded by the thick layer of polish applied by the dealers valeters. I was called to come and see for myself as the detailer was going to suggest that the car was rejected for the quality of the paintwork. However, he persevered and managed to get it out without going so deep that it was damage on top of damage. The paintwork on JLR vehicles is considerably softer than many others (particularly VAG and Volvo vehicles). I have experienced problems with JLR (and particularly Lode Lane manufactured vehicles) in the past. Just poor quality QA/QC.

Fixed now and I am happy with the work and there was nothing fraudulent going on with the detailer.

Jock
 
#9 ·
MRB said:
"I have never seen such a poor finish on a new vehicle....... ever!" Really???

He would say that wouldn't he your the poor sucker paying £800 to have your car polished!

Sorry mate but if you really believe that a liquid from a bottle is going to seriously protect your paintwork you are mistaken. A good machine buffing and a coat of Swiss wax or similar would have been just as good if not better and the price certainly no more that £150 and possibly another £50 for the removal of the road wheels.

The phrase snake oil comes to mind, you have been had big time.
Thank you for your constructive comment. I shall take this into account the next time I make a purchase of goods or services.

Jock
 
#10 ·
JOCK55 said:
Smitten said:
Looks absolutely stunning. You must be delighted. Interesting comment about the original paintwork condition. Was that damage caused by the dealer or at the factory I wonder...dealer most likely. I have heard that Jaguar use relatively soft paint finishes compared to German and Swedish car makers so perhaps this is the issue.
I saw the damage to the paintwork, which must have been done at the factory. It looked as though there had been a fault in the original clear coat and this had then been poorly repaired. There were 3 patches, one on the bonnet, one on passenger front door and another on near side rear wing. It looked as though dust grit had stuck to the clear coat and had just been blown over with another coat. This was compounded by the thick layer of polish applied by the dealers valeters. I was called to come and see for myself as the detailer was going to suggest that the car was rejected for the quality of the paintwork. However, he persevered and managed to get it out without going so deep that it was damage on top of damage. The paintwork on JLR vehicles is considerably softer than many others (particularly VAG and Volvo vehicles). I have experienced problems with JLR (and particularly Lode Lane manufactured vehicles) in the past. Just poor quality QA/QC.

Fixed now and I am happy with the work and there was nothing fraudulent going on with the detailer.

Jock
Actually I had a small blemish on my drivers door I spotted first time I washed the car. Looked like a blob of dust that had been over painted. It came out with a DA polisher but that was from the factory come to think of it...

I haven't coated my car but did contemplate it but I am happy with maintaining the finish myself for now.
 
#11 ·
JOCK55 said:
MRB said:
"I have never seen such a poor finish on a new vehicle....... ever!" Really???

He would say that wouldn't he your the poor sucker paying £800 to have your car polished!

Sorry mate but if you really believe that a liquid from a bottle is going to seriously protect your paintwork you are mistaken. A good machine buffing and a coat of Swiss wax or similar would have been just as good if not better and the price certainly no more that £150 and possibly another £50 for the removal of the road wheels.

The phrase snake oil comes to mind, you have been had big time.
Thank you for your constructive comment. I shall take this into account the next time I make a purchase of goods or services.

Jock
Don't worry.... I was originally skeptical of these coatings, having been fleeced by Supagard....

Now coming to the end of year 2 with GTechniq and, in the words of The Monkees, 'I'm a believer'... So much so, I had my XKR done earlier in the summer too..

Looks great and undoubtedly be better protected for the Scottish winter to come than the ones covered in Swiss cheese... ;)

If anyone feels that something from a bottle is incapable of protecting paintwork then I suggest they buy a bottle and try it on any metal painted surface (not your car). Let it go hard and then try to get it off. You'll need wet & dry paper and a lot of elbow grease.

If anyone would like some free wax and all the many pre treatment bottles, they're welcome to come and get it.....
 
#12 ·
corriescar66 said:
JOCK55 said:
MRB said:
"I have never seen such a poor finish on a new vehicle....... ever!" Really???

He would say that wouldn't he your the poor sucker paying £800 to have your car polished!

Sorry mate but if you really believe that a liquid from a bottle is going to seriously protect your paintwork you are mistaken. A good machine buffing and a coat of Swiss wax or similar would have been just as good if not better and the price certainly no more that £150 and possibly another £50 for the removal of the road wheels.

The phrase snake oil comes to mind, you have been had big time.
Thank you for your constructive comment. I shall take this into account the next time I make a purchase of goods or services.

Jock
Don't worry.... I was originally skeptical of these coatings, having been fleeced by Supagard....

Now coming to the end of year 2 with GTechniq and, in the words of The Monkees, 'I'm a believer'... So much so, I had my XKR done earlier in the summer too..

Looks great and undoubtedly be better protected for the Scottish winter to come than the ones covered in Swiss cheese... ;)

If anyone feels that something from a bottle is incapable of protecting paintwork then I suggest they buy a bottle and try it on any metal painted surface (not your car). Let it go hard and then try to get it off. You'll need wet & dry paper and a lot of elbow grease.

If anyone would like some free wax and all the many pre treatment bottles, they're welcome to come and get it.....
I considered having my first F Pace treated with Geotech ceramic but fortunately I mentioned this to a friend who runs a very large body shop doing insurance work for some of the large companies. "Snake Oil and The Kings New Clothes" was mentioned but on a serious note the recommendation was not to do it. The main reason being that the very hard surface protection is almost impossible to remove should any paint work be required after accident damage. Body shops hate ceramic coatings and the insurance companies are seriously looking at the exta costs involved in having to strip treated panels prior to painting and who then retreats the painted panel and at what cost? Paint correction very definately yes but regularly use a good wax polish to preserve the shine. Call me sceptical if you will but where did all this ceramic paint treatment come from? The USA and that says it all!!! As somebody else has suggested get the factory paint corrected and I suggest buy a tin of the old Simonize yellow wax for around £7 and this will produce a shine equal to these new fangled unproven products.
 
#13 ·
Hydrajaws said:
corriescar66 said:
Don't worry.... I was originally skeptical of these coatings, having been fleeced by Supagard....

Now coming to the end of year 2 with GTechniq and, in the words of The Monkees, 'I'm a believer'... So much so, I had my XKR done earlier in the summer too..

Looks great and undoubtedly be better protected for the Scottish winter to come than the ones covered in Swiss cheese... ;)

If anyone feels that something from a bottle is incapable of protecting paintwork then I suggest they buy a bottle and try it on any metal painted surface (not your car). Let it go hard and then try to get it off. You'll need wet & dry paper and a lot of elbow grease.

If anyone would like some free wax and all the many pre treatment bottles, they're welcome to come and get it.....
I considered having my first F Pace treated with Geotech ceramic but fortunately I mentioned this to a friend who runs a very large body shop doing insurance work for some of the large companies. "Snake Oil and The Kings New Clothes" was mentioned but on a serious note the recommendation was not to do it. The main reason being that the very hard surface protection is almost impossible to remove should any paint work be required after accident damage. Body shops hate ceramic coatings and the insurance companies are seriously looking at the exta costs involved in having to strip treated panels prior to painting and who then retreats the painted panel and at what cost? Paint correction very definately yes but regularly use a good wax polish to preserve the shine. Call me sceptical if you will but where did all this ceramic paint treatment come from? The USA and that says it all!!! As somebody else has suggested get the factory paint corrected and I suggest buy a tin of the old Simonize yellow wax for around £7 and this will produce a shine equal to these new fangled unproven products.
Your post is based on opinions only -yours and second hand ones.

Mine is based on FACT. As I said, I was sceptical, but having had it applied to two of my cars AND having one repaired in a body shop, the only thing you are correct about is that to have coatings re-applied on repaired panels is disproportionately expensive to having the whole car done.

Feel free to keep using 20th century techniques to keep your XF clean and shiny. I don't have the time to spend on 4 days polishing and waxing a car only to have it covered in pollen stuck to the wax the next day.

I fail to see that without having any first hand knowledge of these products, the people that apply them, the ease of cleaning or the quality of the finish, that you are qualified to give any comments on them one way or the other.

A friends son had his car repaired by an insurance company approved 'large body shop' recently. It came back with different number plates front and back and missing the grill badge. They didn't know the difference between Hans Christian Andersen and Elvis either...

Perhaps we should do a poll for those that have coated their cars and ask if they would do it again...
 
#14 ·
Ridiculous post I also have Gtec applied to my F pace a year ago the car looks like it did when it came out the detailers
Just wash and dry car looks fantastic
Automotive parking light Tire Car Wheel Vehicle

Car washed and dried yesterday
 

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#15 ·
jagman2017 said:
Ridiculous post I also have Gtec applied to my F pace a year ago the car looks like it did when it came out the detailers
Just wash and dry car looks fantastic
8C6CDC29-2818-41E9-8FAC-30D8FD332B38.jpeg
Car washed and dried yesterday
Yes, and a great colour to protect! :D

(Although, is making me a bit queasy watching it plummeting to the ground.... That's quite a steep drive you have - almost vertical! :lol:
 
#16 ·
MRB said:
"I have never seen such a poor finish on a new vehicle....... ever!" Really???

He would say that wouldn't he your the poor sucker paying £800 to have your car polished!

Sorry mate but if you really believe that a liquid from a bottle is going to seriously protect your paintwork you are mistaken. A good machine buffing and a coat of Swiss wax or similar would have been just as good if not better and the price certainly no more that £150 and possibly another £50 for the removal of the road wheels.

The phrase snake oil comes to mind, you have been had big time.
My "other car" is a 2003 Mercedes SL55 AMG, which has a factory-applied ceramic coated paint (the paint code has a "C" designation at the end to indicate this) and after 15 years the paint still looks almost new once it is cleaned and polished up. The usual scratches, chips and fading after 90,000 miles are definitely not what I would expect at this age and mileage, and I have no doubt that the ceramic coat has helped with this.
 
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