Anyone know anything bout Guard X Protection?

[Roccamurra 0]

Hi there this is my first post.

I'm getting a new car in a month and have been given the option of Guard X Protection at a cost of about $1000. Seems a little pricey for paint and upholstery protection, I was wondering if anyone has used this product and if its any good. If not I might get a detailer of some kind to do it instead, are there any detailers out there someone can recommend? Any help would be much appreciated.

[Andrew 30]

Waste of money -

Used to apply it to cars back when I was a car groomer. As far as I could tell - it did nothing (that a good wax won't do)

[jjs 64]

People have mixed views on this stuff. Finance departments in car yards tend to try and sell this stuff as an add on when you come to pay, the old "it will only cost $3 more per week" trick. There is huge markup on this product and personally I think it is rubbish. I mean, how can it be ok for you car to simply wash I with water for the 2 years or however long GuardX lasts?

[Apex 693]

What colour is your car?? Im assuming it’s a brand new car, so what brand is it? Only reason I ask as cheaper brands use crap paint which deteriorates quicker.

If you are not into car maintenance and will not be grooming/washing your car regularly it might be worth looking at.. I would only think it would last a year though.

I think most people that rave about it are suffering from a placebo effect, my old man opted for it once and raved about it even though to me it looked like sh*t.

I would personally take the $1000 into Repco and purchase a heap of Meguiars/Mothers products and keep the car well maintained and protected myself, a good clay bar and polish followed by a nice coat of wax will get it looking good and followed by wash every fortnight and a good wax every second month it will stay that way for a year.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Apex

[kiwi535 538]

we had some applied to a car we bought,wouldnt do it again,but depending on the users of your car the upholstery protection could be a good idea.The trouble with the paint protection is you cant scrub it...my wife used to park under trees and so her car was always covered in bird shite...if it gets to dry you cant get it off without scrubbing....some other f wit spilt a milk shake or something over the back of her car and by the time i got round to washing her car it had turned grey and i couldnt get it off...but the upholstery would be good for the occasional spill

[Roccamurra 0]

I'm picking up a Jerez black e92 m3 on the 10th of sept. I think I'll flag this Guard X and clean and wax myself as its more of a weekend car. You think mothers/meguiars range is pretty good cause I was thinking of getting some stuff of the net.

I had a E46 M3 that I traded that had some type of paint protection that was ok, the guy i bought the car off said to get it done every year which I did but always thought it could look better. It always had water marks, bird sh*t and once an egg that always seems to damage the clear coat.

[Apex 693]

I don’t know where to start, black is a fun colour to keep black!

Buy yourself a genuine wool wash mitt and a new bucket and use them for the body only, small dirt partials are what ruin black.

Wax it every 6 washes and maintain/protect the shine with a quick detailer and make sure you use a high suds gentle car shampoo when washing.

Here are a few must have products I have found to be invaluable.

Gold Class wax; Best wax I have used.

Water Magnet Microfibre Drying Towel; much better than a leather chamois and only requires one wring per dry

Versa-Angle Wheel Face Brush; these brushes make light work of keeping your mags clean, go for short handle.

Meguiars Ultimate Quick detailer. You only need to gently mist this on (you only need the smallest amount) and wipe off with a Microfibre towel.

Hot shine Tire coating; Lasts for ever and doesn’t brown tires, plus it smells good.

You will need some applicator pads for applying the wax and some Microfibre cloths for wiping the wax and detailer off.

If you get stuck finding what you need at Supercheap/Repco or would like to purchase a bulk lot or anything from the professional range let me know and I’ll help you out, I have a wholesale account.

http://www.meguiars.co.nz/

Edited July 29, 2008 by Apex

[ED1RTY 2]

I don’t know where to start, black is a fun colour to keep black!

Buy yourself a genuine wool wash mitt and a new bucket and use them for the body only, small dirt partials are what ruin black.

Wax it every 6 washes and maintain/protect the shine with a quick detailer and make sure you use a high suds gentle car shampoo when washing.

Here are a few must have products I have found to be invaluable.

Gold Class wax; Best wax I have used.

Water Magnet Microfibre Drying Towel; much better than a leather chamois and only requires one wring per dry

Versa-Angle Wheel Face Brush; these brushes make light work of keeping your mags clean, go for short handle.

Meguiars Ultimate Quick detailer. You only need to gently mist this on (you only need the smallest amount) and wipe off with a Microfibre towel.

Hot shine Tire coating; Lasts for ever and doesn’t brown tires, plus it smells good.

You will need some applicator pads for applying the wax and some Microfibre cloths for wiping the wax and detailer off.

If you get stuck finding what you need at Supercheap/Repco or would like to purchase a bulk lot or anything from the professional range let me know and I’ll help you out, I have a wholesale account.

http://www.meguiars.co.nz/

I agree with all of those products Graham, Meguiars is IMHO the best car maintenance/cleaning product out there (And yes I get it cheap to )

[Apex 693]

Good sh*t, I just rate those as must haves to keep your car looking nice with minimal effort.

That Ultimate Detailer is awesome and a black car owners best friend!

[kiwi535 538]

lambswool mitt 20 l bucket and a wax freindly shampoo...the only way you can live with a black car

and dont use car washes

Edited July 29, 2008 by kiwi535

[Roccamurra 0]

Wow guys thank you so much that's exactly what I'm going to do. Apex I will follow your instruction to the letter. Can't wait to get the car and shine her up.

[ED1RTY 2]

That Ultimate Detailer is awesome and a black car owners best friend!

You got that right my freind!!!!

[Andrew 30]

I actually find Meg Tech Wax better and easier to use than the gold class wax. It's just easier and looks better with less effort.

[Apex 693]

Most important thing to do is to get as much of the dirt of the car as possible before washing, I use a water blaster then a large clean bucket with the Lambs wool wash mitt, and never let the car get too dirty because it’s the dirt that causes all the swirl marks.

Another product that will come in handy after a few months will be Meguiars Scratch X, this stuff is great for getting marks off from around the door handles and of the side skirts and bumpers.

After a year a clay bar, polish and wax will be the go, this is a picture of my last car after 2 years of proper maintenance, and it actually looked better than the brand new one in the Holden show room.

Cool car BTW! The carbon roof has a clear coat so keep that nice and waxed also!

[kiwi535 538]

if you want to keep the car a long time clay bar and or polish as little as possible,it wears the paint and or clear coat...keep the washing and waxin g up tho..esp washing,i dont actually wax my car very often at all but i wash it lots using apexes plan,mitt, lots of water and shampoo.

[Andrew 30]

Actually I'll do regular full paint protection for the odd M3 drive..

[Roccamurra 0]

Thanks Andrew I'll check out Meg Tech Wax as well. Thats for the offer but I'll wait and see how a bad job I do.

Apex may I ask where you got the black number plate from? BMW tell me it won't pass WOF and the police will pull me up. I've always thought the old style plate looks better with dark coloured cars. That holden looks fantastic.

Don't know if it came through but thats my car just after a wash (just water). Always looked a little dull to me. I wanted it look like Apexes.

Edited July 31, 2008 by Roccamurra

[bimmer boy 21]

Ive Gard X'd my car about 3 times now, I wouldnt write home about it, as Andrew said its nothing that a good wax cant do, I dont know how they charge $1000 for it, as on my car I noticed its back to normal again after a few months not two years or how ever long stated. Mind you it costs me nothing so I cant complain. But personally I would opt against it and put the $1000 to something a little more worth while, like a good cut and polish and still have change left over.

[my_e36 43]

lambswool mitt 20 l bucket and a wax freindly shampoo...the only way you can live with a black car

and dont use car washes

Yeh, and don't let any $tealership wash your car.

I always tell them "you can vacuum inside but if you wash my car, I am not going to pay for the servicing".

Back on topic, I wouldn't buy GardX myself. No one (that I know of) keeps the car in better nick than me.

GardX will not help me in that regards.

[my_e36 43]

Don't know if it came through but thats my car just after a wash (just water). Always looked a little dull to me. I wanted it look like Apexes.

Can't tell much from picture, but when you slide your finger across the paintwork, can your finger glide as smooth as on the glass? When you hose your car down, does water from droplets (as oppose to "lumps" of water)?

If no to either, you are likely to need some TLC on the paintwork.

Wash -> Clay -> Wash -> Polish -> Wash -> Wax -> Wax

[bimmer boy 21]

Yea a decent clay bar does wonders to paint. You can trust dealership washes just as long as someone who knows what they are doing does it and actually changes the water in the bucket or at least doesnt drop the mit on the ground then chuck it back in the bucket before rinsing it.

The motto, trust no one else but yourself, reminds me of the one time I let the fuel attendant put the petrol in my car and I look over and see him pull the nozzle out of the car with the fuel still running going all over my new paint job, legs could have been broken

[Andrew 30]

Apex may I ask where you got the black number plate from? BMW tell me it won't pass WOF and the police will pull me up. I've always thought the old style plate looks better with dark coloured cars. That holden looks fantastic.

Plates are not a WOF issue. You don't even need them to get a WOF.

germanplates.com have that style of plate. It is ilegal however and if you get caught up to a $500 fine.

[Apex 693]

Can't tell much from picture, but when you slide your finger across the paintwork, can your finger glide as smooth as on the glass? When you hose your car down, does water from droplets (as oppose to "lumps" of water)?

If no to either, you are likely to need some TLC on the paintwork.

Wash -> Clay -> Wash -> Polish -> Wash -> Wax -> Wax

The glass is normally as dirty as the paint though.

We should have a show and shine this summer! (sorry im apparently small minded as I love detailing)

Plates are not a WOF issue. You don't even need them to get a WOF.

germanplates.com have that style of plate. It is ilegal however and if you get caught up to a $500 fine.

I got mine from here. http://www.dubmeister.co.uk/

Took two weeks for delivery which is actually faster than NZ plates.

The first set I got were from Germanplates.com and were white on black, make sure you get Silver on black.

I have been pulled over a couple of times and the cops didn’t seem to care, the only people who do are Personalised plates NZ as they aren’t getting your money.

[my_e36 43]

You can trust dealership washes just as long as someone who knows what they are doing does it and actually changes the water in the bucket or at least doesnt drop the mit on the ground then chuck it back in the bucket before rinsing it.

If you've seen how they wash cars, in Newmarket Auckland. You wouldn't want them anywhere near your cars. Seen at least 2 $tealerships (nameless for now but let's just say 2 prominent Euro-car dealerships) using broomsticks to brush the cars.

The glass is normally as dirty as the paint though.

We should have a show and shine this summer! (sorry im apparently small minded as I love detailing)

Speaker of clean glass, I have trouble finding glass polish cream. Apparently, AutoGlym and BMW makes them but no one sells it in Auckland.

[Apex 693]

What do you need to polish glass for?

For cleaning glass I use News Paper and average glass cleaner, looks awesome.