I've never heard of Lacroe, but found this an another website:
"Jewelultra Diamondbrite - Previously called Lacroe. Lacroe is still available but Diamondbrite is an improved and updated version."
|
My daughter has just bought a new car. In the 'deal', was Diamond bryte' for free. It included an upholstery protection coating as well. She was told the cost was around £250. It appears that the upholstery bit is something like 'Scotchguard'. I suppose the Paint bit is a similar thing.
Having read the pamphlet supplied by the dealer, it seems that as long as you don't wash your car with 'Fairy Liquid' or the like - don't use a jet wash too regularly (once a year?), or nothing other than a 'Zipwax' type car shampoo, you should never need to polish the car. I can't get them to say you Should NOT use a car polish at all, or if you can, what sort.
It does seem rather shiny and as she saw the car on Sunday, bought it on Monday and took possession on Tuesday (morning), it can't be all that difficult to apply!
Perhaps someone has had it done, say, a year or so ago?? They may be able to give another view on its 'benefits', if any??
|
I think it is pretty good stuff IF it's applied properly to a good paint finish.
Unfortunatley too often the paint finish is terrible on new and used cars, new Fords were dire at just the beginning of the year (don't know if they've changed yet).
They all arrived covered in fallout and general muck that oridnary polishing wouldn't shift, to get them right they had to be machine polished with a cutting compound. Naturally only the worst cars got done as this cost money and it would have been pricey to do it to every car.
There's no denying though that many dealerships don't apply the stuff properly and just see it as a huge moneyspinner, the best dealership that I have seen was the Honda garage that I worked at. Their valeters were employed by the firm and weren't contracted in like everywhere else I worked.
Check out this website www.clean-image.co.uk
They have a lot of good articles and they seem to rate the paint sealants quite highly, but then they would.
I gave my Focus an interior diamondbrite treatment the other week, I rescued some full cans from the bin at my old work before I left (yes, that's how expensive the stuff is!) and it took about 10 minutes to apply to the interior.
Haven't done the outside as in my expereience, if it's not done well it can leave a nasty hazy finish for a while.
Note that even if youy have the car DiamondBrited or whatever you are still supposed to use the conservor polish every now and then.
Blue
|
|
Don't suppose you worked at the Honda dealer for Berkhamsted, Blue? I've just bought a Honda via ebay that came from there and it has been treated with Diamond Brite. It certainly looks good but what is this conservor polish? Will I be able to get it in France do you think or will I have to get in touch with JewelUltra?
|
|
|
I think it is pretty good stuff IF it's applied properly to a good paint finish.
And in some case if it's applied at all.......
|
|
|
|
|
I've never heard of Lacroe, but found this an another website: "Jewelultra Diamondbrite - Previously called Lacroe. Lacroe is still available but Diamondbrite is an improved and updated version."
>>
I bought the Diamondbrite on Ebay and applied it to my car. It is very easy to use and gives a good finish. However I think their claims of no need to wax for 6 years are a bit extravagant. 18monthy to 2 years would be better. Also I wouldnt want to pay £250 for this !
Diamondbrite does not coat the car with resin as was previously suggested, in my view it is just a very high quality polish supplied with a preparatory surface cleaner for pre-waxing.
|
I've never seen conservor for sale in the shops I think it has to be bought from Jewlultra, but I could be wrong.
Basicaly whenever we treated a car with DiamondBrite or Supagard, the customer was given a little bag of aftercare goodies (makes picking up the new car even more fun) and in it was a bottle of conservor that you had to polish the car with every month or so to maintain the protective finish.
The website that I linked to earlier has a VERY thorough if not slightly rose-tinted view and explanation of pain sealants. (actually I found the article on the Porsche restorationa dnfire damaged Astra repair more interesting)
I worked for a Honda dealer in the north east, I doubt that they all employ their own valeter/drivers, having worked in garages with contract valeters though I can't understand why they bother with them, very expensive it seems when compared to employing someone on about £7 per hour. We used to fill in a cleaning slip for each valet and get charged £30 for a used car valet. The valeter himself saw £5 of that in his pocket, out of which he bought his own cleaning products, the rest went the way of the valeting company for providing the hardware (basically a jetwash and a vaccum cleaner) and the staff. No wonder that the standard of work was normally rubbish as well when they were only getting paid a fiver per car! (£3 to clean a new car)
Blue
|
>>Basicaly whenever we treated a car with DiamondBrite or Supagard, the customer was given a little bag of aftercare goodies (makes picking up the new car even more fun) and in it was a bottle of conservor that you had to polish the car with every month or so to maintain the protective finish.<<
I have a bottle of stuff to apply monthly to maintain the protective finish - It's called polish!
Seems like an expensive gimmick to me for people who don't want to expend any energy looking after their car.
My local Skoda dealership pushes DiamondBrite.
--
\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
|
I may be able to answer some questions -
firstly, the products themselves as supplied to the trade are not expensive... but then again, you are expected to buy in bulk!
It isn't difficult to apply, it IS difficult to apply properly. If you don't do it right, you can end up in a mess... and the mess might not be obvious until a year or two down the line! This is another reason why it costs £250-£350. Sealant packages are guaranteed for 2-10 years, and that is a long time for a company to be legally tied to a customer's car. btw, the guarantees ARE cast iron, all the sealant companies I know of provide full support for any problems.
Another thing about the application, is that it can be dangerous. Fabric protector is safe once it is on your upholstery and dry, but when being sprayed on you have to use the correct breathing gear, or else you risk applying sealant to your lungs!
>>Unfortunatley too often the paint finish is terrible on new
>>and used cars, new Fords were dire at just the beginning ofthe year (don't know if they've changed yet).
Sealants will only seal in what you have already got. It is no good sealing in contaminates, especially metal fallout! Therefore the car has to be prepared before application of sealants - it also needs to be dewaxed, as sealants stick to paintwork, if ou appl them over a wax, the sealant will fall off as the the wax evaporates.
>>Diamondbrite does not coat the car with resin as waspreviously suggested, in my view it is just a very high quality polish supplied with a preparatory surface cleaner for pre-waxing.
Stricktly speaking, even normal wax is a resin... how ever, wax has a low fracture point and bonds together with it's self in a very 2 dimencional way (I' talking in laymans here!). Diamondbrite is different because instead of natural products like carauba and bees wax, it uses polyurethane which is a far more complex chain of atoms that can bond in a more 3 dimentional way (again, in laymans) giving extra strenght. Other sealants use polytetrafuoroethylene (PTFE) to do a similar job.
The 'stage 1' that you mention as being a surface cleaner is a vital component to this formular... it is actually a hardner to make the Diamondbrite set, luckily for all, hardners also make very good cleaners so it can do this job at the same time.
Under the terms of the warranty, you should wash your car in conserver about once a month, this product is similar to any wash and wax - and easy to use - but does help to extend the life of Diamondbrite because of it's unique formular. However, diamondbrite would probably last 2-3 years without it.. which is in line with sealants like supagard which don't use conservers.
|
Perhaps someone has had it done, say, a year or so ago?? They may be able to give another view on its 'benefits', if any??
In answer to Dim Panicio, at the very least, you do end up with a paint finish that is very low maintenance and seats that are easy to clean.
The fabric protectors don't keep your seats clean, but they do prevent stains. So often a wipe over with a damp cloth is enough to make a dramatic difference to grubby seats (wonderful if you have kids!).
The paint does stay glossy and slippery - sealants also fill the microspopic pores in your paint surface, and in our experience this makes the paintwork slightly stronger, reducing light scratches and swirl marks, and even reducing the effect of stone chips. So three years down the line you will notice a difference when you come to sell your car... with luck, you should make your money back because the car will be in such good condition.
To keep a car in a similar condition using regular products means spending your sundays washing, waxing, polishing, etc.
A car with a paint sealant is far easier to maintain, and so for those people who would rather spend their days off taking the kids to the park or watching football the benefits are obvious.
I have to admit, that if you are after paintwork perfection and are willing to put the time into it, then sealants are probably not for you... they are a low maintenance solution to car care. People on car care forums tend to be enthusiasts who are more than willing to put in the work, and so they get a bad wrap. But for the rest of us, I believe that when you weigh up all the advantages, they are a very worthwhile investment.
|
Now for the awkward question.
What about touching up the paintwork after chips, polishing out scuff marks etc, partial resprays etc..
I imagine the insurance company will not be happy if the new paint does not stick properly after a repair.
Does the coating cause a colour mismatch against any new paintwork?
Shiny cars do nothing for me and invite unwanted attention.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
|
Good question.
When your car is treated it will be supplied with a sticker, body shops will be on the lookout for this. Either way you should tell them if you have had a sealant.
They will be able to deal with it. It doesn't cause problems when they know. At least, we never have a problem when doing smart repairs, nor do either of the body shops we use.
sealants are just a plastic, and paints are packed full of solvents - in fact they are similar in many ways. So repairing stone chips etc, isn't a problem.
The problem comes if you have a car coated in a sealant, and a freshly painted panel that isn't. This is when sealants prove themselves in a side-by-side comparison. You will fnd the untreated panel will oxidize and possibly fade quicker than the rest of the car... this is great for demonstration purposes, but not so good for the appearance of your car. But if you pop into your local application centre they will re-apply the sealant to the effected panel, usually for around £10 per panel.
|
My parents had Diamondbrite on their new vehicle, and every time the car went in for a service or recall, they Rejuvenated the Diamondbrite molecular bonded shell. That's probably why it lasts so long, (they are polishing it again on the sly)
|
|
I hate to burst the bubble on the supposed "cast iron guarantee". In my experience it is nothing of the sort. I was sold a paint sealant on the basis that it would protect against bird droppings, and in the event of damage it would be rectified "guaranteed". Sods law, I got some bird poo on the car that damaged the paint surface. The immediate response from the company involved was "the only way you can get paint damage is if it isnt washed off within 24 hours - since there is damage, we take that as evidence that you didnt wash it off within 24 hours and therefore the guarantee is invalidated". So, don't rely on this stuff to protect your paint - in my experience it does nothing of the sort, and the "guarantee" is worthless. It might keep the car looking shinier a bit longer, but does nothing to protect the paint. Ignore the cock-and-bull stories of the salesman, they are exactly that.
|
My parents had Diamondbrite on their new vehicle, and every time the car went in for a service or recall, they Rejuvenated the Diamondbrite molecular bonded shell. That's probably why it lasts so long, (they are polishing it again on the sly)
Obviously a garage with a more vivid imagination than most !
|
>> Rejuvenated the Diamondbrite molecular bonded shell.
Obviously a garage with a more vivid imagination than most !
I'm laughing thinking about reading that line on the service invoice :-)
My C Class was Mercedes "StarShield" (none of your common rubbish!) treated - it was 2nd hand (5 mths old) and already done before I bought it. I must say that bird-muck just sponges off without leaving any mark at all - whether this is the paint protection on the Mercedes 'nano' paint, I don't know. I would say that the car is certainly easier to clean too - it's a darkich colour and I can celan it one go, without seeming to miss bits that need to be rewashed later.
My daughters metallic black Seat Ibiza, on the other hand, with show a fade mark in the paint if bird muck isn't removed promptly. It's also a nightmare to clean, and takes 2 or sometimes 3 attempts to get all the muck off.
Many people start off with the best of intentions of waxing their cars every month, but if you're the sort of person (like me) that won't actually get around to doing this, then the treatments are probably worth it. I'd negotiate hard on the price, or get an independant valeter to do it though.
|
|
I was going to add: I'm sure the guarantee is worthless too - how many people are going to buy the (expensive) conservor and apply that every month?
|
clean image - maybe you can help me.
I have recently bought a 3 year old picasso from a large citroen dealership and after researching diamondbrite i asked them to treat my vehicle at the cost of £199. This is supposed to be guaranteed for 6 years and comes with a certificate and aftercare pack.
The car was delivered 3 days ago and has been treated with Lacroe and id only guaranteed for 3 years and I have not got the aftercare pack.
Can you tell me the difference and if I should be making a fuss about this as I have been mis-sold a product?
This is one if many issues I have with garage as I have not MOT cert, the service book and onbard computer indicate that the car has not been serviced, as it should. I have not HPI report, no written warranty and the shopping basket has been removed from the boot since we agreed to purchase the car.
Needless to say we are in discussions with the garage at the moment and I am wondering how far I should take this.
|
I can not see how this treatment can be guaranteed for three years, let alone six. Six months would be more like it.
You seem to have been very badly treated by the garage - my suggestion is that you get all that you need sorted out, and negotiate the paint treatment as a freeby in compensation for the hassle you have experienced.
|
......This is one if many issues I have with garage as I have not MOT cert, the service book and onbard computer indicate that the car has not been serviced, as it should. I have not HPI report, no written warranty and the shopping basket has been removed from the boot since we agreed to purchase the car........
By the sound of things, the paint treatment that you were sold is the least of your worries....
My elderly Astra gets a coat or two of Autoglym Extra Gloss protection once a year, after a quick ´claying´. The rest of the time it´s a quick wash, followed by TurtleWax it Wet on a chammy. Dead easy, quick, and the car always looks great afterwards.
|
UPDATE****
MOT cert now found and in post.
They have agreed to service thecar after confirming it hadn't been serviced.
HPI and warrantly will be here by end of week hopefully and I can pick up the shopping basket too.
Now just got to sort this paintwork issue.
|
This 'paint treatment' is worth a few pounds - its basically a decent-quality polish, but no more than that. Total cost of application (material+labour) is around £40, so you work out the margin. Salesmen gets a commission of around £50 and the rest is profit to the dealer.
If offered it on a car, ask the salesman if they pay a higher p/x price for a trade-in car that's been treated with sealant - LOL!
|
My 6 year old Honda has only ever been treated with Autoglym Extra Gloss which is not a polish as it does not contain any abrasives as a normal "polish" contains to remove fine scuffs. It has never been in in one of those car washes that thrash your car and leave millions of fine scratches. I only apply it every few months and is as shiny as the day it was bought.
Superguard etc, they are only car salesmens bonuses!.
|
|
I think very highly of Autoglym. I have used it for years.
|
In reply to Bill Payer:-
Thanks for mentioning this. I am planning to buy the new shape C Class Elegance C 200 CDI or C 220 Elegance CDI. I was wondering what was safe to put on it.
I've driven a Seat Toledo TDiSE 1.9 since the end of 1999. I've done 142,000 miles. An incredibly reliable car.Just had to get new head gasget and valves. The paint chipped like mad since day one though. Bird pooh is a nightmare. I used to use Autoglym super resin polish and then the special Autoglym sealant to seall the shine.
I fell in love with the new '07 ( old shape) C Class, as I hired a brand new C 200 CDI when my present car was laid up. I loved the C Class. They definitely improved it lately.
What you said about protection is so important.I'm a bit scared touching paint imediately.You used to be taught not to polish until you had the car a short while. I suppose new materials have changed all that. Also Mercedes were supposed to be developing paint which would hardly chip. A dream come true!!! I imagine it would appear on it's most expensive cars at first though!!
|
|
|
|
