[vasudeva]

Many car buyers (incl. me) get suckered into this because (a) we have paid so much money and (b) think that this will keep the shine on for longer. Very doubtful about its effects on the shine. Plus more importantly going by the people who keep company on Delhi roads, it is just a few days or weeks before the car goes for a denting/painting job, and there goes the teflon. I use simple waxing and polishing every quarter with a rubbing/polishing at the Toyota service when it goes for denting/painting (1-2 times/year).

[mithun]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

1. Wash
2.Apply Rubbing compound/Swirl Remover
3.Apply Solid wax
4. Buff using machine.

The 2nd stop is not done in the case of the "so called" Teflon coating.

So, in my opinion just applying soild wax will not affect the paint surface. Most of the time they simply use liquid wax, that's it.

[subodh]

Visiting this thread after a long time but its a great eye opener about Teflon. Would keep it in mind now from next time onwards.

[raj_srini]

Very useful Thread. Thanks to all for your views.

As a newbie, I just have a question. Which wax and polish would you recommend for metallic pain ( ANHC Urban titanium) and where would I be able to buy this in Delhi?

[vigsom]

^^ clean the car once a week with clean water(use a soft towel dipped in water and wipe the surface gently ; then allow to dry almost completely and finish with another soft towel.

This is moe than enough to maintain the surface gloss.

If you must , then Waxpol wax, would suffice.

[Parm]

Every time a polishing/buffing machine is applied to the car paint, it takes off the clear coat/lacquer and reduces the paint thickness of the depth of the paint.

the less use of machine and more use of hand application for wax or paint protection, the better it is.

of course for rubbing/compounding is done by machine only, but should be done once or twice a year, not more than that.

i would recommend just once a year.

coming back to the paint protection....

all the world's PPS are manufactured in cold climate countries and need after care once applied or revalidated every 6-12 months.

please note that PPS are 2-3 stage sealants and need to be applied professionally and done by the authorised application centres only.

if the PPS being offered to you is genuine TEFLON, i would ask you to confirm the genuinity and the cost and after care offered with it.

99.99% paint protection systems around the world are nothing more than money making schemes to call you back to get the revalidation and make extra money.

i would suggest a good UV wax application of you vehicle once a week or month depending upon the exposure of your vehicle to the weather elements would make a better sense.

3M/Meguiar's offer many professional as well as DIY shampoo, wax, etc for the love and care of your vehicle.

remember if the teflon guys are asking you to come back to them in 6-12 months time for re-application, its FAKE!

a branded or a PPS worth its salt doesnt require any kind of re-application or revalidation every 6-12 months.

thats how FUCON made its millions and billions in india by fleecing customers!

[ram_hyundai]

Dear all,Whenever you go in for a new car Teflon coating is offered free(Fact).But the coating done usually is just waxing as the dealers cannot afford -at least Maruti as well as Hyundai to give such huge list of items FOC with little margins left.I have known of a product called guard-X which after applied on paint even protected the same from flames.So whenever you are going in for a Teflon coat (never felt the need of one) go for the genuine one.
ram

[Parm]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

Dear all,Whenever you go in for a new car Teflon coating is offered free(Fact).But the coating done usually is just waxing as the dealers cannot afford -at least Maruti as well as Hyundai to give such huge list of items FOC with little margins left.I have known of a product called guard-X which after applied on paint even protected the same from flames.So whenever you are going in for a Teflon coat (never felt the need of one) go for the genuine one.
ram

could you provide details about this product called guard-X?

who sells it?
where its made?
whats the price?

etc....

[onlinestuffa]

Am going to book a Jazz and the dealer recommended teflon coating. I declined, but some friends had got it done and are raving about it. After reading some threads on the forum I am a bit unsure. As far as I have been able to gather, the criticism of teflon is that at most it would last 2-4 months and therefore it is expensive, i.e. it would be cheaper to get a wax job done.

The more serious objection appears to be that it is a scam, i.e. in any case only a wax job is done since teflon cannot stick to paint, and/or cheap teflon substitutes are used and the buffing can be harmful to the original paint of a new car.

That being the case, why then do some people rave about teflon coatings (not just dealers?). They claim it protects the paint from scratches - something I have not known wax to be able to do.

Basically what I'm looking for is an unbiased, authoritative view on the issue.

TIA
OS

[jain_sanjayp]

3M India confirmed that they discontinued 'Teflon' coating in 2009. Teflon is a Dupont product and no one in India does that on cars.
All (including 3M) does a nice wax polish. Car Dealers cheat.

[rajeev k]

In 2007 while buying an Alto, I agreed for the teflon coating and the under body painting was offered to me but I asked for cash discount instead which was not agreed to by the dealer. So I accepted both of these,knowing fully well that there is absolutely no benefit with the under body coating. But surprisingly I found out after delivery that these were not carried out by the dealer, Popular Vehicles and Services. I took up the matter with Maruti as well as the top brass of the dealer and got both of these done and even got the 3M warranty card.
Dealers by offering these as freebies are in fact cheating customers.Maruti is also at fault as they are tight lipped on these aspects.

[Coolman]

Hi,

I was going through this thread here on Teflon coating.
Quite a few terms used, am not very clear what they mean.

Teflon coating, polishing, rubbing, waxing etc (different processes? all doing the same or at least marketed as "doing the same"?)

I would like to know from you, about these processes - Teflon coating and similar / related processes - how many such processes are there, how are they done and what's the charge (consumables and labor) if broadly classified?

And if one has to do this at home, which one can be done, which one cannot be?

Thanks,
C_

[arun_m5]

If you ever plan to apply teflon on your vehicle, make sure that the bottle used in process looks like this, this is the original Dupont Teflon bottle, costs around 1200 rs and is only sold to authorized car detailing centre's. It is whitish in color with the consistency lighter than that of melted ice-cream.

It cannot be bought off the shelf and it lasts a really long time from my experience. From what i have heard, Dupont has stopped selling this in India from 2010 according to the dealer from where I got a bike coated. So now if you do go to get a 'teflon coating', they just apply a 3m rubbing compound and wax to make the body shine, which is basically just a wax job, the truth is most customers do not know the difference between the two since both of them leave the car shining.

[Coolman]

Originally Posted by arun_m5

If you ever plan to apply teflon on your vehicle, make sure that the bottle used in process looks like this, this is the original Dupont Teflon bottle, costs around 1200 rs and is only sold to authorized car detailing centre's. It is whitish in color with the consistency lighter than that of melted ice-cream.
Attachment 856525
It cannot be bought off the shelf and it lasts a really long time from my experience. From what i have heard, Dupont has stopped selling this in India from 2010 according to the dealer from where I got a bike coated. So now if you do go to get a 'teflon coating', they just apply a 3m rubbing compound and wax to make the body shine, which is basically just a wax job, the truth is most customers do not know the difference between the two since both of them leave the car shining.

Today I went to a Maruti Suzuki Dealer (read Mandovi) and he sells the following:

• Sonax Car Detailing --> Rs 1560 - He claims this to be wax and buffing job
• Sonax Car Protect --> Rs 3600 - He claims this to be similar to teflon coating, but from Sonax

Can I go for the Sonax Car Protect --> Rs 3600, will it remove a micro layer of paint off my car?

Note, he is NOT giving it for free with the new car I am about to book.

Thanks,
C_

[arun_m5]

Originally Posted by Coolman

Today I went to a Maruti Suzuki Dealer (read Mandovi) and he sells the following:

• Sonax Car Detailing --> Rs 1560 - He claims this to be wax and buffing job
• Sonax Car Protect --> Rs 3600 - He claims this to be similar to teflon coating, but from Sonax

Can I go for the Sonax Car Protect --> Rs 3600, will it remove a micro layer of paint off my car?

Note, he is NOT giving it for free with the new car I am about to book.

Thanks,
C_

The wax and buffing job in effect takes a tiny layer off the exposed clear coat to reveal unexposed clear coat of paint which would make the car shine. In a typical teflon coating application, they do waxing and buffing before the protective layer goes on, so that the best quality finish is obtained. Since if the finish is bad when the teflon / protective layer goes on, then the final result would look only marginally better than before.

But if only the protective layer is applied there is no chance of the paint layer being removed.

If however, you have noticed a deterioration in paint quality or fading, there is no problems in getting the waxing done since car manufacturers, especially Maruti have a pretty solid layer of clear coat which is quite durable...