Paints woes

[_GB_]

Having only had my new van only 3 months the paint is already going the same way that my T5 went . This is a pic of the sill on my old van ( opposite side the same ) which I had fixed by an vw bodyshop at great expense for it to only come back and force me to sell it on .

I today had the same areas protected with protection tape which ain't pretty but my only choice as I could see stone chips in the same areas .

Whilst prepping the van this morning I got it under halogen lights and omg the paintwork is horrendous . I knew it wasn't good from the dealers but seriously do they PDI them with a Brillo pad . It also seems to scratch really easy , I can see fingers prints scratched into the paints from my lad getting in and out .

This has prompted me to get it sorted asap and while I've got all the equipment and some knowledge of polishing and sealing , I've got little time and no premises to do it in .

Soooo... I've spoke to a detailer today whose given me a couple of options :

Machine polish and swiss wax or machine polish and GTECHNIQ which is double the price .

I'm after some feedback from those who have tried both , and can I achieve the same level of protection with the swiss wax if regularly top up as the GTECHNIQ.

 

[Tourershine]

As a business that specialises in Caravan and Motorhome surfaces, 75% of our work is the Restoration of faded, weathered Fibreglasses and Aluminums coatings. The other 25% of my business is sealing brand new Caravans and Motorhomes. I often mention to people that what we work with is not the same as the Auto industry, and we rarely see painted, lacquered surfaces in my industry. However, my own vehicles have to be kept in immaculate condition simply because my customers expect to see this.
I will never profess to be an expert with auto paints, because it's not what we work with every day, but I do have a huge amount of experience with sealers and waxes. We were contacted by Gtechniq because of the surfaces we work with, and they have sent me some of their products to test on fibreglasses. It's too early to say if they will work for us yet, but I did fully ceramic coat my wheels, and the roof of my T6, and I can say that it's currently showing some great advantages.
However... I do have a very good experienced detailer that we use for my customers cars, and he has experience of both Gtechniq and Swiss Wax, and he always favours the Swiss wax over any sealers, especially on a dark paintwork, and claims that no matter how good a sealer is, or how careful you wash your vehicle, or how often you wash it, it will end up with fine swirls eventually. Where as a regular coat of a high end wax will minimise the visual damage far better.

I'm yet to decide on my van, but as a person that pretty much washes my van, and waxes it almost every day at the moment, a sealer is not really suitable for me. Obviously bare in mind that neither a good sealer or umpteen coats of wax will stop the effect in the pictures above, which i'm sure you're well aware of.

So in conclusion that doesn't really answer your question, but I guess it boils down to how much time and effort you have to put in after your detailer has done his work. Either option will still require a degree of effort afterwards, so don't assume if it's sealed with a Gtechniq ceramic coating, that it will need little or no maintenance, because that's not realistic, and a genuine detailer will tell you that.

By the way, I have front mud flaps and rear protection vinyl fitted to mine, and there is no sign of a single stone chip. My van is Black, and has now done 4000 miles.

 

[_GB_]

Thanks @Tourershine for the feedback and I'm swaying towards the swiss wax option not only because of the cost but like you said there's no getting away from swirls (I'm really careful washing to) and with the wax I can correct and top it up myself . Its not that I'm lazy but finding the time and the weather to do it is hard.


Hopefully the protective tape fitted will do its job now but not liking the way it looks. I might go down the same route as you and have some decals down the side to cover it up but its not the look I wanted really.

The above pics on my old van were after 7 years of running 20s with sticky pirelli tyres which is what VW says causes the damage to the doors But be aware of the inside of the door sill . There's a hole at the bottom of the door rubber when its shut and stones/crap gets in there and sits between the door and the sill grinding the paint. Its quite a common problem according to the body shop but I was quite surprised its happening on my new one already at only 1500 miles .

That's sounds like a good idea to use the gtechniq on the wheels

ps- I'm liking what you've done with your front grills but still cant make my mind up yet on full black or not .

 

[Tourershine]

When I ordered my new van, the first stipulation was that VW could not valet it at all. I wanted it as it came off the factory line, which included the barcode stickers, and any protection they'd use to transport, to which they agreed. It's the same stipulation I requested on my previous new Vivaro, and my new Motorhome (they are the only brand new vehicles i've purchased)
Now, the Vivaro, and the Motorhome (which is a whole different story) both came with untouched paintwork, and to be fair the Vivaro paint which was also Black, was actually a little more hard wearing than my VW is. The VW had marks on the paint from new caused by simple things like people either in the workshop or during transportation just doing their jobs, and touching the paint. The vans come with a white material protector over the bonnet from delivery, and even that had marked the paintwork. So I had to spend a considerable amount of time rectifying these issues before I coated it for the 1st time. However, even after it's been coated, and I wash every time with a wool mitt, and a 2 bucket, grit guard system as per usual, I am still left with fine swirls in direct sunlight. (Something the Vivaro didn't suffer from as much)
Again, as I mentioned above, I spoke with my detailer, and he said it's unavoidable with the amount of times I wash the van. and the mileage I do (Currently 4000, in just over 4 weeks) In his opinion the quality of paint varies greatly between manufactures, and VW does tend to be quite prone to the issues I suffer from, but the fact it's Black is always going to be a challenge, as I was well aware of.
So in my particular circumstances, a good quality wax as often as possible is the only way I can keep my paint looking perfect as it does currently.

As for the wheels you ran, I can see VW's the thinking around that theory. Some 20s are so wide, that 1, they can look daft in my opinion, and 2, they inevitably cause the issue you have suffered, hence why i'm reluctant to move to 20s.

Lastly the Gloss Blacking is possibly the best mod i've done, and although the bodyshop I use is nothing to do with my business, they are doing 3 more T6's through me, (including 2 members off here) because of the pictures of mine. It's not a cheap mod, but compared to what we pay for sets of wheels etc, it's not stupid money. The difference between painted and unpainted is so much better visually (as you can see below with a before and after) and far easier to clean, plus the bare plastics they come with tend to loose there newness pretty quickly, and ruin the look if you are as fussy as I am.

Let me know what you decide, and I'd like to see a pic after your detailer has done his work.

 

[_GB_]

It does look really well but boy its going to take you some time to polish and seal it all You could easily spend a day on the bumper and grills alone.

I'm toying with the idea of satin black for the grills and badges to match my wheels but after years of using different body shops including Vw ones I haven't found a decent one yet to trust them with my new van. Unfortunately your a little far away from me to use your recommendation.

I think its a cop out from vw on my last van tho. The wheels were only 9 inch wide and et40 and didn't stick out at all.

My wife's car has side skirts on, that wrap around into the wheel arch itself and the paint directly facing the tyre is perfect after 4 years. Ha , its a vauxhall as well.

I'm off to see the detailer tomorrow for him to have a closer look and to see if he can fix the deep scratch that someone has kindly left on my rear bumper. I'm much appreciative of your advice @Tourershine as I'm clearer of what I want him to do now.

 

[Tourershine]

You're welcome.

Oh and yes it takes ages to detail my van and the front takes the longest and hurts the fingers the most!

Lastly, don't rule out travelling for the right bodywork. As you'e already found out, sadly the quality of work does vary greatly, so what's a train trip back and forth for the job done properly (one of the T6 jobs is coming from Southampton to Leicester)
However, I do appreciate the bonus of convenience. Good luck with your detailer.

 

[former member]

This won’t cure it but it’ll help;

1)Carefully clay it; Bilt Hamber is the easiest to use and get the soft version.
2)Polish it with Dodo Supernatural hybrid; this is a polish and sealant in one product.

Both are easy and quick to use and should help a lot.

If you’re still not happy then you’ll need to get a full machine polish; get it done by a good detailer or top notch body shop (the former will be a lot cheaper and mobile too); make sure it’s totally sealed afterwards.

Then it’ll be sorted..

 

[_GB_]

Thanks @Polzeylad but its going to the detailer in a week or so . I've got a machine myself but with the short wet winter days and running my business I've not got the time . Just bought some new polish and sealent as well.

I'm hoping that when its done careful cleaning and a coat of wax every month or so should keep it looking good .

 

[Sammy]

When I ordered my new van, the first stipulation was that VW could not valet it at all. I wanted it as it came off the factory line, which included the barcode stickers, and any protection they'd use to transport, to which they agreed. It's the same stipulation I requested on my previous new Vivaro, and my new Motorhome (they are the only brand new vehicles i've purchased)
Now, the Vivaro, and the Motorhome (which is a whole different story) both came with untouched paintwork, and to be fair the Vivaro paint which was also Black, was actually a little more hard wearing than my VW is. The VW had marks on the paint from new caused by simple things like people either in the workshop or during transportation just doing their jobs, and touching the paint. The vans come with a white material protector over the bonnet from delivery, and even that had marked the paintwork. So I had to spend a considerable amount of time rectifying these issues before I coated it for the 1st time. However, even after it's been coated, and I wash every time with a wool mitt, and a 2 bucket, grit guard system as per usual, I am still left with fine swirls in direct sunlight. (Something the Vivaro didn't suffer from as much)
Again, as I mentioned above, I spoke with my detailer, and he said it's unavoidable with the amount of times I wash the van. and the mileage I do (Currently 4000, in just over 4 weeks) In his opinion the quality of paint varies greatly between manufactures, and VW does tend to be quite prone to the issues I suffer from, but the fact it's Black is always going to be a challenge, as I was well aware of.
So in my particular circumstances, a good quality wax as often as possible is the only way I can keep my paint looking perfect as it does currently.

As for the wheels you ran, I can see VW's the thinking around that theory. Some 20s are so wide, that 1, they can look daft in my opinion, and 2, they inevitably cause the issue you have suffered, hence why i'm reluctant to move to 20s.

Lastly the Gloss Blacking is possibly the best mod i've done, and although the bodyshop I use is nothing to do with my business, they are doing 3 more T6's through me, (including 2 members off here) because of the pictures of mine. It's not a cheap mod, but compared to what we pay for sets of wheels etc, it's not stupid money. The difference between painted and unpainted is so much better visually (as you can see below with a before and after) and far easier to clean, plus the bare plastics they come with tend to loose there newness pretty quickly, and ruin the look if you are as fussy as I am.

Let me know what you decide, and I'd like to see a pic after your detailer has done his work.

View attachment 15851

 

[Sammy]

Love the black glossing,I had mine done last week,really finishes off the front end. Maxton V1 hopefully going on one day this week if I get time

 

[Sammy]

Mirrors glossed aswell

 

[Tourershine]

Gloss Blacking seems to suit pretty much any colour T6 as you have proved. In my opinion it just makes them look far better finished, but the Black against the White looks pretty awesome @Sammy
Glad you did the mirrors too, they really stand out.

 

[StudleyGlass]

Looking good @Sammy
I have to agree with you guys, it does make a big difference

 

[Tourershine]

There's always one that has to get just a little bit closer...

We had a good thing going then, and you come rolling in and BAM... I'm here...