hello everyone,
i am a new 2008 element owner, but wanted to share my experience with all who are interested in protecting/enhancing their element's paint.
I have owned my element about 3 weeks. i paid to have the dealer apply a paint sealent program (armour)..not a very good job.
I have purchased other paint sealant programs from dealers, and in each case i was very satisfied. in this case i was not.
not sure if it was the product (different from others) or the application. Non-the-less i purchased my own paint sealant system (4 star) and i could not believe the difference. the finish was truly the sought after "wet" finish.
i then decided to add some carnuba wax (3 coats of pinnacle) and all i can say is "wow". it truly changed the color of my element all for the better. it enhanced the metallic qualities so that the vehicle shimmers like one with a much higher quality paint job.
i am not a auto geek. but i may be one now; because it truly is amazing how much it changed the exterior paint job of my tangerine metallic element.
not sure it adds much value to others, but atleast i don't feel like a luker anymore!
donna

It's good that you came out of the closet! :D

Welcome to the club. It does feel good when you do something to your E that makes you Happy. Be careful though, It's a disease !! We refer to it as the mod bug.

Dom

See Below!!!!!!!!

hello everyone,
i am a new 2008 element owner, but wanted to share my experience with all who are interested in protecting/enhancing their element's paint.
I have owned my element about 3 weeks. i paid to have the dealer apply a paint sealent program (armour)..not a very good job.
I have purchased other paint sealant programs from dealers, and in each case i was very satisfied. in this case i was not.
not sure if it was the product (different from others) or the application. Non-the-less i purchased my own paint sealant system (4 star) and i could not believe the difference. the finish was truly the sought after "wet" finish.
i then decided to add some carnuba wax (3 coats of pinnacle) and all i can say is "wow". it truly changed the color of my element all for the better. it enhanced the metallic qualities so that the vehicle shimmers like one with a much higher quality paint job.
i am not a auto geek. but i may be one now; because it truly is amazing how much it changed the exterior paint job of my tangerine metallic element.
not sure it adds much value to others, but atleast i don't feel like a luker anymore!
donna

Hopefully you didn't overpay for that dealer's bad paint sealant application. Most good auto detail places will do the "new vehicle" one-year paint sealant and the interior fabric protection for about $225 total, which is most likely who does this for the dealer (and what the dealer paid).

Well they wanted to charge me $400 for the interior and exterior, but i pointed out that for the most part the interior of an Element is plastic or rubber. I have removed the back seats, because I primarily purchased the unit as my dog mobile! They then sold me just the paint protection for $250. Now that I know how easily the sealant is applied and what it actually cost, it still was too much to pay for the end result!

Well they wanted to charge me $400 for the interior and exterior, but i pointed out that for the most part the interior of an Element is plastic or rubber. I have removed the back seats, because I primarily purchased the unit as my dog mobile! They then sold me just the paint protection for $250. Now that I know how easily the sealant is applied and what it actually cost, it still was too much to pay for the end result!

Still not too bad. I've seen some dealers charge poor un-suspecting buyers $650 EACH for the interior and exterior treatment... :shock:

I have removed the back seats, because I primarily purchased the unit as my dog mobile!

You said you just bought a dog mobile? Forget about the pictures of the mobile, we want to see pictures of your dog (post in this thread http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32124)

And BTW, welcome!

Sorry you had to learn the hard way. Four Star UPP is a stellar sealant, and used 99% of the time on client and personal vehicles.....EZ on, EZ off....and the slickness is amazing.