[nonotedriver]

Morning All





Just got a 2009 Acenta dci (86), not my first Nissan but this is my first everNote.


It was a toss up between this and the Jazz,xsarapicasso or the c3 picasso,the car was bought froma main dealer (my first purchase from a main dealer inabout 10 years, and tbh I wasn't that impressed, maybe I was expecting too much

). It's little things that an independent dealership would've donesprings to mind, e.g the car was G3'd,at only £150 If it's half as good as all the blurb suggests then it's money well spent, however yes the car looks great but you'd have thought the dealership would've covered/removed any light scratchingprior to applying the glasscoat ??. It is ablack car so sadly scratches do show up more.



Other things (like not realising until highlighted), that the tax had ran out 6 weeks ago etc highlight the difference between the types of dealer, and I thought Cared4 took into account the car's history etc

.



As for the car, I got it atwhat I thinkwas a good price andas you all know the car's a littlecracker, running on 15" alloys it goes and handles well, time will tell if it's as reliable as my old car (aHonda Civic), but reading several reviews the Note looks like a sound buy.



I do have a couple of questions, if that's alright:



Would i be right in thinking that allmain dealers appear to be the same (applying a protective coatover scratches etc), I'm not singling out Nissan dealers particulary, but main dealer's generally (having read other reviews of g3 applications for other makes), it would appear common sense/pride seems to be somewhat lacking ?).



Literature about the G3was as sparse as the truth from a politician, I am aware that trying to t-cut scratches out is a big no, no,that polishingwould appear to be a waste of time/not recommended and that washing with a mild shampoo is the only way of keeping the car clean, does anyone have any suggestions please regarding the best car shampoo to use and I'd liketo know if anybody has used a chip stick (crayon type etc), on a g3 treated car and how it turned out ?.



Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mnl]

Did they use actual G3 which is a fine abrasive cutting compound, the one Ed China uses to turn dull pink paintwork into shiny red during the commercial break on Wheeler Dealers, or G cubed (G superscript 3) which is a waxy polymer polish, same sort of thing as Autoglym (and no doubt used by the same number of Professionals and endorsed by the same number of OEMs)

The first will cut the scratches out if there is enough paint on to start with, and the scratches are shallow enough. (both are unlikely with modern paints, they rely heavily on a clear top coat that scratches if you breathe on it)

The second will dry white in the scratches and make them show up more.

Nothing I try seems to work as well as the old Carnuba wax that I spent a whole day polishing in from those flat tins. (But that was on proper old cellulose paints from the 1970s)
These modern polymer finishes look good for a week or so, and then you can't tell they were ever there after a month.

I use whatever wax-n-wax is on offer, usually Halfords can't give away the Turtle wax one and you can pick it up quite cheaply.
I know it works, as if any gets on the windscreen the wipers smear something terrible.

 

[nonotedriver]

From the vague non discript description that the salesman provided: they take the film etc off the car and then coat it.... so I'd imagine it's just a polymer coating. However reading G3 glasscoat's web site polishing or waxing would seem to be able to damage a supposedly tough coating

, and so only a wash is sufficient to clean the car, as for scratches; a chip stick "may or may not" remove/hide the scratch,,, this kinda reminds me why I have'nt bought from a main dealer for so long

.


Can anyone tell me if the G3 glasscoating actually works please ?.

 

[mnl]

The feedback on the Halfords web site says no it doesn't.

The G superscript 3 is a 4 part system, scratch removal is part 2.

I use Autoglym resin polish followed by polymer shinerupper sealant. Lasts about a month, do my 'bikes every year, do the car once only.

 

[nonotedriver]

So G3 Glasscoat would appear to be a waste of money then

, I suppose the upshootis that I guess it does'nt really matter what I doto the paint then (t-cut the scratches out).

 

[mnl]

If you do, you need to re-apply some of the resin polish over the T-Cut area.

You can download the Farecla brochure on the range by going to the halfords site and finding the G3 polish.

Stage 1 = clean with special cleaner
Stage 2 = use rubbing compound to remove scratches
Stage 3 = use weak T-Cut to remove oxidation film from car
Stage 4 = resin/polymer shine & seal

Farecla reckon it lasts 3 months.

I had my last car treated (forgot the name of the process, came with some impressive stickers and hanging cards), cost about £150 on the price. scotchguarded the upolstery (that was a good idea) autoglymed the outside. Could have done it myself for about £30 though

I was too excited about having a brand new car to realise what I was signing really. Nice little earner for the dealer, costs them next to nothing.

 

[SneakyElephant]

Talk to Note Forum member Craigfishin....he is the man to ask about making your Note look good! He is a professional and has posted some great pics of the results he has achieved, along with details of the stuff he uses.Here's one he did earlier! http://www.noteownersclub.co.uk/forum/my-3rd-nissan_topic137_post1480.html?KW=#1480
Edited by: SneakyElephant

 

[nonotedriver]

Am i missing something or are the products being discussed different, what is Farecla ?.
http://www.g-3glasscoat.com/is the product I've had on the Note, is this the same as farecla, it has been mentioned that farecla lasts upto 3 months, Paintseal europe's g3 glasscoatis supposedly good for 5 years ?, is that just sales talk ?.

 

[mnl]

The plot thickens

Farecla are the company who make a series of rubbing compounds, which are used by the professionals.

Go into a paint factor and ask for some G3 and you get a paste made out of clay that you use with a polishing machine to cut the scratches out (a proper polisher that looks like an angle grinder, not the £15 ones with two handles)

They now market a range of products for home use called G cubed as in G superscript 3 which is what I thought you meant, cashing in on their own reputation. Halfords stock it.

Never heard of your stuff before, I guess they called it G3 to take advantage of the fact that everyone will tell you "G3 is the best" (They are talking about Farecla G3 polishing compound though)

I'll get me a bottle only £10.99 and it is based on NASA technology

 

[flash22]

g3, g4 and g5 are grade of cutting compound, you you have prob had the car "mopped" thay use a very fine cutting compound to remove a layer of crud and oxide from the paint restoring it bact to new or better than new, iirc most body shops have dropped farecla in favour of the cheaper same spec 3M products
i used to use a lot of autoglym products in the past but i find the super resin has too much filler