techieboy Posted November 27, 2006 Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 My first review, so be gentle, please! Finally managed to get my car treated with the new (to cars, at least) A-Glaze paint treatment that I won in a recent Audi Driver magazine competition. The original base for the A-Glaze product came from America but they couldn't find any application for it. So A-Glaze, a UK company took up the rights for it and in conjunction with a German chemistry lab developed it and added a few more ingredients and came up with the current product range. They're now selling it back to the American market! A-Glaze is very big in the boat and aviation world. BA and TNT have their fleet of planes treated and in less time than it takes to do a car as there is a team of them with big microfibre mops, they then fly the planes through the dew layer to activate the glaze. It also has a small positive effect on fuel efficiency in aircraft due to decreased air resistance, which makes a differnce when you're talking about 200 tons of avaiation fuel in a jumbo jet. They are recommended by Fairline and Sunseeker for marine use and a couple of powerboat racing teams use it (although he wouldn't reveal who). They've also applied it to two of Abramovich's super yachts after he saw it on another yacht in Monaco and are currently applying it to a couple of other 60m+ yachts as a result. A-Glaze are currently working on a super anti-fouling product which won't need maintenance and is evironmentally friendly. They've also had some involvement with an F1 team although again they wouldn't say who as the team in question won't allow them any publicity. They are currently trying to seriously break into the automotive market, primarily at manufacturer level and large dealership groups, who typically want to pay peanuts for the product and rake in a huge profit on application. A couple of Volvo groups offer it but A-Glaze aren't overwhelmed by the quality of application as these dealer groups use a national mobile valeting company who recruit people from anywhere with no experience. As this is such a slow and painful process, they are also recruiting high quality detailers who can be trusted to apply it correctly and avoid silly guarantee claims. So if any of you pro's want to add another string to your bows, this might be a possibility. No idea how the commercials stack up though. Anyway, enough of the potted history.... Spent a few hours yesterday prepping the car by stripping the existing wax/sealants with a strong shampoo and then clayed the car to make sure there weren't too many nasties on there to affect the finish. Woke up this morning to be confronted by a murky and drizzly day. Bugger. Drove over to the Audi/VW Driver magazine HQ where the A-Glaze guys were going to apply the stuff and gave the car a quick wash to remove this morning’s muck. Two guys from A-Glaze turned up and each got to work on my car and my fellow winner and his MKIII GTi from the VW Driver magazine equivalent competition. They gave us run down on what makes A-Glaze different from the other glaze/sealant products on the market. Apparently (and this may all be marketing blurb) all of the other more recognisable brands on the market contain silicon to some degree which breaks down over time and relies on you applying conservors and/or top-ups to keep the protection. A-Glaze is entirely synthetic and consists of three different types of polymers that deal with specific issues (i.e. UV light, pollution). When combined they offer an extremely effective barrier against nearly all types of cack that is likely to damage the car. A-Glaze even offer a guarantee (4 years) that bird droppings wont affect the paintwork (although the guy applying it to my car said he wouldn't leave it for weeks on end in the baking sun, just in case). The one thing they can't guarantee 100% is tree sap, there is apparently one specific type of sap that does stick but they have been unable to identify the particular tree, as yet. Application looked very easy and was a three stage process. A cleanser/primer went on first in a very thin layer and this was gently buffed off. Then the main A-Glaze sealant/glaze went on, again in a very thin layer. This was then gently buffed off with a microfibe cloth. Then the special ingredient was applied. A very light misting of water! This actually sets the glaze by aligning the different layers of polymers in the correct order for maximum protection. The moisture in the air is sufficient to do this but best results are obtained from using a mist of water or damp microfibre. We were told that we should leave the treatment for 72 hours for it to fully cure before washing again. After the first post-application wash, we should see the full effect as the depth of shine should improve a bit more. All in all, it took about 3 hours to apply and they were very thorough, doing all of the door shuts, etc and they even applied upholstery protector to all of the carpets in the car and the boot and did the alloys. As for maintenance, all that is required is a hosing down and drying off, although a mild shampoo is recommended just for its dirt suspension abilities. Waxes can be applied on top if desired although he recommended not to use a hard wax containing lots of carnuba as this sometimes gives a cloudy effect (it's not a problem/reaction but just the way we tend to apply too much). The A-Glaze treatment should even withstand claying, as long as it's not done too often, although this shouldn't be required as it's nigh on impossible for anything to bond to the protected surface. There's a few snaps below although it was getting a bit dark by the time I got home. As A-Glaze said, it's easy to make a car shine straight after a "polish", the proof will be in how it looks in 6 months time and after a year, etc. I hope it lasts as long as they say but I'll be happy if it sees me though until Spring. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Pic 5 Pic 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 27, 2006 Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 Looks superb - my favourite colour too (Akoya) Great review, sounds good stuff...please keep us informed as to it's performance over the Winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianncampbell Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Nice finish! Sadly Akoya Silver is now a discontinued colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adigraham Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Good 1st review mate and the car looks the mutts nutts Make a note in your calender for 6 months time and add an update maybe ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techieboy Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Thanks guys. I'll certainly report back on how it performs long term. But after 24 hours, it's still looking good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 29, 2006 Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 My GTI is A-Glazed and has been from new in August 2005. I don't think it's any better or worse than any of the other protective finishes on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VRO6MO Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 Mine was done as soon as it delivered from the factory oooooh, shiny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 I'm finding that the Meg's NXT shampoo gives a much glossier shine than A-Glaze's shampoo does on their finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Still makes your car look pink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuprabob Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Oh...that's what clean Zolders look like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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