The Protector
 

I just purchased a 2013 White Lexus w/ parchment interior. Can anyone offer advice regarding The Protector: paint & leather protector, how much they paid for this & if it is worthwhile? Thanks-

no it's not worth it. buy yourself a good leather cleaner and conditioner such as leather masters, leatherique, lexus cleaner + conditioner, lexol, etc.

get yourself outfitted with all the paint care products. 2 buckets, 2 grit guards, good wash mitt, good soap, leaf blower or a big waffle towel for blotting, wheel brushes.

then you can get clays, paint cleaner, sealant and wax.

all of this will be massively cheaper and better than the overpriced protector

when your paint gets a bit swirled you can get a polisher.

I agree with JetFire. Spend $200-$300 on good quality car care products and it will be way more beneficial than the extremely overpriced thing they are offering you.

^This man speaks the truth!

Do it yourself, and do it right! I mean no offense to anyone who may work at a dealership, but it is not uncommon for your vehicle to come out of a dealer "detailer" looking worse than it did when you dropped it off. Now that this is always the case, but it happens often. Last time I was leaving my Lexus dealership, for example, I drove by the "detailers" and one guy was scrubbing the paint with a push broom... yeah, a broom. Needless to say, I never allow them to touch my paint.

You'll save yourself a lot of money and headaches if you either 1) learn to DIY and invest in proper products or 2) do some research and find a knowledgeable and reputable detailer in your area.

Congrats on the new car btw!

Skip the dealers offer and do this yourself.

I'd strongly recommend applying a leather protector to your leather rather than a conditioner. Conditioners do not protect against or prevent dye transfer from jeans, belts and certain other dyed clothing and from other stains. Once dye transfer has occurred it is very difficult to remove. All light colored leathers need protection. This leather protectant should be a water-based fluorocarbon protectant. Products I'd recommend would be Leather Masters Protection Cream or LTT Auto Ultra Protect.

If this were my new car I'd wash, clay, dry, do a 30%IPA wipe-down and examine the paint under sunlight for swirling. If polish is not needed, I'd go with a quality sealant or a coating. Some products I'd recommend include Meguiar's Ultimate Wax (a sealant), Duragloss 105, Poor Boys Wet Diamond, Optimum Opti-Seal and Optimum Opticoat 2.0, a coating. FWIW, Opticoat 2.0 offers permanent protection while the sealants are all temporary. Opticoat 2.0 is a thick coating, nearly the same thickness as your clear coat.

^This is very far from the truth.

Doing some very quick research, it seems OEM clear coats are typically between 1.5-3 mil thick (~40-75 microns) (some more, some less I would imagine). So your Clear coat is WAY WAY WAY thicker than any coating you can apply to your vehicle.


With that being said, I would highly recommend (after proper paint correction, if needed) OC2.0, CQuartz, 22ple, or other similar coatings. The benefit of these coatings - besides offering lasting protectoin - is that any scratches or swirls that develop and require buffing will develop in the coating, not the clear coat (unless they are deeper scratches). The benefit to the scratches being in the coating is that when you buff them out, you will be removing the coating and less clear coat - ie preserving your clear coat thickness over time when compared to simply buffing your un-coated clear coat year after year. Proper washing & drying, however, go a long way when it comes to reducing swirls and scratches in the first place.

I've got 22ple on my IS250 and love it.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...60925462_n.jpg
This was just last weekend after a maintenance wash. 22ple was applied in November. Car is always wiped down with CG V7 after I wash. You can see (on the 1/2 of the car that is in the sun) how incredibly glossy it is.

Appreciate all the good info! Any advice on products to scotch guard carpet/mats?

Looks amazing!

I don't have much experience in this area of detailing as I specialize in exteriors... for my 2IS, however, I just got the weathertech digital fit liners to replace my mats during the "dirtier" months of the year. Now I don't have to worry about staining them with dirty feet.

I just sprayed scotchguard for carpet when I bought the car. Don't know how effective it is since I use the weathertech mats also.

<3 lexus paint

I also bought Lexus IS yesterday, Red color and light gray interior, I am debating if I should go for clear bra from 3M and paint protection and interior leather protection or not? If so are there any cheaper options if I dont want to pay Lexus dealer for the job? I am from Minneapolis MN, also if anyone can go with pros and cons of them all.

The clear bra is not a bad idea but the dealer paint protection is not something I'd spend my money on. I suspect you could find installers for the clear bra outside of the dealer in the MPLS area at much less cost.

For leather protection I'd recommend buying Leather Masters Cleaner and LM Protection cream. This is all you need to keep your leather in like-new condition for many years.

Most dealer paint protection amounts to a wash and the application of a sealer. You can typically buy the stuff you need to do it yourself for a fraction of what the dealer charges.

^^^ this.

For clearbra, find out what local installers will charge, and ask your dealership if they will match it (my dealership in TX did - but I had asked them before taking delivery of the car). My recommendation - if you are planning to get the clear bra applied, do it at the earliest because the bumper/hood area can get tiny nicks pretty quickly.

"Paint protection' If you don't want to spend the time doing it yourself (it really isn't that hard - but I can see why you wouldn't want to do it with the current weather in MN), look for a professional detailer (get feedback from other folks in MN) who will do this for you.

Since the car is new. (assuming the dealership didn't mess it up) it should be relatively swirl/scratch free, and should just need a good washing, claying, (maybe a little polishing to remove any minor scratches/swirls) , and sealant.

Do read about Opticoat 2.0 to see if you want to go that route. With the amount of sand/salt they dump on the roads in winters in MN, it may be a good idea.

Going forward, if you are planning to wash your car yourself, you may want to look at Optimum No Rinse (ONR) - that way, you can keep your car clean in the winter too (without having to freeze yourself or the doors/windows) because you can clean the car in the garage (heated hopefully)

thanks guys, I talked to a detailer friend, he said I should be fine if I wax the car with a good quality product, are there any other good quality products for leather protection?