ArmorAll Shield

[pjgh]

What is it?

It's a new sealant from ArmorAll.

I have enjoyed ArmorAll products before, namely, their Hi-Shine Paste Wax, which cost me something like £1 and delivered an effect I have never seen from any other product - insane glossiness, superb beading and ... while it didn't last too long, looked great while it did. It cost me £1 because it was end of life - ArmorAll proceeded to rely solely on wipes for some time, but now they're back.

We have a liquid sealant which purports to be amazing.

Let's see what ArmorAll have to say about it: http://www.armorall.eu/uk/news/item/id/ ... -in-action - click the video

Real world! What do you get? The sealant, an applicator and a tiny microfibre towel which I gave to the Mrs and picked up a proper towel: a EuroW deep pile blue towel.

Application is as simple as squirting a little out onto the applicator and wiping onto the paint.


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I should mention that the applicator is of a very good standard - it's a round yellow applicator, much like our ubiquitous yellow round applicators, but this one has the ArmorAll logo embossed in, akin to the Meguiars applicator and feels every bit that little bit extra. Kudos to ArmorAll for the great applicator. Must try harder with the microfibre, tho'

Notice the sort of watery oily foamy stuff that hits the paint? It sort of rejuvenates dry looking paint, much like Bilt Hamber Auto Balm, but in liquid form, and leaves that plastic looking ultra-boosted glossiness that Bilt does.


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I should say that you wipe it over a panel and wipe off ... no waiting around, and you can use it in the sun, which was handy since the damn thing finally came out to play today (well, yesterday, but I wasn't cleaning cars yesterday).

Here's an unexpected benefit:


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After applying this, I was intending to grab my pot of Dodo Juice Tyromania and freshen up the plastics, but it seems this does it too ...

Encouraged, I went around a load of plastic all around the car and it all came up lovely! Better still, it wiped off windows really easily. Bonus!

Lovely job


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Even my alien windscreen squirters were happy


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Pretty good, no?


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Ease of application: 10/10 ... a doddle, effortless, straight-forward and totally foolproof.

Ease of removal: 9/10 ... you buff ... that's all ... not effortless, but not problematic.

Looks: 10/10 ... just how a sealant should look.

Longevity? Beading? Water sheeting? There'll be rain ... almost certainly very soon ... I'll report then

[sharpdeath]

I saw this in my Evo mag and does look good. Apparently even dirty water from sources like puddles run off. The wheel shield is suppose to be very good as well.

[pjgh]

While I was applying it, I did wonder just how close it was to a heavy silicone laden spray like Mr Sheen. Mr Sheen does amazing things to paintwork - ask a biker.

[willington]

luvley jubbly

Simple and effective...its going to be a hit with the general public as a quick fix

[pjgh]

If it looks good and lasts as well as a wax, it'll be a quick fix for me! I'd much rather put my efforts into our older convertible - two cars is a lot every weekend.

[sharpdeath]

Anything on the bottle about ingredients?

[willington]

it seems as if sealants are the way forward for so many these days...and it seems there are great advances in that field happening all the time.

The key issues which you have mentioned...'look' and longevity seem to be the stumbling block of the past

[sharpdeath]

I wonder what would happen if I spread lard over my car?

[pjgh]

On more modern cars, I think sealants can look good. This particular car seems to suit that look; perhaps it's the red? I'd be happy with Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid applied twice a year and the occasional spray of Acrylic Spritz, but you know me ... curious to the last

Ingredients, SD? Unicorn spit. That's it!

It's up in the shed ... I'll look another time. Meanwhile, here's the FAQ from ArmorAll: http://www.armorall.eu/uk/news/item/id/ ... shield-faq

Lard? Tough to remove fully, much like Migliore waxes - wipe off, buff with a fresh towel, buff again with another fresh towel, spritz with water and buff with a microsuede towel, throw final microsuede towel to the floor declaring "sod it!" and get a beer. It'll wash off next week

[willington]

I wonder what would happen if I spread lard over my car?

It wouldn't last.....Morten would sniff it out from Denmark and be over asap to lick it all off!

[willington]

re removal.....why don't product manufacturers provide instructions how to remove their products! I'm not talking about buffing...I'm talking about a solvent of some kind. APC works on waxes, but what about sealants?

If I put a sealant on paintwork and don't like the effect, I don't really want to have to resort to machine polishing the sealant off..I want a simple fast fix.

[pjgh]

Most products will come off with a polish or pre-wax cleanser - I've found circumstances where even neat IPA didn't cut it, but Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite did. Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite and Micro Prime are both very effective and simple to use.

To give a new product the best chance to show itself off, best give it a deep cleanse.

[willington]

Thanks for the tip Paul.

Now you have found this information out from experience and that's great. However, I believe that Manufacturers should supply application AND removal instructions....it costs them nothing to add this data onto the printed label.

[Torque]

That looks like it could be another cracking find Paul. Again, I await the durability report.

[pjgh]

First wash since application - this tells me a lot about the product and how I might expect it to last from here on in.

Since application a couple of weeks ago, the car has done something to the tune or 1,200 miles mostly at speed and through some mucky areas - muddy lanes and over freshly dropped road gravel, which left the bottom half looking like I'd just done the Paris-Dakar

I will say this at the beginning in case it gets lost in the detail ... I have nothing but good to say about this product! ... ease of application, can be applied in the sun, wipe on wipe off, good crisp looks, doddle to wash and astounding re-beading.

Let's get into the detail ...

Rinsed down with nothing but water, we see odd shaped beading, which is to be expected after a few hot days leaving dust and pollen, then a light rain and then some heavier rain thereafter ... all scorched back on with hot sun.


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I used Dodo Juice's Low on Eau rinseless wash, although used it more conventionally, rinsing off afterwards then patting dry with a plush towel.

Here's the re-beading after washing ...


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Superb! Seriously, superb! But, maybe that's the Dodo Juice? Well, as a rinseless wash it's very good indeed - areas that did not have ArmorAll Shield applied did not bead up anything like this, confirming to me that this beading is indeed the ArmorAll product.

Washing gave me a sense of which areas of the car were wearing out faster than others - top panels were doing well, side panels okay, but behind the front wheels there was a tell-tale sign of wear in the slipstream. The bumpers were okay, the plastics fine, but the kick up from the road had taken its toll.

I got a sense that this worked better on painted metal than plastic.

Either way, I went around the bumpers, skirt and lower half of the doors again. Effortless. So easy, it's actually a pleasure.


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Sorted! And, as if on cue, a thunderstorm passed over leaving on heck of a beading show!


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Two other observations ...

First, bug splatter all over the front of the car came off with no drama. They just didn't adhere. Easy. Second, drying off is easy, but because the surface is so hydrophobic that the water just runs in a moraine in front of the towel!

All in all, I am very impressed with this product and it's one I will most definitely keep in. What it does for plastics is very nice, paint, too, and even on glass it's so simple to apply and remove with stunning results.

I like it!