1. What's the life expectancy of this trim with normal use? (mercedes trim-AWFUL). 2. Can you take this product through carwashes without damaging it? 3. Can adhering the trim cause rust pockets between trim and car?
928698
1. I can't really attest to actual life expectancy since I've had it less than 1 year. It is made of stainless steel that has been chromed and is holding up quite well. It still looks as good as the day it was installed. In my opinion, the 3M double sided tape may wear out first and that's probably not any time soon. 2. I regularly take the GL through automatic car washes. No issues whatsoever. 3. No rust from the applied trim and not possible from underneath. If you examine the trim (it pops off), you'll notice it's black plastic with some kind of transparent clear coat. If worse comes to worse, you can just replace all the OEM trim (which you probably already know is very expensive). This option is relatively inexpensive and looks great. I don't think you can go wrong. FYI. I would also look at the same stainless steel chrome trim for the pillars to match the window trim.
2261137
I'd say it is semi-permanent. Meaning as long as you prep the metal with a primer to stop rust ,it should last a long time. Caveat...until someone starts to peel it off. Then it will come off quite easily. I'd use a good quality paint instead.
964016
Well I bought mines for painting my car, no auto shop, but after I fin is the car I use it for normal use in my garage, and still is going good, that was in May that I purchased. Depending on ur needs it can be more often than me. Also the replacement element you can get it from different sources, including amazon, if they don't have it try the manufacturer, or do a search for the parts numbers, they should be in the couple of pages they include with the part. Hope this help!
1229453
In my opinion, it won't hold up long. I would get something that's just for car trim.
72763
I live in indy and I've had it for 3 month or so. o have seen any rust yet. And its rained a lot so I would say no. plus I've got a friend who's got the same one and he's had it 2 years. his also has no rust.
1859216
I've had mine for 1.5yrsThis year I left it outside during the winter, its showing signs of surface rust. An easy fix. I plan to sand it down and spray it with Heat Resistant paint. I am happy with it.
649036
I have had no problems with it in car washes.Make sure it is securely mounted with no long bolts with extra threads exposed that may cause a problem. It worked well for me..
2006040
No touch ups yet. I've driven the car to the top sail island in nc recently, then back to stl. No chips, no wear, no fading. But remember, it's a matte so it needs a nice shine once in a while (normally just rinse with water). The car's been thru the automatic car wash as well, and still holding up just fine. :)
2156882
Well, I can just tell you my experiences and observations. I put on 1 coat of the new finish about 8 months ago and it still looks great. I wash my car about every 3 to 6 weeks and most of the time I don't use any soap. I usually get a gallon of hot water and a clean soft cloth. Wring it out good and go over the entire car. In stubborn areas I'll use a magic eraser. I'll most likely put on another coat of the Nu finish prior to when the snow starts to fall. Hope this helps. - Bob
2205304
I have 2 Mercedes, both use Mobil 1 as called for and I use the Mityvac on both no problem. There are a few things you need to do so this works. 1) call Mityvac and ask for the longer tubes. I could not reach the bottom of my pan with the short tubes unless I lifted the Mityvac off the floor. AWKWARD!! They are in St Louis MO and are really nice. Explain the problem and they will take care of you. 2) WARM UP YOUR CAR FIRST!!! a 3 minute trip around the block and your oil is warm enough to flow easily, but not too hot that it will burn you! 3) remove the FILTER! cover hole with a rag, not stuff it in, cover to prevent debris from falling in. 4) PUMP 8-10x to get the oil moving. Empty 1/2 way up you will need the room! 8 quarts in my MBZ! 5) drain and have patience it takes 5-8 minutes to get it all out. 6) Wipe out filter and oil fill area, reassemble filter, pour new oil in filter housing, reinstall filter. I Usually put in 7 1/2 quarts, run for 3 min, let sit for 5 and check level/ add oil as necessary. I hope this helps!
1177967
I can't speak to the lasting; I sold my vehicle about a Year after putting them in. In that time it lasted fine. They were an easy fix and quite inexpensive; if you get 2+ Years out of it you would be well ahead of the game. After I put them in my vehicle handled better and I actually gained a little bit of fuel economy.
1278726
Great question, David. As it turns out, because of the pattern engraving process and the laser cutting process for the design, in rare instances there have been cases where a little residue is left from the manufacturing process. This has been the case in all of the "rust" issues. In fact, the "rust" (with a little effort) will wipe off. However, this is unacceptable to us and we always send the customer a new card holder. Does this make sense?Your satisfaction and experience with us is important to me!
1788504
I am thinking of getting one too - I am just reading ingesting small amounts of rust isn't harmful, and various cleaning techniques can help (baking soda, bottle brushes). I think I will take the risk and just make an extra effort to make sure it's dry when it's not in use. I can't imagine that it's made of any but food-grade stainless steel...
2223663
I bought this somewhere around a year ago with no rushing issues. Whenever I'm not using it, I remove all water and dry just to be safe. I would assume if water is left In it, it would most likely rust, but thus far, all is well and rust free.
526590
Scott, I still really like this product. It has been 6 months now and I use speed shine every time I take my new car for a drive. First I use the California car duster to get the dust off and any bugs not glued on. Then spot clean with Griot's speed shine. It quickly removes the bugs, finger prints, and any tire overspray. On average I am done in under 3 minutes. I finish with the windows. If the shine is not super brilliant I use a little Zymol glaze to punch it up, usually once a month, after cleaning with griot's. Now I started with a good hand wash and waxed it with zymol wax to get a good base coat. It has been 45oo miles and 6 months later and I have not water washed my car or re-waxed and it looks show room clean. I keep the car in a garage. Just finishing spring and lots of bugs especially bees and it is still my favorite spot cleaner. I do use Griot's green spray cleaner when the bugs are especially thick (can't tell what color the car is under them) Seems to be a little better at dissolving mass bugs. But I use the less expensive Speed Shine almost everyday for quick touch ups. I only spot clean, sometimes use it on the wheels, and clean the front around the grill to keep my new car brilliant. I usually run the California duster over the car just before driving and it brings out the luster and gets rid of any dust. You can definitely see a difference. I am still getting lots of comments about how great the car looks (shiny and clean). I have not notice any scratches from cleaning the car this way. I use a soft hand and the rags that Griot's sells with the product. They are an improvement over cleaning clothes I have used in the past. Hope that helps.
1459861
I bought this product in January and am using for about one month. He had dark spots on the metal plate, is this normal? Sometimes resembles rust.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGYW0CNsbS0
1267859
Mine got a little tight, I may have put it away wet and caused some rust. I lubricated it lightly with penetrating oil, worked it in for a while, and now it works as good as new. If you're worried about food safety, you could try the same with mineral oil, but the penetrating oil is thinner and will be easier to get it worked in.