Just the other day, I send my BB Lion for grooming. I've gotten lazy or can say much busier, plus it's really tough and takes a lot of time to maintain the car in Malaysian condition/weather. Anyway, to cut the story short, when it rains and thanks to the bridge construction in Klang, my BB Lion get dirty very fast and pretty bad (or should I say very bad). The tar sticks to my BB Lion and cleaning alone is very troublesome.
How it started:
Previously, I have viewed and *molested* Alan's 308 GT which have received SierraGlow treatment. If I'm not wrong, it's already more than a month after the treatment and the result is still fantastic, especially when you place your hand on the beast, and surprisingly, it's sooo smooth like just wax (totally don't match the character of the car, I mean, a beast with smooth skin? Meh. Just kidding Alan.)
After considering, and the price is also very reasonable or should I say cheap? Because if I were to send my BB Lion for detailing package by Meguiar's, it would cost me around the same price but the wax/sealant won't last long under our Malaysian weather/condition, possibly less than 2-3 months if expose the Lion outside under the hot sun and rain everyday, but SierraGlow claimed to last up to 5 years. So, I thought, why not spend the money on SierraGlow? Even if it doesn't last 5 years, I think it's still worth a try especially after *molesting* Alan's 308 GT and the result is surprising. If it were a normal detailing, I think possibly within weeks or even days, you won't get those smoothness like just after wax anymore. This smoothness is actually important and good because if there's any dirt or the infamous bird droppings, you'll be amazed how easy it is to remove it.
The Price:
As of January 2010: RM600
(10% discount for Autoworld Members)
Some information about SierraGlow:
The usual duration for the whole process would take around 5 to 6 hours, but it also depend on the car condition. I was told there was one car which is in very bad condition and they spend more than 10 hours for the whole process.
The difference of SierraGlow against other products of similar (as told by the boss, Mr Choong):
1. SierraGlow is non-organic.
2. SierraGlow is not Teflon Coating (Plastic); It's more like applying a Glass covering your car, instead of Plastic.
3. No need to send in for maintenance (unlike other which require you to send your car in for maintenance).
4. You can use any car wash shampoo to wash your car (unlike other which require you to buy their "special" shampoo).
5. No warranty certificate (this is not mentioned by Mr Choong tough, hehe; but I'm not sure about other product have these certificate or not). But Mr Choong said, if you have any problem, you can always go back and they can touch up for you (for FREE).
The Condition before Glowing:
Honestly speaking, my BB Lion has a lot of swirl marks and water marks, especially on the roof area, follow by the bonnet. So, they will need to remove this before they can apply the "treatment" to my BB Lion.
One Problem:
After Mr. Choong (the boss) inspected my car in detail, he notice my spoiler's paint is not done properly; Seems there is no clear coat or the clear coat is not done properly, so the paint condition is really bad and some area is cracking up. He said he will try to treat this area as much as possible.
Before It Begins:
Mr. Choong shares his knowledges and explains the disadvantages and problems of waxing and our weather condition which is true and you will understand and experience this if you have DIY these steps and also explains what happens when those dust stick to your car and when it rains.
Next, he also talk about his product and the difference with other similar product in the market.
He also shares about the basic washing process which is not mentioned by other/most detailing clinic, and the importance to clean off those dirt which accumulates on those edges or hard to reach areas.
The Process:
First, they will give the BB Lion a nice bath, SPA. They really clean it in detail, they will clean all those edges or hard to reach areas which usually is very dirty due to years of collection. They give the rims a nice SPA wash, cleaning it in detail, brushing it.
Cleaning the rims in detail.Next, the paint cleaning process where they use the Clay bar to remove surface contaminants which usually not detectable by the naked eyes. After you wash and dry your car, you can use your hand to feel these contaminants which actually makes your polishing and waxing process difficult. After claying, you can feel the surface is sooo smooth like glass. You might notice the colours and surface are nicer too as you flow water through the surface. Once these surface is clean and smooth, you will notice it's very very easy to apply wax and also very easy to buff off.
The clay process - doing it in detailOnce the surface is clean of contaminants, BB Lion is put under 2 big yellow spot lights (wah, feel like a superstar already) which all the TRUTH will be revealed. The swirl marks, water marks, etc all is revealed clearly and the severity is inspected and treated accordingly through polishing process. Here, you can see they attention to detail they provide for each problem and they will try to remove or treat each part as much as possible.
After the polishing process, my BB Lion is given another SPA treatment (wash).
Next, it's the easiest part and also the main part, applying the treatment product from Japan; which is a type of sealant and they re-brand it locally as SierraGlow.
The sealant is applied and left dried (which only takes a short while).
The problematic spoiler - notice the middle part does not have clear coatMany thanks to NZ Galaxy?
While awaiting the treatment or sealant application, another boss is doing some inspection.
And finally, he get his hands dirty to clean the lion logo on the rims.
After the treatment...
The POSE
Verdict?
Well, if you're expecting those deep wet look shine or those deep gloss colour from those wax detailing, sorry to say, you will not see it. It's a sealant after all and it was meant to last long (I hope).
I can't really give any comments at the moment on how good it is until probably a few car wash, exposure to sun and bad weather, etc.
I'll try to do a review follow-up after probably a few months. Hope it can last for at least 2-3 years, hopefully.
For now, all I can say is... Glow~ Glow~ SierraGlow~~~
