I have been looking for a new wax for my F150 on the net and stumbled across a product called 5 Star Shine. It is not a wax, but a PTFE based formula that creates an incredibly slick protective surface on the paint and is suppose to last up to 5 years. There is not a ton of information on the net about it yet, but enough for me to give it a try. I figured I’d post my experience with the product, good or bad, so there would be more info for people to check out.

I put 5 star shine on my truck last Saturday 10-23-04 and so far the product lives up to it’s claims! Check out My Gallery for pictures.

The product was purchased at www.fivestarshine.com. There is more info about the product there.

I'll keep this message up to date over time so everyone can read and see the results.

Mark

 

Keep us updated on your experiences with this product.


I know of no waxes/sealers/etc that will protect your paint for more than 6-8 months. This one is no exception. Check out www.autopia.org for some reviews.

 

Yeah, I too am interested in the long term effects of this product. I'm always lookingfor an easier way to keep my truck looking good as it seems to get dirty after about a week. How was the application? ANy problems of getting it on your trim or does it work there, too?

 

I've head some really poor comments on the 5 Star Shine stuff........... and I've heard some really good comments.

Usually when that happens, I find the truth is somewhere in between!

Keep us posted on your findings.

 

I have been wanting to try this stuff:
http://www.properautocare.com/menzernafmj.html

My product stock in the garage is at its max. I keep telling myself several times a day....use what you have first....use what you have first....

 

That's what my wife keeps saying... I'm still not sure I understand though.

 

I blame these damn boards.......

It was only what...5-7 years ago. Buy a truck, put in those blue spark plug wires, some "high performace" spark plugs, rims/tires was about the extent.

Arrrgggg....now I'm acetoning badges, lights in the grill, countless hours researching what shocks to put on. Checking messages and reviewing 4-5 messeage boards daily to make sure I did not miss a new product or idea in the last couple of hours AND ALL THE WHILE foaming at the mouth like a "crack addict" waiting for Saturday to spend 4 hours detailing the truck.

My wife asked me the other night to vaccum....I said, honey didn't we vaccum the house 2 weeks ago?? She says, then why is it that you can spend all F#@$ing Saturday washing the truck...? Umm because I didn't wash it yesterday, sweetie.

I am so mis-understood.......

 

vtn98
Senior Member

Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Florida
Posts: 126


Yeah, I too am interested in the long term effects of this product. I'm always lookingfor an easier way to keep my truck looking good as it seems to get dirty after about a week. How was the application? ANy problems of getting it on your trim or does it work there, too?
_____________________________

Vtn98,

The application was easy. I spent the majority of my time cleaning the paint prior to the application of 5 Star Shine. But, that would have been the same with any car detailing. The kit I purchased was their deluxe kit which also contains clay and cleaning lubricant to use with the clay. This was the first time I used clay to clean the surface of a vehicle and I was very impressed with it. It is easy to use and really gets the paint clean.

According to their website, 5 Star Shine is safe to use on all glass, chrome and painted plastic parts. 5 Star Shine protects all types of clear coats, fiberglass and gel coat surfaces as well. It IS NOT recommend you use it on rubber, vinyl, or unpainted plastic body parts or trim as it's not designed to protect these porous surfaces.

I am getting a of comments about how great the truck looks.

Mark

 

Mark,

Thanks for the feedback. I looked at the website, too and noticed that it does come with its own paint cleaner that they recommend. It looks like a really impressive product, almost "too good to be true" if you know what I mean, which is why I was skeptical to buy it myself. I'd like to hear what you think after a few weeks or months to see what you think then. How easy is it to wash your car now and how your paint looks after it gets a little weathered. My truck is Aspen Green which looks awesome when it is clean, but it seems to get dirty real quick down here in Florida with all the rain, dew, and salt in the air. So I end up washing about every 2 or 3 weeks and full detail every other time I wash it. Hours add up as it takes me a whole day to do the paint cleaner, polish and wax. Looking forward to your findings!

Viet

 

Viet,

I understand about being skeptical and it does seem to be too good to be true. I am still a little skeptical, but only for how long the stuff will last. Three to five years is a long time. As for the other product claims, it seem to be living up to all of them. The surface of the truck feels different. It’s hard to explain how different, but it is very slick and smooth to the touch. Pollen and dust seems to blow off easily just by driving around. This morning I have noticed a small amount of dust building up on the finish. (I keep the truck parked outside in the driveway.) I think this is a result of heavy dew that was on the truck the night before. I think that the dust is collecting in the dew and when the dew evaporates it leaves the dust attached to the surface. The other days when there was no morning dew, nothing stuck to the surface. The dust that is on the truck comes off completely with gently sliding a finger over the surface. I am willing to bet that rinsing the truck off with a garden hose will completely remove all of the dust with no wiping. I have not done this yet, but I may try to rinse it off tomorrow night and see how it does. It is also supposed to rain Saturday. I’ll post my findings after the rain.

Oh yea, if anyone is going to order 5 Star Shine, use VIPDISCOUNTS in the promotional code and get another $20.00 off the order.

Mark

 

It has been a little over a week since I applied 5 Star Shine. My truck is kept outside in the elements. Unfortunately, I don’t have a basement, so all of our extra stuff gets put in the garage. No room for vehicles. Anyway, it rained Friday night and Saturday night. Saturday morning there were thousands of perfectly round little beads of water all over the truck. The water beaded like it had just been waxed. I drove the truck Saturday morning on wet roads and let the wind blow the truck dry while driving. After driving there were no water spots to be found on the truck except on the windshield. I did not use 5 Star Shine on the glass. I guess I should have. Also, after Saturday night’s rain, the sun came out Sunday morning and dried the water off of the truck. Much to my surprise no water spots were found on the paint after the sun had dried the truck. Today, the truck still looks clean and shiny. There is a very thin layer of dust on the paint and it wipes off very easily. If I get a chance I will post some more pictures before I wash it so everyone can see how it looked after a week of being kept outside.

Mark

 

While I'm sure it's excellent stuff, we need to remember why water spots form...

And let me be up front, I'm not cutting down the effectivness of 5-Star or your impressions. I've heard good things about it from most that have tried it...

Water spots are deposits left behind by the water. When the water evaporates, the metals, and heavier deposits are left behind in either crystaline form or in a 'deposit' form. These 'spots' are caused by nothing less than water with 'stuff' within the water.

So, for you to not have water spots, the water must be sheeting or beading and rolling off exceedingly well. Must be some impressive stuff...

Keep us posted!!

RP

 

I just posted some new pictures of my truck in My Gallery. The new pictures are noted with 5 Star after 2 weeks are the new ones. In these pictures the truck has not been washed since the application of 5 Star Shine. Since then, it has been rained on 3 times and has been kept outside.

It does not look too bad, but I can't wait to wash it. Hopefully, I'll wash it tomorrow and post another pic or two.

Mark

 

5 Star Shine update #2,

I have posted some more pictures of my truck. I washed the truck Monday evening. It was getting dark so I couldn’t get good pictures posted. I didn’t get a chance to take more pics until this evening, so it’s been 2 days since the wash.

Anyway, washing the truck was very, very easy. Bugs came right off and those little black road tar specs that look like pepper came off with very little effort. I‘ve always had to rub very hard or use some type of bug and tar stuff to get these off. I think I spent more time drying the truck than washing it. The areas that air dried before I got to them dried spot free. I used the soap that came in the kit from 5 Star Shine. It’s a ph balanced soap much like the soap that comes in the Pinnacle Wax kits and it seems pretty good, no complaints.

Check out My Gallery and look for the pictures labled day 2 after first wash.

 

Five Star Shine Update #3

It has been six months since my application of 5-Star Shine. My truck has been kept outside and is used as a daily driver for work. We have had a couple of good snow falls this winter with lots of salt on the roads. The pictures noted with “5-Star Shine after 6 months” were taken today. I was in Vermont last week on a ski trip and really got my truck caked with salt and road gunk and was finally able to get it washed off this evening. I figured I’d post some picks so everyone could see how the 5-Star Shine product was holding up.

Check out the pictures in .My Gallery

I was in a rush, so the pictures are not focused perfectly, but they are ok.

Mark