CEE DOG
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- Jul 12, 2009
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Review: Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection
Introduction:
A few years ago in an effort to educate myself on how to better care for my new Sky I came across the first product line that really intrigued me which was Ultima. Ultima belongs to a family of car care products created by Premium Finish Care. The Four Star Brand is another of those 4 lines.
I recall in those days Scott (Killrwheels) would often speak of 4*UPP with the same admiration I have for the Ultima line. I wouldn't have the opportunity to use UPP until a few years later (7-9 months ago) when my friend Heath sent me a sample.
After using many sealants over the years I know that many of them are similar and sometimes indistinguishable. So of course I wasn't expecting to see anything that impressed me more than say Ultima Paint Guard Plus or Blackfire Wet Diamond. When selecting a polymer sealant at the time (depending on the situation) I always looked to UPGP, BFWD, with Wolfgang and Power Lock deserving of a mention as well. What could any other sealant do for me that one of those did not? Let's get to the details and then find out if there was anything new here.
Product Description and Manufacturer Claims:
Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection delivers a high gloss shine in an easy-to-apply, liquid paint sealant. The synthetic sealant with Polycharger polymers offers months of protection and a depth of shine similar to a carnauba wax.
Traditionally, paint sealants did not offer the kind of head-turning shine that are characteristic of carnauba waxes. However, if you wanted speedy application and long-term durability, a paint sealant was and is the only way to go. Four Star married the best characteristics of both polymer sealants and carnauba wax into their Ultimate Paint Protection paint sealant.
Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection’s proprietary formula shields your vehicle’s paint from environmental pollution, hard water, acid rain, salt, and UV rays. The slick, shiny finish lasts for several months through numerous washes with a non-alkaline car wash.
Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection’s finish has the depth and reflectivity that was formerly only available from a carnauba wax. The sealant works beautifully on all colors and types of paint.
Product Observations:
1.- Manufacturer Claims: True
2.- Packaging: See Image
3.- Directions: Clear and Detailed
4.- Consistency: Medium/Thin
5.- Color: White
6.- Scent: Petrol
7.- Size: 16 oz.
8.- Price $29.99
9.- Manufacturer: Four Star Products (Premium Finish Care)
10.-Made in: USA
Application and Slickness story:
A couple months after I first used Ultimate Paint Protection (UPP) I had a yellow 07 'vette scheduled for an interior, decon, 1 step polish, and polymer sealant protection. That request narrowed it down to 2 products for me (UPGP or UPP). While UPGP is a wipe on walk away product UPP must be buffed off.
As far as looks go UPP offers the deepest wet look you can find from a polymer sealant (closer to that of a carnauba wax) than a sealant in my opinion. UPGP on the other hand (especially with 2+ layers) offers a “hard candy shell”, glossy, and sharp look.
Either would have complimented the "Velocity Yellow" of his 2007 Corvette.
Preparation:
It was a very windy day so I decided to skip the canopy and leave it in the trunk. I hate washing in direct sun but it was what it was and I would be polishing anyway.
After being washed outside with Permanon applied to wheels and wheel wells I pulled her into his garage for a one step polish with M205 and Lake Country HT pads. Machines used were the Flex PE-14 and Flex 3401. During the polishing phase the results were checked randomly and occasionally with CarPro Eraser, PS Ultra Plush mf, using LED lights and halogens.
The video below goes through a section of the polish process, detailing of the badge, a couple sections of UPP application, buffing off, and final inspection. Please excuse the 640-480 resolution, as this was taken before I purchased my new camera.
Video: Four Star UPP / Corvette
Icing on the cake:
UPP should be applied thin (as should every lsp I can think of) but in my experience it is more forgiving than many. It can be applied by hand or machine and I chose machine. A couple dime sized drops allowed me to prime the pad and complete half the hood while another couple drops finished it. I repeated the procedure across all glass and paint surfaces.
UPP is forgiving on the haze time. You can wipe it off after 15-20 minutes, or any time after if you prefer to leave it on a bit. It’s fine either way. Just check that it has hazed and wipes off easily. If so it’s ready to come off. If not then you applied it a bit thick and should let it sit until it is hazed all the way through.
By the time I finished applying it to the ‘vette it was ready to come off. Using my buffing towels I easily wiped the haze free of the paint. It’s really a pleasure to work with and barely any pressure is needed at all. It wiped off easily and left no traces behind.
Interior was cleaned with Ultima Interior Shampoo Gel and dressed with CarPro PERL.
Unfortunately it was completely dark by the time I was finished so the visual payoff was unavailable. I wasn't able to see this beauty in the sun. I moved some lights and flashes around to get a few pictures and the video I posted above.
A few days later the owner called me with a "complaint". He was actually happy about it but knew I’d get a huge kick out of his problem. He said he was unable to place the car cover over his ‘vette. The surface was so slick it would slip and slide with each attempt! Fast forward a couple months and he told me he's still having issues trying to install that car cover :laughing:
Application, Slickness, Depth/Gloss: UPP vs. BFWD
Tale of the Tape:
Some time last year I sealed my Sky with a combination of UPP, BFWD and C2. The verticals received C2 as did a section of the hood. The hood received mostly BFWD but also a section of UPP. The rear lid received almost all UPP except for a small section of BFWD.
Ease of application: UPP wins in this category no question. BFWD is very easy to apply and remove but UPP takes the cake by a slim margin. You can buff it off a bit sooner (not that I care to) and it buffs off at least as easy as BFWD. Furthermore it has never dusted on me like BFWD sometimes has. As my friend Pat said to me at Detail Fest, "You could almost blow it off!"
Slickness: Oahu, so close between UPP and BFWD. UPP felt just slightly slicker but it was all but impossible to tell the difference.
Depth & Gloss: Both give a beautiful, deep wet look in my opinion but UPP just seems to have that 3D look to it like the reflections are painted beneath or above the surface.
I had no pictures from that story (Didn’t plan on a review back then) so I re-applied UPP to my Sky specifically to grab some pictures for this review. The pictures had to be re-taken about a week after application (wrong photo mode the first time) with a bit of driving in between but still look good regardless.
Introduction:
A few years ago in an effort to educate myself on how to better care for my new Sky I came across the first product line that really intrigued me which was Ultima. Ultima belongs to a family of car care products created by Premium Finish Care. The Four Star Brand is another of those 4 lines.
I recall in those days Scott (Killrwheels) would often speak of 4*UPP with the same admiration I have for the Ultima line. I wouldn't have the opportunity to use UPP until a few years later (7-9 months ago) when my friend Heath sent me a sample.
After using many sealants over the years I know that many of them are similar and sometimes indistinguishable. So of course I wasn't expecting to see anything that impressed me more than say Ultima Paint Guard Plus or Blackfire Wet Diamond. When selecting a polymer sealant at the time (depending on the situation) I always looked to UPGP, BFWD, with Wolfgang and Power Lock deserving of a mention as well. What could any other sealant do for me that one of those did not? Let's get to the details and then find out if there was anything new here.
Product Description and Manufacturer Claims:
Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection delivers a high gloss shine in an easy-to-apply, liquid paint sealant. The synthetic sealant with Polycharger polymers offers months of protection and a depth of shine similar to a carnauba wax.
Traditionally, paint sealants did not offer the kind of head-turning shine that are characteristic of carnauba waxes. However, if you wanted speedy application and long-term durability, a paint sealant was and is the only way to go. Four Star married the best characteristics of both polymer sealants and carnauba wax into their Ultimate Paint Protection paint sealant.
Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection’s proprietary formula shields your vehicle’s paint from environmental pollution, hard water, acid rain, salt, and UV rays. The slick, shiny finish lasts for several months through numerous washes with a non-alkaline car wash.
Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection’s finish has the depth and reflectivity that was formerly only available from a carnauba wax. The sealant works beautifully on all colors and types of paint.
Product Observations:
1.- Manufacturer Claims: True
2.- Packaging: See Image
3.- Directions: Clear and Detailed
4.- Consistency: Medium/Thin
5.- Color: White
6.- Scent: Petrol
7.- Size: 16 oz.
8.- Price $29.99
9.- Manufacturer: Four Star Products (Premium Finish Care)
10.-Made in: USA
Application and Slickness story:
A couple months after I first used Ultimate Paint Protection (UPP) I had a yellow 07 'vette scheduled for an interior, decon, 1 step polish, and polymer sealant protection. That request narrowed it down to 2 products for me (UPGP or UPP). While UPGP is a wipe on walk away product UPP must be buffed off.
As far as looks go UPP offers the deepest wet look you can find from a polymer sealant (closer to that of a carnauba wax) than a sealant in my opinion. UPGP on the other hand (especially with 2+ layers) offers a “hard candy shell”, glossy, and sharp look.
Either would have complimented the "Velocity Yellow" of his 2007 Corvette.
Preparation:
It was a very windy day so I decided to skip the canopy and leave it in the trunk. I hate washing in direct sun but it was what it was and I would be polishing anyway.
After being washed outside with Permanon applied to wheels and wheel wells I pulled her into his garage for a one step polish with M205 and Lake Country HT pads. Machines used were the Flex PE-14 and Flex 3401. During the polishing phase the results were checked randomly and occasionally with CarPro Eraser, PS Ultra Plush mf, using LED lights and halogens.
The video below goes through a section of the polish process, detailing of the badge, a couple sections of UPP application, buffing off, and final inspection. Please excuse the 640-480 resolution, as this was taken before I purchased my new camera.
Video: Four Star UPP / Corvette
Icing on the cake:
UPP should be applied thin (as should every lsp I can think of) but in my experience it is more forgiving than many. It can be applied by hand or machine and I chose machine. A couple dime sized drops allowed me to prime the pad and complete half the hood while another couple drops finished it. I repeated the procedure across all glass and paint surfaces.
UPP is forgiving on the haze time. You can wipe it off after 15-20 minutes, or any time after if you prefer to leave it on a bit. It’s fine either way. Just check that it has hazed and wipes off easily. If so it’s ready to come off. If not then you applied it a bit thick and should let it sit until it is hazed all the way through.
By the time I finished applying it to the ‘vette it was ready to come off. Using my buffing towels I easily wiped the haze free of the paint. It’s really a pleasure to work with and barely any pressure is needed at all. It wiped off easily and left no traces behind.
Interior was cleaned with Ultima Interior Shampoo Gel and dressed with CarPro PERL.
Unfortunately it was completely dark by the time I was finished so the visual payoff was unavailable. I wasn't able to see this beauty in the sun. I moved some lights and flashes around to get a few pictures and the video I posted above.
A few days later the owner called me with a "complaint". He was actually happy about it but knew I’d get a huge kick out of his problem. He said he was unable to place the car cover over his ‘vette. The surface was so slick it would slip and slide with each attempt! Fast forward a couple months and he told me he's still having issues trying to install that car cover :laughing:
Application, Slickness, Depth/Gloss: UPP vs. BFWD
Tale of the Tape:
Some time last year I sealed my Sky with a combination of UPP, BFWD and C2. The verticals received C2 as did a section of the hood. The hood received mostly BFWD but also a section of UPP. The rear lid received almost all UPP except for a small section of BFWD.
Ease of application: UPP wins in this category no question. BFWD is very easy to apply and remove but UPP takes the cake by a slim margin. You can buff it off a bit sooner (not that I care to) and it buffs off at least as easy as BFWD. Furthermore it has never dusted on me like BFWD sometimes has. As my friend Pat said to me at Detail Fest, "You could almost blow it off!"
Slickness: Oahu, so close between UPP and BFWD. UPP felt just slightly slicker but it was all but impossible to tell the difference.
Depth & Gloss: Both give a beautiful, deep wet look in my opinion but UPP just seems to have that 3D look to it like the reflections are painted beneath or above the surface.
I had no pictures from that story (Didn’t plan on a review back then) so I re-applied UPP to my Sky specifically to grab some pictures for this review. The pictures had to be re-taken about a week after application (wrong photo mode the first time) with a bit of driving in between but still look good regardless.
rops:
Thanks Doug!
UPP really does offer the look of a fine boutique wax. The depth, gloss, and the stunning wetness it adds is truly very unique for a sealant! Thanks for turning me onto this product and suggesting I give it a go. I am very happy that I did. And yes you are correct, this is the first time I've ever used A LSP on my car that wasn't of the nuba variety. Thanks again for everything buddy...:cheers:
