Airglide surface treatment applied to VW Golf

The car is ten years old and has covered just over 100,000 miles.  It is used every day and while it is regularly serviced and looked after, visits to the car wash do not feature on the schedule.

The car was washed by hand, which took about an hour, to get the surface looking clean.

When the pre-treatment coat was applied, the microfiber cloth quickly become very dirty as the treatment removed dirt particles which were still trapped in the paint surface – even though the car “looked” clean.

The second coat was applied in accordance with the instructions and as soon as the “haze” was removed the improvement to the paint was clearly visible.

The next trip the car did was from Southampton to Manston, in Kent.  Fuel economy on the trip was 47.6 Mpg (best fuel economy seen before being 46 Mpg).  The following week the car was again driven to Kent.  On this occasion there was heavy rain for the last thirty or forty miles.  When I arrived at the destination, the dirt which usually sticks to the tailgate had run off the back of the car and was sat in little globes of water on the rear bumper.  The dirt could probably have been hosed off there and then if a hose with clean water had been available.

I wanted to get some pictures of the car as it had probably never looked so good!  I washed the car again by hand, this time it only took about 15 minutes to clean the car. The shine was just as good as it had been following the application of the treatment.  One of the things that impresses people most is the lack of friction on the paint once the treatment has been applied – run the back of your hand over a painted surface and you can feel the drag of the paint on your skin.  Carry out the same procedure with a surface treated with Airglide surface treatment and there is a marked reduction in the drag.

Prior to treatment when it rained the car would be covered in a sheet of water.  Once the treatment had been applied the rain water “beads” and as soon as the vehicle is driven the water quickly blows off the surface.

The treatment has been applied to all of the glass surfaces of the car.  The side windows which seem to attract more than their fair share of dirt have remained clean as the water which is wiped off the windscreen quickly gets blown off the side windows.  Bugs which hit the screen are quickly removed with a single squirt of screen wash whereas in the past two or three squirts would have been needed.

After cleaning the car the fuel economy once again reached 47 Mpg on the next trip which was down to Yoevilton in Somerset.  People who saw the car asked if I had polished it again.  The car was parked next to another Golf of the same registration year which was also in silver metallic paint.  It looked as if the second car was painted a different colour as the paint looked so much darker and did not reflect the light anywhere near as well.

This car is no pristine executive toy but a hard used family and work car.  The finish with “Airglide Ultimate” could be described as “showroom standard”; every panel has been substantially improved.

The treatment is easy to apply and worthwhile for the improvement in the ease of repeat cleaning as well as the apparent improvement in fuel economy and the improved look of the car.