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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
My dealer offered me a Thorite treatment package. It includes undercoating, fabric guard and paint sealant.

Isn't the factory paint already sealed? And don't the seats have built in fabric protection?

Does the Prius have an undercoating? Is an undercoating recommended?

Thanks.
 

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Smile and say firmly, "no, thank you". It's much more cost-effective to buy and apply your own $10 can of 3M Scotchgard fabric protector, and to wash and wax the car as needed. Undercoating is worthless on a new car and the application process can do real harm.
 

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There's no such thing as paint sealant. The closest thing is the plastic sheets made by 3M and sold under the name of Body Armor (I know there are other names, but can't remember them). What you may be referring to is the "top coat". Which is basically a thin spray applied at the auto plant over the painted surface that gives it a shine. It hardly protects against anything such as stone chips, scratches, etc.

If you look along the rocker surface (the part of the outer body underneath the side doors), you will notice that the paint is bumpy. There is extra protection sprayed on to prevent stone chips from breaking through to the metal.

The underspray they are trying to sell you will help prevent stones from banging against painted surfaces. Afterall, a second spray doesn't hurt anything. However, depending on where you live, this only lasts 1-5 years and must be applied again. If you don't live in an area that applied salt on the road to melt ice, then I would advise not to get the undercoating.

To my knowledge (having been on many product launches for the Big 3), there is no fabric protection as part of the material used in seats. There are evaluations on the durability of surfaces, but no stain protections.
 

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It is not true that complete rust protection including undercoating is a waste of time and not good for new cars. Only someone who lives in the sunbelt would say such a thing.

Any true New Englander would advise you to get your car Z-barted if you live where snow and salt are common - otherwise, while it won't hurt, it won't help much since there is not much to protect against.

Z-Bart would probably be a very good thing to have in Florida with the Sea spray. :D
 

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Re: Scotchgard

LouieNet said:
richard schumacher said:
...apply your own $10 can of 3M Scotchgard fabric protector....
It'll probably stink a couple weeks, but then the dealer's fabric guard will probably do the same anyway. :)
I *wanted* the Toyogard package, avoiding the sales pitch I now hear I would have gotten, and didn't notice any smell that went away.

Left on my own, the seats would still be untreated and I'd have no stain warranty (although I filed it away without checking how long it lasts...)
 

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oldfox said:
It is not true that complete rust protection including undercoating is a waste of time and not good for new cars. Only someone who lives in the sunbelt would say such a thing.

Any true New Englander would advise you to get your car Z-barted if you live where snow and salt are common - otherwise, while it won't hurt, it won't help much since there is not much to protect against.

Z-Bart would probably be a very good thing to have in Florida with the Sea spray. :D
Apparently our mileage varies :_> I lived 12 years in Wisconsin and Minnesota and it wasn't worth the trouble. The installer can mess up the drain holes, which is bad, or overspray the body, which is annoying. It's more effective (and still necessary even with "proofing") to wash the salt off regularly.

Anyone who lives in Florida by choice gets what they deserve.
 

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Undercoating, fabric guard, and paint sealant do nothing but to protect your wallet from the damage caused by having too much money in it. If you really want these things, they are available much less expensively at independent installers.

Regarding the seats, john1701a reported a nasty spill that cleaned up without a trace. He had not applied any "protectant."
 

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oldfox said:
...Z-Bart would probably be a very good thing to have in Florida with the Sea spray. :D
I heard horror stories of ZBart cars that rusted through in just a year or two's time. Even saw a teevee news bit on it once, about 15 years ago or so. The horror! Won't ever have that done to one of my cars! :(

richard schumacher said:
...Anyone who lives in Florida by choice gets what they deserve.
What? Whoa, hey, I resemble that remark! :)
 

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In Portland, they call it the 'Northwest Protection Package'... :) Yes, scotch-guard is cheap. Washing and waxing regularly negates the need for the paint sealant, and the undercoating is really only useful if you live in an area with MAJOR rust problems. Even then, it's still cheaper to get a similar process done by a third-party.
 
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