5 star shine, yeah, I actually bought the stuff...

for the money, the time, and the PIA references... I have come to a conclusion-



5* Shine = 5*Whine
 
I know this is an old thread, and people have pretty much concluded that 5 Star Shine is nothing special, but I just wanted to add my thoughts on the product.



Over a year ago, we treated my Mom's Galaxy Silver 2003 Impala LS Sport with the 5 Star Shine. It gave the finish a deep shine and wonderful brilliance. The product has held up very well, and dirt just sildes off the car when it is run through the touchless LaserWash machine at the gas station. We have not had to wax the car since the 5 Star Shine was applied.



I just treated my Bright Silver 2003 Dodge Durango today with a 5 Star Shine kit. It is not the easiest product in the world to work with, but it definitely leaves a hard, slick protectant on the paint. Total time to apply the product was 3 hours. I agree it is not a 1 hour job as advertised. I washed the vehicle with standard Eagle One Car Wash, followed up with the wash in the kit, let the 5 Star wash dry to a haze, rinsed the vehicle and then dried it completely with a chamois. I then applied the 5 Star protectant.



The protectant goes on much like a standard commercial liquid wax (Nu Finish, Meguiars, etc.) It does, however, dry VERY quickly. If you let it sit too long on the vehicle it becomes hard to wipe off (it has now been a few hours since I completed the task and I can feel myself getting sore). A thin application is the best route. I was concerned during the process that I would not have enough to complete the Durango but I ultmately finished with a little of the protectant left in the bottle.



I am relatively pleased with the results on the Durango, but the finish is not as brilliant as after we applied it to my Mom's Impala. Perhaps the shine will increase over the next couple of days as it indicates on the bottle. Tomorrow we are forecast to receive heavy rain and thunderstorms, so that will be the true test of the product. I would expect it to bead up very well.



Would I recommend the product? I may suggest it as an option for people to consider but I would not go out of my way to say to people "this is the best suff ever...you won't regret it!". My opinion may change depending on how it holds up on the Durango. I bought it based on the great results my Mom had with it on her car, but I am not sure the results will be as good on my truck.



Is it worth $65-$70? Maybe, maybe not. $30-$40 would be a more reasonable price. Again, I paid the price based on the great results on the Impala.



My Dad is picking up his 2005 Subaru Outback tomorrow. He was thinking of using the 5 Star Shine on it, but I may direct him toward the Simoniz System 5 treatment. I have heard good things about it and many dealers in this area have started offering it as well. It can also be had for 1/2 the price of the 5 Star Shine system.
 
I saw a car on which the owner had used 5 Star Shine. It was fairly new, maybe 5000 miles. The car looked really good, high shine and wet, and the paint was very slick; you could tell something was on there. I'd call the product comparable to maybe UPP or Meguiar's #20; not quite as good looking, but still really nice. I wouldn't have dissed it based on the appearance. And 5 Star has never claimed to have a formula maximized for appearance; they maximized their formula for longeviity.



I WOULD dis it based on the cost of the system and the absurd claims for durability. Reading Ryster's post, it looks like that's wha he did as well. Did you read it? IMO, it appears accurate and in line with my observations. Ryster absolutely evenhandedly DOES NOT recommend this product. He says it is an option... and it is.



Say what you will about 5 Star, chadster came on the board and answered questions and took criticism. I respect that.



I have the Simoniz system 5 in my garage, I might try that on the wifemobile next time I do it, just to see.





Tom
 
The 5SS system seems to be very similar to Crystal Guard, thought CG was a lot easier to apply. Both are PTFE systems but it sounds like the 5SS works far better for water beading. I spent 6 hours washing, claying, polishing, washing drying my car prior to the CG Pro application and that was the hardest part. Application was virtually effortless and the only difficulty was trying to dry the entire car between stages before the water spots hit. Messed up thing is that after all that work and wating 24 hours between each of the two stages and waiting a week for the final stage to cure, it still didn't repel water any better than before. In fact, it had worse water spotting than ever.



I just converted to AIO/SG and it's far less expensive and better so far than the CG stuff. I seriously doubt any claim that a sealant would allow you to rinse your car with just a hose and it would look the same as when you first applied the product. Maybe if you kept the car in a garage, never drove it, and had it under a car cover for 5 years....



The CG Pro did seem to make the car a little brighter(black integra) at night but only one person told me that. I think the Klasse stuff is a lot better and so far has been more practical. No sense in having a nice shine if there's no protection.
 
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