Koch-Chemie Plast Star "Pss" Premium Plastic Care Silicone Oil-Free 1000ml

Care for door seals, protect exterior plastic for months

Plast Star "Pss" is a silicone oil-free premium plastic care for the exterior. It bonds with the substrate via micro-emulsion, brings back a satin finish and keeps door seals from freezing shut. Not for pedals, steering wheel or tyre tread, and you cannot top it with wax or sealant.

Koch-Chemie Plast Star "Pss" is a silicone oil-free car exterior plastic care made in Unna, North Rhine-Westphalia. The micro-emulsion bonds with the plastic surface instead of sitting on top as a film, and it is Daimler-approved for use in professional detailing shops. Treated bumpers, trim, door seals and tyres keep a like-new, satin look for months. Pss is the version without silicone oil, made for anyone who later has to send the car into the paint shop without risking paint defects there.

• Durability over six months. UV-stable micro-emulsion that does not wash off in the first rain. Detailers in German forums report four to six months of visible effect on bumpers, depending on weather and pre-cleaning. More than 15 verified reviews on Trusted Shops back up the real-world performance.
• Silicone oil-free and paint shop-safe. No risk of paint defects if the car later goes into the paint shop. A practical difference to the classic Plast Star 96, and one that matters to detailers and workshops sitting in the paint chain.
• Yield: about 50 applications per litre. At 15.83 EUR for 1 L, material cost works out to around 0.32 EUR per car all around the exterior, cheaper than any ready-to-use tyre dressing head-to-head. Heavy users go for the 2x 1L combo, workshops take the 10 L canister.

Detailing1's tip from practice: Plast Star "Pss" builds a fine barrier film that keeps wax, sealant and coating from bonding afterwards. If you care for your exterior plastic with PSS and also plan to mask off, foil or wax, treat PSS as the last step in the workflow. Order in practice: polish the paint, set the masking tape, then APC 1:10 as a pre-clean on the plastic, let it dry, only then put PSS on an applicator sponge, not on microfibre, which sucks too much product out of the bottle.

Apply Plast Star after polishing, not before

The right order decides the result. Plast Star "Pss" belongs after every paint job, not before. A barrier film sitting on the plastic before you polish clogs your pads and turns the paint job uneven.

Before PSS goes on the plastic, you pre-clean. The Green Star "Gs" all-purpose cleaner 1:10 in water, spray on, let it work briefly, rinse off. This APC pre-clean opens the pores of an oxidised bumper and lets the micro-emulsion penetrate instead of just sitting on the surface. The manufacturer doesn't prescribe this step; in practice it adds two to three months of durability.

Once the plastic is fully dry, the product goes on with an applicator sponge. Microfibre is the wrong tool here because it pulls too much product out of the bottle. For an average bumper, two firm pumps from the bottle are enough, spread evenly across the surface, work it thoroughly into the material. On tyre sidewalls a bit more, about three pumps per tyre.

After working it in, don't wipe again. That measurably shortens durability. PSS dries in 5 to 15 minutes depending on ambient temperature, and exactly in that phase the micro-emulsion bonds with the substrate. During drying: no water contact, no cloth, no wax on top.

If you work on a warm bumper in the sun, drying is on the shorter side. In cool weather below 12 C plan for 15 minutes, on really cold days below 5 C better skip the job because polymer crosslinking won't run cleanly. The car exterior plastic care is done after this drying time. No polishing, no buffing, no second coat.

A second coat brings nothing. Worse, it partly re-dissolves the layer that has already crosslinked. If you want to touch up the result, wait out the full durability and only then treat again, classic seasonal timing before spring and autumn.

Barrier film blocks wax, sealant and paint coatings

PSS builds a fine, hydrophobic protective film on the plastic. The same film that keeps dirt off also stops other care products from bonding later. That is the key limitation of Koch-Chemie's car exterior plastic care.

If a paint sealant or a coating is planned next on directly adjacent paint, apply PSS cleanly bordered or work it last. Otherwise the sealant runs along the plastic edge and leaves an uneven transition. On the plastic itself PSS is not top-coatable: a wax on top builds a greasy, uneven layer that streaks after the first rain.

Also not for grip-relevant surfaces: pedals, steering wheel, gear lever and tyre tread. The manufacturer flags this because PSS creates a slippery surface there. Interior cockpits are not the Pss application area either. For those, Top Star "Ts" is the right call, with its own formula for dashboards and door cards inside.

If you want the same effect in concentrate form, at a 1:5 to 1:10 dilution for economical use in workshops, reach for Hydro Plast Care "Hpc". That is the concentrate sister of Pss from the same house, with the same micro-emulsion principle. If you only need a smaller rubber care for door seals without much exterior plastic area, you'll find cheaper specialised products in our plastic care range.

Chemically, the micro-emulsion works with fine polymer particles in the sub-micrometre range. They penetrate the micro-cracks of oxidised plastic and crosslink there. Unlike a classic silicone oil film that only sits on top and brings shine, this care builds a structural bond with the substrate. That explains the long durability and the hydrophobic beading you see in rain.

Pss or Ps9: silicone oil-free or classic

Plast Star exists in two versions: the silicone oil-free Pss and the classic Plast Star 96 "Ps9". If you want to work without paint shop risk, take Pss. If you want maximum gloss and won't send the car for a respray later, take Ps9.

Pss is aimed at detailers, workshops and detailing enthusiasts who want a satin finish and long durability without silicone oil ending up in the cycle of a later respray. Ps9 is the ready-to-use version with classic gloss, ideal for pure hobby use without paint shop contact. If you typically care for one or two cars at a time, Pss is the right call. If you push five or more through per month, look at the Hpc concentrate.

The 1 L bottle covers around 50 cars all around in normal exterior use, a material cost of about 0.32 EUR per application. If you treat more than one car per month, the 2x 1L set works out more economical; workshops and heavy users take the 10 L canister with further price scaling. More than 15 verified reviews on Trusted Shops back up the real-world performance. Detailers describe Pss consistently as the most durable product in its class, with near-unanimous praise for how it lays down and for the final result.

One thing that's in no manufacturer datasheet and missing from the competitors' product copy: PSS on tyre sidewalls, applied once in summer, often lasts longer than a dedicated tyre dressing. And without the classic black tyre-sling onto your wheels that silicone oil-based tyre dressings throw onto the rim edges during the first few drives.

If you position the car exterior plastic care cleanly in the workflow, after polish, before coating, with APC pre-clean, you get a product that protects bumpers, door seals and tyres across a full season without needing further specialised products. The Daimler approval confirms that the manufacturer has cleared the product for factory detailing. With Pss your exterior plastic gets a treatment that otherwise only goes onto fresh cars in OEM detailing.

Application of Plast Star "Pss"

Workflow: Polish, Pre-clean, then apply Plast Star

The practical sequence determines the result. PSS belongs at the end of the exterior workflow, not at the beginning. If you polish the paint, do that first — if necessary, mask off plastic parts beforehand.

Before application, the plastic should be cleaned: Dilute the Green Star "Gs" universal cleaner 1:10 with water, apply, let it sit briefly, then rinse. This pre-cleaning opens the pores of oxidized bumpers and ensures that the micro-emulsion penetrates deeper. Let the plastic dry completely, otherwise residual water will dilute the care film.

Apply PSS to the dry plastic with an applicator sponge — not with a microfiber cloth, as that absorbs too much material. For a bumper, two strong pumps from the bottle are sufficient; distribute evenly, rub thoroughly into the surface. For tire sidewalls, use a bit more, about three pumps per tire. Do not wipe afterwards — this visibly shortens the effect.

Drying time is 5 to 15 minutes depending on temperature. During this phase, the micro-emulsion bonds with the substrate. During the drying phase, avoid contact with water, rags, or applying wax over it. Those who care for several vehicles in succession will find the 2x 1L set more economical; for frequent workshop users, the 10-L container is the right size.

Notes: Plast Star "Pss" cannot be painted over — wax, sealant, or coating will not adhere to the barrier film. PSS is therefore always the last step in the exterior workflow, not the first. Do not apply to grip-relevant surfaces such as pedals, steering wheel, gear shift lever, or tire treads, as it creates a slippery surface. For interior cockpits, Top Star "Ts" is the right choice; for workshop dilution 1:5 to 1:10, use the concentrate Hydro Plast Care "Hpc". Store frost-free at 5 to 30 °C, use within 24 months after opening.