Paint Coatings -My Journey, experience and relative satisfaction

[JSFM35X]

Let me first start out by saying that I am a coating guy if not for any other reason than it saves me time and keeps my cars looking their best for the longest time between washes, and between tear down and rebuilds (AKA correction details).

My evolution in LSPs is :

Turtle wax (1987), P21S 100% (Circa 1993), Poorboys EX (With White diamonds or Black hole depending on the color) 2009, Blackfire Wet Diamonds, ultima paint guard plus, Power Lock, AQuartz, CQuarts, Opticoat 2.0 (2012), Permanon Platinum, EXO v1, EXO v2, Gloss Coat, 22ple, Polsih Angel Viking coat, Gyeon Mohs topped with cancoat (2016), can coat alone.

Maybe a few others that I cant recall at the moment. I should also say that I started polishing when I tried the Poorboys products at the detail weekend in 2009 or 2010, and I would say I got good after the 2012 Subaru detail, when I hired a professional detailer to do my car with me as I was chicken to lay down my first coating Opticoat 2.0 solo. I learned an awful lot that day and it increased the level of my detailing more in that one day than all the progress I had made in ALL my years of detailing prior.

All of the above we very good. Some better as certain things, some lasted a little longer, some looked a little better but really, they were all close and its splitting hairs. the small differences could have depended on my wash frequency, weather at the time or when they were applied in my learning curve of LSPs.

I expected more from all of them. Am I too tough a customer ? I like beads, super hydrophobic beads where the water is panicking to get off the car. I loved the performance of the P21S 100% when first applied but that lasted under 3 weeks and I felt the need to re apply. Waxes were too hard to maintain as they held on to too much dirt very evident on a white car. And so began my journey for a better product. I want that performance for 24+ months and I am willing to deal with just about any prep, and expense within reason. It already takes me a full weekend to completely do (Autopian standards-although I am not as good as most of you) my car inside, outside, engine, wheels and glass.

I can honestly say that after the intense beading is gone, the protection in all the true coatings I listed is still present as is evidenced by the fact that washing removes virtually everything but the most stuck on tar. The intense beading makes drying with my Masterblaster 8HP as much fun as playing a video game. I mounted it, added the 30` hose and now its super convenient to use. Just launching the beads off the paint effortlessly and effectively on almost any hi performance coating listed above in its infancy. But one wrong sweep, and the panel is covered in micro beads and you need to start over from the top. Its the beading I want to retain, I use a CR spotless so water spots are not my prime concern.

I have made it clear that using a drying aid or a topper is not something I want to do because it adds a step, adds time and you need to touch / buff every inch of the car. If its not super clean, this can mar the paint. Because of that I used Permanon to get me through times when the coating was at the end of its life but I did not have the time to strip and re coat. Loved Permanon as a stand alone but the price/ useful life ratio was not great. As a no touch spray on hose off LSP it cannot be beat for ease of use, performance for time invested and beading. Just know is 4-6 weeks the beads are gone. If this stuff was 20 bucks a quart, I`d stop looking for another product and just keep topping this up at every wash-its that good.

All the other coatings I am really just as happy or unhappy with all of them . I expected more from all of them. Are my expectation unrealistic? Maybe.

Don`t get me wrong, I am not miserable and I really think I have tried the best of the non pro coatings. I have a few cars that need re coating. I am looking, but not rushing because I can get by the winter on the protection and why burn beading in the winter? Most likely I`ll Permanon it through the winter to make drying easy unless I find a coating to try. I shut down my detailing in October for the season for anything more than maintenance washes. Ill be having my garage floor done shortly and that will impact my detailing for 2 weekends.

I also need to find out of I am doing anything to kill the beading prematurely? An APC wash with TAW did significantly bring back my Gloss Coat-even better than the reset. For washing I have been using Lusso wash and that is the mildest, at least in my head I think its easiest on the LSP but coatings are really durable from what I can see using APCs to revive them, Poorboys SSS is my mainstay started with it, left and came back time and time again. Tried Ultima wash, G wash, PA glissante, Optimum car wash, Gyeon Bathe, and bathe +, and they are all good but none extended the finish to any noticeable degree. I have a foam cannon but honestly don`t pull it out often. Maybe that would help a little? I wash with 2 buckets on a dolly, 4 GG (2 per bucket for the extra safety margin). Several wash mitts, BHB for wheel faces, separate wheel bucket and tools. Loads of MF mostly Poorboys DMTs that wear like iron. I guess that I have close to 200 of them at this point, I am addicted. So I`m pretty OCD about NOT creating my own issues and problems with poor products or techniques.

Some coatings stand out in certain areas and I`ll list my observations:

Opticoat 2.0 and Gloss Coat-Most mare resistant by far.

EXO v1 and v2- Best Hydropphobia for the longest followed closely by 22ple (on an outside 24x7 DD vehicle)

PA Viking Coat-best looking finish-looks like a wax, but last way longer. You will need a topper after 3 months and the carnauba arts that matches your paint is amazing. if I were a show car guy, this would be my choice.

Permanon -stupid easy and looks great, beads great while it lasts. Expect 4-6 weeks per application. Less on wheels. Expense is high but that`s the price of convenience I guess.

Cancoat-best beads I have ever seen, most hydrophobic-I have it on a limited use vehicle and toped on my DD. On a garage kept limited use car, in over a year it is in perfect shape, on ,my DD is it super tight beading gone in 5 months and I am left with amoeba`s instead of tiny BB`s for beads.

Gyeon Mohs-Looks really outstanding, has a great reflectivity, this is after 5 months so I am not really ready to judge it on durability. It sheets more than beads now that the Cancoat is worn off.

All of the above coatings make the car easy to wash, nothing sticks and the shine is there when your done with your wash ritual. Don`t misunderstand this post, I love coatings, I really liked the performance of coatings over waxes and sealnts, but for all the $, and the cost of those tiny bottles I want more performance. If you do the math on ths cost per gallon, its more than Jonny Walker Blue! Do the math and you will be floored! I am excited to see what`s next for coating and LSP products. I hope SEMA showcases some new Care Care products.

If you made it this far, you should get a prize, it was a vent as much as an observational post of my personal detailing experience, thanks for reading.

[Zelfiris]

Great review JSFM35X!

I read the whole thing

You have a lot of experience with a wide range of products. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[tom p.]

let me first start out by saying that i am a coating guy if not for any other reason than it saves me time and keeps my cars looking their best for the longest time between washes, and between tear down and rebuilds (aka correction details).

A-men !!

[Pats300zx]

Great review. A great read for anyone looking to jump into coatings !!!

[Ronkh]

Coolness !!!

Great read (yes I did read the whole thing), love the observations of different products.

Thanks

[512detail]

first of all- great read! I just sat down at my desk with an early lunch and very much enjoyed this read

a few q`s....

you didn`t see anything extra from using bathe + ?

can coat - is it really as stupid easy to apply as the video`s show? I was considering picking up some can coat on the next sale - I like what I`ve seen about it online

I`m curious, you said you used Mohs - they say its the hardest coating (consumer I suppose) - did you find it was as scratch resistant as you have considered Opticoat 2.0 and Gloss Coat to be?

Have you tried Crystal Serum Light?

and thanks for putting JW Blue in my head at 1135 on a workday! haha

[JustJesus]

I should get a prize. Hmm. What do I need? hmmm.

Thanks for the post. It was a good read, and a little insight into several products. You did so well, I`m not even requesting pics!

[LEDetailng]

Great review, you`ve tried a lot of coatings. Good read. What was your favorite sealant out of those you`ve tried?

I`ve got a small bottle of Carpro`s Essence ready to slowly work up to a coating. Not looking to spend $100 for a coating. May just try Hydro2 or Wetcoat. I still like the cost and ease of sealants. I may just top the essence with BFWD or FK1000p. Hope either plays well with Essence.

[Raymoche]

Wow, thank you for sharing!

I am finally starting on coatings because I can actually afford it now, I typically just enjoy the wax for summer, sealant for winter "tradition" but I finally bit the bullet to try the Polish Angel Cosmic, but the funny part is that I now own a eco-box and not a luxury car anymore.

From research, I feel that PA is a good starting point since it doesnt depart from what I know already, but I would want to try more as I get my hands on it. Based on what you posted, I am itching to try Gyeon products, but they look like they benefit from indoor space and IR lights.

[Mike lambert]

Excellent review, as far as beading, coatings in general don`t bead very long without using the "detailer" that the coating manufacturers have. I think that is an American thing! I must admit I too like the beading!

[Civicclutch]

Nice review and comments so far. I`m looking into different coatings due to their longevity


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[JSFM35X]

Thank you and my pleasure.

Great review JSFM35X!

I read the whole thing

You have a lot of experience with a wide range of products. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[JSFM35X]

Agreed !

A-men !!

[JSFM35X]

Great review. A great read for anyone looking to jump into coatings !!!

Thanks. Glad you liked it.

Coolness !!!

Great read (yes I did read the whole thing), love the observations of different products.

Thanks

Thanks buddy. You gave me a great start.

[JSFM35X]

first of all- great read! I just sat down at my desk with an early lunch and very much enjoyed this read

a few q`s....

you didn`t see anything extra from using bathe + ?

can coat - is it really as stupid easy to apply as the video`s show? I was considering picking up some can coat on the next sale - I like what I`ve seen about it online

I`m curious, you said you used Mohs - they say its the hardest coating (consumer I suppose) - did you find it was as scratch resistant as you have considered Opticoat 2.0 and Gloss Coat to be?

Have you tried Crystal Serum Light?

and thanks for putting JW Blue in my head at 1135 on a workday! haha

Yes bathe plus brings back the beading wash to wash. You must wash small areas and rinse quickly or it will streak. Those streaks need to be polished out. I washed to big of and area and it was very hot out and it really messed me up. I called Gyeon Jeff in Clorado to find out what happened and he know right away. I streaked my glass , shiney black trim and chrome trim. It did come off very easy with a finishing polish but it was work. I was not going to use it ever again but decided to try it on one pannel in a subsequent wash and it you wash 1/2 panels and rinse it`s totally fine. Does not last long and I`d prefer permanon for ease of use.

Cancoat is stupid easy. The version I used was aresol. You can`t see it going on the paint but it is. I used way to much the first time. Everything was fine but I wasted allot. The next car I did I used much less and it worked equally as well. Spray on MF , spread wild of with dry towel. I did hood and roof in 1/4 and al others in 1/2 panels. You can`t mess this up if you tried. Beads are best I`ve ever seen. Same for hydrophobia.

Mhos is not marred, it only 5 months old and I take good care of it so I would not expect any swirling. After the winter I`ll be able to judge its performance better. The opticoat and gloss coat went on my older sons car. He thinks nothing of leaning on he car in jeans. The fact that it stood up to him is a testimonial to mar resistance.

Never tried crystal serum light. I did not like that it needs to be sanded off. I have not left many high spots in the past and those I did were handled with a wet wipe of the same product. I may in the future as I love the Exo and T1 from Gtech.

Love JWB, as long as your not driving or operating heavy equipment. I highly recommend it !