Japanses Detailing Products

[cshorey]

I am currently stuck in Japan on a business trip. I was curious if there were any good details products that come from Japan, that I should look for while I am here.



I was thinking of trying to find an Autobacs if there is one near here. A co-worker of mine in the states stays there is one near where I am staying.



thanks,

chris

[steelwind101]

Soft99 do a "Authentic Premium wax" IIRC, its not that bad and has been reviewed on here, check the search box.



There are a few sealants which often seem to be sold as desgined different colour paint. The shampoos are not so bad from Soft99, i dont ever recall having anything "outstanding" from there.



http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing-product-discussion/22421-review-prowaxc45-vm-soft99-wax.html



http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing-product-discussion/38782-soft-99-rain-hop-review.html

[imported_Bence]

Japs manufacture excellent glass coatings. And I don`t mean a coating for glass, but a glasslike coating for paint. It`s harder than the typical CC, significantly longer lasting than a sealant and usually extremely hydrophobic (but there are a few manufacturers who have 3 different "flavors" in hydrophobic behavior). Usually, they are 1-2 µm thick.



Similarly, Soft99`s long lasting sealants are worth a try IMO (haven`t tried myself).



Coatings from G`zox, Echelon, Bliss, Aquaglasscoat (Korean), JGlaze, KeePre, etc. are deffo recommended.

[gigondaz]

I am currently stuck in Japan on a business trip. I was curious if there were any good details products that come from Japan, that I should look for while I am here.



I was thinking of trying to find an Autobacs if there is one near here. A co-worker of mine in the states stays there is one near where I am staying.



thanks,

chris





Without going into the high-end coatings stuff, I agree that the premium Soft99 products are excellent, as I use them a lot on customers` cars.



For a well-prepped surface, you can try "Soft99 12month Coating Wax".

Easy to apply and buff off, beads water like crazy for months, and car remains relatively clean looking even after extended showers in a dusty and very high heat environment.



Another notable product from Soft99 is the XAqua that repels water like crazy.

Water beads just roll off the surface instead of just being closely packed and lying on the paint surface.

[imported_Bence]

Does Willson have any outstanding, notable product?

[percynjpn]

I agree that the premium Soft99 products are excellent,



.



Really? Compared to what?

[percynjpn]

Does Willson have any outstanding, notable product?





IMHO, NO. Every wax, compound or detailing tool made by Willson or Soft has always turned out to be shyt!!

[Sir Clean]

I often use Soft99`s Triz (SOFT99 - TRIZ�iƒgƒ‰Æ’CƒY�j (http://www.soft99.co.jp/products/detail/5/443)). You can buy it at almost any auto goods retailers in Japan (like Yellow Hat). It is very easy to apply.

[bryan]

Clay was originally made in Japan and is still the patent holder, might be worth a look

[gigondaz]

IMHO, NO. Every wax, compound or detailing tool made by Willson or Soft has always turned out to be shyt!!



I agree with you that all products, not only from Soft99 but other mftrs as well, are shyt......if you don`t know how to use them.



It`s not what you use that`s most important.

It`s how you use them.

[gigondaz]

Japs manufacture excellent glass coatings. And I don`t mean a coating for glass, but a glasslike coating for paint. It`s harder than the typical CC, significantly longer lasting than a sealant and usually extremely hydrophobic (but there are a few manufacturers who have 3 different "flavors" in hydrophobic behavior). Usually, they are 1-2 µm thick.



Similarly, Soft99`s long lasting sealants are worth a try IMO (haven`t tried myself).



Coatings from G`zox, Echelon, Bliss, Aquaglasscoat (Korean), JGlaze, KeePre, etc. are deffo recommended.



Good one, Bence!!

Many coatings are re-packaged and sold as different brands from diff countries.

Whatever, I hv tried some of them and I would say, based on my testing on soft clearcoats, the areas of concern are:



Coating Thickness.

In order for certain qualities or features to be realised, the coating must reach a specific thickness. This depends on application method (by hand or by spraygun).

Many coatings that I tried, had to be applied by spraygun, and it uses quite a fair bit of coating to cover an entire car.

Applying by hand might result in uneveness, and even the water beads don`t look nice.

So far, spray gun is still the best.



Buffing Off.

Although easy to apply, buffing off could be a problem as drying period critically depends on temp and humidity. Wait too long and/or buff off with the wrong type of mfiber cloth, you might get fine scratches (eg Sonax Nano Lack Protect). This is especially apparent on those coatings with nano particles/nano technology.



Hardening Period.

Even a 24hr curing period does not mean the coating has reached max hardness.

If scratch -resistance is one of its features, this might not be fully effective until 2-3weeks later. This is based on my testing.



Resistance to Stains.

Some of these high-tech coatings, still leave the paint prone to stains, and difficult-to remove bugs splatter residues.

[imported_Bence]

Good points made here.



Yes, the application methodology is critical to achieve a uniform layer. But with some appliactors I`ve found that if you keep it wiping, the coating will be very even - if the application media holds enough liquid to keep the surface sufficiently wet, to let the product self-level. Of course, the flatter the applicator the better (think of paper thin MF covered app sponges, certain types of make up pads) - or obviously a spray gun.



Good to know that the Sonax/KeePre thingy is sensitive to buff-off marks; I`m experimenting with it now. It has the typical bare paint feel of numerous coatings, so the drag between the wipeoff media and the paint can be critical indeed.



Usually after applying a coating I avoid washing the vehicle for AT LEAST a full week (or 2).



I`ve never experienced staining, but again, with their draggy nature, bug splatters can be difficult to remove - but luckily even this is rare.



So far, Optimum coating is a very promising one, but I wanna try the 3 different Echelons (hydrophilic, semi-hydrophobic and super hydrophobic).



Oh BTW, do you know who is the manufacturer of Gtechniq`s C1? It`s a Japo company, but dunno which one.

[gigondaz]

Good points made here.



.........It has the typical bare paint feel of numerous coatings, so the drag between the wipeoff media and the paint can be critical indeed.



Oh BTW, do you know who is the manufacturer of Gtechniq`s C1? It`s a Japo company, but dunno which one.





Bence, you are correct again. Sonax Coating leaves behind a non-slick finish, as though there`s no polish, no wax, no sealant on it. It`s like dragging your fingers through merely clean paint. I think many car owners might not like this.

Also, I hv experimented using microfiber tissue paper to buff off, and it also left some fine scratches/micro-marring.



I have no knowledge of Gtechniq C1.

[imported_Bence]

gigondaz, I like the water management of the coatings and the added physical protection of their 1-5 micron layers. Funny to watch when you try to layer them, the new layer beads up immediately. :)



Honestly I don`t like the draggy feel either, but the polished paint/coating PLUS some nice slick LSP is actually a very nice combo. Optimum Coating has a very positive feel. I`ve never had any problems with marring with the thin MF pads, but I HATE the crappy Sonax applicator! I wonder if the spray contained 50 ml of the actual coating or it is the total amount of stuff in the bottle, including propellant, actives, etc. BTW, the Opti-Coat is very economical, so the 2 oz is sufficient. The only negative is its relatively short shelf life.



I`ll test the improvement of scratch resistance on softer clears like Honda Nighthawk Black, because it`d be a godsend for those cars.

[Avi911]

Hi Bence and gigondaz,

im new to this forum,but i see its real pro one.

im into the glass coating business, which if you asking me , this will be the future in car care.

if silicon was the past technology and after the teflon, now its nano glass coating,

Bence, i dont know if you tested my coat, which you wrote about , im almost sure you didnt,echelon use simple way of nano technology, not denst enough

you should try the Aquartz by aquaglasscoat,

its high synthese 45% silica particules,very high density muleculars.

would love to give you more info later on,

and about Gtechniqe , i think they use something called Siloxane , its not real quartz coat,and i think the source is in japan,there are many companies there.



cheers

Avi