cf2121
01-09-2016, 10:47 AM
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29370&stc=1
Snow Soap + pump dispensor + MTM foam cannon
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29371&stc=1
Muted panels
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29372&stc=1
Lots of foam! Dwelled nicely for a good 5 minutes
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29373&stc=1
Beading starting to come back...
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29374&stc=1
Hit the whole car with some regular IX
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29375&stc=1
Beading back!
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29376&stc=1
Snow Soap & IX did nothing to compromise the sheeting effects of Nanoskin Rain
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29377&stc=1
Beading & sheeting on hood
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29378&stc=1
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29379&stc=1
IX Snow Soap
Cost: $27.99 for 1 liter
Color: Pink
Smell: like IX cherry, but not as strong
Viscosity: somewhere between runny and thick
Slickness: 10/10
Cleaning power: 8/10 + decon
Wax safe: Yes
I have been eyeing this product ever since I got into detailing, but this was my first go around with it. Carpro designed this soap to give a deeper clean, since it has IX built into it. It is NOT meant to be used as an IX replacement. Simply put, this product is designed for cars that need a stronger clean that regular soaps cannot accomplish, especially those with coatings to help maintain them and clear them out.
I’ve had Optimum Gloss Coat on my Mustang for almost five months now, and while it has held up great, I noticed the bottoms of my panels were starting to look a bit muted. They no longer beaded or sheeted water effectively, instead water seemed to cling and sheet very slowly, just like if there was no protection on the paint.
At first I was a little panicked that my coating had already failed, but I soon realized that because I park near a train station for work, it probably just needed a good decontamination due to all the rail dust (and other environmental factors over the past few months).
I ordered some IX Snow Soap and Lemon Scent IX to try out (I’ve only ever used the cherry scent). The directions seem a little wonky when you first read them, stating to use IX straight (undiluted) in a foam cannon. Since I didn’t want to use a bunch of soap right away, I opted to use the recommended 1:8 ratio as a presoak through the cannon. I added 3 oz. of soap 24 oz. of water in the cannon and proceeded to foam down the car.
The foaming was great and it clung very well to the paint. I did not notice any color changing happening on the paint, but I swore I could see a hint of purple in the foam that had dripped off the car. The scent of IX was present, but wasn’t anything terrible.
After five minutes of dwelling I proceeded to rinse off the foam. The soap washed away effortlessly and had no noticeable effect to diminish the effects of the coating. The bottom panels even started to bead up again!
I dried the car off with a leaf blower before proceeding.
I then sprayed IX over the car at one or two panels at a time (not the wheels) to help further decontaminate the paint. Little specks of purple appeared as expected.
I still wasn’t happy with how the rocker panels and bottom of the doors were looking, so I got out my two buckets and a wash mitt to try out using IX snow soap the ol’ fashioned way (kind of).
The previous version of IX snow soap instructed the user to apply a few pumps of product to the wash mitt and wash the car one panel at a time. With this in mind, I would let the regular IX dwell for about five minutes, give the panel a quick spray of water, apply one squirt of the snow foam to my mitt, and washed the panel top to bottom. I let this foam dwell for about a minute before rinsing and working my way around the rest of the car.
I had about three pumps of IXSS in my wash bucket which had about 3 gallons of water in it. While that was nowhere near the recommended 1:8 ratio for a bucket wash, it still produced crazy suds that lasted throughout the 2BW.
By the time I was finished, my car was beading and sheeting just like I had applied the coating the week before. It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but my car hasn’t looked this glossy since I finished coating it.
Despite being a stronger soap, it did nothing to diminish the Nanoskin Rain glass sealant I have on my windows. For something that only lasts about three months, it held up tremendously against the soap.
Overall, I am very happy with this soap and will continue to use it every couple months or so to prevent further contamination build up. I highly recommend anyone with a coating to purchase this to add to their arsenal. I’m looking forward to testing this soap out on a car with a regular sealant on it to see if there is any difference.
Pros:
Cleans extremely well
Amount needed
Price
Cons:
Smell
Optimum Gloss Coat Five month update, thoughts on coatings in general
As I stated above, my coating is still going 100% (I guess you can argue that it’s diminishing, but whatever). For those who have noticed it failing after a few months, the problem either lies in contamination in the coating like in my experience, or you did something wrong with preparation, application, or maintenance. I would first try a product like Iron X before blaming the coating.
I usually wash my car once every week or two. Not only does having a coating applied make washing a breeze, but it help tremendously to keep the car clean between washes. Bird crap is easily wiped off with a microfiber and a little spritz of ONR. Driving through the rain is almost like a light wash. Water will start to roll off the paint after I’ve hit 25mph or so. I’ve also noticed that there doesn’t seem to be as much dust accumulation on the paint. I’ve had to clay a couple spots for stubborn bird poop and sap, but even after sitting on the paint for hours at a time, no etching was noticeable. I have also noticed very little (if any) new swirls that have popped up.
I’ve tried drying my car with the damp towel and spray wax trick, but it left streaks because there was no room for the spray wax to soak into the coating. Next came the waffle weave towel, but I still felt iffy about touching my paint more than I needed to. I finally landed on drying my car completely with an electric leaf blower. The water rolls off the paint effortlessly because of the coating.
All this can be said about the wheels and trim. Gloss Coat is going strong on my wheels, and DLUX is holding up just as well on my trim.
I said it in a comment a few weeks ago and I’ll repeat it here. I’m sold on coatings. I don’t see myself going back to traditional sealants and waxes after experiencing how easy it is for maintenance on my vehicle’s appearance now.
Thanks for reading and looking!
Bonus gif of rinsing https://gfycat.com/SpicyPhysicalArkshell
Snow Soap + pump dispensor + MTM foam cannon
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29371&stc=1
Muted panels
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29372&stc=1
Lots of foam! Dwelled nicely for a good 5 minutes
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29373&stc=1
Beading starting to come back...
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29374&stc=1
Hit the whole car with some regular IX
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29375&stc=1
Beading back!
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29376&stc=1
Snow Soap & IX did nothing to compromise the sheeting effects of Nanoskin Rain
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29377&stc=1
Beading & sheeting on hood
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29378&stc=1
http://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=29379&stc=1
IX Snow Soap
Cost: $27.99 for 1 liter
Color: Pink
Smell: like IX cherry, but not as strong
Viscosity: somewhere between runny and thick
Slickness: 10/10
Cleaning power: 8/10 + decon
Wax safe: Yes
I have been eyeing this product ever since I got into detailing, but this was my first go around with it. Carpro designed this soap to give a deeper clean, since it has IX built into it. It is NOT meant to be used as an IX replacement. Simply put, this product is designed for cars that need a stronger clean that regular soaps cannot accomplish, especially those with coatings to help maintain them and clear them out.
I’ve had Optimum Gloss Coat on my Mustang for almost five months now, and while it has held up great, I noticed the bottoms of my panels were starting to look a bit muted. They no longer beaded or sheeted water effectively, instead water seemed to cling and sheet very slowly, just like if there was no protection on the paint.
At first I was a little panicked that my coating had already failed, but I soon realized that because I park near a train station for work, it probably just needed a good decontamination due to all the rail dust (and other environmental factors over the past few months).
I ordered some IX Snow Soap and Lemon Scent IX to try out (I’ve only ever used the cherry scent). The directions seem a little wonky when you first read them, stating to use IX straight (undiluted) in a foam cannon. Since I didn’t want to use a bunch of soap right away, I opted to use the recommended 1:8 ratio as a presoak through the cannon. I added 3 oz. of soap 24 oz. of water in the cannon and proceeded to foam down the car.
The foaming was great and it clung very well to the paint. I did not notice any color changing happening on the paint, but I swore I could see a hint of purple in the foam that had dripped off the car. The scent of IX was present, but wasn’t anything terrible.
After five minutes of dwelling I proceeded to rinse off the foam. The soap washed away effortlessly and had no noticeable effect to diminish the effects of the coating. The bottom panels even started to bead up again!
I dried the car off with a leaf blower before proceeding.
I then sprayed IX over the car at one or two panels at a time (not the wheels) to help further decontaminate the paint. Little specks of purple appeared as expected.
I still wasn’t happy with how the rocker panels and bottom of the doors were looking, so I got out my two buckets and a wash mitt to try out using IX snow soap the ol’ fashioned way (kind of).
The previous version of IX snow soap instructed the user to apply a few pumps of product to the wash mitt and wash the car one panel at a time. With this in mind, I would let the regular IX dwell for about five minutes, give the panel a quick spray of water, apply one squirt of the snow foam to my mitt, and washed the panel top to bottom. I let this foam dwell for about a minute before rinsing and working my way around the rest of the car.
I had about three pumps of IXSS in my wash bucket which had about 3 gallons of water in it. While that was nowhere near the recommended 1:8 ratio for a bucket wash, it still produced crazy suds that lasted throughout the 2BW.
By the time I was finished, my car was beading and sheeting just like I had applied the coating the week before. It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but my car hasn’t looked this glossy since I finished coating it.
Despite being a stronger soap, it did nothing to diminish the Nanoskin Rain glass sealant I have on my windows. For something that only lasts about three months, it held up tremendously against the soap.
Overall, I am very happy with this soap and will continue to use it every couple months or so to prevent further contamination build up. I highly recommend anyone with a coating to purchase this to add to their arsenal. I’m looking forward to testing this soap out on a car with a regular sealant on it to see if there is any difference.
Pros:
Cleans extremely well
Amount needed
Price
Cons:
Smell
Optimum Gloss Coat Five month update, thoughts on coatings in general
As I stated above, my coating is still going 100% (I guess you can argue that it’s diminishing, but whatever). For those who have noticed it failing after a few months, the problem either lies in contamination in the coating like in my experience, or you did something wrong with preparation, application, or maintenance. I would first try a product like Iron X before blaming the coating.
I usually wash my car once every week or two. Not only does having a coating applied make washing a breeze, but it help tremendously to keep the car clean between washes. Bird crap is easily wiped off with a microfiber and a little spritz of ONR. Driving through the rain is almost like a light wash. Water will start to roll off the paint after I’ve hit 25mph or so. I’ve also noticed that there doesn’t seem to be as much dust accumulation on the paint. I’ve had to clay a couple spots for stubborn bird poop and sap, but even after sitting on the paint for hours at a time, no etching was noticeable. I have also noticed very little (if any) new swirls that have popped up.
I’ve tried drying my car with the damp towel and spray wax trick, but it left streaks because there was no room for the spray wax to soak into the coating. Next came the waffle weave towel, but I still felt iffy about touching my paint more than I needed to. I finally landed on drying my car completely with an electric leaf blower. The water rolls off the paint effortlessly because of the coating.
All this can be said about the wheels and trim. Gloss Coat is going strong on my wheels, and DLUX is holding up just as well on my trim.
I said it in a comment a few weeks ago and I’ll repeat it here. I’m sold on coatings. I don’t see myself going back to traditional sealants and waxes after experiencing how easy it is for maintenance on my vehicle’s appearance now.
Thanks for reading and looking!
Bonus gif of rinsing https://gfycat.com/SpicyPhysicalArkshell