Coating is definitely worth it. Easier to wash, needs less time washing, and your car will look better with less effort. If you love waxing your car every week, you still can. But you don’t have to. That’s the nice thing about it. You get the result without all the work. And some of us like the process, but it’s nice to not have to go through it all when you don’t have the time.
2018 Acura TLX ASpecPost Thanks / Like - 1 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesStokdgs liked this post
As someone who tends to subscribe to the comments of guys like Brown, Rose, Phillips and Kosilla on the exaggerations and hype of coatings, I have also wanted to experiment with them, too. The costs and my old school methodology with waxes and sealants are still keeping me in the, "prove it to me" phase with coatings. I`m pretty sure I am ready to jump in, at least in the shallow end.
I`m curious which ones you guys are using and preferring, especially those of you who have experimented with multiple products. I`m not the kind of guy who`s going to try a dozen different brands before deciding on one—I`d rather find one product from a company I trust (McKees, Wolfgang, CarPro, etc.) and learn how to use it, then be done with my learning curve.
Importance (in order): ease of use, price, aesthetics, product availability, durability, longevity
Suggestions?
I don`t detail for a living nor do I want to because I would be pretty darn expensive. I went from waxes to sealants and now coatings. Detailing for me is just one hobby among others I have. I am thankful that I have a good job that allows me to purchase things in order to provide reviews for the Autopia and Autogeek family.
Like yourself I have two vehicles to maintain along with a couple family members. Guess what, they all have coatings on it haha. I have come to accept the limitations of them with having all the pros. For one I get to test out various coatings among them. Yes I do have some coating left over and for me that is not a big deal. I will often find another use for it if I can. I am not too worried if it goes bad because I did not use it all up.
I typically test out a coating for a minimum of 1 year. If it performs well after 1 year then I will often let it go for 2. At that point I polish and re-coat whether it be with the same coating or another. I do not feel guilty polishing a coating off before the claimed durability. I did it with Optimum Gloss Coat as I was unimpressed with it.
Now a days there are coatings that offer 1 year, 6 months. For example Gyeon CanCoat. The benefits of a coating with a sealant like longevity (6-9 months).
Here is another thing. I can polish every 1-2 years and for one I am not removing that much paint compared to polishing every 6 months. That is just me. Yes it takes time to prep the surface. It does not have to be 90-100% perfect as the definition of perfection differs from person to person.
As I mentioned once a car is coated, car care is still important. The interior always needs a refresh as do various parts. But for me coatings allow me to enjoy other things.
Per Mike Phillips find something you like and use it often.
I guess I need to start jotting my thoughts down to get something up.
I do plan to coat my door jambs with some left over coatings I have.
Here`s the thing. Most coatings on the market perform very similar. Look is subjective as a lot of the looks comes from polishing. I would not buy too much into the longevity claim. That is going to vary by the environment that the vehicle is exposed to.
From what I have tested I would recommend CarPro Cquartz, UK, Cquartz TiO2 (a little easier to use than UK), Gyeon Syncro, Gyeon CanCoat (excellent starting point but not the longest lasting), Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light + Exo combo (exo can be a little finicky but the learning curve is small). One thing to keep in mind that coatings tend to feel a little tacky. Some brands have developed a top coat to add slickness such as Syncro. You will get other recommendations but for the most part these won`t break the bank.
Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SSPost Thanks / Like - 2 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesMarine Clerk, SWETM liked this post
Atleson Detailing Service
FB - https://www.facebook.com/AtlesonDetailing/
WEB - https://sites.google.com/prod/view/a...detailing/homePost Thanks / Like - 1 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesStokdgs liked this post
Doug - hope the move is going well. If you want to make a trip north, you can see my comments in person. Its raining, my tee time was cancelled, I`m up so lots of time to post.
Anyone who reads my posts knows I use some of Garry Dean`s products (some, he has a ton now). I also don`t buy into all the coating hype, but they do provide protection as good or better than a sealant, make the car way easier to clean and honestly are not that much more difficult to apply than any other sealant. That previous statement is comparing against the two main sealants I use, Collinte and Powerlock.
The two coatings I use on my cars and would use on a customer`s car are both from Garry Dean, Force Field Pro (FFP) or his yet to be publicly released Ceramacrylix (CX) (horrible name, good product) coating line. I won`t get into the hype about either product, he does that just fine on his own. Here are my thoughts on how they stack against your criteria:
ease of use
- FFP: Applies with a finishing pad on your DA (I use Griots Black Boss pads). Even, small sections. Follow-up with the boost spray to level and wipe away. Has a full system to prep the surface if you buy into that
- CX: Applies just like a wax, recommended to use DA. Let cure for an hour (it will haze), wipe away. Will stain trim. I was shocked at how easy the removal was
price - not cheap, same ballpark as other well regarded coatings
aesthetics - I`m impressed. But lets be honest, anyone on this forum has nice looking paint regardless of the product used
product availability - only through him. But he is extremely responsive
durability - on the wheels the CX is pretty impressive. I`m very happy with how easy the cars are to clean, it is different (aka easier) than when Powerlock was on the car
longevity - TBD, ask again after the summer and better yet after the winter.
Atleson Detailing Service
FB - https://www.facebook.com/AtlesonDetailing/
WEB - https://sites.google.com/prod/view/a...detailing/home
Thanks, I`m currently sitting in the new kitchen, literally surrounded by about 2 dozen boxes. Yesterday was zero hour, so we`re all still a little groggy from the move. Nothing broken, and I have an insulated garage again, so I`m excited.
Does it ruin the pads or can it be cleaned out like a wax or sealant? I haven`t seen other coatings applied in this way.ease of use
- FFP: Applies with a finishing pad on your DA (I use Griots Black Boss pads).
- CX: Applies just like a wax, recommended to use DA. Let cure for an hour (it will haze), wipe away. Will stain trim. I was shocked at how easy the removal was
I have been looking at coatings for a while now, and I think once the house stuff settles a bit and my garage becomes navigable again, I may experiment on the house cars. My wife`s black XC90 would be a perfect test dummy.[/COLOR]
I`ve not used gyeon cancoat but from what i`ve seen price and ease of use it looks like a very very good product for someone coming from waxes and sealants.
Now from what I use that that I would say is easy to apply, I actually like 22ple HPC, and the reason is the way it hazes over when its ready to be buffed off. That to me is the difficult part of coatings, making sure you`ve buffed everything off completely, and it can be hard to tell with some coatings and paints if you missed a spot. HPC leaves a very prominent haze effect. Downside is cost, upside durability and longevity.
When I use the stuff, I have a bucket of pad cleaning solution mixed up and when I`m done with the pad or microfiber for that matter, put it in the bucket and let it sit. When it is time to clean-up, I use a PW to ensure all the product is out of the pad and let them dry. I haven`t had any problems reusing the pads.
BTW - jealous of the insulated garage
Atleson Detailing Service
FB - https://www.facebook.com/AtlesonDetailing/
WEB - https://sites.google.com/prod/view/a...detailing/home
As most know my business is mainly correction and coating work. But that doesn`t mean that every car is a coating candidate. Sometimes budget or there ability to maintain it can be a deciding factor. For instance I booked a husband and wife with 2 Lexus sedan`s the other day. They were interested in coatings but due to there living situation (condo) they cannot and don`t have the ability to properly hand wash the vehicle. I could do it for them but they are very busy so they told me they run through a touch less wash once or twice a week. So no coating for them as it`s a waste of there money. They are going to have the vehicle done 1-2 times a year with a good sealant instead.
Now for me personally my 3 personal vehicles are coated with my top shelf coating. IGL Kenzo. Having my show car/toy 06 GTO coated makes my life easier because I`m so busy with work I can spend 45min cleaning it up and it looks unreal still. Same goes for my wife`s Mazda that gets 500 miles a week on it. A good maintenance wash and it looks freshly detailed. I used to have time to lightly polish and seal my own stuff all the time. Now I`m lucky if I can give all 3 a proper maintenance wash in the same month.
IGL Authorized Coating/Kenzo Installer
Final Inspection Auto detailing- https://www.facebook.com/FinalInspection?_rdr=pPost Thanks / Like - 4 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 Dislikes
Personal opinions make for a never ending debate because there is no real answer. I’ll just state that for me, maintaining my own vehicles coating are here to stay and I’m not going back to waxed or sealants because :
1. I like the optically correct reflection of a well polished car with a coating. (No I don’t miss the warm wax look)
2. I have no time or patients to stay on top of an lsp that performs for 1/24th the time of a good coating.
3. I do not have the desire to wash an uncoated car. Nothing or very little sticks to a coated car compared to a waxed or sealed car.
Just taking care of my and the wife`s cars. Both cars are coated. I only have the energy and patience to clean 1 vehicle per weekend. The off-vehicle goes to the manual spray off car wash early on the weekend on our way to get her fancy coffee. I don`t use soap, I just rinse the car thoroughly with the wand, and then dry with my cordless leaf blower. Not touching the paint since it isn`t really clean. Only a detailer would notice that car isn`t clean, 90% of the dirt comes off in the wash bay thanks to the coating. From 5 feet away it looks great. And the next weekend that one gets detailed.
Q for you Coating Converts: Were any of you using FK1000P prior to switching to a coating?
I`m genuinely curious about any "the FK didn`t protect/last well enough, thank goodness I switched to a coating!"-type experiences. Having only coated wheels, I don`t really have basis for a worthwhile comparison.
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesThe Guz liked this post
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks