View Poll Results: Do you use a topper?

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  • Yes

    21 61.76%
  • No

    10 29.41%
  • Only when the coating is curing

    0 0%
  • If I’m topping with a sealant, why not just use a sealant

    3 8.82%
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  1. #31
    BudgetPlan1's Avatar
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Quote Originally Posted by bad penny View Post
    I`m familiar with customers like you. They eventually burn out. It`s usually grandchildren that change their priorities which I`ve always found odd.

    Enjoy while you still do...
    I think it may be more of an evolution of auto interests for me; these days I`d much rather spend a weekend doing this:
    Do you use a topper on your coating?-cayman_drive.jpg

    ...as opposed to doing this:
    Do you use a topper on your coating?-cayman_detail.jpg

    I`ve also kinda reached a point where I`m quite satisfied w/ the products and methods I use (which does include toppers) hence the "Chasing of Unicorns" is no longer a priority, no longer a need to squeeze out an extra measure of gloss or protection as over the last 6 years, I`m quite pleased with what I`ve `found` for my needs. And one thing I`ve found is that for my daily driver, the best way to go moving forward is post-Winter decon followed by an application or 2 of Gyeon CanCoat w/ occasional toppers for fun, another application or 2 of CanCoat in the fall and a polish when needed. A full on multi-year coating just isn`t worth it for this car that will turn a multi-year coating into a 2 year max coating w/ 20k annual miles of freeway use and limited maintenance due to it being the `red-headed stepchild` of our `fleet`, last in line to be taken care of. With 4 cars, I can only work up the motivation to fastidiously keep 3 on the maintenance `front-burner`.

    As to the topic at hand, PPF brings another variable into the equation, perhaps one that lends more credence to the use of such products. A coating on top of PPF does have some benefit in my mind, with the PPF taking care of possible physical damage and the coating on top dealing with any possible environmental incidents. Now I`m not all that comfortable w/ polishing PPF at this point so with those 2 cars, an extra-protection/sacrificial layering approach is mentally re-assuring and given that coatings have somewhat of a shorter longevity on PPF than they do on bare paint, a little extra can`t hurt in my mind. Although the STEK Dynoshield on the Corvette has a hydrophobic topcoat built in and the self-healing capabilities are helpful in reducing the need to polish, I may vey well get to the point after a few years where the `topper` is doing most of the heavy lifting after the coating fades. It`s still something I have to get a handle on being only our 3rd season with PPF but given the seasonal use and limited mileage our PPF`d cars see (10k miles a year, no Winter, always garaged) I could see getting to a point where the `topper` is the primary protection/self-cleaning medium of those cars. Only time will tell.
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  2. #32

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    A little late to the party, but I`m in the, "no topper" camp.

    Have I used toppers? Yes I have. If they come with a kit (i.e. CanCoat and Cure) or I get random samples with a purchase of other products I`ll use them for entertainment/educational purposes, but I don`t go out of my way to purchase or use them. When I do use them I`ll just limit it to one of our family cars just to watch the results.

    Except for Cure, I`ve never really seen any improvement from using a topper and even with Cure it was purely cosmetic. I keep a bottle of Ech2O at QD dilution on hand to remove random post-wash water spots or other random spots but that`s the closest I ever get to a topper.

    I got into coatings for long term durability and ease of maintaining our vehicles. I`ll put up with the added application time since it saves me lots of time when it comes to washing and not having to apply an LSP every six months in the long run. I really like they way they behave and the look they impart on the vehicle, I have no need reason to use a topper.
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  3. #33

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    I`m in the no topping camp. Anything you put on top can potentially interfere with the coating`s ability to shed dirt.

    Opti-Coat Pro applied in July 2017. Wash an average of 2-3 times a month. So probably 100-120 ONR washes since applied. Nearly 280,000 miles, has sat outside 24/7 since I bought it in 2011.

    www.scottwax.com

    Certified Opti-Coat Pro/Pro 3 installer
    Likes Cadfael, dgage, DetailZeus, Caraman liked this post

  4. #34

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    I enjoy a topper, I tend switch it up Overcoat, PA high gloss, PA Cosmic spritz. Kinda therapy at times an visual appearance on my own vehicles.

  5. #35

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    I purchased a new VW Tiguan back in November, and slapped on a cheap ceramic coating that I purchased from Amazon to get me through the Wisconsin winter.

    Since the weather warmed up, I`ve been testing different toppers with the ceramic base. The ceramic manufacturer doesn`t offer one, so I`ve been reading reviews and testing them on the hood.

    The good news: in direct sun, the hood looks great. The Metallic Platinum paint really "sparkles" - and water beading is outstanding.

    The bad news: at dawn/dusk, I can see some streaks on the hood from one (or more) of the toppers I tested. They don`t wipe off, so I assume I`ve applied something on top that has sealed in whatever caused the streaks.

    Since VW has hard paint, I`m going to polish off the coating and start over on the hood.

    My take: toppers are OK - but use in moderation.
    Likes Cadfael, atbalfour liked this post

  6. #36

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    And now my follow-up question:

    Since the VW has hard paint, what`s the best polish/pad combo to remove the existing coating and any toppers?

    I`m not too worried about thinning the clear on the vehicle with my PC, so I`m wanting to be able to strip everything (with little/no marring) in as few passes as possible.

  7. #37
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mical View Post
    And now my follow-up question:

    Since the VW has hard paint, what`s the best polish/pad combo to remove the existing coating and any toppers?

    I`m not too worried about thinning the clear on the vehicle with my PC, so I`m wanting to be able to strip everything (with little/no marring) in as few passes as possible.
    If your removing defects your removing coating.
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  8. #38

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Guz View Post
    If your removing defects your removing coating.
    The defect I`m looking to remove is streaking from a topper - on top of a ceramic coating, and on top of the paint.

    I don`t know of a good way to just polish down the toppers and get the streaks removed without removing some of the coating.

    My plan is to completely remove the existing hood coating and re-do the coating from scratch.

  9. #39
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mical View Post
    The defect I`m looking to remove is streaking from a topper - on top of a ceramic coating, and on top of the paint.

    I don`t know of a good way to just polish down the toppers and get the streaks removed without removing some of the coating.

    My plan is to completely remove the existing hood coating and re-do the coating from scratch.
    There isn’t much option. Anything abrasive will remove everything including the coating.

    If you couldn’t level out the existing streaks with the same product well your going to have to live with it until it goes away on its own.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
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  10. #40
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    I use Extremes Solution`s Topper for therapeutical purposes

  11. #41
    William_Wallace's Avatar
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Shout out to those that are able to not top a coating. I always start out in this camp but can only resist for so long then I’m top.
    Likes Mical, BudgetPlan1 liked this post

  12. #42

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    I use toppers and skip the coating
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  13. #43

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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scottwax View Post
    I`m in the no topping camp. Anything you put on top can potentially interfere with the coating`s ability to shed dirt.

    Opti-Coat Pro applied in July 2017. Wash an average of 2-3 times a month. So probably 100-120 ONR washes since applied. Nearly 280,000 miles, has sat outside 24/7 since I bought it in 2011.

    Wow! How`d you keep the trim so black?
    Likes Scottwax liked this post

  14. #44
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Toppers for me! Most situations where I`m washing outside, I would want something anyways to help clean up some spots that dried up before I could get to them. Not only that, the mist overspray from the pressure washer just rinsing around the paint dries up quickly during the middle of the wash, this eventually builds up to a point to where it`s greatly sapping slickness (whatever slickness is left after coating), and eventually hydrophobic performance at 6+ months old out of the coating depending on what coating I used. The topper combats against this, cleaning up those spots for maintenance and keeping everything happy.

    I think sometimes you just have to get lucky with the compatibility between your paint, the coating, and the topper you`re using. No doubt Bead Maker remains a phenomenal option for me that has played extremely well with every healthy coating I`ve used it on. It remains my preferred drying aid option for the mere fact that I can mist this liberally over the entire side of the paint after blowing dry, then wipe it down with a very low tendency to streak compared to other heavier options. It retains perfect hydrophobic performance of the original healthy coating, or even boosting some of them (despite its below average standalone beading performance), it tackles through some of that dried up hard water contamination improving slickness and providing a very satisfying wash experience in the process. Everything that I want out of a topper that`s not too heavy to mess with what the coating is doing during the next wash.

    If I was seeing a significant clogging effect out of the toppers that would reduce the coating`s performance to a significant level, then I would have a different perspective that would be more hands off, or at most using a very light detailer for touchups (think Meguiar`s red Quik Detailer). I still believe paint type can have a very large impact on compatibility between products, this would explain why so many guys using the same coatings and toppers are running into drastic performance differences over time (aside from environment and driving conditions). But for me, the coating provides the durable hydrophobic base, it provides the best protection against oxidation and sun damage that I`ve observed in Florida against a compromised paint system in areas that weren`t coated, and so I want to combine that protection and durability without removing the fun and satisfaction of working regularly with toppers after routine washes.

    Bead Maker`s ability to wipe cleanly for me highlights one of the biggest issues for the newest batch of products being released by companies that guys will eventually try to use as toppers. This quest for chemical resistance dominance out of spray sealants forces companies to come out with heavier sprays that don`t wipe cleanly, making them poor options for drying aid maintenance or working in more hot/humid climates, and the heavy formulas end up covering over coatings more aggressively which probably leads to faster clogging.
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  15. #45
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    Re: Do you use a topper on your coating?

    Quote Originally Posted by DetailZeus View Post
    I use toppers and skip the coating
    this is hilarious

 

 
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