PANEL WIPES

Dan said:
Glad to hear someone else came to the same conclusion. AIO+Spray Wax/Sealant/"Ceramic" will keep your paint as nice or better than a coating left alone. The worst are the ceramics that demand toppers. WHAT A JOKE. Send me a $100 and I will apply that ceramic via zoom call, then use your topper. You'll get the same results!
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So if I put an AIO on my paint first. Then top it with COLLINITE 845. That is better than an expensive ceramic coating.
 
I did the "only spraywax" with on my wife's A8 for its last few years, and I'm currently using GG Ceramic 3-in-1 spray on the Sonic.

That approach is OK, and I don't expect durability from it, but it does *NOT* offer the protection of my beloved FK1000P/BWM1 (or whatever it's now called) which has never allowed any etching of the clear even when bugs/birdbombs were left on for months. Yeah, the sprays deliver good looks, easy enough cleanup if I keep applying at every wash, and yeah they're convenient...but inferior IME in the functional sense with regard to protection from etching and that "easy enough" cleanup is starting to get old compared to how the FK is.

I do appreciate the UV protection of OCW, and I've been using it on the lenses of all my vehicles for years now. Hey, I might as well use it, my gallon will last forever now that the A8 is gone.

I do find it interesting that the coatings (which I haven't used since the v1.0 OptiCoat) apparently aren't offering stellar protection.

Do any of the coatings offer the kind of years-long durability that the OptiCoat v1.0 did? I might pay a local pro to coat some of my wheels if I knew the stuff would last for a few years, but otherwise...
 
Bull6791 said:
So if I put an AIO on my paint first. Then top it with COLLINITE 845. That is better than an expensive ceramic coating.
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Better, it depends. If you maintain the Collinite regularly. maybe. Once a month would be ideal. That's the challenge though and where good quality spray waxes and sealants come in. I posted this in another thread, when I was used car shopping, I saw a few cars that had ceramic coatings come up in their carfax. I couldn't tell, maybe if I washed them I might notice water beading if the coating was still there?

A coating isn't even a micron thick, its not going to make your paint impenetrable. Bird poop can etch right down to primer, do you really think something in a $100 bottle is tougher than what they paint a car with?

Honestly, I don't have all the answers, but one thing I know for sure, frequent washing and putting a sacrifical coating on top of the paint regularly keeps it pristine.

In the context of someone that doesn't maintain their car, the coating may be a good option.
 
"Better than a ceramic coating" to me means "doesn't look like a coating". Same criticism I had with Zaino and KSG. It's a specific look that some must love, and OK, to each their own and I'm glad the users like it.

Bull6791- 845 is good enough for me to keep on the shelf, but overall I prefer their 476S, which lasts longer and, on most paints looks better *to me*. The 845 is a lo0t easier though, not that the 476S is tough. Just throwing it out there...
 
So what do people like better put COLLINITE 845 on by itself of or put AIO down first then top with 845. If anyone has another suggestion that they think are good. I am open to suggestions. Thanks.
 
Accumulator, you bring up a great point, traditional waxes absolutely look better on certain finishes, especially on less than perfect paint!
 
The guys on this site have more years of experience than I do. That is why I was asking for suggestions. COLLINITE 845 by itself or AIO then top with 845 or something else. Thanks.
 
An AIO and 845 do different things. An AIO is a time-saving one step that corrects and protects. 845 is a pure wax/sealant that does not correct. If your finish needs correction, and you have an LSP in mind, I would not use an AIO and top it with 845 PERSONALLY. I would use an appropriate polish and then use 845. Bull, I feel like we've been through this already buddy :)
 
Bull6791 said:
the car is brand new. Less than a year old. I could always try COLLINITE 476.
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I don't consider anything band new that is over 2-3 months old unless it simply hasn't been driven. As soon as you start driving it we are introducing the elements and bird bombs, bug splatter, dirt, etc...

So I would be putting something on asap.
 
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Bull6791 said:
The guys on this site have more years of experience than I do. That is why I was asking for suggestions. COLLINITE 845 by itself or AIO then top with 845 or something else. Thanks.
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I agree with TGates ^. An AIO is a time-saving one-step that Cleans / Corrects and protects.

If planning on using a Panel Wipe then I wouldn't be using an AIO; since the point of the AIO is to leave protection and using a Panel wipe would be undoing some of the work.

Also if "stacking" protection products you want to use the most durable as the base. If you use a wax that lasts 2 weeks but then want to put a long term sealant (6-month) on top you are not going to "stack" the durability and will most likely get less than you expect. Mostly because the bottom product will wear away taking the long product along with it.




I say use the 845 if you have it and go from there.
 
I'm always surprised when somebody says that using something short-lived underneath the LSP will compromise the durability of the latter. That simply has not been my experience...not with M07 + M16 (which I used for ages), not with VM (remember that one?) topped with Collinite, not with KAIO topped with anything...not ever and I've been using the approach since the '70s. Even when the underlying product was so dead that "all the concealed marring came back", the actual LSP was still in great shape with zero indication of degradation.

Yes, I found it counterintuitive. And sure, YMMV, so I'm not saying it can't happen. But it's never happened to me.
 
Bull7191- If using 845 by itself gives the result you're after, that's the way to go! No point in doing something that's not necessary. There's sure nothing wrong with 845, it's like a more durable version of P21S or a user- and trim-friendly version of M16.
 
I stuck my head in my local Ollie's hoping for some One and Done, none found but wow did they have a lot of Mothers Panel Wipe. $5.99 for I think a 28oz bottle. At half that I might have tried it....
 
OK, Accumulator, I had to go to the 2010 Acronym Decoder thread to find out what "VM" stood for: The now-defunct Clearkote Vanilla Moose wax.
The Detail Supply Warehouse has taken over the original formulas and production for some of the ClearKote products.
As far as a panel wipe cleaner, I use Optimum's Panel Prep. Optimum Polymer Technology founder Dr. David Dhossoui developed Kleen-Strip's Prep Sol in his first job coming out of college that is highly acclaimed and used in auto paint-&-body shops, so I assume his own OPT Panel Prep is very similar.
 
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Lonnie- Heh heh, we're really dredging up the old products here! Prep Sol, Pre Kleano, yeah used 'em both back in the '70s, but didn't know he was the guy who came up with the former or that anybody was still making the ClearKote stuff, so thanks for the trivia :)
 
Accumulator said:
Lonnie- Heh heh, we're really dredging up the old products here! Prep Sol, Pre Kleano, yeah used 'em both back in the '70s, but didn't know he was the guy who came up with the former or that anybody was still making the ClearKote stuff, so thanks for the trivia :)
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I don't think Lonnie meant Prep-Sol, which is/was a DuPont product, he was referring to Klean-Strip Prep-All that Dr. G formulated when he worked at Klean-Strip briefly between PPG and starting OPT.
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Lonnie said:
The Detail Supply Warehouse has taken over the original formulas and production for some of the ClearKote products.
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I can't find anything here https://detailsupplywhse.com/ that resembles a Clearkote product--is that the place?

Lonnie said:
As far as a panel wipe cleaner, I use Optimum's Panel Prep. Optimum Polymer Technology founder Dr. David Dhossoui developed Kleen-Strip's Prep Sol in his first job coming out of college that is highly acclaimed and used in auto paint-&-body shops, so I assume his own OPT Panel Prep is very similar.
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I don't think there is any similarity there--Prep-All is a petroleum distillate product, while the Optimum Paint Prep is propanol-based (IPA & propyl alcohol).
 
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