Beads Up But Doesn't Roll Off

T

TimL

New member
I recently applied Collinite 476S to my 2007 F150.

Since then it has rained a couple of times, and I've noticed that the rain water beads up, but it doesn't roll off (or blow off at 55mph). It just sits there until it evaporates.

When I used the Turtle Wax last year, the rain water would roll off...until the wax went away.



It this typical for this type of wax? Turtle Wax is the only other kind of wax that I have ever used.



Am I doing something wrong?



Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Tim
 
I find sealants allow water to roll off quicker in general, however, as long as the collinite protects from spotting and contamination it shouldn't be too much of an issue.



Try wiping it down after a wash with a spray sealant (aw, z8).
 
I've had really good luck w/ Meguiars QD for helping water roll off my car.



Give a once-over with it after every wash and you'll have nice, round, mobile beads of water.
 
gamby said:
I've had really good luck w/ Meguiars QD for helping water roll off my car.



Give a once-over with it after every wash and you'll have nice, round, mobile beads of water.
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Can that be applied over the Collinite?

I've been planing to purchase something to spray on after washings, and between wax jobs.
 
i have been using collinite 845 since 1973. it gives me very tight beads and flies off the finish. FWIW. :secret
 
not noticed 476 being particularly good or bad in my experience...Opti Seal stands out as having superb roll-off, with cars almost being self-drying once rain stops.
 
how was your prep work prior to applying Collinite? I found that water that beads up rolls off easily if its been clayed where as LSP's thats just applied to a decent surface takes awhile to roll off even at speed.
 
robert said:
how was your prep work prior to applying Collinite? I found that water that beads up rolls off easily if its been clayed where as LSP's thats just applied to a decent surface takes awhile to roll off even at speed.
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Agree. I think if paint is not prepped correctly, just applying an LSP won't do much for gloss and certaintly not for durability. There could be too much surface tension(too much contamination) on your paint to allow the water to easily flow off the car.
 
I'm not auto detailer, but I find it hard to believe that the entire vehicle needs to be clayed before waxing in order for the wax to work.

When I used the Turtle Wax it beaded up and rolled off just fine, no clay, just a good washing. I just wasn't happy with how long it lasted.

The water isn't rolling off the 476S at all. It just sits there and evaporates.
 
i've never used it, but you might get a little more durabilty out of the TW if the paint was clayed as well as polished. Always, proper prep will give you better results. There are no short cuts.
 
Definitely go with the clay and then 476. The water should bead and fly off. Even if you only clayed it the water should still bead pretty well but with the 476 on top of a freshly clayed surface it should work perfectly.
 
The beads roll off my 476S, but not quite as readily as with some other LSPs. I'd rank the 476S as much better than average though.



I agree with the prep comments. The smoother the surface that the 476S is on, the better the beads will roll off. Using a pseudo-spitshine technique (spritz a *tiny* bit of cool/cold water/QD on the panel before applying the wax, work it until the "spit" disappears) can help too.



See how spherical the beads are; ideally you want little balls of water that are barely flat at *only* the point where they contact the paint.



And yeah, try a leaves-stuff-behind QD. I prefer Griot's SpeedShine or FK425.
 
I recently purchased some DP Final Gloss Quick Detailer.

My plan was to use the 476S as a base, and then use the DP while drying after each wash.

Is there any chance that I didn't effectively remove the Collinite after applying it?
 
TimL said:
Is there any chance that I didn't effectively remove the Collinite after applying it?
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I doubt it. If you don't get all the 476S off you either have the regular wax-residue or else you get "pseudo holograms". In either case it'll look pretty obvious (and pretty awful :D ) in the right light....I think you woulda noticed.



Same ol' same ol' just gotta clay and then polish polish polish before you apply the wax if you want the best possible results (including those fly-away beads).
 
I just washed my truck. I live about two miles from the coin car wash, so I usually drive home with the truck wet, and dry it off when I get home. When I hit about 40mph the beaded water started rolling off, just like it's supposed to.

One of the techs at Autogeek.net told me that it's not uncommon for the Collinite products to bead up and hang on when they're first applied, and to wait and see what happens after a couple of washes.



Here's my theory on what happened.

First, I think I didn't remove the wax from the truck's hood as well as I should have. By the time I got to the hood it was getting late, and I noticed that the air was beginning to feel a little damp, and the wax was getting hard to remove. When I was drying the truck today I had to clean some residual wax off the front bumper, which I waxed right after I did the hood.

I think the reason I didn't notice any hologram effect is that the truck went right back into the garage until I drove it to work.

Second, there's a gravel parking lot across the street from where I work, and there has been allot of pollen here in western Michigan.

I think the dirt and pollen were sitting on top of all that wax, and there was no way it was going to let the rain water run off.

If my theory is correct, the next time it rains the water should start rolling off by the time I reach expressway speeds.

I'll let you know.



Next Spring I think I'll clay the truck before I wax.



Thanks for the advice.

Tim
 
TimL- OK, cool...sounds like all is well and that you figured out what was happening. Interesting that it's not uncommon for Collinite to do this; heh heh IMO that says more about the people using it than it does about the wax itself :D



Yeah...it's easy to start cutting corners a little towards the end of a detail, especially when you're running out of time.



And yeah, a quick claying is a good part of a spring cleanup.



Keep an eye on things, and try refreshing the Collinite with a little gentle claying (e.g., with Sonus green) as soon as you notice the beading changing. Maybe you could do one/two panels at a time after each of a few washes, that way it'll never be a huge job.
 
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