William_Wallace
New member
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.
Do you use a topper on your coating?
- Thread starter Cadfael
- Start date
DetailZeus
New member
I use toppers and skip the coating 
Wow! How`d you keep the trim so black?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.
Loach
New member
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.
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.
William_Wallace
New member
I use toppers and skip the coating
this is hilarious
acuRAS82
New member
The Guz is probably right, it usually works out that way.
But if you had any coating prep polish on hand you could try applying that lightly (no pressure, it’s non-abrasive) to see if it removes topper streaking. If the streaks are from a strong topper or the coating itself, I doubt they will go away but it could be worth a try. These should not have noticeable, negative impact on the coating itself. But I use coating prep polish fairly often, if you are only buying it to try removing the streaks and it doesn’t work out, don’t yell at me.
I had done a quick claying prior to laying down the initial ceramic coating. I decided that I would strip the coating from the hood and "start over" the right way for the hood.
Wash with CG Honeydew snow foam
Clay mitt
Machine polish with Meguiars Ultimate Polish
Clean off residue with Hydrosilex Rewind
Final polish with Carpro Essence
303 Graphene spray application
The streaks are gone, the hood is shiny and hydrophobic.
Of course, now I have a ceramic coating (with a claimed 3-year durability) on almost all of the car, with one-year durability for the graphene on the hood.
I figure that I`ll evaluate through next spring. If I like the graphene, I`ll do a real polish on the rest of the car to remove the ceramic - then apply graphene to get 12 months of protection.
If I don`t like the 303 Graphene, I`ll do a real polish to remove the ceramic - and use whatever ceramic (CQuartz UK 3.0?) is getting good reviews at that time to re-coat.
Of course, now I`m looking at that tube of Gyeon Q2 Wax in my box and wondering, "What happens if you put a wax topper with fluorine on top of a graphene-infused coating?"
Wash with CG Honeydew snow foam
Clay mitt
Machine polish with Meguiars Ultimate Polish
Clean off residue with Hydrosilex Rewind
Final polish with Carpro Essence
303 Graphene spray application
The streaks are gone, the hood is shiny and hydrophobic.
Of course, now I have a ceramic coating (with a claimed 3-year durability) on almost all of the car, with one-year durability for the graphene on the hood.
I figure that I`ll evaluate through next spring. If I like the graphene, I`ll do a real polish on the rest of the car to remove the ceramic - then apply graphene to get 12 months of protection.
If I don`t like the 303 Graphene, I`ll do a real polish to remove the ceramic - and use whatever ceramic (CQuartz UK 3.0?) is getting good reviews at that time to re-coat.
Of course, now I`m looking at that tube of Gyeon Q2 Wax in my box and wondering, "What happens if you put a wax topper with fluorine on top of a graphene-infused coating?"
Coatings=crack
Active member
You’ll get alot better beading i’m thinking. Haven’t seen a pic yet of 303 graphene beads anywhere near the contact angle of a true coating.
Although short lived Gyeon wax makes some tall beads... don’t roll of the car as easy though.
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Coated that too. Around the windows, that`s from a vinyl blackout kit. Needs to be redone, the vinyl unfortunately isn`t the same quality as the stuff pros use and isn`t early as durable.