The OFFICIAL Duragloss Enviroshild review thread, everyone!

[Marc Hufnagel]

That's not very durable if claying could/will kill it. Hmm.

 

[Klasse Act]

Roger......think about it for a second. IMHO claying is abrading so if you clay you could be removing the coating....just as you could paint (clear coat).

not saying that's why DG says not to clay....but just my thoughts.

I can understand your desire to have super smooth paint and the need to clay every so often....

just throwing out there my perspective, when you coat do you leave it alone? Maybe we should.....but then again we are fanatics about clean, glossy, and smooth paint that we have to do something.

Your right Dad, I do like my paint to be well maintained for sure. I've only used my Speedy Prep towel (fine grade) about every 4-6 weeks to maintain the finish, so before I re-applied after 2 monthes I'd say I wiped about 3x's but keep in mind this towel is the least aggressive too. I also applied about 3x's AW before I re-applied after 2 monthes of not touching it again.

All this said, I was told by Bill to NOT touch it with anything for 6 monthes and I didn't listen to that advice. I guess I didn't think that using AW would hurt a paint coating and a simple wipe with a fine grade towel.

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[conman1395]

That's not very durable if claying could/will kill it. Hmm.

Claying is an abrasive process. Also, clay's purpose is to remove contamination that cannot otherwise be removed through normal washings.

 

[Klasse Act]

Claying is an abrasive process. Also, clay's purpose is to remove contamination that cannot otherwise be removed through normal washings.

I agree with Hellspawn and yeah, claying does remove the grit and it needs to "dig down in there" but for something that's supposed to last 2 years you'd think it would handle claying, especially when a lot of clay lube is used which is the case for most of us. In my case the fine grade Speedy Prep towel is probably less aggressive than your average clay bar.

This not touching the car for, well, forever (2 years is forever for me!) is just not for me I guess. I will use the DGNCC again for sure but on my own car I'm just going back to what I used to do and that's always having a freshly waxed car. That said, I may do a real good cleaning/prep before winter and apply the DGNCC to take me through winter, we'll see.

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[MLee]

Every time I start thinking maybe it's time to do something, try a different product, to my car that has DGNCC on it since April it rains and reminds me I don't need to. Good thing I have another car to use as a test bed and to get my detailing fix from on a regular basis. If not I'd be like Klasse and have to do something, anything to it. Not sure what I did right compared to some others with less than acceptable results, but it's working for me.

 

[Klasse Act]

Every time I start thinking maybe it's time to do something, try a different product, to my car that has DGNCC on it since April it rains and reminds me I don't need to. Good thing I have another car to use as a test bed and to get my detailing fix from on a regular basis. If not I'd be like Klasse and have to do something, anything to it. Not sure what I did right compared to some others with less than acceptable results, but it's working for me.

I can't deny anything here MLee, your spot on but the only thing that would concern me is the "grit" left over after monthes and monthes of time. Even washing 3-4 times a week will not keep the grit from getting on the paints surface. Now that said, if that's not an issue for some, well, maybe the paint coating is for you and I'm not "throwing in the towel", pardon the pun, on DGNCC quiite yet.

What I really need to do is my winter detail including a Speedy Prep towel wipe, then SQ and a good, thick single coat and let it ride. The underground garage we have isn't heated but its warm enough to wash and that's it, so there's NO chance of layering anything on it, including AW. All I know is this, when I laid down that 4th coat after 2 monthes the gloss looked awesome and it really stood out, this told me without a doubt it had lessened and all I did after and during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd coat of DGNCC was use DG AW and a couple maintence Speedy Prep wipes, usually the beginning of each month.

Time will tell and much has been learned already, let's keep the info coming guys!

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[Brodizzle83]

Some more great info! I think I will test the hell out of this stuff...apply 2 coats (24hrs between coats) and let 'er buck. Especially over the winter. I'll wash it, of course, but with a no-heated garage, I'll have to wash it at a local wash and hopefully will not get too dirty when I drive a few blocks home. I do have a wood stove in the garage but I dont know if I trust it...could bevery scary if things go terribly wrong.

 

[Klasse Act]

Some more great info! I think I will test the hell out of this stuff...apply 2 coats (24hrs between coats) and let 'er buck. Especially over the winter. I'll wash it, of course, but with a no-heated garage, I'll have to wash it at a local wash and hopefully will not get too dirty when I drive a few blocks home. I do have a wood stove in the garage but I dont know if I trust it...could bevery scary if things go terribly wrong.

I'd fire it up, pardon the pun because you could do a good rinseless out there....wait, doesn't it get so cold in MN that the flames would freeze anyways, LOL!

It would be easier for me to let the DGNCC "ride" during the winter time, I think I've made up my mind, come late Oct I'm going to do a good clean up and apply the coating once again.

 

[cardaddy]

Saw the mention of claying / not claying / slick / not slick and thought I might interject something.

Last weekend my daughter (and hubby) came down with her new Sportage that we (more like she) did the coating on right after my back surgery in April. Her and CarMomma (with my supervision) did a 2-step buff (she had just bought the vehicle and didn't let the dealership even wash it) then did the first coat (and a half) of DG on it that evening. It was gone over top to bottom, hitting everything using the CarPro applicator/suede cloth method AT LEAST twice. Then a few days later she came down and did another coat.

Last weekend she came down and told me her paint looked horrible. She was wondering if the coating had gotten wet too soon or something. (But from what DG says you can wash it just 3 hours later.) :dunno: It didn't rain on the vehicle until a good 36~40 hours after the first application had been put on.

When I went outside to check it out the entire hood looked like it had huge water spots on it, some even had that multi-color rainbow look to it like when a coating is "flashing". The thing is, these spots were not your typical water spot size, more like the smallest ones were at least ½" with ¾" up to 1½" splotches all over the place. I mean it was BAD!!!!!

Did a wash with DG902 in the foam gun (didn't drag out the PW for the cannon) followed by a blot dry to get a better look and nothing changed. Tried some different rinseless wash media with a wipe (D114, ONR, ONRWW) nothing changed.


Did the hand (and baggie) test and it was all smooth, but decided what the heck, and tried a test area with Nanoskin, another with clay, STILL DIDN'T CHANGE!

Finally, just for snits-n-giggles we tried some DG-AW, Megs 156, even some Megs 135. All they did was make it look worse! Didn't change the splotches and rainbow effect, just made the surface look smeared.

Went back over it with some clay, didn't help.

Finally I pulled out a 4" blue LC finishing pad with some Menzerna Sealing Wax and did a test area by hand and WHAM it cleared it up. Told my son-in-law that he could take that pad and GENTLY go over the vehicle and this would be better, just that I wasn't going to do it. He started with the 4" pad and did one area on the hood and was really liking it. Finally I broke down and put a 5½" flat blue pad on the GG6 and told him if he would be CAREFUL, and do it like I showed him that he could fix it easier, and do the entire truck. He jumped right on it! :dblthumb2:

Sure enough, I got him trained on the hood (had to get him to stop holding the GG6 like a gorilla). Once I got him to finesse' it he really started doing good. Next I dragged out the Werner platform and put him to work on the roof, told him to work from the top down. Fast forward a couple hours and sure enough, he had it looking good all over. AGAIN!

Thing is, I'm not happy with how that coating looked. Did the little bit of blue pad and Menz Sealing Wax remove it all?
Hopefully not, but it sure as heck couldn't stay like it was. :nomore:
I'm thinking what we'll end up doing is putting good ol' fashion sealant on her and calling it a day. That way we can hit it twice a year and be done with it.


It is worth noting that they don't have a garage, (newly weds) living in an rental house/apartment. Still don't think the coating should do that though. It's on CarMomma's Denali and she parks outside all day at work, drives in all weather, and it'll go weeks not getting washed. And NO her truck hasn't had any such failure. :dunno:

(Sorry for no photo's, only got 3 of one area on my cell phone. Perhaps I can do a reply and get one to UL from there.)

 

[Klasse Act]

Cardaddy, glad you guys got the finish looking better but this post need to be forwarded to Bill @ Duragloss for sure. I'd love to hear what he has to say, others could benefit from this!

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[jmsc]

What did you use for the 2-step buff?

I was told to use the mf appl side of the pad that came with the kit to apply the DG coating. Why did you use a suede cloth?

 

[cardaddy]

Cardaddy, glad you guys got the finish looking better but this post need to be forwarded to Bill @ Duragloss for sure. I'd love to hear what he has to say, others could benefit from this!

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Good idea!:xyxthumbs:
I'll see about getting it over to Bill. I'm sure he'll have a reply.

What did you use for the 2-step buff?

I was told to use the mf appl side of the pad that came with the kit to apply the DG coating. Why did you use a suede cloth?

We used (or I should say THEY used as I'd just had back surgery 3 days earlier and couldn't really do anything other than the test spots on the hood then show them how to proceed) Meguiar's D300 followed by Menzerna SF4000. Then we did panel wipes with the combo of Megs 114 / 22% alcohol solution (as has been done by Mike P. as well as Meguiar's) followed that with Duragloss Squeaky Clean.

Why did we use the suede cloth? Simply put, it's what we use for all manner of coatings, started with CQuartz. Moreover, I really REALLY don't trust generic foam applicators on freshly polished paint. When looking/feeling the DG applicator I'm not sold on the "rough" side as being safe, especially on soft paint.

As for the suede applicator; We find it much easier to apply with it, and it puts down nice even layers that tend not to have the high spots you'll end up with when using the foam applicators. That and the foam applicators absorb quite a bit of product, product that you'll never get back later, (just stays in the applicator). To that end, we've never had a problem with application of coatings using this method. (In 4 DG applications this is the first (so far) that's had this problem.)

I've sent an e-mail today to Bill@Duragloss and will see what his response is, as well as notify you all.

 

[Klasse Act]

Just thinking outloud here, wonder if some "tweaks" are in order for the DGNCC?

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[The Critic]

Well, with proper prep, the DGNCC is said to last up to 2 years! Its easy to apply and the initial gloss is insane! Even if you get high spots you can buff them on the spot or do what I do, wait till the next day when it cures!

I may have had to re-apply to keep the look I liked but I'm sure durability was still there!

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I have a very hard time believing that any car that was one-stepped with M101 would look very good after polishing. Either Duragloss's coating has some serious filling capabilities, or your standard of "looking insane" is not in the same ballpark as mine.

 

[jmsc]

I really look forward to a reply from DG TS. I used Enviroshield in April and did not experience problems anywhere close to what you have. Using SQC on the last step prior should have cleaned up any leftovers, oils from the buff.

Also, the recommendation to me to use the MF appl came from DG's Technical Support staff.

 

[Klasse Act]

I have a very hard time believing that any car that was one-stepped with M101 would look very good after polishing. Either Duragloss's coating has some serious filling capabilities, or your standard of "looking insane" is not in the same ballpark as mine.

FWIW my car was fairly new when I got it and had minor swirls, so it didn't need a whole lot to make right. Other people have commented on how M101 is "LSP ready", so its surely not just mesaying this.

I wouldn't expect anyone to believe 100% of what anyone says about how great their car looks but I can honestly say that every metallic spec comes out in my paint and my car looks awesome, just sayin'.

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[The Critic]

FWIW my car was fairly new when I got it and had minor swirls, so it didn't need a whole lot to make right. Other people have commented on how M101 is "LSP ready", so its surely not just mesaying this.

I wouldn't expect anyone to believe 100% of what anyone says about how great their car looks but I can honestly say that every metallic spec comes out in my paint and my car looks awesome, just sayin'.

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What you said makes no sense - unless FIAT paint is extremely hard. Even then I'm skeptical.

If you only had minor defects, why would you be using M101 to remove them?

The skill level of people on this site are all across the board, and a lot of these claims should be very carefully reviewed. I suspect that many people on this site do not even own the proper lights to check their finishes for haze and defects.

This isn't a situation of "believe," it's a story that just doesn't add up.

 

[Klasse Act]

-I have NO lights to check anything (other than my Brinkmann)

-My car is a DD, so its never going to be perfect but I was happy with how car finished out

-There are many people on this site more skilled and knowlegeable than I am for sure

-My car had minor swirls, I polished them out using M101 and my GG6" set to speed 4.5 and an orange GG foam pad. I then re-washed the car, hand applied DG SQ and applied a coat of DGNCC. I applied a 2nd coat when it warmer at a later date, then a 3rd coat when we had our first 80 degree day. Fast forward 2 monthes and after a rinsless wash I added a 4th coat and really noticed a difference in gloss being restored, no swirls in the paint at that point.

I have no close-ups of the paint, or the fancy lights the pros have but I know what I'm looking at and my car looks great:

I've said what I did to prep the car for DGNCC as well as what I maintained it with also, not sure where all this is coming from but I achieved what I wanted to to my DD.

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[KillaCam]

What you said makes no sense - unless FIAT paint is extremely hard. Even then I'm skeptical.



If you only had minor defects, why would you be using M101 to remove them?



The skill level of people on this site are all across the board, and a lot of these claims should be very carefully reviewed. I suspect that many people on this site do not even own the proper lights to check their finishes for haze and defects.



This isn't a situation of "believe," it's a story that just doesn't add up.

Strong username to post content ratio.

 

[cardaddy]

OK, as we figured, Bill from Duragloss contacted me today. So far there really doesn't seem to be an answer to what happened, or why. :dunno: Bill did suggest that when you see any rainbow(ish) patterns that it typically means there is too much product on the surface. Mainly as I'd mentioned seeing something similar in my post, but after discussing it, and as you'll see in the photos, this IS NOT the case of too much product.

We did discuss my using (my preferred method) the suede microfiber applicator rather than the one included in the (Duragloss) kit. Bill agreed that my method is indeed better than the (included) applicator and in fact they included it so that people that didn't have any other method would have a way to apply the product.

Along those lines, we also discussed how MUCH product to apply. (Remember he'd suggested earlier that it may be too thick.) Being as my daughter did most of the application back in April (it was only 3 days after my back surgery) it may have been that she put too much on. He asked how much product was left in the bottle, to which where he was heading was that you shouldn't use more than "about an ounce". I told him that we'd used some before (out of that bottle) on another vehicle, and with the suede applicator we really don't use much.

But to address a second coat. (Or third, or fourth as some here have been talking about.) In their testing, they don't recommend AT ALL that anyone do more than one coat. From there it should be durable and stay on the surface for at least a year. Bill also reiterated that one shouldn't top the coating at any time as it would just degrade the performance. Just do normal washing and cleaning with their products and call it a day.

The KEY is to do REGULAR WASHING! Something that all too many owners, including my daughter just don't do. There are many variables and not having a garage is one that surely comes into play.

Finally, we discussed whether or not there might be any coating left after the ever so slight buffing that was done a week ago. As I suspected, (and he confirmed) it's all gone now.

Now I just need to get her back down here so we can put another layer on. Although I suggested to my son in law that he put a layer of sealant on it the day they left.


The one thing that did come from my conversation with Bill is that he'll be sending me a goodie box of things to try. We discussed my fondness for DGAW and the fact that I use it both "virgin" as well as with Polycharger. Bill said that they'd had excellent results with their Fast & Shine product cleaning water spots, and in fact that you could do 50/50 AW and F&S or even 25/75 AW/F&S and it'd really work well for QD duties as well as last several months! :dblthumb2:

So anyhow.... here are the photos. Blow them up full size and take a look around.
Not much to say after seeing that.