Can you apply Collinite TOO thin?

Don M

Don M

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I used Ult Comp on my paint last week and topped it with Collinite Insulator Wax. Today I washed the car and there was almost no beading on the surfaces. When I put the Collinite on the pad, I literally used DROPS and I could see the haze on the paint, but then it would disappear without me doing anything to wipe it off. I was using a PC/Speed 3/ and a Megs thin 5" polishing pad to apply the wax and a regular microfiber to remove the haze.

When I was done, the whole car felt slick and when it rained the next few days, the water beaded nicely, but now nothing.

Any ideas?
 
Collinite not working well with compound residual,or maybe the pad app was contaminated with prior product.
 
GSKR said:
Collinite not working well with compound residual,or maybe the pad app was contaminated with prior product.
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This.

Or, what soap did you use to wash the vehicle? Does it have any "gloss enhancing agents" or "wax" additives? If so, this could interfere with Collonites beading and sheeting properties.
 
After washing the vehicle...no water beading...
just one week from #845's initial application?

More than likely it's the car-wash product's
surfactant residues that are at fault.


Bob
 
When you go over the paint with some soap and your wash media, are you noticing any of this type of behavior on the surface shown through the soap?

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Looks like jagged markings across the paint panel. Let me know if you're noticing it on your next wash, then try and apply another coat of 845 to the paint or a test spot and see if you get more than one week of strong beading out of it this time.
 
Any reason why you are using a polishing pad instead of a finishing pad to apply it?
 
The Guz said:
Any reason why you are using a polishing pad instead of a finishing pad to apply it?
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Thought the same,but he had it on speed 3 which will cover the panels with product.
 
Don M said:
I used Ult Comp on my paint last week and topped it with Collinite Insulator Wax. Today I washed the car and there was almost no beading on the surfaces. When I put the Collinite on the pad, I literally used DROPS and I could see the haze on the paint, but then it would disappear without me doing anything to wipe it off. I was using a PC/Speed 3/ and a Megs thin 5" polishing pad to apply the wax and a regular microfiber to remove the haze.

When I was done, the whole car felt slick and when it rained the next few days, the water beaded nicely, but now nothing.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Did you shake before using.you mentioned drops I'm thinking you may have got a bottle with oil sitting on top and not the actual product.was it liquid when you applied to pad.
 
Don M said:
I could see the haze on the paint, but then it would disappear without me doing anything to wipe it off. Any ideas?
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GSKR said:
I'm thinking you may have got a bottle with oil sitting on top and not the actual product.was it liquid when you applied to pad.
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GSKR is likely spot-on. Collinite is a funny product in that you have to shake it up well and depending on the tempeture you may have to warm it up in a bowl of hot water. I've seen it thin like squeezable butter and thick like mayo.
 
There is a thread explaining how to use Collinite products on the forum... something like How to use this legendary wax or something like that.

Recap goes like this:

Shake well, put the bottle in hot water for a few minutes so that the wax becomes liquid, apply very thin layer.

Only issue I have had with this product in the past is that Under certain situations, dust seems to stick to it like glue. In terms of durability, never had a bad issue.
 
I use a polishing pad because the LC finishing pads I had would "collapse" when they were used with a wax, the Megs polishing pads stayed firm, never showed signs of collapsing and really applied the product evenly and thinly.

It was a fresh, straight out of the wrapper pad.

It was cold and thick when I got it out of the garage, so I boiled some water, let it soak until it was literally "watery" then shook it like a hula dancer's hips ... several times and during application.

I'm ashamed to admit, but I am out of car washing soap and used a small amount of Dawn.

LOACH there was nothing like that on the car when going over it with the wash mitt.

Next time I wax the car, I will probably use Megs Cleaner Wax (A-12) as a 'base' for the Collinite. Thoughts?
 
Just clay it then top it with collinite.you mentioned you used compound on it so there is no need for a base.even though it says to warm it up,try not doing that.Ive never had to warm it up even on winter days in ny.or get some kind of tool to pull it out of bottle.
 
As FUNX noted, it may be the Dawn that killed your beading. There's a few threads (and one primary one) about how some soaps/washes/detergents leave surfactants on the surface to modify the beading properties and appear to remove LSP.

In the case of Dawn it's so you don't get water spots on your dishes/glasses. I also once bought some cheap car wash years ago that was on sale near the registers at Pep Boys that said "no water spotting!" and killed my beading so bad I rewaxed the car like you're about to do--it was only later that I realized what had happened. I use that wash for the siding on my house now.

However, I have never done a "WOWA" application of 845 like you described; I would personally apply it a little heavier.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
As FUNX noted, it may be the Dawn that killed your beading. There's a few threads (and one primary one) about how some soaps/washes/detergents leave surfactants on the surface to modify the beading properties and appear to remove LSP.

In the case of Dawn it's so you don't get water spots on your dishes/glasses. I also once bought some cheap car wash years ago that was on sale near the registers at Pep Boys that said "no water spotting!" and killed my beading so bad I rewaxed the car like you're about to do--it was only later that I realized what had happened. I use that wash for the siding on my house now.

However, I have never done a "WOWA" application of 845 like you described; I would personally apply it a little heavier.
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I wasn't TRYING for a WOWA type application, it just happened that over most of the car it just turned out that way. If anything I was curious about just how thin I could apply it. I'll check again after I get some REAL car wash soap how the Collinite beads, unless I wax it again today (which I might, it's GORGEOUS outside).

I only heated the Collinite up as much as I did, because it was between jello and silly putty in viscosity and I knew I would never get "thin" by scraping it out of the bottle and applying it with a knife.
 
Generally speaking I would be the one saying that you did a fine application of 845, that "WOWA" should be fine because whatever thickness you put on would be the thickness that was left after you buffed anyway. I've just never done that with 845, I generally hate applying LSP's by machine...I guess mostly because I wind up with a machine pad with a difficult to remove LSP in it. And part of me feels like I'm wasting product saturating a huge pad like that.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Generally speaking I would be the one saying that you did a fine application of 845, that "WOWA" should be fine because whatever thickness you put on would be the thickness that was left after you buffed anyway. I've just never done that with 845, I generally hate applying LSP's by machine...I guess mostly because I wind up with a machine pad with a difficult to remove LSP in it. And part of me feels like I'm wasting product saturating a huge pad like that.
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I wasn't going to increase the amount I used by much, just a few extra 'drops' or beads for each reapplication to the pad. I also use the Meguiar's 'new' thin pads which don't absorb much product at all ... unless YOU apply too much product in the first place. Besides, when I use a pad for compound, it remains a compounding pad, etc. So the polishing pads I use for an LSP will remain with THAT LSP.
 
Don M said:
Besides, when I use a pad for compound, it remains a compounding pad, etc. So the polishing pads I use for an LSP will remain with THAT LSP.
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Yeah, that old Meg's philosophy from when their Velcro couldn't take washing. I still have a box full of those old Soft Buff pads with product names Sharpied on the Velcro. Although I think I did spin a couple of those in the pad washer a year or two ago and they came out fine, those old big thick pads from years ago that we would never use on a PC today work great on a Flex 3401.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Yeah, that old Meg's philosophy from when their Velcro couldn't take washing. I still have a box full of those old Soft Buff pads with product names Sharpied on the Velcro. Although I think I did spin a couple of those in the pad washer a year or two ago and they came out fine, those old big thick pads from years ago that we would never use on a PC today work great on a Flex 3401.
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I still wash them out with an APC & a strong stream from a garden hose by hand, but for the most part each pad has its own product, or type of product that it is used with.
 
Well, since Sunday was such a nice day (near 70*) I decided to use Megs Quik Detailer on the car and rewax with more Collinite. I used about 3x as much this time around (still though, a VERY small amount) and lowered the speed of the machine to just under 3. I covered the whole car, then started buffing it off with a microfiber. I might have applied it a BIT too thick in areas, because there was some ghosting of the buffer marks left over on the surface in unremoved wax. (a light spritz of QD solved that problem though).

Tonight at work it was still awesome outside, but then we got hit with a torrential downpour, thunder, lighting ... the whole works. When I went outside for a break, it had stopped raining and I walked over to my car. There was the awesome beading that Collinite is known for. If I had my wife's phone, I'd have taken some pics, but let me just say that from *my* experience, you can apply Collinite too thin (but it ain't easy to).
 
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