Mark, first of let me apologize for coming on so strong. It upsets me to read about people slamming a product that didn't work for them, when in fact it was not the product fault. That step bumper is on a horizontal collecting water and contaminates whereas the other trim pieces are on a vertical surface. I would have used a water spot remover to remove the oxidation prior to using C4. Without doing this prep, you will not get the results your looking for, ask me how I know. LOL. Vertical trim pieces need only be cleaned with an apc and a good ipa wipe down. When first using C4, I used way to much and tried to get it off with bad results. I finally left it alone and recoated it months later. Hope GTechniq can help you solve your problem.
No RSurfer, that's quite alright my friend. If I messed up the application by poor prep, I'm happy that someone can come forward, and pinpoint the exact cause of the problems.
What I'm not feeling too happy about is appearing to be dissing such a product, which I;m sure the GTechniq products have little peer. GTTechniq C4 may actually be the most economical product in truth, if it lasts longer than all other products on the market.
That it is many of the Silicone-Based products that are in reality the most expensive, because after one rain, or wash, they are gone, and cease to protect.
Other products may have a better ability to "beautify" more easily, but don't last, or last as long as C4. I think I might just find out how durable C4 is, because it will probably be a bear to now try to remove.
GTechRob has been in touch with me privately, asked some questions, some pertaining to the viscosity of the product when I recieved it-used it, and also if I now notice any "crystalline" look to the product on the trim?
I gather his questions were to possibly determine whether the product I had gotten was somehow flawed, or old? And that thought had occured to me this morning,m that perhaps age of the product could've been an influence also? Of this I really just don't know?
The product seemed quite "fluid" out of the bottle, didn't appear in any way to be syrupy, but set up time (would that be called "flashing"?) was very fast, that it was virtually impossible to go back, even an inch or two back over where I had just applied the product, and was trying to get an even finish on the trim.
Perhaps like food, a product like this does have a usable shelf life, and I'm not sure exactly how fast this sort of product flies off the shelves? That's a question that maybe only the AutoGeek Folks would know, how long such products stay in storage befpre being sold-shipped?
I think you, as well as many others had participated in my original thread about GT C4 a while back. If you may recall, my sole gripes about C4 was how small the bottle was, and how it seemed to take a lot of product to do what I felt was properly coat this Trim on the Rear Step Bumper.
I felt at the time, that the looks were good enough, in fact I was quite happy, that I felt inclined to snap some pics, and show you folks how it turned out. The before and after was a really nice improvement.
But the results changed quite quickly, and with that being said, you again may be correct, that prep and application was an issue, the part was maybe too far gone to get long lasting results, or the product may have been slightly old, and not fresh?
As I close this post, about the only logical direction I can think of taking at this point, is to again clean multiple times with good cleaners, and a scrub brush. And then perhaps a number of full strength IPA Wipedowns, and see what happens, and go from there?
Although I don't have any Cyclo Brushes to throw on my DA, I imagine I can mimic similar scrubbing methods by hand instead.
And if at that point I then determine the parts seem unsalvageable, then I think at that point, it would be best simply replacing those parts.
Thanks again all!, and hope you haven't minded this long winded response, Mark
