BudgetPlan1
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2015
- 2,143
- 212
Well, it depends just what your're looking for in a coating aside from 'performance', whatever that is anyway; appearance (and 'feel') plays a role in the finished product as well. And in the mutli-component or multiple layers of differing products scenario, each can lend a subtle little something to the final result. Whether or not you're willing to go that far for subtle changes is a subjective and personal decision.
Among all the coatings I've used, all look good, none really prevent all bu the lightest scratches but some do stay cleaner with little effort than others. The main point being, if you line up 16 cars, all the same color, all coated with different products, some single-layer, some multi-layer, from 20 feet you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in looks alone. Walk up to them and run a finger across the hood, you'll begin to notice differences. Stand out in the rain watching them bead and sheet, and more differences will become apparent. Live with them daily and notice how light reflects and bends off of body line transitions, curves and flat surfaces and things will begin to stand out even more. SOme coatings are 'good enough' on their own for most people, some folks want a little more complexity and some just plain believe that more is better. Regardless, the statement that "If any lsp requires more than 1 layer you know its not all that good. CQ,CSL one layer works." is painting with a pretty broad brush. For me, neither of those products on their own 'work' for me. As for multiple coats of a single product, it too is personal preference. Heck, if nothing else it insures I didn't miss something during 1st coat application when the rolling stool got a wheel caught on a polisher cord, tipped over and left me looking at the ceiling, wondering "Did I miss a spot?".
Take Cquartz for example; it has a pretty poor 'feel' after application unless topped with Reload or similar, somewhat 'less than slick'. Is Reload another 'layer'? Yet despite this, it looks and performs rather well even with no real maintenance over a 9 month period of 20k miles.
My personal cars have 2 layers of coating W, 1 layer of coating X, and occasional application of hybrid product Y, all topped with maint product Z. Products X and Y produce subtle shifts in gloss and depth that I find particularly pleasing, while product Z provides me with an easily method to maintain the hydrophobics and self-cleaning. It's a personal choice, one that I've arrived at through much testing, time and $$. But at the end of the day, it makes me smile and works the best for *my situation*. Like a rather well respected pro says, "Find something you like and use it often".
While 1 layer of CSL certainly will 'work' (and the term 'work' means differnt things to different people, I found that it alone does not give me a particular aspect of a coating that I consider important, that being the best hydrophobics and self-cleaning characteristics I can get. CSL alone does not excel in that area (in my experience) and many others apparently feel the same way as CSL + EXO is a popular combo for Gtechniq fans. The CSL provides the solid base layer and the EXO increases the water behavior significantly.
I think that Mohs alone is a very solid choice, but it lacks the 'feel' and water behavior that most judge a coating by, even though at the end of the day it's self-cleaning abilities are still pretty good, although I really can't explain why. The addition of something like Gyeon Booster will add the water behavior that is pleasing to the eye and touch, but with that combo you're approaching $200; but credit to Gyeon, they are giving you slightly less potent approximation of their pro-only Durabead offering...but it ain't gonna be cheap. As for Syncro, they are again offering you and approximation of one of their pro-only offerings, in this case Duraflex. The Syncro combo addresses one of the shortcomings (perceived or real) of Mohs alone, that being feel and eye-pleasing water behavior. For one, I'm glad they offer this in kit for as opposed to 'Buy Mohs and then buy Skin' which would likely be back up in the near $200 range if sold individually. Additionally, they are avoiding the possibility of brand incompatibility that might be a result of allowing Skin to be dropped on top of any other coating out there, although at some point people will give it a go anyway with Skin leftover from a Syncro kit. I wasn't present in the lab when they developed Skin but I'd hazard a guess that in some areas, it's specifically formulated to work best with Mohs.
Witness some of the remarks recently now that Gliss has been out and used by many; some find it fantastic, others are questioning it's longevity with respects to it's most apparent benefits. To make a true determination, one would need to look at the actual usage condition of the vehicle (climate, garaged or not...stuff like that) and then look at miles driven as opposed to 'time since application' as a better barometer of performance. Additionally, it would be interesting to see the performance of Gliss relative to the coating it is sitting on top of. Will it work better on CarPro coatings...I would think that would be their primary consideration with allowances for off-label use.
The only thing I really know is:
1. There is way more I don't know about this stuff than I do
2. Item#1 will always be true
3. There are no universal absolutes with this stuff so any declaration of such, while maybe the case for your individual needs/wants, applies only to a very small segment of interested parties.
