CarPro Reload vs Traditional Sealant

[The Critic]

On most of the cars that I "detail," the standard request is to perform a wash, de-contamination and paint sealant application.

I find that most paint sealants last between 2-4 months, with garaging and car wash frequency being the most important variables.

On a standard mid-size sedan, this job takes an average of 3 hours. Of the 3 hours, about 90 minutes of this is dedicated to the paint sealant application. This is because Blackfire Wet Diamond or Menzerna Power Lock take about 20 min to apply, 45 min to cure and 20 min to remove.

After some thought and research, I learned that CarPro Reload can last 2-3 months in many applications. It is a simple wipe-on/off application and even has some of the dirt-repelling characteristics of a paint coating. Based on my personal experience with the Hydr02 product, I expect Reload to be extremely slick and glossy (and the reviews confirm this).

Going forward, from an efficiency standpoint, I think this product makes a lot more sense. Easier application, less time and nearly as good results. I have a 1L bottle on order and will report back.


Manufacturer's site:
CarPro Professional Car Coatings - CarPro Global - Reload

Reviews:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/60745-carpro-reload.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/41502-review-carpro-reload.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/40249-carpro-reload-perl-mini-review.html

 

[PiPUK]

It is surprising what can be achieved with modern ingredients. When we started into sealants, we jumped in with a simple formulation of high quality ingredients. A few year on and we hear stories of said product lasting well in excess of 6 months - considerably beyond our hopes.

Keep your eyes open over the coming years because there are some significant jumps which have not yet made it to your detailing brands.

 

[TroyScherer]

Reload and Hydro2 are 2 of my favorite product especially on top of CQUK or OC.


If you want a straight sealant also consider BF Crystal Seal, WG Deep Gloss Liquid Seal. Since they are WOWA sealants. 10-15min to apply and you done.

 

[Old Tiger]

Reload and Hydro2 are 2 of my favorite product especially on top of CQUK or OC.


If you want a straight sealant also consider BF Crystal Seal, WG Deep Gloss Liquid Seal. Since they are WOWA sealants. 10-15min to apply and you done.

When I recommended ReLoad or Polymer NetShield to The Critic, he dismissed them stating they would not bond to OC. Well we know they do because we have tried them! He also thinks CQ just wears off. I guess those little quartz particles on my foam pad when I abraded CQ were a figment of my imagination!

 

[Audios S6]

On a standard mid-size sedan, this job takes an average of 3 hours. Of the 3 hours, about 90 minutes of this is dedicated to the paint sealant application. This is because Blackfire Wet Diamond or Menzerna Power Lock take about 20 min to apply, 45 min to cure and 20 min to remove.

Are you just standing around during the 45 minute cure time? I'm usually dressing tires and trim, cleaning glass, polishing exhaust, packing up products, etc. I have no trouble filling that time. For me, switching to a wowa sealant would gain me very little time during a detail; maybe 15 minutes.

If it was just a wash, clay and seal or wash and reseal, then it could be worth it.

 

[lyodbraun]

Been using reload a lot lately love how well it repels water and sheets, have also noticed that a little of it goes far and if you use to much it Causes streaks, I used some yesterday after washing my truck sprayed onto wet paint and used as drying aide, leaves paint shiny and slick... Just ordered another big bottle of it ...

 

[zmcgovern45]

Reload and Hydro2 are great alternatives to 'traditional' sealants.

Both are extremely slick and bead/sheet very well.

 

[The Critic]

When I recommended ReLoad or Polymer NetShield to The Critic, he dismissed them stating they would not bond to OC. Well we know they do because we have tried them! He also thinks CQ just wears off. I guess those little quartz particles on my foam pad when I abraded CQ were a figment of my imagination!

I responded to your post in the other thread -- I tried Hydro2 and it only lasted a wash or two.

While Reload is supposed to be more durable, I am doubtful that its cost-effective to be used as a topper.

As for CQ wearing off, that was an assumption and I was incorrect.

 

[ZeroSP]

I am still somewhat torn between Permanon and Reload as a topper.

 

[TroyScherer]

I am still somewhat torn between Permanon and Reload as a topper.

Permanon to me is an "odd bird". It is super easy to apply and almost impossible to mess up. But I have never gotten the durability from Permanon Platinum (Older Blue version). So while it is easy to use and is super slick it becomes very expensive for me needing / wanting to top it up every 2-3 weeks to maintain the slickness and water shedding.

ReLoad is on of my favorites due to my use and love of CQ, CQUK and CarPro products in general. ReLoad is easy to apply just like a spray wax and leaves a slick, glossy surface behind that maintains your coating properties.

With that said, I have been using Hydro2 more and more in place of ReLoad. I personally feel like Hydro2 is better comparison product to Permanon Platinum. Moistly because they are both spray on and rinse off. I personally have gotten 3+ months from Hydro2. Hydro2 is also one of my better choices because I am able to touch the paint so much less. Wet vehicle, Spray panel with Hydro2, Wait 10-30 seconds, Blast panel with water, sheet dry, MasterBlaster to finish up drying.

 

[Old Tiger]

I responded to your post in the other thread -- I tried Hydro2 and it only lasted a wash or two.

While Reload is supposed to be more durable, I am doubtful that its cost-effective to be used as a topper.

As for CQ wearing off, that was an assumption and I was incorrect.

OK,I am good with this . IME ReLoad is very cost effective. A very little goes a very long way! As Corey recommends:
1 spray on panel
wipe immediately
use a second MF to buff. The Crazy Pile do best for this.
If you have a dark color, dilute ReLoad with distilled water up to 50%. Hope this helps! BTW, I use a low pile edgeless polish towel for the initial wipe. A liter will last years if you store indoors. It exceeds traditional sealant and is crazy cost effective. The jey is to avoid streaking.icture:

 

[ZeroSP]

Permanon to me is an "odd bird". It is super easy to apply and almost impossible to mess up. But I have never gotten the durability from Permanon Platinum (Older Blue version). So while it is easy to use and is super slick it becomes very expensive for me needing / wanting to top it up every 2-3 weeks to maintain the slickness and water shedding.

ReLoad is on of my favorites due to my use and love of CQ, CQUK and CarPro products in general. ReLoad is easy to apply just like a spray wax and leaves a slick, glossy surface behind that maintains your coating properties.

With that said, I have been using Hydro2 more and more in place of ReLoad. I personally feel like Hydro2 is better comparison product to Permanon Platinum. Moistly because they are both spray on and rinse off. I personally have gotten 3+ months from Hydro2. Hydro2 is also one of my better choices because I am able to touch the paint so much less. Wet vehicle, Spray panel with Hydro2, Wait 10-30 seconds, Blast panel with water, sheet dry, MasterBlaster to finish up drying.

Thanks for the info. FYI, all the while I am using Permanon Platinum (Milky White) as topper to Opti-Coat and I apply it once in a month, and yes they do not last as expected but they did incredibly well at glass and wheels (tested at other non-coated cars). And the reason behind this is because my friend is a distributor for Permanon here therefore I can get it cheap.

I have heard good things about Reload but just afraid I will mess it up.

About Hydro2, it looks good and easy just as Permanon. But then roughly how much would I need for a car like Civic? I know it says 1:3 ratio.

 

[TroyScherer]

I have heard good things about Reload but just afraid I will mess it up.

About Hydro2, it looks good and easy just as Permanon. But then roughly how much would I need for a car like Civic? I know it says 1:3 ratio.

If you treat ReLoad just like a spray wax / sealant then you should have no problems. Spray on, spread with a towel, flip towel and buff off. Those that have had streaking problem usually are applying to much product. I have 2 dark colored vehicle and have only had this problem once due to over application and humidity combined.

I can coat and entire car like a Civic / Jetta with 4-6 oz of total product. So that is only 1-1.5 oz of Hydro2. With H2 you mist it on over then panel and blast with water. You don't mist each panel until it start beading and rolling like Permanon. I know it sound hard to believe but it really is that easy and you use very little product.

 

[ZeroSP]

If you treat ReLoad just like a spray wax / sealant then you should have no problems. Spray on, spread with a towel, flip towel and buff off. Those that have had streaking problem usually are applying to much product. I have 2 dark colored vehicle and have only had this problem once due to over application and humidity combined.

I can coat and entire car like a Civic / Jetta with 4-6 oz of total product. So that is only 1-1.5 oz of Hydro2. With H2 you mist it on over then panel and blast with water. You don't mist each panel until it start beading and rolling like Permanon. I know it sound hard to believe but it really is that easy and you use very little product.

Thanks for the info... I will most likely include H2 on my list next time.

 

[The Critic]

Thanks for the info... I will most likely include H2 on my list next time.

According to my calculations, it costs about 70% more per car to use Hydr02 than Reload.

If you're a shop looking for labor savings, it makes sense. But for an individual, not so much.

A liter of hydr02 costs about double what Reload costs.

You use about 50ml of reload per car, or about 1.5oz of Hydr02. That's how I got my numbers.

 

[ZeroSP]

According to my calculations, it costs about 70% more per car to use Hydr02 than Reload.

If you're a shop looking for labor savings, it makes sense. But for an individual, not so much.

A liter of hydr02 costs about double what Reload costs.

You use about 50ml of reload per car, or about 1.5oz of Hydr02. That's how I got my numbers.

Thanks for the input, I forgotten about the cost factor. I should put it into consideration then. I do not mind to go for Reload as I have heard they last quite long as LSP and also as topper. Just need to dilute a bit for darker colored cars.

 

[lyodbraun]

Thanks for the input, I forgotten about the cost factor. I should put it into consideration then. I do not mind to go for Reload as I have heard they last quite long as LSP and also as topper. Just need to dilute a bit for darker colored cars.

Yes diluting it will work good on dark vehicles, I did that and it worked out pretty good, but I've since found that using very little reload straight on my black sand pearl tacoma it works great with out the smearing or high spot effect, when I first tried the product I got smears bad, cause I used way to much... One thing I also do is change out the spray head for one that produces a fine mist... The one that carpro Provides sucks IMO ... Just so e things I've come up with I love reload and it's been my number one product to use as LSP...

 

[ZeroSP]

Yes diluting it will work good on dark vehicles, I did that and it worked out pretty good, but I've since found that using very little reload straight on my black sand pearl tacoma it works great with out the smearing or high spot effect, when I first tried the product I got smears bad, cause I used way to much... One thing I also do is change out the spray head for one that produces a fine mist... The one that carpro Provides sucks IMO ... Just so e things I've come up with I love reload and it's been my number one product to use as LSP...

Thank for the tips on the sprayer...

By the way, how does this Reload compared to Opti-Seal?