I need help- EXO? C1? or Opti Coat?

Just to chime in...

A few months ago I tested 4 coatings on BLACK paint after polishing the paint to perfection. Taped-off 4 12" square areas and applied the coatings. At the time we did not carry Gtechniq products.

Started washing the panel in a controlled manner and then observed the results. The results were that all sections of the paint showed signs of marring, or fine scratches. The coated areas did resist marring better but they were not invisible force fields like everyone wants.

The point being, no matter what coating you use, it's not a license to get sloppy when washing the car or run the car through a brush style car wash because scratching will happen.


I updated this thread last week, no one seem to notice, so whatever... post #67


Video & Pictures - GTechniq Makeover - 2012 High Voltage Yellow Scion tC 7.0




:dunno:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Just to chime in...

A few months ago I tested 4 coatings on BLACK paint after polishing the paint to perfection. Taped-off 4 12" square areas and applied the coatings. At the time we did not carry Gtechniq products.

Started washing the panel in a controlled manner and then observed the results. The results were that all sections of the paint showed signs of marring, or fine scratches. The coated areas did resist marring better but they were not invisible force fields like everyone wants.

The point being, no matter what coating you use, it's not a license to get sloppy when washing the car or run the car through a brush style car wash because scratching will happen.


I updated this thread last week, no one seem to notice, so whatever... post #67


Video & Pictures - GTechniq Makeover - 2012 High Voltage Yellow Scion tC 7.0




:dunno:
Click to expand...

as above - don't think of any of these will make your car as scratch resistant as a crystal face on a watch.

coatings such as c1 add some marr resistance but the dirt repellency and easy clean function of c1/exo make it so that you have to wash your car less often and with less force. this probably contributes as much to keeping your finish swirl free as does the scratch resistance of your coating.

but as mike says - wash your car with a mitt full of brake dust and your paintwork will soon turn into a swirl farm.
 
gtechrob said:
coatings such as c1 add some marr resistance but the dirt repellency and easy clean function of c1/exo make it so that you have to wash your car less often and with less force. this probably contributes as much to keeping your finish swirl free as does the scratch resistance of your coating.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Using a quality coating can help you help yourself.

In the link I posted above to the Scion we applied the C1 Crystal Lacquer too, the owner Nikki is only taking the car through brushless washes, so no brush, mitt or sponge is physically touching the paint.

And as I posted in the link above, I inspected the High Voltage Yellow paint in bright sun for swirls and it still looks awesome. Nikki is not a "car girl" she likes her cool car but she doesn't want to take up detailing as a hobby. I think she should apply the Silo Seal I gave to to maintain it and it would be quick and easy way to maintain that,

"Just detailed look"

But I don't think that's going to happen.


gtechrob said:
but as mike says - wash your car with a mitt full of brake dust and your paintwork will soon turn into a swirl farm.
Click to expand...

Clear coat paints will last a long time as compared to traditional single stage lacquers and enamels because of a number of characteristics, two of these are their hardness factor, (single stage paints are soft), and they are more dense, or you could say less porous, (single stage paints are porous).

Clear coat paints however are scratch-sensitive, this is at term that Barry Meguiar' coined back in the early 1990's as his way of describing modern clear coat paints as scratching easily even though they are harder than traditional single stage paints.

As I outline in the first chapter of my book, in the history of the "automobile", which is only a little over 100 years, to date we've only had two primary types of paint systems, single stage lacquers and enamels and basecoat/clearcoat paint systems.

And back to the point, basecoat/clearcoat paint systems are scratch-sensitive. So by all means use a coating for it's long lasting protection features amongst other things but have realistic expectations for what you can and what you cannot get away with when it comes to the maintenance side.

That is to say, no matter what you use on your car's paint or on your customer's cars paint, you still want to wash it carefully. (which I also cover in my how-to book on pages 12 and 13)


:)
 
I Googled Element 119 and it appears to be about the same price as the other players in the permanent coating field.

They have a nice looking web site with lots of videos. I am going to look on YouTube for vids from actual users before I try some out.

Always fun to try something new.
 
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