swanicyouth
New member
- Mar 3, 2011
- 9,388
- 0
I had the pleasure of having Nick send me a bottle of Prima Infinity (PI) to do a review. I've been very impressed with every Prima Product I've tried, and have a decent collection:
I have yet to try any of their LSPs, but plan on trying Epic in the next year. For whatever reason, Prima doesn't seem to get too much chatter around here. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they don't make a paste wax, a ton of products, or come out with new products frequently.
Either way, I've been very impressed with their stuff. IMHO Amigo and Hydro are leaders in their respective classes. The only clunker out of their products that I've tried is Mystique Shampoo.
So, when I heard Prima was releasing a long lasting polymer based trim dressing, I knew I had to try it. I already had their water based dressing, Nero (PN). This dressing leaves a satin look and just works well inside and outside the vehicle.
However, times change and so does detailing technology. While water based dressing usually look great and are easy to use, they do have some flaws - Nero was no exception. The durability is short (1 wash or good rain), and they don't repel water (bead / sheet) water very well.
Recently (before I got PI) I started using Adams VRT (vinyl, rubber, & tires). I received a small bottle of VRT as a sample. This is another polymer based dressing. First I though it was the same as any other dressing, until I saw how well it beaded water on wet trim and it's longer than water based products' durability. VRT is pretty impressive.
VRT is expensive, and since I'm not interested in ordering anything else from Adam's, I was hoping to find a substitute. So, part of this review will be a comparison to that product - and part will be a comparison to Prima's water based dressing (Nero).
This review was doomed from day one. Originally I washed my Pathfinder and cleaned all the trim with IPA. I went to apply PI and it started to rain. The nest day I was driving the vehicle to the local pay-n-spray to do a waterless wash (and apply PI), when on the way one of the vehicle's catalytic converters broke internally and left me only able to drive the vehicle 30 mph.
Next, the vehicle went to the dealer to get four (yes 4!) new cats for $4,000! Eleven days later I got the car back and it was fixed - but pretty filthy. So, again I washed the car, cleaned the trim, and applied Infinity. By that time it was dark. I went out the next day to take some pics and the vehicle was covered in snow. No good.
So, at that point I decided to do some testing on a vinyl/plastic trunk mat piece I use for the back. I was going to compare Infinity (polymer based) to Nero (water based)
First I cleaned the piece you see in the photo with Griots Rubber Cleaner to make sure it was 100% clean. Then I decided to crack open the bottle of Infinity. What's inside?
Infinity:
Infinity looks like Blue Cheese dressing, the cheap kind that has no pieces of blue cheese in it. It smells like a mixture of paint and paste. As you can see, it's off white. It's thick like salad dressing, too. Sort of like a thick hand lotion. Nero is white and a much thinner consistency.
So, I decided I was going to place a tape line down the middle and compare to two dressings. Here is PI on the application sponge:
Nero is a spray product, unlike Infinity which is a lotion. Here is Nero being sprayed and on the surface:
Here is how they look:
Not a big difference, but I did make a couple of notes. Infinity seemed darker, wetter, and more "sealant like" (which made sense since it's polymer based). It had a more"brilliant" look to it. It almost seemed to add a sparkle or gloss to the surface.
Comparatively, PN was flatter. I let them both dry a few minutes. The PN still felt a bit oily, but PI was dry to the touch. After that I wanted to see how each product handles water.
PN:
PN does nothing to handle water. It's like no product at all is on the surface.
PI:
PI beads and sheets water very well. Most of the water drips right off. Whatever was left beads up.
Next I was finally able to try some PI on a vehicle. Right after application:
Tape line:
And, this is where it really shines. Two days later after rain (all black plastic has PI on it):
I noticed the rain or water may take the shine down a bit. However, the darkening and beading properties remain.
Here is PI on the left and Adam's VRT on the right:
The difference is very slight. In person, VRT looked a tiny bit "blacker" and PI had more of a satin look. VRT is a thinner liquid and a tiny bit easier to spread. I have been comparing these products for the past few weeks.
Both VRT and PI work very well. Both lose some gloss after a rain. However, the darkening and beading effect seem to last quite a while. Neither one seems to hold up well on tires if its raining hard all day and your driving around. But, IME, that's all dressings that aren't coatings.
PI cost $18.99 for 16oz, Adam's VRT $24.95 for the same amount. That makes VRT an extra 1/3 the price. In my opinion, these are the 2 best dressings out there (at least that I've tried), both of them being equally good and pretty much interchangeable. PI has the advantage for the price.
Until something better comes out, I will continue to use PI, as it probably the best dressing out there.
I have yet to try any of their LSPs, but plan on trying Epic in the next year. For whatever reason, Prima doesn't seem to get too much chatter around here. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they don't make a paste wax, a ton of products, or come out with new products frequently.
Either way, I've been very impressed with their stuff. IMHO Amigo and Hydro are leaders in their respective classes. The only clunker out of their products that I've tried is Mystique Shampoo.
So, when I heard Prima was releasing a long lasting polymer based trim dressing, I knew I had to try it. I already had their water based dressing, Nero (PN). This dressing leaves a satin look and just works well inside and outside the vehicle.
However, times change and so does detailing technology. While water based dressing usually look great and are easy to use, they do have some flaws - Nero was no exception. The durability is short (1 wash or good rain), and they don't repel water (bead / sheet) water very well.
Recently (before I got PI) I started using Adams VRT (vinyl, rubber, & tires). I received a small bottle of VRT as a sample. This is another polymer based dressing. First I though it was the same as any other dressing, until I saw how well it beaded water on wet trim and it's longer than water based products' durability. VRT is pretty impressive.
VRT is expensive, and since I'm not interested in ordering anything else from Adam's, I was hoping to find a substitute. So, part of this review will be a comparison to that product - and part will be a comparison to Prima's water based dressing (Nero).
This review was doomed from day one. Originally I washed my Pathfinder and cleaned all the trim with IPA. I went to apply PI and it started to rain. The nest day I was driving the vehicle to the local pay-n-spray to do a waterless wash (and apply PI), when on the way one of the vehicle's catalytic converters broke internally and left me only able to drive the vehicle 30 mph.
Next, the vehicle went to the dealer to get four (yes 4!) new cats for $4,000! Eleven days later I got the car back and it was fixed - but pretty filthy. So, again I washed the car, cleaned the trim, and applied Infinity. By that time it was dark. I went out the next day to take some pics and the vehicle was covered in snow. No good.
So, at that point I decided to do some testing on a vinyl/plastic trunk mat piece I use for the back. I was going to compare Infinity (polymer based) to Nero (water based)
First I cleaned the piece you see in the photo with Griots Rubber Cleaner to make sure it was 100% clean. Then I decided to crack open the bottle of Infinity. What's inside?
Infinity:
Infinity looks like Blue Cheese dressing, the cheap kind that has no pieces of blue cheese in it. It smells like a mixture of paint and paste. As you can see, it's off white. It's thick like salad dressing, too. Sort of like a thick hand lotion. Nero is white and a much thinner consistency.
So, I decided I was going to place a tape line down the middle and compare to two dressings. Here is PI on the application sponge:
Nero is a spray product, unlike Infinity which is a lotion. Here is Nero being sprayed and on the surface:
Here is how they look:
Not a big difference, but I did make a couple of notes. Infinity seemed darker, wetter, and more "sealant like" (which made sense since it's polymer based). It had a more"brilliant" look to it. It almost seemed to add a sparkle or gloss to the surface.
Comparatively, PN was flatter. I let them both dry a few minutes. The PN still felt a bit oily, but PI was dry to the touch. After that I wanted to see how each product handles water.
PN:
PN does nothing to handle water. It's like no product at all is on the surface.
PI:
PI beads and sheets water very well. Most of the water drips right off. Whatever was left beads up.
Next I was finally able to try some PI on a vehicle. Right after application:
Tape line:
And, this is where it really shines. Two days later after rain (all black plastic has PI on it):
I noticed the rain or water may take the shine down a bit. However, the darkening and beading properties remain.
Here is PI on the left and Adam's VRT on the right:
The difference is very slight. In person, VRT looked a tiny bit "blacker" and PI had more of a satin look. VRT is a thinner liquid and a tiny bit easier to spread. I have been comparing these products for the past few weeks.
Both VRT and PI work very well. Both lose some gloss after a rain. However, the darkening and beading effect seem to last quite a while. Neither one seems to hold up well on tires if its raining hard all day and your driving around. But, IME, that's all dressings that aren't coatings.
PI cost $18.99 for 16oz, Adam's VRT $24.95 for the same amount. That makes VRT an extra 1/3 the price. In my opinion, these are the 2 best dressings out there (at least that I've tried), both of them being equally good and pretty much interchangeable. PI has the advantage for the price.
Until something better comes out, I will continue to use PI, as it probably the best dressing out there.
