Silica Spray Showdown: McKee's v. Gyeon v. CarPro

Which product provided the best beading throughout the testing period?

  • Product A

    Votes: 11 31.4%

  • Product B

    Votes: 10 28.6%

  • Product C

    Votes: 6 17.1%

  • They were all roughly equivalent

    Votes: 8 22.9%
  • Total voters
    35
Whoa! What a controlled and detailed review. You should be a scientist if you're not one already. I'm rooting for CarPro. I'm a big CarPro fan and if McKee's wins that will mean I haft to spend more money on another product LOL. Man oh man I'm so looking forward to reading your results. Thanks for your hard work. I hope you enjoyed doing the work as much as I enjoyed reading your work.
 
runrun411 said:
Whoa! What a controlled and detailed review. You should be a scientist if you're not one already.
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Thank you! I'll take the term "scientist" loosely and say yes!

runrun411 said:
I'm rooting for CarPro. I'm a big CarPro fan and if McKee's wins that will mean I haft to spend more money on another product LOL. Man oh man I'm so looking forward to reading your results. Thanks for your hard work. I hope you enjoyed doing the work as much as I enjoyed reading your work.
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LOL!

I honestly don't know which is which, but I have my eye on Panel A/Product A. That seemed to be marginally the best. But, sometimes what starts strongly doesn't end strongly. We shall see . . . .
 
kevincwelch said:
I felt the same way when I compared it to the sheeting of my car coated with Mohs. I will say this about the sheeting: even though it was slow, it was complete and better then before treatment. Isn't that what truly matters? Protection?
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No doubt it sheeted better than before they were applied. Sheeting isn't meant to show protection. I guess it's better to look at beading when it comes to if the protection is still there. Would you agree?
 
WRAPT C5Z06 said:
No doubt it sheeted better than before they were applied. Sheeting isn't meant to show protection. I guess it's better to look at beading when it comes to if the protection is still there. Would you agree?
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I'm still not certain about which is better.

If you think about wetting ability, the more hydrophobic a surface it is, the less wetting ability. You'll have better contact angles with beads. But, beads stay put until they are evaporated or blown off. If beads stay on the surface, and if they have mineral deposits, they might cause etching in the LSP or clear coat.

For sheeting, if a LSP sheets well, it gets the water off the surface. Gone. So, I'd think sheeting is a better predictor of protection because it gets water off the surface.

But, that's just my opinion. They both may be equal markers of protection. Perhaps the beading is a better predictor of hydrophobicity, but I'm not sure it's a better predictor of protection. Both may be indicators of protection, but I don't know truly which is the better indicator.
 
Well laid out professional, organized, and detailed write up my man! I will be following this. Thanks for your passion and dedication to the industry! I look forward to seeing long term testing.
 
WRAPT C5Z06 said:
Sheeting isn't very good for any of these, IMO.
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^^^:iagree:^^^

First:
I don't call a liquid (such as water from a
free-flowing source) that's running-off a
vehicle, from factors such as gravitational
forces, "sheeting".

Secondly, IMO:
•Since, (at least according to their
product descriptions), these products
are formulated to be hydrophobic...

-then "sheeting" would indicate that the
products' beading characteristics have
diminished, and they have now reached
a hydrophilic-state.

{What bearing, if any, would that have on
these products' "protection characteristics"
just may be the $64,000 question.}



Bob
 
Fair comments, Bob.

Perhaps it is a case of semantics then that is used to describe the ability of a surface to repel water. Beading is clearly better after treatment and an indication of having a hydrophobic surface. I'm defining "sheeting" as the movement of a liquid off a surface like a sheet -- en toto. Gravity, etc. as you pointed out, affects this. But it affects beading too. Is a tight bead clinging to a vertical panel an example of hydrophobicity? Contact angle would suggest yes, but there are obviously some other molecular properties that are at play. Does it also repel gravity? Is there simultaneous hydrophilic forces at play? Regardless, the ability of the car's hood to repel water after the treatment is clearly better, whether it is "sheeting" or magic.

But, your $64,000 question is the most important, and perhaps unanswerable when we use these phenotypic, perhaps subjective, proxies (beading, "sheeting") of protection.
 
Great review! Thanks for all your time and patience! :dblthumb2:

I have been using Gyeon products for already a number of years: contrary to you, I think CarPro products are superior but I have to say that my experience with both brands is mainly with the decontamination / washing range.

My experience with Wet Coat is already long (I bought the first bottle more than 3 years ago). I tested it on a "blank canvas" and I have to say that the 12 weeks mark is realistic, at least with the Portuguese weather and the fact that I have a garage place both at home and at work. What I didn't like was its looks: from then on I have been using it solely on my wheels (due to its simplicity of use, it's a good in-a-rush-option).
 
Too often we judge a products durability and sheeting capabilities based on the horizontal panels. The real test is on the vertical panels. This is where all the real abuse takes place. Abuse from salt, brake dust and other corrosive contaminants that breaks down an LSP. And while yes, we all like to see how shiny the hood looks or how slick the trunk feels is a factor, let's also remember paint that is properly prepped will look shiny with any LSP. Just my .02
 
kevincwelch said:
I'm still not certain about which is better.

If you think about wetting ability, the more hydrophobic a surface it is, the less wetting ability. You'll have better contact angles with beads. But, beads stay put until they are evaporated or blown off. If beads stay on the surface, and if they have mineral deposits, they might cause etching in the LSP or clear coat.

For sheeting, if a LSP sheets well, it gets the water off the surface. Gone. So, I'd think sheeting is a better predictor of protection because it gets water off the surface.

But, that's just my opinion. They both may be equal markers of protection. Perhaps the beading is a better predictor of hydrophobicity, but I'm not sure it's a better predictor of protection. Both may be indicators of protection, but I don't know truly which is the better indicator.
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Makes sense. What I do know is, sheeting isn't a strong characteristic of these silica sprays compared to other coatings and sealants.
 
WRAPT C5Z06 said:
What I do know is, sheeting isn't a strong characteristic of these silica sprays compared to other coatings and sealants.
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Agreed.

Frankly, this is the first time I've applied any of these products to a completely prepped paint surface. I've always used them on wheels or boosters.

Dedicated coatings have much better "sheeting."
 
I appreciate you taking the time and effort to post this up and do a review and test for us here! Thanks again!
 
Non-essential update.

Cleaned the hood with the 1:128 dilution of McKee`s N914. This stuff let the MF just glide across the entire panel except where the taping marks were - not entirely surprised.

N914 on Panel A/Product A
c0dce6e37e412d71e6d246bdb4d2b43e.jpg


On Panel B/Product B
cca084ea15977abfe41954f49559c7de.jpg


On Panel C/Product C
85523f5e435453e2460f0cbc1e919960.jpg


Freshly cleaned!

b49c43f4375e8561dc8cb99bebcc88da.jpg


6af62e670bcd708fb59b9c104a0c3875.jpg



There`s a single water spot (Panel A) that didn`t come out with N914. Normally I would try a little Gyeon Spot remover and then move up to CarPro spotless, but I didn`t want to affect the coating.
 
WRAPT C5Z06 said:
Beading isn't as crisp on panel C. A seems to be the best, although, the beading still isn't "tight"


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
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Are you referring to the newest pics? If so, I agree with you, but whenever I spray a rinseless or waterless wash, in my opinion, beads aren't always perfect. I suspect it's the surfactants, but that's a guess. Does anyone else typically see this? Even with Uber with it's glossifying polymers....
 
I don't judge a product by cleaning beads. You are trying to encapsulate dirt dust etc. it's not a normal pure water or rain water you will see on the surface. "Leave nothing behind " may be the case but it brings something to start with to do its encapsulating, cleaning, lubricating and clean release. If not you might as well just use water




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kevincwelch said:
Are you referring to the newest pics? If so, I agree with you, but whenever I spray a rinseless or waterless wash, in my opinion, beads aren't always perfect. I suspect it's the surfactants, but that's a guess. Does anyone else typically see this? Even with Uber with it's glossifying polymers....
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Yes, the newest pics.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
I never judge beads by a liquid that comes out of a spray bottle, so I don't think I've ever took the time to notice.
 
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