Something better than aquapel?

[JHForman]

Is there anything out there that’s more user friendly? I know a lot of guys love this stuff but I can honestly say after using it on my truck twice now I think this stuff sucks!! The first application failed because I used windex to clean my windows prior to application, so I bought another 6 tubes, used ceriglass to remove the water spots, then applied eraser, then cleaned the windows with invisible glass then applied the aquapel, it takes forever to remove with paper towels, or microfiber towels or shop paper towels, not to mention I go through damn near a whole roll of paper towels trying to get my windows back to clear. I am all for a good product, but the amount of time this stuff takes to apply and remove isn’t worth it. Is there anything out there that’s more user friendly? Aquapel so far isn’t worth the packing it’s in imo.


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[AutowerxDetailing]

CarPro Forte. It practically dries clear with very minimal residue to buff away and it lasts 2-3x longer than Aquapel.

 

[Kaban]

CarPro Forte. It practically dries clear with very minimal residue to buff away and it lasts 2-3x longer than Aquapel.

That wasn't my experience.... we have tested that product on several applications and were disappointed every time. Sticking to Aquapel until something better comes along.

 

[Bruno Soares]

I replaced Aquapel with McKee’s 37 glass coating. Performance I’d say is the same but the coating lasts longer. I find the coating harder to remove from the glass, Aquapel wasn’t bad if you worked fast. I only needed one paper towel per side and one MF towel for a final wipe.
There’s a lot of cheap Aquapel out there and I wouldn’t be surprised if some are fake and harder to use.

 

[JHForman]

I replaced Aquapel with McKee’s 37 glass coating. Performance I’d say is the same but the coating lasts longer. I find the coating harder to remove from the glass, Aquapel wasn’t bad if you worked fast. I only needed one paper towel per side and one MF towel for a final wipe.
There’s a lot of cheap Aquapel out there and I wouldn’t be surprised if some are fake and harder to use.

I bought mine through Autogeek specifically for that reason. I just find this stuff to be a PITA to work with. I still had the beading effect with the coating I put on that I used the windex to clean the windows with, but kept getting hard water spots, I coated the windows to avoid water spots. This time I polished the windows, used eraser, then invisible glass to clean the windows, then applied aquapel, if I get water spots this time I’ll lose my ####!!


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[Kaban]

I bought mine through Autogeek specifically for that reason. I just find this stuff to be a PITA to work with. I still had the beading effect with the coating I put on that I used the windex to clean the windows with, but kept getting hard water spots, I coated the windows to avoid water spots. This time I polished the windows, used eraser, then invisible glass to clean the windows, then applied aquapel, if I get water spots this time I’ll lose my ####!!


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Anything you apply on your glass or paint that has a beading effect will cause water spotting. If you are trying to avoid water spotting, avoid waxing/coating altogether.

Go in a mall parking lot after a heavy rain and look around. The cars that have no LSP applied on them dry in minutes after the rain. Cars with LSP will sit there with water beads on the surface for hours (that's what causes water spotting, and if the water is hard, they don't just wash off and etch the paint which would require the use of a water spot remover or polishing).

Coatings or wax/sealant only help when there is air/water movement by keeping the surface clean. If you're not blow drying your vehicle or rinsing it, then they actually cause more harm than good for your paint surface.

 

[Thomkirby]

I bought mine through Autogeek specifically for that reason. I just find this stuff to be a PITA to work with. I still had the beading effect with the coating I put on that I used the windex to clean the windows with, but kept getting hard water spots, I coated the windows to avoid water spots. This time I polished the windows, used eraser, then invisible glass to clean the windows, then applied aquapel, if I get water spots this time I’ll lose my ####!!


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I have used Aquapel on my Lexus windshield and rear glass. Never a problem in the application except in theory it only does a single windshield and must wear protection to your hands. From that experience I switched from Adam's product to Griots Garage Glass sealant on all my cars and install it on friends too! Never a problem and a little goes a long way. Price is way better that either of the two mentioned products. It will last 60-to-90 days but like everything else keep your glass clean! Rarely have to use my wipers after 40mph as it runs off!

Now to your main gripe, hard water spots. As Kaban mentions the sealants, waxes, and coatings will all form beads of water droplets. Most will just slide off the glass but if your glass is dirty then the self clinging droplets will just air dry (will not slide off). Rain water in my area is not hard water so never get the need to polish them off. I have used the Blackfire Glass Water spot remover at one of Mike's roadshow classes and it works fine. So are you talking about hard water or just water spots?

Finally, I have to give one final tip when it comes to keeping your glass product working as expected. Keep you glass clean at all times. It sounds simple but think about all the film that we see on our cars paint after a drive in the rain. Now even if you used the wipers the outer edges will tell you the 'gunk' that was sprayed and dried. I have been guilty of pulling in the car after a rain knowing it will be raining in the morning and still clean the glass. I can see when the water will not run off if small bug splatter or road grime. I have yet to try the glass coating kits because the GG Glass Sealant is so cheap and easy to use.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Go in a mall parking lot after a heavy rain and look around. The cars that have no LSP applied on them dry in minutes after the rain. Cars with LSP will sit there with water beads on the surface for hours (that's what causes water spotting, and if the water is hard, they don't just wash off and etch the paint which would require the use of a water spot remover or polishing).

Rain water is soft and I’ll go out on a limb and say it never causes water spotting. Even if the vehicle happens to be dirty when it rains the dirt/temporary spots will easily wash/wipe away... That’s the beauty of having some sort of protection on your paint.

Actual water spots that etch into the paint and require the use of a water spot remover or polish come from the water hose or sprinklers. Cmon man.

P.S. If you run into the rare occasion where rain water somehow causes water spots that require any kind of mechanical removal, then you need to dump whatever poor excuse for lsp that you’re using and replace it with something good.

 

[Eldorado2k]

If you're not blow drying your vehicle or rinsing it, then they actually cause more harm than good for your paint surface.

Rinsing rain water off your paint is the worst thing you could possibly do... There’s where the real water spots happen. That’s like a sin. Lol.

 

[TTQ B4U]

Rinsing rain water off your paint is the worst thing you could possibly do... There’s where the real water spots happen. That’s like a sin. Lol.

How ironic you posted this......so I spent 4hrs yesterday re polishing and 3 layer coating my car because my daughter decided to help me out and did exactly that.

OMG my brain about exploded but given her intentions I simply gave her a hug and said it was just time for me to re do it. Ugh......

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[JHForman]

well the water spotting on the glass is coming from the car wash pressure washer(I hand wash and use the pressure washer to rinse), my home water is the same water pretty much. I guess ill have to start using a leaf blower as soon as im done washing. I don't get the water spots on the paint the paint has PNS on it and I LOVE IT, I can literally spray my truck off drive it down the road and the paint is clean. I wish the window stuff would work as good.

 

[Kaban]

Rain water is soft and I’ll go out on a limb and say it never causes water spotting. Even if the vehicle happens to be dirty when it rains the dirt/temporary spots will easily wash/wipe away... That’s the beauty of having some sort of protection on your paint.

Actual water spots that etch into the paint and require the use of a water spot remover or polish come from the water hose or sprinklers. Cmon man.

P.S. If you run into the rare occasion where rain water somehow causes water spots that require any kind of mechanical removal, then you need to dump whatever poor excuse for lsp that you’re using and replace it with something good.

You're in LA, some of the best weather in the US. Come to another city and you'll see some nasty acidic rain water that will cause water spots. I've seen it and it sucks.

 

[Kaban]

Rinsing rain water off your paint is the worst thing you could possibly do... There’s where the real water spots happen. That’s like a sin. Lol.

I did not mean blow drying or rinsing rain water off your paint. Who tf does that?

I meant, LSPs help with blow drying and rinsing your car during a regular wash process.

 

[Eldorado2k]

You're in LA, some of the best weather in the US. Come to another city and you'll see some nasty acidic rain water that will cause water spots. I've seen it and it sucks.

We’ve got the worst smog pollution in the country... That should produce some pretty nasty rainfall when it happens, but it doesn’t.

 

[Kaban]

We’ve got the worst smog pollution in the country... That should produce some pretty nasty rainfall when it happens, but it doesn’t.

Could, should. I am telling you, there are places in this world where rain water will Fk up your paint bad. It's not just sprinklers that cause damage. I've lived on 3 different continents and have seen this numerous times.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Anything you apply on your glass or paint that has a beading effect will cause water spotting. If you are trying to avoid water spotting, avoid waxing/coating altogether.


Coatings or wax/sealant only help when there is air/water movement by keeping the surface clean. If you're not blow drying your vehicle or rinsing it, then they actually cause more harm than good for your paint surface.

I did not mean blow drying or rinsing rain water off your paint. Who tf does that?

I meant, LSPs help with blow drying and rinsing your car during a regular wash process.

It sure doesn’t sound like that’s what you meant... And who doesn’t rinse or blow dry [or towel dry] their vehicle during the regular car wash process? Why would someone not rinse after a wash?

 

[AutowerxDetailing]

That wasn't my experience.... we have tested that product on several applications and were disappointed every time. Sticking to Aquapel until something better comes along.

That's strange. I've never had a single complaint from a customer and have experienced 12+ months durability with Forte on my household's daily driven vehicles here in the rainy Pacific Northwest. We put a new windshield in my wife's minivan last December and I applied x4 layers of Forte when it was installed and it's still performing like day one.

What is your application process w/ Forte?

 

[2black1s]

Rain water is soft and I’ll go out on a limb and say it never causes water spotting. Even if the vehicle happens to be dirty when it rains the dirt/temporary spots will easily wash/wipe away... That’s the beauty of having some sort of protection on your paint.

Actual water spots that etch into the paint and require the use of a water spot remover or polish come from the water hose or sprinklers. Cmon man.

P.S. If you run into the rare occasion where rain water somehow causes water spots that require any kind of mechanical removal, then you need to dump whatever poor excuse for lsp that you’re using and replace it with something good.

Rinsing rain water off your paint is the worst thing you could possibly do... There’s where the real water spots happen. That’s like a sin. Lol.

Agreed!

I've actually used rainy days to my advantage when washing my car/truck on a few occasions. Wash and rinse as normal and then let the rain provide the final rinse.

Most, if not all, so-called water spots from rain are actually just dirt spots left behind from whatever contaminants were on the car during the rain and will wipe or wash away very easily. Real water spots are from minerals in the tap water of your area and if left to dry on the vehicle are not so easy to remove.

You can call them all "water spots"... But all water spots are not created the same.

Regardless of what kind of water spots we're talking about, one word of caution I can offer is that any water, rain or tap, can cause damage if left to dry in direct sunlight on a vehicle that beads. The beads of water in direct sunlight will intensify the sunlight and can cause a permanent stain (or fade). The water beads act kind of like a magnifying glass - Did you ever start a piece of paper on fire with the sun and a magnifying glass when you were a kid? That same kind of energy is what your paint experiences when you leave a water beaded vehicle to dry (or more accurately - to bake) in direct sunlight.

 

[AaronE]

I use McKee's 37 Glass Coating on my vehicles. The price point was the same as Aquapel but with less hassle to put it on and a year of protection is hard to beat!

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[bofh]

FWIW, I am using Griot's Glass Sealant because it is really cheap, really easy to apply, and lasts long enough that I'm not annoyed to apply it again when needed. The instructions are to lather it on thick, wait for the haze, then lather more on, haze, wipe off. I've left it on way too long before while polishing and had good luck buffing it off. I'm not sure it's better than Aquapel but my experience using it is way better than dealing with metered doses.