Topping AIO’s with Sealant - Basic test

[Eldorado2k]

Ok so lets get right into it.. This is just my attempt to find out how a dedicated liquid sealant will react if applied immediately after using HD Speed in place of a dedicated polish.. Why not just use a polish? I used to be among the 1st in line to poke with that question.. But I have discovered and am willing to admit that I now see what many others had long been raving about, which is that in the short term, there seems to be benefits in using an AIO instead of a dedicated polish.. But can the benefits be trusted to have any real lasting power? Or are they just cheap thrills?

Then there’s the whole “you can top a sealant with a wax, but not the other way around”
Well that’s a cool story, but I’m stubborn and when it comes to something like this, I have to see it to believe it. So I did a bit of testing on my own car.

I decided to bring along just about every AIO on my shelf. Here are the participants.

No chance of cross contamination. You can trust me to think ahead and work clean.

Bucket wash + thoroughly clayed with claytowel. Final wipedown with Megs D114.

Condition of the paint is fine prior to testing. Completely smooth and no clay marring, very minor swirls. Free of anything, ideal for testing.

Polishing will be done with HF DA and 5” foam polishing pads on speed 4.5-5. NormL buffing cycle.

Before I begin polishing I get in the zone by putting my headphones on and cranking up the Meguiars Asia video for the ultimate theme music for polishing paint. If you have a sense of humor, you get it... If you don’t, I can’t help you with this part. Lol.

1st up: Meguiars D166 Ultra Polishing Wax - AIO 1 Step Solution.

Next up: HD Speed.

Blackfire One Step... Everything’s going as expected...

Next up: McKee’s 360 w/LC Flat Foam Polishing Pad... This is where things get a bit weird. Totally wasn’t expecting this... As soon as I begin polishing I feel like something’s a bit off, but it couldn’t be too big of a deal so I continue for a moment until I get a visual I’ve never seen while polishing paint. You’ll probably never see something quite like this.... I’m literally start seeing clearcoat being removed in real time as I’m polishing! Whoa what the heck!!! Stop the polisher!

So there’s a couple of reasons as to why this happened... 1st of all, the paint on my hood has been to hell and back. It’s been sanded, compounded, polished countless times and has been gradually failing in some areas for a while now. But I’ve never had anything like this happen before.

2nd reason: McKee’s 360 somehow did something I’ve never had happen before with any other product. It somehow managed to stay in 1 spot and not self prime on the pad. Very strange.

I re applied 360 on the pad and gently spread it across the test area on speed 2...

But the damage was done.

Relax I’m only kidding about that last pic! Lol. That large part was already on my hood. McKee’s 360 didn’t cause that large area of clearcoat failure.

But it did cause this to happen while I was polishing. Here’s another pic of immediately after polishing with it.

Meguiars D151 and Griots Boss Finishing Sealant were tested on the trunk without any issues.

To be continued...

 

[dlc95]

Yes to the Meguiar's Asia theme music!

 

[Pats300zx]

Great thread Eldo...Looking forward to the results !!!

 

[Maxreed241]

Awesome thread. Sorry to hear about the 360. That’s strange and awful.

 

[joleyred]

Okay Eldo, we are on the edge of seats. Very interesting......... Let's see more..

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[Cruzscarwash]

So what sealants are you going to use to top? At what point are you going to top them? Are you going to only top half the section of each to compare??

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[supercharged75]

Curious for resu

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[DBAILEY]

Awesome thread. Sorry to hear about the 360. That’s strange and awful.

Can't blame that on the 360 can we? I think whichever AIO he was using on that area would have caused the strike through.

 

[Route246]

To answer the question of "Why AIO?" vs "Why not polish?" it just occurred to me that due to poor time management, family or other interruptions, I often cannot finish topping on the same day that I do the polishing. Sometimes, my topping needs to be completed a week later during my car detailing time window which is Saturday mornings and into the afternoon if I don't have other obligations. The AIO leaves the paint protected until I can come back and top it. Wife, kids, family interruptions happen randomly.

 

[Route246]

One question....why did you use the HF DA for this test?

 

[PaulMys]

Great thread, Eldo.rops:

 

[acuRAS82]

Route246, very good point about the interruptions.

 

[Cruzscarwash]

Can't blame that on the 360 can we? I think whichever AIO he was using on that area would have caused the strike through.

Idk if I'd say that, I've had my own experiences with 360 which had lead me to use it less.

It has good cut and I'd say more then your average AIO.

360 is actually the only AIO I've ever used that Hologramed on me.

It does have great protection though and I don't want you to think I'm knocking it just stating what I've experienced.

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[joleyred]

That is what always happens to me. I almost never start and finish a 3 step process in one day. I just thought I was too slow.

To answer the question of "Why AIO?" vs "Why not polish?" it just occurred to me that due to poor time management, family or other interruptions, I often cannot finish topping on the same day that I do the polishing. Sometimes, my topping needs to be completed a week later during my car detailing time window which is Saturday mornings and into the afternoon if I don't have other obligations. The AIO leaves the paint protected until I can come back and top it. Wife, kids, family interruptions happen randomly.

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[PaulMys]

That is what always happens to me. I almost never start and finish a 3 step process in one day. I just thought I was too slow.

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No way in H E double L I'm finishing a 3-step in one session or day on my truck. I love detailing, but not enough to do it for 18 hours straight. Lol

 

[acuRAS82]

No way in H E double L I'm finishing a 3-step in one session or day on my truck. I love detailing, but not enough to do it for 18 hours straight. Lol

Same... and part of the reason I only get twice a year (once for each car) to do a 3-Step, because it extends over 2-3 days and the wife gets pissed. This year I’m only going for partial swirl remover, and then maybe right to Speed, One Step or 360.

 

[PaulMys]

Same... and part of the reason I only get twice a year (once for each car) to do a 3-Step, because it extends over 2-3 days and the wife gets pissed. This year I’m only going for partial swirl remover, and then maybe right to Speed, One Step or 360.

If you just have light swirls, Speed can take care of the whole ball of wax. (Pun intended...........).

 

[acuRAS82]

If you just have light swirls, Speed can take care of the whole ball of wax. (Pun intended...........).

I’ll try that. Thanks again!

 

[joleyred]

Sounds like I'm about in line with you guys. I love it too, but I like to take my time. About 5-6 hours of it and I need to take a break. Too many 10-15 hour work days in my past. No need to make this a suffer fest.

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[PaulMys]

Sounds like I'm about in line with you guys. I love it too, but I like to take my time. About 5-6 hours of it and I need to take a break. Too many 10-15 hour work days in my past. No need to make this a suffer fest.

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Amen, brother. 60-70 hour weeks for over 20 years. F that at this point in my life. I like to enjoy what I'm doing.