DIY 8-year Ceramic, full walk around and 72 hour hydrophobics

[Don]

I still can't wash the car for almost 5 days (Sunday), but i was curious about the hydrophobics, so I "let" it get caught in the rain.


After curing around 24 hours


72 hour Cure, hydrophobics

 

[noorth]

Hi Don, off topic.

How did you makeout with Nxtzen 365 afterwards? Still on the fence if i should get a spray coating or fusso coat for the summer.

 

[Don]

Hi Don, off topic.

How did you makeout with Nxtzen 365 afterwards? Still on the fence if i should get a spray coating or fusso coat for the summer.

Funny you ask, I just wrote Anthony Orosco and have him an update. I had put it on my wife's Escape almost a year ago. When I washed it almost 2 weeks ago, I thought the 365 was dead. Bit then I did a decontamination with iron remover and a decontamination towel, then used DIY DETAIL Water Spot Remover.

When I rinsed the WSR off the car, the beading was back, practically 100%. Then while drying the car, the paint was super slick under the towel again.

It was like the 365 had very recently been applied. I was so impressed that I decided that I am going to buy more and use it as my "Entry Level" ceramic coating for people who aren't ready to pay for a multi year coating, but are curious.

 

[noorth]

Funny you ask, I just wrote Anthony Orosco and have him an update. I had put it on my wife's Escape almost a year ago. When I washed it almost 2 weeks ago, I thought the 365 was dead. Bit then I did a decontamination with iron remover and a decontamination towel, then used DIY DETAIL Water Spot Remover.

When I rinsed the WSR off the car, the beading was back, practically 100%. Then while drying the car, the paint was super slick under the towel again.

It was like the 365 had very recently been applied. I was so impressed that I decided that I am going to buy more and use it as my "Entry Level" ceramic coating for people who aren't ready to pay for a multi year coating, but are curious.

I see. I like to mention a youtuber tested DIY WSR and came to the conclusion it actually leaves behind its own protection. "Sheepstar" is the channel if you want to take a look.

If true that would be very shady.

Not a fan of Ivan personally.

 

[Don]

I see. I like to mention a youtuber tested DIY WSR and came to the conclusion it actually leaves behind its own protection. "Sheepstar" is the channel if you want to take a look.

If true that would be very shady.

Not a fan of Ivan personally.

That goes against everything DIY says. Their explanation for the reappearance of hydrophobics is because by the time you do a complete decontamination, ALL the contamination that had been 'clogging' the paint is now gone. And if there had been protection on the paint, it would once again be able to show its effects. If there was no previous protection, clean paint in itself is somewhat hydrophobic, but not "slick" like it is with a good sealant or coating.

 

[Dan]

Just my opinion but if you have to decontaminate your coating, it’s not working in the first place. Freshly polished paint beads really well too, so I’d be skeptical of the process to bring it back, that needs some more scientific testing.

 

[Don]

Just my opinion but if you have to decontaminate your coating, it’s not working in the first place. Freshly polished paint beads really well too, so I’d be skeptical of the process to bring it back, that needs some more scientific testing.

Sounds like you're of the belief that a "working coating," is one that's a bulletproof, force field - where nothing will adhere to it, scratch it or ever get contamination stuck to it. That's just not accurate.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm sure I've brought this up before. Over at AGO, there was a member there for a while, PiPUK, who was a chemist at a blender of detailing chemicals in the UK. In the same vein as Ron Ketcham used to pierce some detailing myths, PiPUK would tell us that sealants are a lot more rugged than people think, he related that when they would mix up a batch of sealant in a big stainless steel mixing tub, it was a lot of effort and strong solvents (toluene as I recall) to get the residue out of the tub. He suggested that when people complained about a sealant not lasting, they were probably misinterpreting what was happening.

Things got rolling with this thread by SwanicYouth: https://autogeekonline.net/threads/...k-blackhole-wolfgang-dgps-blackfire-wd.59116/ where he tested a bunch of sealants and couldn't remove them.

Then later PiPUK demonstrated "clogging" of a sealant: https://autogeekonline.net/threads/lsp-stripping.64998/

Unfortunately, the pictures have not survived in either of these threads.

I think the lesson here was, even with sealants (as opposed to coatings), they were harder to remove than thought, and they clogged easily, making you think they were gone. So it's not hard for me to believe that coatings get clogged, you think they've failed, but if you decon them, you can find out that they are still there underneath. I do have to agree with Dan, that coatings that clog easily are probably not the best coatings from a certain standpoint...but I could also argue that you could have a really durable coating that you might be able to decon every year for 10 years and it would still be there...is that better or worse than one that lasts 2 years without clogging but then is shot?

And I'll add as I always do...back in the day when members would do a Dawn wash and get completely flat paint and think they had removed their sealant or wax, and then put fresh LSP on, thinking they were putting it on a "naked" surface, they were probably putting it on top of the Dawn that was stuck to the top of their previous LSP, so factor that into your LSP testing.

 

[Dan]

Sounds like you're of the belief that a "working coating," is one that's a bulletproof, force field - where nothing will adhere to it, scratch it or ever get contamination stuck to it. That's just not accurate.

I'd expect to hear something like that from a purveyor of marginal coating, but not you Don.

It don't believe in the force field effect, but I do find I don't need to clay even with a good spray ceramic like TW. I don't get water spots and I get beading for far longer than I did with any traditional sealants.

 

[Stokdgs]

Have had and installed a lot of coatings over the years on my own vehicles first, and then clients...

I have always paint corrected and used good, proven, cleaners, oil removers, before installing the coating.

I wanted to use a coating company in America, so I could more easily contact them if I needed help or had questions.

It wasn't until they invented, and I started using Carpro Reset, did I actually see what looked like a coating that was dead/gone/etc., come back to life... And sometimes, it took more than 1 CarPro Reset wash to get all the gunk off the coating...

And yes, a coating may or may not be the best thing that ever happened for everyone, no problemo...

 

[Don]

I'd expect to hear something like that from a purveyor of marginal coating, but not you Don.

It don't believe in the force field effect, but I do find I don't need to clay even with a good spray ceramic like TW. I don't get water spots and I get beading for far longer than I did with any traditional sealants.

Didn't mean to sound like a jerk.

Perhaps our environments are different, so we have different experiences. We get tons of salt here in NE Ohio, and that plays a huge factor in LSPs clogging, as does the tree my wife parks under.

I haven't "clayed" in years, I use a decon towel for the most part, about once a year in the Spring when the State is done with the salt. Then a water spot remover (I don't get spots, but I do get mineral contamination, especially on the lower sides).

Even so, I only decon in the Spring and that just started this spring (2025). This whole process is still new to me, but it cleared up a lot of confusion I never realized I had.

 

[Dan]

It's all good Don, I'm just being the devil's advocate, as posted in another thread, I'm really not sure of the true value of coatings.
I cringe at the thought of what people pay for them. I enjoy using them myself but if mainly for fun.

 

[Don]

It's all good Don, I'm just being the devil's advocate, as posted in another thread, I'm really not sure of the true value of coatings.
I cringe at the thought of what people pay for them. I enjoy using them myself but if mainly for fun.

The coating I used is $160/1oz, but I was able to coat the Camaro, my wife's Escape and a 2020 Toyota RAV4 and I still have a decent amount left - enough to maybe do another small car. So looking at it that way, plus if it even holds up 3 years, it's not that expensive per use.