Soft 99 Rain Hop - review

M

myall00

New member
Hi everyone,



Soft 99 products may not be available in the US but I just want to inform fellow Autopians that Soft 99 is one of the oldest and most established brands of car detailing products in Japan. Sort of Japan's version of Meguairs. Soft 99 is highly popular in Asia.



I have been an ardent Meguiars fan for more than 10 years although I do use S100, Autoglym and 3M. Have also tried the NXT.



I recently tried Soft 99's "hard paste wax" called Rain Hop. It comes in a can similar to Megs #26. It's meant to be used as a final layer on a clean, polished surface. Rub it on and buff off immediately. The can did not mention any Carnauba content.



Before using Rain Hop, my car was already clayed and treated to several rounds of Megs No 7 and S100. While I am impressed with the depth and richness of S100, I find that the slickness and beading does not last.



After a few days later, when I washed the car, I understood why it was called Rain Hop. When a strong spray of water hits a freshly waxed surface, you can see fat water beads forming snaking everywhere, right? With Rain Hop, the water beads are very small and very very tightly packed together. Even more, the water beads don't seem to move around much. The beads appear to remain more or less stationary and does not "snake around" !!!! I have never seen this type of water beading before!

If you like water beading action, pls try to get this product.



As for durability, it's the BEST I have tried in all my years of spending loads of cash on detailing products. After 3 weeks of washing and being in the sun, the water beading is not affected at all. The surface still felt slick. I was very very impressed.



However, this product did not seem to improve the depth and warmth of my red 2pack paint. Even when layered on top of S100, it managed to improve gloss.



Excellent product!
 
Are you referring to rainddrop or rainhop?



raindrop.jpg




I did tried one of their cleaner wax and it worked quite well but it stained my trim:nono , can't remember the durability, it was quite a while ago.



U have pics of your car :cool:
 
Soft 99 products are THE dominant product here in Japan, MUCH more so than Meguairs. They make products for EVERY SINGLE detailing niche, from wax and compound, touch up paint and body filler, muffler patches and bumper putty, window silicone and glass polish, etc., etc., etc.



Some of their products are quite good, some are mediocre at best; it seems that most companies around the globe that dominate a certain segment tend to have both desirable products and others that are easily surpassed by their smaller competitors.
 
Finally Soft99 gets credit from someone from the US hehe... In my 3 years with Autopia, I think this is the first time I've read a review about Soft99...



I've tried most of Soft99 products and they're really great. Soft99 Authentic is truely one of the best waxes out there, Looks and works just like #16/S100/P21S but the gloss lasts so much longer.



Soft99 Fusso and Gecki sealants may not be pleasant to work with, but in my experience, they last longer with less fuss in harsh weather than Z or K... Looks great, although not as "distinctive" as the 2 brands mentioned.



The Rain Hop series is the most water repellant product I've ever used, especially the one formulated for Pearl. (They almost always have 3 variations per product; Light, Pearl, and Dark/Metallic each with slight variances in outcome)



The Rain Drop series replaces the Rain Hop series. That I haven't tried.



Oh, did I mention it's cheaper than most US brands? Rain Hop here costs around P400/can while #26 costs around P900. That's roughly $7.00 vs $16. The sealants costs around P1000 bucks each, it's still under $20



The clay bars that I use are all from Soft99, they have 3 grades of clay bar from light to aggressive, the 200gram (yes, 200grams!) bar is around 4"Lx2.5"Hx1"Thick... Guess how much... P800 or around $6.00. Compare that to a small bar of Mothers or Meg at the same price.



They also have this product (around 2 years old) that you apply on the paint like a wax, but it is actually a clearcoat like product that fills in swirls almost permanently. I've tried it on my Corolla before and sure enough, the swirls were gone after application, I washed the surface several times with our local version of Dawn, alcohol wipe, etc... The swirls were really filled. A bit hard to use but well worth it.



They do have crappy products, though. Their tire/rubber dressings suck, so does their QDs, shampoos and stuff...



Their Glaco windshield treatment is head over heels better than RainX or Rain Away though...
 
Got a tin of Soft99 hard paste wax today, Meguiars #16 got taken off the shelves. :(





Cost S$17 which is about US$10. The rain drop series cost S$23 which is about US$14.



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Theveed,



I am so surprised that you showed the pic of Soft 99 Hard Wax. This was one of my favourite since 1985!!!!! Excellent water beading and it lasts a long time.



However, I was also surprised that you mentioned Rain Drop replaced Rain Hop. Do you know that Rain Drop has been selling in Malaysia since 1980? Does that mean Rain Hop was actually available before that? I think you could be mistaken.



Rain Drop in Malaysia comes in a silver/chrome tin (same shape as the one above) and gives a very slick feel to the paint. Good water beading but absolutely lousy durability. Rain Hop is so many times better.



You should try Soft 99 Bi-Gloss. It's very good too and gives a very nice gloss..
 
Ok new user here. Well after reading about Soft99 I could not help myself and decided to try some. There seems to be a huge base of knowledge on many other products except this one. Now on to the good stuff. Krizz Clear R seems to work like a non abrasive glaze (urethane). It goes on fairly easy but seems to take awhile to dry and a little effort to remove. Other than that it works pretty good. The only other drawback is that it takes 24 hours to cure. Fusso Coat is a sealant (PTFE). I wanted to try Fusso Coat 12 but all I could find is Fusso Coat 9. The number indicates how many months it is supposed to last. Anyway it turns out that Fusso Coat 9 is actually a speed “wax�. It is a clear gel that you wipe on and let dry. No buffing off necessary. Pretty neat stuff. I am going to have to experiment with this one a little more. The last product I tried is their premium carnuba wax. Having been a long time Meguires and more recently Zaino user, I had forgot how much I like using a good carnuba. Nice deep shine. I would not say it is better than Zaino or #16 but it is just different. My goal here is to find a great sealer/topper combo. All the products were tried on a dark blue car. Most of Soft99 products are formulated for dark or light cars. I want to try some of their polishes / cleaners. So if anyone has used them please chime in. Actually I could see some of you professional detailer types offer your customers a line of details with German , American, and Japanese products that come form the same country as their cars.
 
myall00 said:
Theveed,



However, I was also surprised that you mentioned Rain Drop replaced Rain Hop. Do you know that Rain Drop has been selling in Malaysia since 1980? Does that mean Rain Hop was actually available before that? I think you could be mistaken.
Click to expand...



I believe you're correct, it may have been the other way around... Rain Hop - I've only seen old stocks in our local shops, I guess they are quite old hehe... Thanks for the update. Bi-Gloss is nice too, but I prefer the ease of use of Authentic (too bad we can't get it here anymore). BTW, post your Civic pics here too. :)



leftturn: There's another clearcoat thing other than Kizzclear... It's a lot smaller in bottle... I'll try to find mine...
 
myall00: You can upload your pics in the Autopia Gallery section (upper right of this page). Then you can insert it in the POST screen using the tags. I think if you click here, you'll get more info [url]http://www.autopia.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=FAQ&file=index[/url]



CarKrazy: Perfect time to try it :) Watch beads roll down hehe. Their applicator choices are pretty lame though, none of the applicators they provide in any of their paint care products are usable. Wax foam pads are too rough and grippy, sealant pads are too absorbent, etc.
 
Thanks Theveed for the tips on posting of pics.



I agree with CarKrazy that the Soft 99 applicator pads are lousy. Feels so rough! Do not ever use it! I use Meg's applicator pads only.



It has been 5 weeks after the last treatment with Rain Hop and the water beading is still very impressive. If I had used Rain Drop instead, the water beading would have been gone after 4 car washes!. Rain Drop happens to be one of the most popular, most established and widely accepted wax in Malaysia. Feels oily and nice but doesn't last. This gives people a very bad impression of Soft 99 products. I also felt the same way until I tried Bi-Gloss. I was impressed. And that spurred me to also try Rain Hop. Fantastic!



My current regiment is using Meguairs No7, S100 and followed by Soft 99 Rain Hop or Bi-Gloss. If I'm in a hurry, I find that Megs NXT and then Rain Hop/Bi-Gloss also works wonders.
 
myall00, how much does NXT tech wax cost in Malaysia? It cost S$37.50 over here.



Have you tried the EXTRA hard paste wax before?
 
Scottwax, I know what you mean about trying new products. It is a wierd kind of addiction. Even when I use a product I like, I still feel compelled to try something that might be better. Anyway I am still looking for a answer to my Soft99 polish/compound question. Anybody?
 
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