Topper Testing Take Two

rlmccarty2000

rlmccarty2000

Active member
I tested three SIO2 toppers last week (BF SIO2, TAC Systems Quartzmax, and PA HighGloss). The BF SiO2 was the loser in initial beading, but after mulling it over it might have been user error, so I decided to give it a redo. This time I sprayed it directly onto the paint and then wiped off as opposed to spraying onto the microfiber and applying this way.

I changed up the lineup this time (variety is the spice of life). I kept BF SiO2, and added Britemax Remax SiO2, Gyeon Cure, and PBL Coating Booster.

The process was the same as the last time. Rinseless wash with McKees 914, clay (Nanoskin) with Prima Amigo lube, rewash with McKees 914.

After washing


Applied all toppers by spraying directly onto paint and wiping with a different microfiber towel each time. From left to right, BF, Britemax, Gyeon, PBL. They all look good and you can’t tell much difference except the Gyeon darkens the paint some.
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First beading photo, BF and Britemax
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Second beading photo Gyeon and PBL
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After wipedown
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Thoughts: they all perform well. All were extremely slick and I couldn’t tell any difference in slickness. I think the BF needs to be sprayed directly onto paint for best results as it is the thinnest of the four. Gyeon Cure was the worst of the four to apply and wipe off. It left hazing that I had to buff off 4 times while the others were a quick wipe off with no streaking. Cure is much thicker and the directions say to spray onto a towel and apply and I strongly agree here. I hope Cure lasts the longest or I would rather use any of the others.

I’m not sure how long these will stay on the car because it needs a complete wash. It stays outside 24/7 and we have 4 large pecan trees that put out a fine mist of sap (nasty). The wife refuses to use a car cover because “it’s too much work”. Lol.

I’ll be happy to answer all questions. I ordered IGLs SiO2 topper and will review that when time allows.


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Were you using cure straight out of bottle? The first time I used it, I did it that way and got streaking. Was ready to trash can the bottle, but then read that it can be cut 1:1 with distilled water. Tried that and it fixed all application and removal issues for me. I use it regularly over my base of can coat now.
 
Wow, how things change from your last experiment!.I`m going to add IGL soon too, but I may wait until you test it first. Most people who use it say great things.
 
RMD said:
Were you using cure straight out of bottle? The first time I used it, I did it that way and got streaking. Was ready to trash can the bottle, but then read that it can be cut 1:1 with distilled water. Tried that and it fixed all application and removal issues for me. I use it regularly over my base of can coat now.
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Yep, straight out of the bottle. It was not fun to work with. Smeared and was kind of oily on removal. I can see where cutting it 1 to 1 with distilled water would make it easier to work with. The label said Cure can be used as a drying aid, I wouldn’t try it myself. It looks like it would turn into a smeary mess with a whole lot of buffing going on.
 
glfnaz said:
Wow, how things change from your last experiment!.I`m going to add IGL soon too, but I may wait until you test it first. Most people who use it say great things.
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How did you like the BF beading after a week? Surprising and completely unexpected. I did this test again based on your results. I knew the should be duplicatable. It must cure better over time. I love doing these tests as I discover something new each time. I’ll test the IGL when it arrives. I need a sample of Reload to toss into the testing mix and I believe I will have tested almost all of the toppers except for gTechniques.

Does McKees offer a SIO2 topper? I looked several times but never found one. Just their Hydro2 type of coating.
 
Beading is great a 2 weeks. I usually use BF SIO2 after every wash, so I don`t go much longer than that. Regarding Reload, the master dealer for CarPro sells sample sizes of Relead in 50 ml bottles.


rlmccarty2000 said:
How did you like the BF beading after a week? Surprising and completely unexpected. I did this test again based on your results. I knew the should be duplicatable. It must cure better over time. I love doing these tests as I discover something new each time. I’ll test the IGL when it arrives. I need a sample of Reload to toss into the testing mix and I believe I will have tested almost all of the toppers except for gTechniques.

Does McKees offer a SIO2 topper? I looked several times but never found one. Just their Hydro2 type of coating.
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I agree with RMD. Gyeon Cure 1:1 is a much easier product to work with. Plus I still seem to get a 2-3 weeks per application on non coated panels.
 
RMD said:
Were you using cure straight out of bottle? The first time I used it, I did it that way and got streaking. Was ready to trash can the bottle, but then read that it can be cut 1:1 with distilled water. Tried that and it fixed all application and removal issues for me. I use it regularly over my base of can coat now.
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I`ve heard this quite a few times, but the last two time`s I`ve applied it to CanCoat I`ve had no issues when using it at full strength. I have noticed it works better when applied very thin and you do need a pass to buff the product after applying it.

I`ll be curious to see how this plays out. I am currently using both the Blackfire Coating Booster and the Cure on my vehicles. I really like the way Cure makes the shine on a black car protected by CanCoat a little more crisp and makes the metal flake pop a bit more. I`m starting to think Coating Booster is simply milky colored water in a bottle. I`m using a sample at the moment and after two applications on a car with McKee`s 37 Coating I can`t see it`s really done anything at all. After application it doesn`t seem to be any glossier and the water beading/sheeting certianly isn`t improved. I get better results from Kenotek.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
Does McKees offer a SIO2 topper? I looked several times but never found one. Just their Hydro2 type of coating.
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Mckees comparable would be 10 Min Sealant, which has SiO2... it’s a WOWA rather than WOWO, but it’s essentially a comparable otherwise (except it’s a small bottle and you use one spray per panel, probably using less than you would for BF SiO2 Spray)
 
BudgetPlan1 said:
What all have ya tried so far? Having trouble keeping up...

Looking forward to your opinion on c2v3...
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Let’s see, Gyeon Cure, PBL Coating Booster, Blackfire SIO2, TAC Systems Quartzmax, PA High Gloss, Britemax Remax for now. I’ve got the new IGL Ecocoat Premier and GTechniques C2V3 hopefully arriving this week. If you know of any brands I’ve missed let me know and I’ll try to pick them up. I’ve got the other PA offerings, but it’s not fair to compare them with ordinary toppers, though the IGL is getting close at $67 a bottle. After I get all the SiO2 toppers I’ll try to put together a chart with price per oz and a general review of each.
 
I enjoyed the IGL, don`t remember watching it too closely though so your results will be interesting. C2V3 didn`t go well for me...always looked dirty after a rain.

The list of products like this grows daily, hard to find something unique.
 
BudgetPlan1 said:
I enjoyed the IGL, don`t remember watching it too closely though so your results will be interesting. C2V3 didn`t go well for me...didn`t stay very clean.

The list of products like this grows daily, hard to find something unique.
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It’s looks like (so far) for maintenance just about any of them will do fine. As far as longetivity, does it really matter? I mean these products are really not sealants, they are meant to be reapplied after washing. If you want something that could probably be used as a sealant (or coating very lite) grab one of the Polish Angel offerings. Probably could get 3+ months out of one of the PA toppers. The other SiO2 toppers are kind of like the iron removers, buy the cheapest one. I still haven’t finalized my findings (lol) but that’s what I’m thinking so far.
 
So True BudgetPlan1.

Have any of you tried Gyeon Wetcoat as a topper over Can Coat? Seems to be a combination that is gaining some popularity esp if longevity is not number 1 priority. Eg the combo should last 2 to 3 washes or about a 4 - 6 wks.

Cheers

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The one I have liked very much is Herrenfarth Sprühglanz. It`s more like a PA topper. They use Si+ (monosilicon) which seems to be very user friendly. And gives a longevity easy over 4-5 months in the summer. Same behavior as the Sio2 products I have used so far. The self cleaning ability has been awesome. This summer has been very dry. So it has been mostly dust and pollen and dry road grime. And nothing has stuck on the paint it feeled like. That is not completly true lol. But the car has looked almost newly washed for the whole summer. It was at least 2 months of no washing.

When I last washed the car was a 2 weeks into august. Then I tried a new Sio2 QD Angelwax Enigma QED. This I was warned to apply lightly and prefered to be sprayed on the mf towel and wipe it on and followed with another mf towel to wipe it off. What is the fun in doing it easy lol. Sprayed on the paint wait a couple of seconds and wipe it out and followed with another mf towel to wipe off the small residue left. Worked great this way and was no problem when I don`t do larger area or apply it in the sun or hot panels. Like every other spray on products that have a high protection and longevity from them.
My sister still loans my car since hers have been broken with the timing belt broke. I don`t have much of use of a car and have one that I can use when ever I need. Yeah it`s a little strange situation but this situation I do what I can to make my little sisters life easier. Anyway tonight was I going to take the car Home to wash it. And when we looked at it we saw it`s no hurry to be doing it either. It stays remarkable clean with Angelwax Enigma QED also. And to ad is that I have only been useing Gyeon Wet Coat and Herrenfarth Sprühglanz since last october. That time I stripped off old Ultima Paint Guard Plus and various toppers without any Sio2 in them. So this is the only LSP I have used before applying Enigma QED. I can say that you will be surprised at the finish you get from it. The warm glow have a look like carnuaba from Enigma QED. I have used Angelwax QED too. And the same with that as it leaves a look of a wax. If you like to change the look on the LSP you have from time to time with different toppers. Then get either the Angelwax QED or Enigma QED if you like a warmer glow like waxes gets you. Both is also durable when compared to others of like. And would like to try out a ceramic infused wax. Then get the small pot 33ml of Angelwax Enigma Ceramic Infused Wax. Or if you like AIO you have Angelwax Enigma AIO. Which gives you the Enigma glow finish and 3-4 months on it`s own. If you apply Enigma Wax on top of the Enigma AIO you could get a year of longevity. And maintance products Enigma QED and Enigma Ceramic Infused Car Soap and you will defently get a year of longevity from it I think. Remember that it`s Sio2 products and the AIO and wax you will be researching the application and use of since it can be a finicky product if you just slapp it on. The Sio2 AIO that has come out is interesting products I think. Britemax has one that has a great function on it`s own. Wonders if Gyeon Primer also work as a stand alone product with a water repellent behavior?


Nice that you do this testing with toppers!

/Tony
 
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