Ask the Detailer

That guy drinks a lot of coffee or red bull. Wish he would of added some real coatings to the test to see how they held up.

 

I think it’s a little misleading to call all these coatings. True coatings have a very high concentration of sio2 most sprays are roughly 10% if not less. Again I need a hood for some fun. Not trying to become a YouTube guy but it would be fun to test 3-1 reload cquartz against each other. I’m not running out to buy a bunch of products I won’t ever use but possibly a ethos graph coating could be ordered.

 

People come talk to me quite a bit since my truck is usually the cleanest in the parking lot. Lots of people think you coat it and you're done....minimal washes, no more water spots at all,etc. I sometimes want to coat mine myself with a DIY kit, but I actually enjoy doing it now. But alway with 3 kids under 5, it's tough to get the time devoted to it to make sure it's done properly. As soon as my Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Spray wax ends, I'm probably going to buy a gallon of Bead Maker and see how I like utilizing that. Since I was my truck about every weekend, it seems more logical to use. We'll see.

And I would love to have a hood to test things out!

 

My truck has cquartz done by me. I still wash about every week and do a more detailed cleaning and topcoat around 6-8 weeks. Bird shit drives me crazy so address that with spiked punch. Coatings do save me any maintenance time at all it just makes me feel like it’s protected better I guess. I enjoy the process and I have fun washing the vehicles. I will say this I did not coat the wife’s car I use 3-1 on it and frankly it holds up just as well time would be a determining factor if I would just let them go the distance but I’m not that guy. I’ve never seen the protection fail on either of them. Now the fj is a different story and has been through many years of undisciplined paint protection but it is now doing very well after a lot of work but again I did not coat just using 3-1 to maintain

 

I keep debating if I want to let my wife's protection ease off on her Odyssey and do Griot's 3-in-1 on it or not. Seems to be proven well and not bad at all for the price. Only want to do something different to have some comparison on the 2

 

Ya, people think there is some magic panacea that will solve all things and make dirt and mud just fall off. Sadly, no.

On the other hand, I just put DLux on most of the plastic bits (finally) and we'll see how it holds up over time. I forgot the rear break light on the roof, the gps/radio thing on the roof, and the fog light surrounds (on my lunch so was a bit rushed.) I may leave them as a baseline for a comparison.

Sadly, in washing it I noticed my road trip put a lot if tiny little nicks and chips in the paint. I have a touch up paint pen but don't really know how to use it well. The one time I did it looks crap...

 

Exactly. For the time and expense involved, I don’t see enough difference to make it worthwhile. Even with a coating you still have to apply a topper on occasion, so I’d just as soon use a sealant. I had CQuartz applied to my Tundra around 18 months ago and didn’t see a ton of difference from just using Reload. I’d even go so far as to say the Griots 3–1 performs just as well or better than the CQuartz did.

This is why I generally don’t use my truck as a test subject for longevity, or in standalone reviews. I just don’t know how much of the CQuartz is remaining, and there’s just been too many products piled on it over time. Better to use the ones I don’t mess with as much.

 

Different than 3-1, or would that be the different product?

 

My thoughts exactly

 

Exactly. There is know way for me to tell how the base coating is doing either. I am in total agreement that 3-1 out preformed reload just by doing a month to month comparison. Sorry guys no fancy videos to prove that but it is my personal findings.

 

Over use of exactly is running rampant

 

That would be the different product

 

I want to try the new seal&shine but it's not available in Canada yet.

 

Had to look up seal and shine hadn’t a clue.

 

Been having trouble getting the brown off my tires. I’ve been using Wise Guy wheel cleaner for the wheel and tires. I’m not sure if the cleaner is taking the brown off or making it worse? I don’t use tire shine because I just like the flat look of the rubber. Any recommendations?

 

What you're seeing is called blooming. It's the anti-ozonant leaching out. There are lots of good tire cleaners on the market, and sometimes it takes multiple iterations to get the tires clean. Tuff Shine makes a good one,and its the prep for its coating. Be prepared to clean them until the foam is white, which can take a while. Pinnacle Vinyl and Rubber cleaner and conditioner may also work for you, and will restore a nice satin black finish to the tires. I've had very good success using Optimum Power Clean at full strength.

 

Thank you. I will give one of those a whirl

 

Do yourself a favor too...invest in a Tuf Shine tire brush....best 5.00 you will ever spend. Optimum Power Clean is available at Autogeek for 35.00 a gallon. It is very versatile and dilutable for all kinds of cleaning jobs

 

Well @War Machine here we go two storms say time should be big fun.

 

Try a local body shop. It doesn’t take a lot of damage for a hoood to end up in the dumpster. They’d most likely be happy to load one up for you.

 

Yep. Haven’t done any detailing lately because of the heat, now we trade it for rain.

 

I would always take my truck or wash and detail. It’s always hit and miss.
Just bought 2020 MGM Pro.
Want to start doing my own wash and detailing. Don’t have any thing. Looking for advise on a good detailing kit. Really appreciate the input.

 

How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Lol

being a brand new truck I would

CarPro ironx (autogeek)
Griots speed with synthetic clay (griots or autogeek)
CarPro eraser (autogeek)
Griots 3-1 (griots or autogeek)
Rag company or griots pmf rags get plenty of them
Invisible glass for the windows (Walmart autozone)
Brake buster wheels (autogeek)
Wise guy tire cleaner (shine supply)
Gyeon tire xpress wheel shine (autogeek)
Optimum power clean all purpose (auto geek) for wheel wells and a million other things depending on dilution.

ok when I say autogeek you could do autotopia or detailed image all offer good sales just sign up for the email and wait for the deals up to %25 off plus free shipping in some cases.

there are so many ways to skin this cat so be prepared for many opinions but these products are my go to and I am very happy with. If you want to get into coatings then let us know but this will require more costs.

one specific kit may be a little tough but an order from 2-3 vendors should get you in line.

 

O yeah 2 buckets and lots of microfiber rags a dirt screen is also effective.

 

First things first.....that is one badass ride. Just out of curiosity, how far are you from Stuart? That is the home of Autogeek, part of the Palm Beach Motoring Group...one of your best sources for detailing equipment, supplies and knowledge.

 

I’m in Naples so autogeek is where I like to shop. 1 day shipping.

 

X2

 

Wow! Thanks Swfltoyotamafia. Looks like I will be Busy tomorrow.

Thank briarpatch. I am in Miami.

 

I forgot the wash lol CarPro reset.