Polish Angel Escalate/Viking Coat combo

[MIsnowman]

Took advantage of the long holiday weekend and got some detailing done. I polished the truck first with PA Escalate and then followed that up with the Viking Coat. At the start I was having a terrible time with the Escalate. It did NOT play well with the Flex 3401. I tried both a white and black hybrid pad, using more product and less product, heavy and light pressure, faster and slower speed and nothing was working. The finish was always hazy and looked way worse than what I hadn't polished. After messing with this for about an hour, I was seriously considering ditching the Escalate and just using something to strip the LSP and applying the Viking Coat. Then I decided to try the Rupes Mini and it was unbelievably better. The Mini with a yellow Rupes pad worked awesome with the Escalate. It quickly removed some minor swirl marks and the finish was incredible. The Viking coat was a breeze to apply and remove and I am more than pleased with the results. Obviously longevity is unknown at this point, but if it at least holds up through the winter I'll be happy. I don't have any before pics, the paint was in really good condition with just some light swirls, but the gloss and clarity is much greater after the polish and coating. I am really happy with how it turned out!! Pics don't do it justice.




51981519825198351984

[natewood70]

Paint looks awesome!

I'm interested to hear how long the Viking Coat lasts... If it has even 12 months of solid durability, I would say between that and the ease of application make it a no brainer.

[Hammer77]

That looks awesome!

[GSKR]

I was given the whole kit right down to the leather care for free.I really don't see a major miracle about this product.my personal opinion is after the coating I applied another coat after.The final results were as if I had just only waxed the car looked deep and warm.The coating was real easy to apply and remove,if you can get long durability out of that then it might be worth the money as far as ease of use.The leather care was applied via instructions and didn't see any benefit what's so ever.But that's my own personal opinion about this product line,it's not a bad product but I think it's overrated for the price.I will monitor the durability.

[Sizzle Chest]

Paint looks great! Nice results!

[MIsnowman]

I was given the whole kit right down to the leather care for free.I really don't see a major miracle about this product.my personal opinion is after the coating I applied another coat after.The final results were as if I had just only waxed the car looked deep and warm.The coating was real easy to apply and remove,if you can get long durability out of that then it might be worth the money as far as ease of use.The leather care was applied via instructions and didn't see any benefit what's so ever.But that's my own personal opinion about this product line,it's not a bad product but I think it's overrated for the price.I will monitor the durability.

Ease of use was the biggest deciding factor for me and it didn't disappoint there. Just like applying a wax or sealant. This is the first attempt I have made using anything coating like, so I don't know what others look/feel like, but it didn't seem very slick right after wiping off the residue. It did seem to get noticeably slicker a couple hours after wipe off though. Like I said earlier, if it holds up through the winter I'll be happy with it. I can probably get at least 2 maybe 3 more vehicles out of the Viking, so it really isn't that expensive per application. I am planning on using it on my sister's car that is outside 24/7 and only washed occasionally through touchless automatic washes, so that should give a good durability comparison between an abused and a well cared for vehicle.

[MIsnowman]

Thanks for the kind words guys. I think I'm officially hooked on this detailing stuff. I just love seeing the finish get more and more crisp as I make each section pass. Figured I better throw something more permanent on there before I polished all the paint off. haha

[GSKR]

I applied it differently,I would coat one half of the car let it set for 40 minutes.Then for removal I would spritz each panel down with Gyeon wet coat and saw dramatic results using that method and ensure additional protection.Did a Nissan Titan with that method and water just sheets off like crazy.

[klix58]

Good looking finish, I used the same on a white VW love it. A follow up for me is Hydro to wash. Keeps it going.

[emmjay]

Curious about the flex issue. I was considering this combo/line of products but if its that bad with the flex i'll stay away.

I dont have the luxury of two polishers

[SRConcepts]

Curious about the flex issue. I was considering this combo/line of products but if its that bad with the flex i'll stay away.

I have a theory on this- it may have something to do with the forced rotation of the Flex over-working the product. I have found that Essence does about the same thing if worked too hard. Its kind of like applying lotion on your skin- you don't work it in by rubbing ferociously, you simply spread it out and gently massage it in. Maybe reducing the speed to 1-2 on the Flex and doing less passes will net better results.

Sorry about the strange analogy, but it's the best I could think of at the moment. :laughing:

[ronkh57]

Nice !!

[emmjay]

I have a theory on this- it may have something to do with the forced rotation of the Flex over-working the product. I have found that Essence does about the same thing if worked too hard. Its kind of like applying lotion on your skin- you don't work it in by rubbing ferociously, you simply spread it out and gently massage it in. Maybe reducing the speed to 1-2 on the Flex and doing less passes will net better results.

Sorry about the strange analogy, but it's the best I could think of at the moment. :laughing:

LOL! But, that definitely does make sense!

[MIsnowman]

I have a theory on this- it may have something to do with the forced rotation of the Flex over-working the product. I have found that Essence does about the same thing if worked too hard. Its kind of like applying lotion on your skin- you don't work it in by rubbing ferociously, you simply spread it out and gently massage it in. Maybe reducing the speed to 1-2 on the Flex and doing less passes will net better results.

Sorry about the strange analogy, but it's the best I could think of at the moment. :laughing:

I'm thinking you're probably right about the Flex overworking the polish. The Escalate seems like a really dry polish. Not dry as in thick consistency, it is pretty runny, but dry as in not oily at all, which is probably why it is used before the coating. I tried running from speed 2-4 and it didn't seem to make a lot of difference. Less pressure helped the most, but then it didn't correct very much. I was really surprised because this was the first time I couldn't make the flex work. The finish was really horrible. I should've grabbed a couple pics but I didn't think about it at the time. All I have for it is hybrid pads, so maybe a different pad type would've worked, but I doubt it. Luckily the Rupes worked great. I had my doubts about it the first few times I used it, but it finished amazingly well with the Escalate. I think I could've gotten similar results with the flex and Menz 4500, but that would've required a wipe down before the Viking Coat to remove the oils.

[emmjay]

Maybe Custmsprty can chime in as he loves the product.