Mike Phillips
12-04-2018, 03:11 PM
Review: Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2018-product-reviews-by-mike-phillips/121663-review-pinnacle-crystal-si02-spray.html)
Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_049.JPG
Below you'll find the process I used to prep a 1969 Camaro so the paint, glass and chrome would be in the proper condition to test out the new Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray. This product is for paint that is smooth and clean. That means after washing and drying your car, the paint should pass the Baggie Test (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2009-to-2017-how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/27967-baggie-test-how-inspect-above-surface-bonded-contaminants.html). If the paint feels rough or has a pebble texture feel, that is you can feel "bumps" on the paint, then you should at a minimum clay the paint before using this spray-on Si02 sealant.
Swirls are okay
The paint does NOT have to be swirl free. That's right, you can seal paint with swirls and scratches and in fact I know some detailers that offer this as one of their packages for customers with daily drivers that don't really care about swirls they just want the paint protected. Believe it or not, most people don't know the difference between a squirrel and a swirl.
For clarification,
This is a Squirrel (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2009-to-2017-how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/23142-difference-between-swirl-squirrel.html)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/ScottsVetteScratch011.jpg
These are Swirls
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/773/CobwebSwirls001.jpg
And yup.... most people don't know the difference and for the most part don't care. They look at their car as a means of transportation not a reflection of their personality that they must toil over endlessly to ensure it looks perfect all of the time. Just wanted to point this out because you can use this product on swirled out paint but you really want the paint to be contaminant free and that means using detailing clay to remove contaminants if the paint does not pass the Baggie Test.
Now I'm going somewhere with this so just sit back and let me drive.
About 2-3 years ago one of my local car buddies let me use a 1969 Camaro he had recently purchased for one of my big 3-day classes here at Autogeek in Stuart, Florida. We hold these classes 3 times a year, January, May and September and for each class I need between 13 and 15 cars. Out of the 13 to 15 cars 10 of them need to be "cool" because one of the things I teach in these classes, actually the primary thing I teach is
Show Car Detailing
And the only real or authentic way to learn show car detailing is if you're actually working on show cars. So Jim lets me use the Camaro as one of the training cars and it comes out perfect. Fast forward a few years and Jim removes the BIG BLOCK Chevy engine and installs a radical Small Block Chevy engine. So far so good. So last week I meet Jim at the local Tuesday night Lew's Crew Cruise-in and ask him if I can borrow his car for some video work we need to do because.... well because it's cool car. Jim of course says' "Yes".
He drops the car off and after it's moved into the garage I look at the paint, clean off a section with some spray detailer and then FEEL the paint. Oh my gosh! The paint feels like sandpaper! My guess is when they did the engine swap they also re-sprayed the firewall and the inner fenders with a fresh coat of flat black paint because when you pop the hood the firewall and the inside of the fenders have a very crisp, black appearance - as though they've been freshly painted. Just a guess on my part but the Mother's Detailing Clay is going to vindicate me.
So here's the engine compartment - note how the engine has a fresh Chevy Orange paint job and if you look closely, the firewall, inner fenderwells, and anything that's not motor related has a fresh black paint job.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_056.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_055.jpg
But the paint looks good?
Everyone that walked into the garage talked about how nice the Camaro looked. It's true, it looked great! Heck my class did a show car detail to it. But looks can be deceiving.
I like white colored clay because it very accurately shows me the color of any contaminants on the paint. I didn't have any white clay though but I had some yellow clay from Mothers. So I always use what I have. I sprayed down some clay lube and then clayed a section of paint.
After making just a few passes on the trunk lid, (shot a little video too), I turned the clay over and here's what I saw!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_001.jpg
Here's a close-up - that's what black overspray looks like when you remove it using detailing clay
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_054.JPG
So here's the point. I asked Jim if Autogeek could use his 1969 Chevy Camaro for some video work and he was kind enough to say yes and then bring it to Autogeek on our schedule. After I found out it was severely contaminated I felt compelled to remove the contamination and the associated follow up work necessary as a way of saying thank you to Jim for helping us out.
Just by coincidence, I have a new Si02 sealant to test out so ask usual, everything in life works out for all the right reasons.
As you can see from the black contamination on the clay, there's no way I can test out the new Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray (https://www.autogeek.net/pinnacle-crystal-sio2-spray.html) until I first remove all the contamination. Now here's where I'm going to go deeper... the overspray isn't just on the paint... it's on everything, this means glass, chrome bumpers and all the trim. And it's BAD!
So while I don't normally wash classic cars as a professional courtesy to the owners and as a Best Practice - I know the best way to remove all the assumed overspray contamination off the entire exterior of the car would be to foam it and then take a Medium Nanoskin Towel to it so that's what I did.
Apologies for the first few pictures, I had my camera set-up wrong and so the first few pictures were fairly blown-out.
Whenever I wash a car, for a project, my own car or teach a class, I use and show the Grit Guard Universal Detailing Cart. Why? Because it suspends the wash bucket off the ground so I don't have to bend over each time I want to dip a wash mitt into soapy water. It also holds all my stuff.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_002.JPG
Here you can see my foam gun, microfiber chenille wash mitt, tire clean, wheel cleaner and the Medium Grade Nanoskin Mitt. Sorry no action shots of these tools being used, everyone here at Autogeek is busy with all our customers holiday shopping.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_004.JPG
After the final rinse, you can see standing water on the car....
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_005.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_006.JPG
I've been wanting to test out the new Griot's Garage Extra-Large PFM Edgeless Drying Towel so today was the day.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_007.JPG
See my mini review here,
Review: Griot's Garage Extra-Large PFM Edgeless Drying Towel (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2018-new-car-detailing-how-to-article-by-mike-phillips/121654-review-griots-garage-extra-large-pfm-edgeless-drying-towel.html)
:)
Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_049.JPG
Below you'll find the process I used to prep a 1969 Camaro so the paint, glass and chrome would be in the proper condition to test out the new Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray. This product is for paint that is smooth and clean. That means after washing and drying your car, the paint should pass the Baggie Test (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2009-to-2017-how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/27967-baggie-test-how-inspect-above-surface-bonded-contaminants.html). If the paint feels rough or has a pebble texture feel, that is you can feel "bumps" on the paint, then you should at a minimum clay the paint before using this spray-on Si02 sealant.
Swirls are okay
The paint does NOT have to be swirl free. That's right, you can seal paint with swirls and scratches and in fact I know some detailers that offer this as one of their packages for customers with daily drivers that don't really care about swirls they just want the paint protected. Believe it or not, most people don't know the difference between a squirrel and a swirl.
For clarification,
This is a Squirrel (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2009-to-2017-how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/23142-difference-between-swirl-squirrel.html)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/ScottsVetteScratch011.jpg
These are Swirls
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/773/CobwebSwirls001.jpg
And yup.... most people don't know the difference and for the most part don't care. They look at their car as a means of transportation not a reflection of their personality that they must toil over endlessly to ensure it looks perfect all of the time. Just wanted to point this out because you can use this product on swirled out paint but you really want the paint to be contaminant free and that means using detailing clay to remove contaminants if the paint does not pass the Baggie Test.
Now I'm going somewhere with this so just sit back and let me drive.
About 2-3 years ago one of my local car buddies let me use a 1969 Camaro he had recently purchased for one of my big 3-day classes here at Autogeek in Stuart, Florida. We hold these classes 3 times a year, January, May and September and for each class I need between 13 and 15 cars. Out of the 13 to 15 cars 10 of them need to be "cool" because one of the things I teach in these classes, actually the primary thing I teach is
Show Car Detailing
And the only real or authentic way to learn show car detailing is if you're actually working on show cars. So Jim lets me use the Camaro as one of the training cars and it comes out perfect. Fast forward a few years and Jim removes the BIG BLOCK Chevy engine and installs a radical Small Block Chevy engine. So far so good. So last week I meet Jim at the local Tuesday night Lew's Crew Cruise-in and ask him if I can borrow his car for some video work we need to do because.... well because it's cool car. Jim of course says' "Yes".
He drops the car off and after it's moved into the garage I look at the paint, clean off a section with some spray detailer and then FEEL the paint. Oh my gosh! The paint feels like sandpaper! My guess is when they did the engine swap they also re-sprayed the firewall and the inner fenders with a fresh coat of flat black paint because when you pop the hood the firewall and the inside of the fenders have a very crisp, black appearance - as though they've been freshly painted. Just a guess on my part but the Mother's Detailing Clay is going to vindicate me.
So here's the engine compartment - note how the engine has a fresh Chevy Orange paint job and if you look closely, the firewall, inner fenderwells, and anything that's not motor related has a fresh black paint job.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_056.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_055.jpg
But the paint looks good?
Everyone that walked into the garage talked about how nice the Camaro looked. It's true, it looked great! Heck my class did a show car detail to it. But looks can be deceiving.
I like white colored clay because it very accurately shows me the color of any contaminants on the paint. I didn't have any white clay though but I had some yellow clay from Mothers. So I always use what I have. I sprayed down some clay lube and then clayed a section of paint.
After making just a few passes on the trunk lid, (shot a little video too), I turned the clay over and here's what I saw!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_001.jpg
Here's a close-up - that's what black overspray looks like when you remove it using detailing clay
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_054.JPG
So here's the point. I asked Jim if Autogeek could use his 1969 Chevy Camaro for some video work and he was kind enough to say yes and then bring it to Autogeek on our schedule. After I found out it was severely contaminated I felt compelled to remove the contamination and the associated follow up work necessary as a way of saying thank you to Jim for helping us out.
Just by coincidence, I have a new Si02 sealant to test out so ask usual, everything in life works out for all the right reasons.
As you can see from the black contamination on the clay, there's no way I can test out the new Pinnacle Crystal Si02 Spray (https://www.autogeek.net/pinnacle-crystal-sio2-spray.html) until I first remove all the contamination. Now here's where I'm going to go deeper... the overspray isn't just on the paint... it's on everything, this means glass, chrome bumpers and all the trim. And it's BAD!
So while I don't normally wash classic cars as a professional courtesy to the owners and as a Best Practice - I know the best way to remove all the assumed overspray contamination off the entire exterior of the car would be to foam it and then take a Medium Nanoskin Towel to it so that's what I did.
Apologies for the first few pictures, I had my camera set-up wrong and so the first few pictures were fairly blown-out.
Whenever I wash a car, for a project, my own car or teach a class, I use and show the Grit Guard Universal Detailing Cart. Why? Because it suspends the wash bucket off the ground so I don't have to bend over each time I want to dip a wash mitt into soapy water. It also holds all my stuff.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_002.JPG
Here you can see my foam gun, microfiber chenille wash mitt, tire clean, wheel cleaner and the Medium Grade Nanoskin Mitt. Sorry no action shots of these tools being used, everyone here at Autogeek is busy with all our customers holiday shopping.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_004.JPG
After the final rinse, you can see standing water on the car....
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_005.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_006.JPG
I've been wanting to test out the new Griot's Garage Extra-Large PFM Edgeless Drying Towel so today was the day.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3761/1969_Cam_007.JPG
See my mini review here,
Review: Griot's Garage Extra-Large PFM Edgeless Drying Towel (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2018-new-car-detailing-how-to-article-by-mike-phillips/121654-review-griots-garage-extra-large-pfm-edgeless-drying-towel.html)
:)