What should water beading look like?

[CleanIT]

What should water beading look like?


I was told that beading is just one indicator to go by. I was also told beads should look a certain way. How does this look?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201020/9a338048f4777a0935b633df4de26201.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201020/7b2f321b03c3f880ca4304eb4c61849a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201020/c087da77a7f9404c965571a47ec305c7.jpg

[DMiglio]

Overall pretty uniform, some look a little more flat than others, some more rounded. For me, those are my indicators of beading performance, how tight(beading height and angle) and how uniform(how similar does one bead look to the next and across the panel).

They look good, but sadly we’ve been warped by the crazy beading and water angle of coatings. Few products today will rival the beading capable from coatings, I think Collinite waxes do well as does Duragloss from my experience. Some SiO2 infused products can generally match the beading in the short term.

Beading is great to look at and when the LSP is at its peak leaves a beautiful set of beads similar to your last 2 photos. A couple other indicators to look at besides beading, in my opinion are:

-Sheeting: do the beads roll right off the panel as you drive or can they quickly be rinsed off with your hose

-Self Cleaning: Typically attributed to coatings, they self clean very well from rain or pressure washing. They release dirt from the panel and “stay cleaner longer.”

Any good LSP worth its price of admission, whether a big box bought spray wax or coating should self clean to some degree. Spray wax very short term(1-2 weeks) coating(1+ years). When the self cleaning goes down so too does the beading and sheeting.

-Protection: Does it hold up well to bird bombs? Does tar stick and require harsh chemicals or rubbing? Do bug guts etch right through? Resistant to water spots? This is harder to quantify between LSP’s as some waxes or sealants may be better than coatings in an area or two.

You’ll notice reduced protection as the LSP begins to fade though, reduced beading, reduced sheeting and self cleaning. This will also lead to more bonded contaminants and harder washing and drying processes.

This is why maintanence is key no matter the LSP and coatings are just as susceptible and require upkeep as well. The idea is to keep your base LSP clean while boosting it, hence detail sprays, spray waxes and/or sealants and the more modern ceramic options.

[Mike Phillips]

Looks like a quality car wax or sealant after a few washes?

:)

[DMiglio]

Looks like a quality car wax or sealant after a few washes?

:)

Exactly what I was thinking!

[CleanIT]

Thank you for the response. You are correct - Griot's 3 in 1. I used it on August 8th and then again once more as a drying aid.

[Desertnate]

Looks like a quality car wax or sealant after a few washes?

:)

I thought the same thing when I saw it. A good sealant, but not a coating.


They look good, but sadly we’ve been warped by the crazy beading and water angle of coatings. Few products today will rival the beading capable from coatings, I think Collinite waxes do well as does Duragloss from my experience. Some SiO2 infused products can generally match the beading in the short term.

So very true. The coatings create water beads which are literally beads which just perch on the surface. I found Collinite 845 crated uniform water beads, but they were often big, fat, classic wax type beads that would just sit on the surface. Not like those from coatings or other SIO2 products which almost roll off on their own.

[DMiglio]

Thank you for the response. You are correct - Griot's 3 in 1. I used it on August 8th and then again once more as a drying aid.

What do you think of it?

I’ve heard nothing but great things, looks good in YouTube reviews and pics(paint finish and beading shots), but yet to have used it myself.

[DMiglio]

So very true. The coatings create water beads which are literally beads which just perch on the surface. I found Collinite 845 crated uniform water beads, but they were often big, fat, classic wax type beads that would just sit on the surface. Not like those from coatings or other SIO2 products which almost roll off on their own.

Totally agree, the beading of C845 still looks amazing and if it wasn’t for coatings I’d say it makes some of the best beads as far as I can remember. It leaves a crisp bright finish and works great on all colors but seems to add something to light colors.

Sadly haven’t used it much lately as I’ve been using SiO2 Spray sealants and Coatings mostly.

[CleanIT]

What do you think of it?

I’ve heard nothing but great things, looks good in YouTube reviews and pics(paint finish and beading shots), but yet to have used it myself.

I really like it. It is easier to apply (no streaking) than TW SNS. Works well on trim and glass. I don't know about durability though.

[PaulMys]

I really like it. It is easier to apply (no streaking) than TW SNS. Works well on trim and glass. I don't know about durability though.

I can attest to the ease of use.

I applied the 3-in-1 to my wife's Wrangler hood, and I purposely tried to "overuse" it on some areas. Made zero difference in removal. It still wiped down streak-free.

Very small sample size, I know. But I was impressed with it and the shine is pretty good.

This was applied on the 10th of this month, so like Ninja said- Cannot speak to durability.

[acuRAS82]

Thank you for the response. You are correct - Griot's 3 in 1. I used it on August 8th and then again once more as a drying aid.

What time frame was the drying aid application applied?

Regarding beads, how uniform or tight they look also depends on temperature outside, temperature of the rain, severity of the rain, and fresh vs municipal water (this based from my experiences anyways).

Warm rain in warm weather seems to bead the best, particularly a soft, misty rain. This is my best case example.

Cold rain in cold weather tends to hurt the uniformity. Heavy downpours that suddenly stop rather than end slowly also causes different shapes beads simply by the heavy water droplets bouncing around, moving previous sitting droplets.

Obviously there’s a zillion in between examples, but I noticed the above as extremes, particularly watching water behavior look poor in the early spring and great in summer (before it evaporates ASAP, anyways). Also I get inconsistent water performance from my hose versus rain, which is generally consistent during similar weather or rain types.

[oneheadlite]

I really like it. It is easier to apply (no streaking) than TW SNS. Works well on trim and glass. I don't know about durability though.


I can attest to the ease of use.

I applied the 3-in-1 to my wife's Wrangler hood, and I purposely tried to "overuse" it on some areas. Made zero difference in removal. It still wiped down streak-free.

Very small sample size, I know. But I was impressed with it and the shine is pretty good.

This was applied on the 10th of this month, so like Ninja said- Cannot speak to durability.

I'll lead off with the fact that I'm not able to do scientific level tracking like so many of our rockstar members here (I say this in the most complimentary way! I'm always blown away how well the peeps here can keep track and judge different LSPs performances).

Unfortunately, while I love detailing as a hobby, my little free time goes towards family time. That being said, I suppose it ends up being more torture-testing for LSPs as there are fewer washes/drying aids over the long run.

I applied the 3 in 1 to my car in February after a normal wash. It stayed on until I took some vacation time in July to do a full correction/reapplication. Again, I don't have scientific feedback for it's performance, but I can say that it was very apparent at each wash that it was still there doing it's thing. I say this based on ease of cleaning - you can tell when an LSP has degraded and now just washing the car requires more effort and time. The water behavior when clean was still basically the same as when applied.

You definitely don't get true coating like water behavior as far as beading goes. But, they don't tend to cling to the car once you get moving.

I've only done CanCoat as far as coatings go, so I can't compare self-cleaning to a true coating. I can say that it's not going to wash itself in a hard rain, but I haven't experienced that with the CanCoat on my wife's car either.

Interesting note, despite collecting your normal levels of dirty accumulated from 75 miles a day, the water behavior stays pretty much the same even when dirty.

Resilience wise, it seems to shrug off bird bombs pretty well. There were a couple nasty ones that baked on in full sun where I was concerned there was going to be etching, but a day later I couldn't locate where they had been (nor could I after that). The same can be said for water spotting - after a wash, I've not seen any permanent water spotting.

The biggest perk to this stuff for me is ease of application. When I applied CanCoat on my wife's car, I was stressed out of my mind because it quickly became apparent the lighting in my garage was not conducive to easy application. Being my first coating, I was also all paranoid about flash time (too long? too soon?) I fully acknowledge this is my issue, not the products, as CanCoat is beloved by many. It just made it clear to me that with my limited time I can put into detailing, I don't want to mess around with anything finicky.

Using the 3 in 1 is really no different than any other spray product. Didn't have any issues with streaking. Only little issue I ran into was wind causing me to chase the spray getting places I didn't want it to go (on panels already done). Next time I'll try spraying into a towel instead.

Coming into winter here (Just got like 6" of snow here yesterday), I'll probably use it as a drying aid next time I can wash the car in the shop at work just to boost it for winter duty. I'll likely give the Mrs' ride a coat as well since I just realized she's past the 1 year mark on the CanCoat.

[FUNX650]

I was told that beading is just one
indicator to go by. I was also told
beads should look a certain way.

How does this look?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201020/9a338048f4777a0935b633df4de26201.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201020/7b2f321b03c3f880ca4304eb4c61849a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201020/c087da77a7f9404c965571a47ec305c7.jpg

IMO:
Looks like a bunch of water beads just
sitting there, waiting for the potential
of some (bigly) water-spotting to occur.


Myself:
I prefer water beads that are...(umm,
let me just say)...water beads that are
much, much more active.


Bob

[CleanIT]

It was a misty rain, which is why the beading looks as it does. As someone above stated, the beading will look different depending on the type of rain.

[acuRAS82]

It was a misty rain, which is why the beading looks as it does. As someone above stated, the beading will look different depending on the type of rain.
Don’t worry ‘bout Bob.
Sometimes he comes off as a snob.
But I think he ain’t,
The man just likes dry paint.