Glazes under sealant/wax - day 1

[embolism]

After dinner today I went out to give my aunt's car a wash (she's out of town and left it with us). I was thinking about surprising her with a full detail and it's supposed to rain for the next few days so I wanted to get it washed, clayed, and into the garage so I could work on it indoors if need be. This poor thing is in bad shape. It's an 05 and hardly driven (~50K on the odo) but the paint is hurting.

Automatic car washes, hacks that leave more polish btw panels than they use on the car (by the looks of the finish anyhow), and yes, my aunt herself, have beat up the once beautiful black paint.

I still remember the time she drove up while I was washing my car and asked me to rinse her car off for her. I looked at her funny and she says, don't worry, I'll dry it myself, then goes to get some Costco microfibres from a big bag in the trunk. Before I straightened her out, she fully intended to start wiping down the car after nothing more than a rinse with a garden hose and no soap of any kind!

Anyhow, just setting the scene. Tonight I washed, clayed, and detailed the engine. Had some time to kill so I thought I'd try a few things I haven't had a chance to fully test yet.

Products used
Dawn
Mother's clay
ONR lube
Chemical guys black light - CGBL
Klasse Sealant Glaze - KSG
Poor Boy's Black Hole glaze - PBBH
Natty's blue paste - PBNB
Outdoor temp: 23 C in the shade

here is the trunk lid after I rinsed the car. I'm pretty sure I don't need to wash with Dawn cause there isn't anything there to strip.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/prewash_rinse.JPG

For a pretty neglected car, the clay wasn't that bad. Testament to keeping it garaged I guess.

clay before:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/clay_before.JPG

clay after:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/clay_after.JPG

I was surprised how good the finish looked in these pictures cause the trunk looked awful to me. Sun was setting on the other side of the house so I couldn't get anything more than flash burst shots:

deceptively nice:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/deceptive1.JPG

But not with the flash:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/not_so_deceptive.JPG

Ok on to the fun stuff:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/prep.JPG

I applied CGBH on the left side using a yellow foam applicator and a nickel sized amount of product:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/CGBL_applied.JPG

Same process for the PBBH on the right side of the trunk lid using the other side of the applicator. The middle was left with nothing:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/PBBH_applied.JPG

I let both products haze over for 30 minutes, during which time I must have sniffed the applicator about 5 times cause the CGBL smells so yummy. Both products are purple in colour, the PBBH is a bit darker and it has a bit of a chemical smell to it though not overpowering.

after 30 minutes, I wiped off the blacklight:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/CGBL_removal.JPG

and applied a layer of KSG using a spritz bottle and MF applicator:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/KSG_applied.JPG

I used tuscadero dave's suggestion to apply PBNB right over the PBBH haze however. After another 30 minutes, I removed the KSG and PBNB haze with a clean MF. The following are some shots I took outside and inside the garage. Remember, the middle of the panel has nothing. Even without the sun, they almost look like 50/50 pics of polished paint imo:

CGBL & KSG vs nothing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/CGBL_KSG_vs_nothing_in_garage.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/CGBL_KSG_vs_nothing2.JPG

nothing vs PBBH & PBNB
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/Nothing_vs_PBBH_NB1.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/Nothing_vs_PBBH_NB2.JPG

While I did note visible improvement, the swirls were still visible on both of the treated panels at the right angle. Maybe it was just the fact that I could see swirling at all that kinda ruined it for me. Thinking about it later though, I probably was seeing less swirls overall. The paint was definitely darker and richer on both treated thirds. Here are some final shots when I pulled the car into the garage:

middle of trunk with nothing on it
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/Nothing_straight_on_in_garage.JPG

CGBL & KSG vs nothing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/CGBL_KSG_vs_nothing_in_garage.JPG

nothing vs PBBH & PBNB
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/nothing_vs_PBBH_NB_in_garage.JPG

I still plan on polishing the car but I think I'll leave the trunk lid for a month or so to test the durability of the lsp's with glazes under them. I'll try to include sun shots for the follow up.

Thanks for reading!

[sohail99]

Wow!! Really awesome test. I'm eager to see the outcome. :xyxthumbs:

I've tried EZ creme glaze II and its just amazing almost just like as you showed in the 50/50 pic

[embolism]

thanks

any recommendations for polishes? I think I may need M105 and orange but Acura paint is supposed to be soft so not sure if I should be that aggressive. The only other alternative I have is power finish and 106FA.

Maybe a one stepper with PF and orange? She's just going to trash it again when she gets back anyhow...

[Dubbin1]

Screw waiting a month, go out there and give it a wash and see what happens.

[embolism]

during that month I was planning on taking it to the self wash and taking the brush to it as my aunt likes to do.

Maybe those soaps will affect the panel but I can't see regular car wash soap doing anything. Stuff like gold class and DG 901 aren't supposed to strip your wax after all...

[LegacyGT]

thanks

any recommendations for polishes? I think I may need M105 and orange but Acura paint is supposed to be soft so not sure if I should be that aggressive. The only other alternative I have is power finish and 106FA.

Maybe a one stepper with PF and orange? She's just going to trash it again when she gets back anyhow...

Power finish and Orange is a great one-step :props:

[Dubbin1]

during that month I was planning on taking it to the self wash and taking the brush to it as my aunt likes to do.

Maybe those soaps will affect the panel but I can't see regular car wash soap doing anything. Stuff like gold class and DG 901 aren't supposed to strip your wax after all...

Then do me a favor and go out and wash it anyway. This is a perfect time to see if the sealant will really "lock" in the glaze ;)

[embolism]

if it's not pouring tonight, I'll wash it with some gold class and post up another set of pics...

[Dubbin1]

if it's not pouring tonight, I'll wash it with some gold class and post up another set of pics...

Cool thanks. Would this car be sitting out in the rain? If so that would be great.

[dreamps]

awesome idea! curious to see the results after a wash

[embolism]

just noticed that I posted the same pic twice. Here's the CGBL & KSG outside shot that should be there:

CGBL & KSG vs nothing:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1187/medium/CGBL_KSG_vs_nothing1.JPG

Looks like the KSG is a little tough to remove from the get go! I think I need a finer mister haha

This review stuff is fun but it's lots of work. Whew!

I have a new appreciation for the guys that post stuff for our benefit on a regular basis.

[Marre]

Cool test. And thanks for the hard work your putting into the test. Looking forward to see how they hold up.

[embolism]

It was humid and cloudy today after dinner but the rain had stopped earlier in the afternoon. Mixed up about 1 oz of gold class and put in about 1.5 gallons of water as I was only washing the trunk lid today and it was already clean.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/car_wash1.JPG

First thing I did was a medium spray for about 1 minute. I noticed that the untreated middle section sheeted the water off pretty quickly and was dry to the touch. Beading on the 2 treated sides was not as tight as I expected but then again it wasn't exactly rainfall:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/rain_shower.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/water_sheeting.JPG

CGBL & ksg:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/ksg_beading.JPG

PBBH & PBNB:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/PBNB_beading.JPG

The darkness of the treated vs untreated panels was still clearly discernable so I decided that some gale force rain was in order:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/gale_force.JPG

CGBL & ksg:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/ksg_gale.JPG

PBBH & PBNB:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1188/medium/PBNB_gale.JPG

Washing was done with a chenille caterpillar sponge using the same weight I would normally use to wash.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/washing1.JPG

I went from one side of the panel to the other left to right a total of 3 times over the entire lid. I got more soap then washed across the top of the lid back and forth another 3 times, leaving the bottom of the lid closest to me untouched. I did this 3 more times to simulate multiple washes so in total I went across the top of the lid 15 times and the bottom half of the lid 3 times.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/rinse_off.JPG

I used a cobra indigo with the laser cut edges to blot the trunk lid (as long as you don't put pressure on the edges, they are pretty safe) then those light blue featherweight edgeless to completely dry. Didn't use a drying aid b/c I didn't want to affect the look of the panels at all:

by now you probably know that the right vs left side are:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/dry_ksg_after.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/dry_PBNB_after.JPG

I didn't notice any difference between the top half and bottom half so the extra scrubbing didn't seem to affect either treated side. The swirls seem to be more visible in the shots today, not sure if it's just the angle but i tried to get shots directly over the line btw panels.

finally, some garage shots:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/ksg_garage.JPG
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/PBNB_garage.JPG

Final impressions
I must admit that before I started I figured the KSG side would win no contest. The reviews on this stuff all say the same thing, it's a bear to remove, but its essentially bulletproof. Couple this with the blacklight which I tested as a standalone topper on my dd for about 3 weeks before I changed it, and I thought it was a no brainer.

By the end of this however, I was noting a darkness on the black hole / natty's blue side that wasn't present on the blacklight / ksg side.

I even called my wife outside to check. After the obligatory rolling of the eyes, she dutifully came and without any prompting by me, chose the black hole / natty's side as well.

The only thing I can think of is that the ksg didn't like bonding to the blacklight. Perhaps the hybrid glaze/sealant nature of the blacklight did not allow proper bonding of the ksg? There is still something there obviously, as the separation btw treated and untreated is still visible.

Perhaps it is just a matter of which products work better with each other, which supports the school of thought where one uses products from the same manufacturer b/c all their testing and R&D goes into making products that work best with each other.

I think I'll stick with PBBH and PBNB for all my future glazing needs where I need to cover swirls on dark paint.

oh, here are some pics of the engine detail from yesterday just for fun:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/engine_before1.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/engine_after.JPG

[Dr Oldz]

Tim, This is an awesome thread! Great job!!! I am suprised how dramatic the 50/50's were. To me, it looks like washing both sides did remove some of the fillers and begin to show swirls more. :props: for this review!

[alfadub]

Tim,
Thanks for taking the time to do this experiment, and sharing the results, which are quite informative.