Revisiting Your 2017 Thoughts On New Car LSP's of Choice

[tidmack]

Hi Mike,

In 2017, I reached out to you regarding your thoughts on protecting my first new car purchase. I live in south-central Wisconsin, daily drive my vehicles year-round, garage them in the evening, and have access to touchless automatic washes in the winter months.

In 2017, your advice was:

"As for coatings, if this is a daily driver and the car is driven in the rain at least some portion of the year, then I wouldn't get caught up in set-in and forget-it long term protection.

Instead, plan on doing a light polish once a year and the re-coat. That's if you want the paint to always look the best. If you're less concerned with how the car looks and are more interested in protection than 2, 3, 4, etc. coatings are the way to go."

I'm still sorta old school and didn't subscribe to the "wax is dead" mantra in 2017, and am still semi-resistant to going with a coating in 2021. I ended up purchasing a Toyota Highlander back in 2018, wax it twice a year with Collinite 845, and have used a variety of spray waxes in between 845 applications. The car still looks terrific and has only required just a bit of spot polishing.

With that said, I can be resistant to change, but I need to keep trying to move forward in our hobby. It's sorta like the guys who thought diminishing abrasives were all hype until they actually used the products with that technology. I don't want to be left behind with LSP's...

Fast forward to 2021: I have a crew cab heavy duty pickup on order. It's a pearl cayenne red color, so it should have some pop when cleaned up. I'm comfortable sticking with waxing twice a year with 845, but it sure seems like coatings have really taken over since I last thought about this in 2017. If you had a new daily driver in Wisconsin, driven year round, are you willing to share your LSP of choice? If that backs you into a corner a bit, I'd sure enjoy hearing your top 2, 3, or 4 favorites, in case you feel like there are several at the head of the pack. Because of the truck's size, use all year round and exposure to salt, I would say durability/protection is my first concern, followed by gloss, with ease of use last, if the first two criteria can be easily met.

As always, Mike, I appreciate your advice, insight, and recommendations. Thank you for being willing to continue to answer questions.

Jeff

[dgage]

There are really two classes of ceramic coatings, lite or “full” prosumer coatings. Lite coatings might give 6-12 months of good protection while a full coating should provide 1-2 years and some a little longer. Before we go on though, let’s talk about protection, what do they protect from? Really it is just protection from general contaminants and help keep the vehicle cleaner or at least make it easier to clean. Coatings also make the vehicle easy to dry so you’re potentially touching the paint less if you have a blower to remove water from the paint, which would protect your paint from potential marring from drying (touching) the paint. But even with a coating, you’ll potentially still need to quickly take care of water spots (minerals) and bird droppings and other contamination so you have to clean your vehicle regularly but like I said, it will be easier to clean with a coating. And as always everything matters on how you clean (touch) the vehicle such as using a 2-bucket method and not using touching automatic washes.

And most coatings usually need some preparation prior to applying though the 303 Graphene states that it can be applied over just about anything. But usually you’d want to polish to get rid of any imperfections or at least a cleaner polish, use a prep (IPA) spray TL remove any residue, and then you can apply the coatings. The prosumer coatings usually take more time and effort to apply and some of the lite coatings are easier though some are not.

For a lite coating, here are a few options, which most are sprays and there are SO many more than I mention here.

* CQuartz Lite
* Gyeon CanCoat
* Pinnacle Diamond Paint or Surface Coating (Mike P has used on his personal vehicles)
* 303 Graphene SprayCoating (new one)
* So So many others

Full Prosumer Coatings
* Blackfire Pro and Pro Black Ceramic
* Cquartz UK 3.0 (one of the most popular in the market)
* Many, many others; too many.

And then there are also washes with SiO2, which is the main constituent in most ceramic coatings. I use Wolfgang SiO2 Uber Rinseless and it adds some nice beading as a topper (sacrificial) layer.

There have been many ceramic comparisons on Autogeek and Autopia that you might want to take a look at.

For me personally, I went with Gyeon CanCoat last year as I was fine with touching my vehicle every 6-9 months and I liked it. But this year I’m thinking I want a full coating with high slickness so the car cleans and drys even easier. I’m still considering options but as of now I’m leaning towards CQuartz UK 3.0 with CQuartz SiC over the top, which is supposed to be incredibly slick and more resistant to water spotting. With proper care the coating should last 18-24 months depending on the environment and care.

[tidmack]

There are really two classes of ceramic coatings, lite or “full” prosumer coatings. Lite coatings might give 6-12 months of good protection while a full coating should provide 1-2 years and some a little longer. Before we go on though, let’s talk about protection, what do they protect from? Really it is just protection from general contaminants and help keep the vehicle cleaner or at least make it easier to clean. Coatings also make the vehicle easy to dry so you’re potentially touching the paint less if you have a blower to remove water from the paint, which would protect your paint from potential marring from drying (touching) the paint. But even with a coating, you’ll potentially still need to quickly take care of water spots (minerals) and bird droppings and other contamination so you have to clean your vehicle regularly but like I said, it will be easier to clean with a coating. And as always everything matters on how you clean (touch) the vehicle such as using a 2-bucket method and not using touching automatic washes.

And most coatings usually need some preparation prior to applying though the 303 Graphene states that it can be applied over just about anything. But usually you’d want to polish to get rid of any imperfections or at least a cleaner polish, use a prep (IPA) spray TL remove any residue, and then you can apply the coatings. The prosumer coatings usually take more time and effort to apply and some of the lite coatings are easier though some are not.

For a lite coating, here are a few options, which most are sprays and there are SO many more than I mention here.

* CQuartz Lite
* Gyeon CanCoat
* Pinnacle Diamond Paint or Surface Coating (Mike P has used on his personal vehicles)
* 303 Graphene SprayCoating (new one)
* So So many others

Full Prosumer Coatings
* Blackfire Pro and Pro Black Ceramic
* Cquartz UK 3.0 (one of the most popular in the market)
* Many, many others; too many.

And then there are also washes with SiO2, which is the main constituent in most ceramic coatings. I use Wolfgang SiO2 Uber Rinseless and it adds some nice beading as a topper (sacrificial) layer.

There have been many ceramic comparisons on Autogeek and Autopia that you might want to take a look at.

For me personally, I went with Gyeon CanCoat last year as I was fine with touching my vehicle every 6-9 months and I liked it. But this year I’m thinking I want a full coating with high slickness so the car cleans and drys even easier. I’m still considering options but as of now I’m leaning towards CQuartz UK 3.0 with CQuartz SiC over the top, which is supposed to be incredibly slick and more resistant to water spotting. With proper care the coating should last 18-24 months depending on the environment and care.

I greatly appreciate you taking time to offer well thought out insight. I mirror so many of your thoughts, including minimizing touching the paint by using hydrophobic toppers and blowers before a final wipe dry. I've had great experience with Cquartz's other products, as well as BF, so my early thoughts are to go with one of their longer lasting pro coatings. You and I both like topping our LSP's for that added sacrificial layer, so maybe I could get a couple years out of BF Pro or Cquarts UK 3.0.

I'm definitely curious to hear Mike's thoughts on this, too. Have a terrific day.

Jeff

[Mike Phillips]

If you had a new daily driver in Wisconsin, driven year round, are you willing to share your LSP of choice?

If that backs you into a corner a bit, I'd sure enjoy hearing your top 2, 3, or 4 favorites, in case you feel like there are several at the head of the pack. Because of the truck's size, use all year round and exposure to salt, I would say durability/protection is my first concern, followed by gloss, with ease of use last, if the first two criteria can be easily met.

Great question and thank you for asking.

As I type it's Sunday and I take Sunday off, that is go offline. I'm going to share some pictures in a few minutes of one of the cars my class wetsanded because the car came out so freaking amazing!

And just to note, the "finish results" you see on this car are from a simple one-step cleaner/wax.

Scuff and Buff Wetsanding Technique - 1937 Ford Slantback Streetrod - Single Stage Urethane




I'll be behind a real keyboard with my arm holder uppers tomorrow and share my thoughts then.

[tidmack]

Great question and thank you for asking.

As I type it's Sunday and I take Sunday off, that is go offline. I'm going to share some pictures in a few minutes of one of the cars my class wetsanded because the car came out so freaking amazing!

I'll be behind a real keyboard with my arm holder uppers tomorrow and share my thoughts then.

Thank you, Mike, I look forward to your thoughts. It's also a good reminder for me to close the laptop, and relax a bit, too. Take care, my friend.

Jeff

[Mike Phillips]

Fast forward to 2021: I have a crew cab heavy duty pickup on order. It's a pearl cayenne red color,

If you had a new daily driver in Wisconsin, driven year round, are you willing to share your LSP of choice?

If that backs you into a corner a bit, I'd sure enjoy hearing your top 2, 3, or 4 favorites, in case you feel like there are several at the head of the pack.

Due to the size of this Texas Cadillac, there's a couple of ways to skin this cat,


Option 1: Become an expert with a product like BLACKFIRE One Step

BLACKFIRE One Step will remove swirls and scratches, it wipes off SUPER easy and because you're only doing ONE STEP - it's fast and easy. Top with something like the BLACKFIRE BlackIce or the 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating and then stick a fork in it and call it done.

You could also just cheat and apply the topper to the horizontal surfaces like the roof and the hood. This will make applying the topper fast and easy and in reality - it's these areas that take the brunt of Mother Nature.

Then wash with this,

When it's on SALE - GETS SOME! - Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Coating Wash

It will create a hydrophobic surface on the truck and this will provide excellent SELF-CLEANING anytime it rains hard and also make future hand washing faster and easier. Anytime you see some damage, simply hit it with the BF One Step or do just the horizontal surfaces or buzz around the entire truck. It is the fastest way to go from neglected to respected.

My last truck? I used nothing but a one-step cleaner/wax on it and BECAUSE it was fast and easy to machine apply and wipe-off, I was MORE LIKELY to do it often to keep it looking like a freaking show truck. If the process was long, hard and required multiple step - then I wouldn't do it. It's my nature, and most people I know, to be lazy. Doing a MULTIPLE step process makes everything more complicated and time-consuming.




Option 2: Go with a real solid coating

A pro grade coating is bullet-proof and it will last a long time and thus protect a long time. I've been installing the BLACKFIRE Black Edition and I love it and I hate it. I love how solid it is, it's the real deal. Bullet-proof. But if you miss a high spot - you're going to have to compound it off. This is why I don't tackle large sections or wait past one minute before wiping the area I just coated. The directions and marketing for this product tout that you have up to 5 minutes flash time before you need to wipe and in a perfect climate this may be true - but if you screw up - you're going to have patches of coating that are just like super glue. Me? I wait 45 seconds to 1 minutes and then give the section I just applied the coating to a wipe to even out the product and remove any excess.

I have a regular Corvette customer that purchased a Chevy Colorado, this one,

Review: RUPES D-A Fine Polishing Compound with ULTRAFINE Foam Pad





The detail above was done back in September of 2020 - it's been 5+ months. I spoke with him about a month ago and he says he loves it. This truck is parked outside 24 x 7 in South Florida rain and extreme sun. He wanted something that was,

Set it and forget it (except he's smart enough to understand it's his responsibility to wash this truck CAREFULLY)


The above process requires multiple steps from start to finish and I document them in my review of the RUPES polish. Now follow me, IF read it again - IF something happens to the paint, maybe he drives to close to some overgrown tree branches, a bird dropping in the middle of the hood, some kind of scuff down the side of the bed. To fix any of these issues requires repeating all of the original step. With the BLACKFIRE One Step, it's one and done. You can wash the truck, clay if needed and then buzz over the affected panel or entire truck with a single product and you're done. It has really good correction ability so anything it doesn't remove you probably shouldn't be removing a daily driver anyways.

And again, if you want more protection that last longer than an AIO - simply top or apply a dedicated sealant of some type. It's still faster and easier than a multiple-step coating process.




Option 3: Use a lite coating

This would be good for the hydrophobic finish created that will wash fast and easy and also self-clean in a hard rain. Most lite coatings won't have the drying and hardening issue like the BF Black Edition and coatings like it. You'll have a longer window of time to wipe off any high spots and in some cases, the coating itself will dissolve itself. This means if you find a high spot, you can re-apply the coating and it will dissovle the high spot or dissolve itself. But the prep work will be the same as for a hard core coating.


If your skill level is higher than the average person - and you want more of a set it and forget it process - go with a reputable pro-grade coating from any "established" brand. Then just wash carefully.

If you don't mind buzzing around the truck 2 to 3 times a year, go with a great one-step product and find a topper you like.



Hope that helps...

When I get my next truck - I'll probably stick with a good one-step. I'm lazy like that.

Because of the truck's size, use all year round and exposure to salt, I would say durability/protection is my first concern, followed by gloss, with ease of use last, if the first two criteria can be easily met.

A bona fide coating will provide better protection from salt on the road (that gets on the paint), versus any brand of one-step AIO.

As always, Mike, I appreciate your advice, insight, and recommendations. Thank you for being willing to continue to answer questions.

Jeff

Don't know how much I helped, I just tried to explain the differences in "process" to get to a sealed truck. One process is shorter lived than the other but easy to repeat.

[Mike Phillips]

More...

Don't no one reading this into the future think a good one-step cannot look as good as a coating.

The Corvette in my review of the RUPES BigFoot 21 Mark III, (did this when it was first introduced), stayed around at Autogeek for another week before the owner picked it up. The most common question I was asked about it was,

Which coating did you use on the Vette?


My answer was comical.

That's no coating, that's a one-step cleaner/wax.


Review: RUPES Mark III BigFoot 21 Polisher by Mike Phillips

[tidmack]

Due to the size of this Texas Cadillac, there's a couple of ways to skin this cat,

Hi Mike, right out of the gate, your Texas Cadillac comment made me laugh! I love it. I appreciate your thoughtful, honest response, and respect your opinions tremendously; thank you for allowing me to pick your brain a bit.

So many parts of your answer resonated with me. As I'm getting into my mid 40's, I still want my vehicles to look terrific and be well protected from the elements, but I've found myself gravitating towards faster processes. On the Toyota Highlander I first messaged you about several years back, I've had great success with a process like Option 1 above. Your response, though, made me realize this process CAN be used on a larger, taller vehicle, without much more added time. I appreciate your product suggestions for Option 1 and laughed a bit, as my PBM box I opened yesterday included a bottle of 303 Graphene and BF One Step! I've used several other single step products, with mixed results, so I'm excited to give BF One Step a shot.

If I'm topping BF One Step with either 303 Graphene or a Black Ice/similar, can I just top right over One Step? I wasn't sure if One Step's protective qualities would keep other products from adhering?

Lastly, I'm not sure if it was intended or not, but after reading your thoughts, I'm STILL not on the coating train. I picked up some CQuartz UK 3.0 with this last order and I think I'm going to try it on a 2005 CRV we have. If I like the results, I may consider trying a coating on the pickup next year.

My truck isn't scheduled for production for a couple more weeks, so it may be the end of April before I take delivery, but I will respond to this thread with some photos of it protected. Have a fantastic weekend, Mike, and thank you for continuing to reach out to us with your ideas and experiences. Take care.

Jeff