Review: Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Spray Detailer



Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Spray Detailer





From the Autogeek Store



Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Detail Spray

Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Detail Spray is the quick and easy solution to the light dust, finger prints, smudges, and other light soil that accumulates on your paint over time. Instead of having to undergo a complete washing routine to rid your paint of such minor defects, Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Detail Spray will allow you to restore that “freshly waxed” look within minutes! Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Detail Spray is an improvement on the standard quick detailer in that is contains the extremely hydrophobic substance SiO2. Using Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Detail Spray on your car will also allow you to replenish the protective properties of whatever was, sealant, or coating you have applied to your paint!


What it is:

A spray-on, wipe-off detailer


What it does?

Removes light dust, fingerprints and smudges. Restores that just detailed look. Creates a super hydrophobic surface that repels water while creating a self-cleaning effect. Restores and maintains gloss, slickness, shine and protection.


When to us it?

In-between a normal wash or anytime you want to restore that just detailed look.





Pro Tips
Yeah I know, a spray detailer is a simple product. You spray it on, spread it around and wipe the panel dry. Not much to it. And "yes" while that is true, besides the product, there are 2 other things that you should know about to get the maximium performance out of any spray detailer.


1: Use the right microfiber towel

While any microfiber towel can wipe a liquid off a smooth surface, some towels do perform better than others. I tired 3 different microfiber towels and out of the three, the towel I found to work best was a simple, short pile, closed-loop weave towel.


These are called, Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloths. (They are probably referred to as cloths instead of towels for search engine optimization). Notice how many I have stacked up ready to go. I count 14 but I'm not going to use them all. The big picture idea is, to safely wipe your car down to clean it using only a spray detailer you want to use plenty of clean, dry towels. Swap out to a fresh clean towel often and then you won't risk rubbing dirt removed from one panel to over a new panel.




Here's the towel spread out,





Here's a close-up of the weave - it's a tiny closed loop.




This towel worked well to spread the SiO2 spray detailer out to remove dust, fingerprints and smudges. Then you can either flip to a dry side to give the panel a final buff or switch to a second towel to give the panel a final buff.



2: Set the spray nozzle to spray, not stream.

This is a REAL simple tip but I've seen people use the wrong nozzle setting when using a spray head and it's just the wrong technique. Most spray heads offer either STREAM or SPRAY. Using the stream option is like using a Squirt Gun. You spray down a thin line of product to a small area. Don't do this. You waste product and reduce your effectiveness. Instead, be sure to turn the spray nozzle to the word SPRAY on the nozzle or the picture that shows a wide spray pattern. See pictures below.



Here's the OFF setting.

Use this setting when storing the product at home in your garage or in your car when travelling.





Here's the STREAM setting - DON'T USE THIS SETTING









Here's the SPRAY setting - DO USE THIS SETTING







How and why it works

By using the SPRAY option on a sprayer you will better atomize the liquid to fan it out over a larger footprint. This will enable you to get more mileage out of the product and also help to saturate the area more evenly to make cleaning and shining faster and easier.





The purpose of a Spray Detailer

Some people get confused over the role of a spray detailer. It's often confused with a Waterless Wash. Let me explain the purpose and role of each category of product.

Spray Detailers

Spray detailers are for removing,

  1. Light dust
  2. Fingerprints
  3. Smudges


Spray detailers are not for cleaning a neglected, caked-on mud, dirty car. The focus is on restoring "that just detailed look" in-between a normal wash job and a regular wax job.



Waterless Washes

A quality brand waterless wash is for cleaning dirty cars when other options to clean the car are not available. There is more focus on cleaning for a waterless wash formula.





Demo Car - 2014 Mini Cooper - Daily Driver


This car belongs to a co-worker. They told me they washed it last weekend. Since last weekend, it's rained every day. This means the car has a film of dirt on it caused by dirt in the air and the rain creating the film on the car. I took a number of pictures of the car but you couldn't really see the dirt film on the paint. You can however see the dirt film and water spots on the side glass. This same film and water spots you see on the glass is also all over all the rest of the exterior of this car.


Light dirt




Swirls

Here you can see this car has normal swirls and scratches. A spray detailer will not remove swirls and scratches. This just documents that this car is probably not regularly polished and waxed. I'll tie this back into this new spray detailer when you see the water beading pictures later in this review.














How to use a Spray Detailer


Step 1: Starting at the top - spray a section of the roof with the Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Spray Detailer.





Step 2: Spread the product out using one side of a clean, folded microfiber towel.





Step 2: Flip to a dry side of the towel and give the section a final buff to remove any excess product, streaks or smears.





Repeat this to the rest of the car. Start at the top and then work you way down and around the car.

Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Spray Detailer can be used on any hard, smooth surface, including glass.








After roof and side glass, next tackle the hood and if the car has a trunk lid, do it too.




The Multiple Towel Approach

Spray a section of the hood with the PBL SiO2 Spray Detailer and then using a clean folded microfiber towel, spread the product out.





Note the 2microfiber towels on the windshield





Use one towel to spread the product out....






Then switch to the other towel for the final wipe...







As you work around the car, continually refold your towels and use clean sides for each section of paint cleaned. The idea being to avoid cross-contamination of removed dirt, fingerprints, smudges, etc. to the next area to be cleaned.


Spray a section of the car....

Note the 2 towels on the roof





Spread the product with one towel...











Then switch to the second towel for the final wipe.









Repeat this to the sides of the car after knocking out the horizontal panels....















Clean and shiny!









Review

This is a really nice product. I don't write that unless I mean it sincerely. There are scads of spray detailers on the market and Autogeek has plenty of them to choose from. What sets this spray detailer apart form all the rest is that as you use it - it lays down a layer of SiO2 or nano sized particles of silica. What the silica does is this,

  1. Makes the paint very shiny.
  2. Makes the paint very slick and slippery.
  3. Creates a hydrophobic surface.
  4. Helps to keep the car cleaner, longer no matter what your normal wash routine and frequency.



I've been detailing cars and teaching car detailing classes for decades. The number one thing people look for when it comes to a spray detailer, besides good cleaning, is whether or not it will make the paint feel slick and slippery. After that, people want a spray detailer that will help prevent dust from building up on the car. The SiO2 in this product dramatically makes your car's paint feel slick and slippery. I don't know if it will help repel dust but even if it doesn't, it will create a self-cleaning effect to the exterior and that will help to remove dust.

I shared the 2-towel technique for applying and wiping a spray detailer because using a second dry towel for the final wipe just works better than using a towel that is dampened and even wet to try to do a final wipe. This is more important on dark colored cars for visual reasons but the practice works for any color of car. Unlike a lot of spray detailers that use traditional ingredients to create gloss, shine and slickness, the Pinnacle Black Labe SiO2 Spray Detailer uses the real-deal. These are nano particles are solids in the liquid emulsion and you may see these solids as a smear or streak on the paint. That's not a negative characteristic, it shows you you're really laying down some substantial SiO2 anytime you remove light dust, fingerprints and smudges - AND this is where a dedicated secondary dry microfiber towel will work better for the final wipe versus using the same towel you applied the product with to also wipe the surface dry.


If you're like me and you like your car's paint to feel slick and slippery - you're going to love this new spray detailer. And because it's important to use the right microfiber towels to get the best results from this SiO2 product, I've included the link to a 12-pack below.



On Autogeek.com

Pinnacle Black Label SiO2 Spray Detailer

12 Pack Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloth