EXO'd My Car

[JSFM35x]

Last weekend I did a full exterior detail on my daily driver, a 2012 Infiniti M37X. I decided to use the Gtechnig EXO as my LSP. I have been experimenting with coatings to get the look I want, with added durability as well as the potential benefit of reduced maintenance. I will keep you posted on that one. The EXO is suppose to offer up to 2 years of protection.

Products used:
Wheels
P21S Gel Sprayed on wheel directly full strength
Wheel Woolies (Set of 3)
SV Brush
Pot Style Scrub Brush for tires
P21S Total Auto Wash for cleaning the tires and wells
Tardis to remove random tar spots on wheels and barrels
Demoted wash pad for wheel faces
Wheel Bucket w/2 Grit Guards (Porrboys Super Slick and Suds)
Rolling Harbor Freight Stool to save the knees and back!

Wash
2each 5 Gallon Buckets, each bucket with 2 grit guards
Dual 5 Gallon Bucket Dolly
Karcher Pressure Washer w/Foam Cannon
Car was foamed with Poorboy's Super Slick and Suds
Washed with Sheepskin Mitt uppers panels and lower dirty areas with a MF pad
TAW applied after wash to remove any remaining LSP
P21S Polishing Soap on exhaust tips
Optimum Metal Polish on exhaust tips
4HP Metro Vac to blow dry car

Decontamination
Iron-X
Nono Skin 6" Fine grade Auto-Scrub Pad on DA/ ONR as Lube
Fine Clay for hard to reach areas and corners of the glass
Tardis to remove random tar spots on paint
Correction
M205
5.5" Green Polishing Pads
GG DA with a 5" Back Plate
Eraser to check work / remove any polishing oils and residue
Many All Purpose MF towels
LSP
410ml Can of EXO Hybrid Coating
Wurth Prep Solve to pre clean each panel
Many All Purpose MF towels

Tires
GTech T1 Tire Dressing

GTech Products

I really did a very thorough job preparing the car for the EXO because I did not want any chance that my prep could be the cause of failure if the performance of the EXO did not meet the manufacturers claims. I normally can get away with soap and water on my wheels but since I was sealing them for what I hope will be 2 years I broke out the wheel cleaner to get them their cleanest.
I have not seen much information on the proper application of the EXO posted on the Forum's although I did watch the Todd/Mike video of the application of EXO on the Candy Apple Mustang, and watched the youtube video of the EXO application on the Enzo. Armed with those instructions and the info on GTechnig's website I went ahead with the detail.
I pick this up at the decon stage with pictures and Iron X doing its thing.
Hood

Mirror

Trunk Lid

Iron X Mini Review:
The Iron X has been a great addition to my arsenal this past year. It really pulls a lot of Iron and possible other "stuff" off the surface of the pant and leaves the paint noticeably smoother to the touch. The reason I say other stuff is because the surface is so smooth after application that i am not sure what else besides Iron it is removing. If the smell issue could be addressed that would make it perfect. Mine was the new and improved cherry fragrance and all I can say it I am glad I never used the original formula. I ended up using about 500 ml on the car to get complete coverage. I need to confirm that Iron X does not remove an LSP like EXO but if it does not, I could see using it quarterly to keep the car nice and smooth.
All Washed, Dried, Nano Skin Auto Scrubbed and ready for correction

Mini Review 6" Nano Skin Scrub Pad
The Nano skin pad was introduced to me recently and really speeds up the time required to "clay" a car. I use it on the GG Da on speed 1 with only the weight of the machine needed to get the necessary results. I liberally spray the panel with ONR mixed at QD strength, then spray the Nano skin pad and go over the panel. Then I wipe the ONR off the panel, wipe the Nano Skin pad to remove any possible contamination and move around the car repeating these steps on each panel. Clay is only used for areas I cannot get to with the DA. I question the necessity of this step after the Iron X because the surface was so smooth but I did it anyway to err on the side of caution. I have used this pad twice, and it shows zero wear. I purchased the fine grade pad since I only do my own cars and they are I kept in good shape. I did use the medium grade on my Subaru and that worked well. Neither the Medium or Fine grades inflicted any marring that I could see.
Paint Correction:
The finish on the car was in good shape and defects are difficult to photograph on a Pearl white car. My choice of color this time around was no accident. You may recall my last DD was the same car in Flat Black. Not too much fun to maintain, but looks killer when done right. I just did not have the time to keep it looking how I needed / wanted it to look. Who know's, if these coatings work out perhaps I would get another black DD??? Polishing is my least favorite process and although it is rewarding it takes me a long time to get the finish perfected. I am getting more comfortable with it but it still takes a long time.
Post polishing Pictures after Multiple Eraser Wipe Downs

After finishing the hood you can really see the pearl in this photo

One with the lights on

EXO Review
The EXO was applied after I wiped all paint, Glass and wheels down with Wurths Prop Solve. Todd was good enough to recommend this when I discovered that Panel Wipe was not equal to IPA
This stuff flashed off very quickly and can give you quite a headache if you don't use it in a well ventilated area.
Once the panel's were ready for the EXO coating I began by priming the MF with a good shot of EXO. It has a solvent smell that is not too strong or offensive. I dispensed it using the stream setting (tip of can facing down) as opposed to the spray. I felt that I had more control of where I was spraying it on the MF. I used a dedicated MF for applying the EXO that was folded in quarters taking care that no edge was exposed. I used a blue MF for the application and an identical Yellow MF for removal. I was told these MF's needed to be discarded afterwards as the coating will dry hard and could scratch the paint next time around.
Once the MF was primed I wiped it on in straight lines covering each section north and south then east to west in a cross hatched pattern to ensure no missed areas. You can see what looks like an oily film upon application but that quickly appears to melt into the paint as it levels out/flashes off. The wipe-on application of the product is very easy and requires very little pressure. It is so easy I found myself moving around the car very quickly. I suggest you slow it down to ensure you don't miss any spots. The wipe off is just as easy as dusting and requires very little pressure as well. After completing a few panel's I did not find that there were any high spots that needed to be knocked down with the MF. I buffed these panel's with the Yellow MF towel anyway. I began to wonder if my application was so spot on or there was something wrong. I intentionally blotted a freshly primed MF in an area just to watch the reaction and that did leave a high spot that wiped off easily. Using the cross hatched pattern I really did not find any issues with high spots for the remainder of the application. I applied it to a panel completely, switched towels, waited for the "wet spots to flash" and buffed off the panel. It disappears in a matter of 15-20 seconds. The second coat is even easier to apply and it felt like you were rubbing to pieces of silk together. Sufice it to say removal is just as easy the second time around.
Gloss after first Coat

As I moved around the car, I applied it to all paint, trim, lenses, glass. I applied one coat to the door jam's and then 2 coats on the wheels and exhaust tip. I saved these for last because I did not want to use the same MF in the paint that I used on the wheels and exhaust. Wheels were coated 2X then the exhaust Tips received the same treatment

After 2 coats of EXO completed

I left the car in the Garage the balance of the day Saturday, all of Sunday and took it out Monday AM for work. GTechnig suggests letting it cure for 48 hours. My car was dry for more than 48 although it was taken out of the garage and driven after 41 hours. The car stayed dry for 4 days so I believe that is what really counts.
I liked the aerosol delivery of the product. It is convenient and you just spray and go. I have no way of knowing how many cars I will be able to do out of a can, but it still sounds pretty full. GTechnig claims 4-6 cars per can based on 2 coats per vehicle. Expense aside this is a winner of a product. The gloss levels are as high as I have ever experienced and it has the same crystal clear optically sharp reflection I love and the slick feel missing from some other coatings. In the end the durability and self cleaning abilities will seal (pun intended) the deal for me. If I get close to the 2 years just having to wash the car I will be very happy. The only things that I encountered that is worth mentioning are that on my way to work I noticed what looked like a uniform smudge on my rear window? When I got to work I dry buffed it with a MF towel and it got a little better bit not perfect. That night, I re-applied a small amount of EXO to the MF and wiped it crystal clear. I suggest checking the windows with a llight like a brinkman. Not sure if I missed it or what but it was fixed easily. The window looked fine until I got into bright sun. Also worth mentioning is that on the second day, I think the finish was even slicker feeling than when I completed the car.

To complete the car I applied GTech T1 Tire Dressing. I waited until the EXO on the wheels cured before I applied it so as not to interfere with the set up of the product. I am now only using 1 coat of T1 as I lprefer a matte look. Another coat really amps up the gloss and rather than wipe it off, I simply only apply 1 coat.
T1 Tire Dressing


Completed Car with 2 coats of GTechnig EXO





Taken on Day 2 Outside my office-Trying to get a sunburst shot (Failed)

Glass looking real good

Thanks for looking........................

[Rsurfer]

Very concise review. J/K great review.

[pfix]

Very nice. This product definitly has my interest.

[dcjredline]

Very impressive man!! WOW sounds too easy to be true.

[barryscott]

Very nice. This product definitly has my interest.

X2. Thanks,please post some updates along

[Ray@Autogeek]

Great pics and great review

[RMM]

Thank you very much for such a nice review!
EXO is a product that has the potential to disappoint people: it is very expensive (at least up front) and the application conditions required are quite narrow. Let's see how it goes.

[BobbyG]

• Great selection of products
• Nice writeup
• Good photography
• Beautiful finale

[LF911PCR]

Luv Nissan/Infinity white.....looks great!

[oldmodman]

Your car looks great! I have always loved pearls, especially the Pearl White from Infinity.

I have about a seven car supply of Cquartz & OptiCoat2.0 still to use. But I will be watching your reports about how well Exo is holding up. I already have three of their other products and will be trying them out on a friend's new Prius next time she drop by for a visit.