Oops. Sorry about that. Picture of the back looked like a 3. X5 it is! And cool on the outside for us...not so much for the X5. :-)
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Update 05/12/20 (6+ weeks):
I’ve been a little wild with washing to speed this test up once I realized it’s May and I correct my X5 in June/July. I’ve been using Four Star Professional Series Auto Wash which seems to be pretty harsh in hindsight. I’ve been washing hood and roof 3-4 times a week for the last 3 weeks and DGPS and PBL Sealant are getting beat up.
But Essence has arrived and now I can see what’s really going on. Below pics are after 2 washes with Reset today.
Hood:
Reference
Attachment 69587
Right after spraying
Attachment 69588
+5sec
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+15sec
Attachment 69590
Round 2 spray
Attachment 69591
Round 2 +2sec
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Round 2 +5sec
Attachment 69593
Roof:
Reference
Attachment 69595
Right after spraying
Attachment 69594
+5sec
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+10sec
Attachment 69597
Round 2 +~60sec
Attachment 69598
05/12/20 continued...
Hood observations:
- CSC caught up to WG PS, likely because it’s more typical SiO2 spray is standing up to the chemical resistance of the washes a little better. But WG Sealant is still doing very well. I should note that WG Sealant still has nicer beading after rain storms, just sheeting has slowed a bit.
- Pinnacle Crystal SiO2 Spray is still pretty good. It’s behind PS and CSC but better than the traditional sealants.
- Traditional sealants are a bit slow. They’ve taken a hit from all the washing but still alive and not so bad. The hood ends up dry across the board after a minute.
Mid-Roof observations:
- Cancoat is a beast. But being on a horizontal surface the beads aren’t rolling off. That’s fine, they go off quickly during a drive.
- WG CSC is the second best mid-roof behavior at this point.
- PBL Surface is 3rd, not too far behind CSC.
- Ti-22 isn’t fairing well, but still technically alive.
Rear Roof observations:
- Viking Spritz seems best right now.
- PBL Surface second
- Nano wax 3rd
- Synergy 4th
Overall, I believe the Four Star wash is harsh but I had still been using it over and over. The more typical spray SiO2s seem to handle chemical resistance the best, but WG SiO2 is very admirable as well. The SiO2 waxes are getting degraded but at the end they are still fully sheeting and beading.
Those pictures of the roof really kinda make you think. It also makes me realize all the different items on the shelf in your storage area!!! :-D
Update 05/22/2020 (~8 weeks for hood, ~6 weeks for roof)
What has the car been through so far?
The car has been outside 90% or more of the time. There's been lots of rain and lots of pollen. Pollen led me to washing a lot so I could see the real behavior before every rain, and the washes have been a steady 3-4 times a week. The most recent washes have been with Reset or Hyper Wash (back and forth), and prior was Four Star Professional which chewed up the LSPs a decent amount the first 4 weeks. I've now washed the hood and roof 26 times. I figured 26 washes can loosely represent 26 weeks (or 6 months) worth of weekly washing. Of course time is a consideration when it comes to durability and 8 weeks does not equal 6 months, but I at least was able to rough it up with washes and straight towel drying with PFMs (no drying aid, no blow drying).
Hood -
Pinnacle Crystal SiO2 Spray, PBL Sealant and WG DGPS are dead. I'm defining dead as less than 20% of it's original performance.
WG SiO2 PS and Ceramic Spray Coating are hanging on. Both are probably around 30%.
WG PS beads and sheets noticeably better when the car has dirt/pollen on it.
CSC catches up in beading and sheets slightly faster after a Reset wash.
Overall, I still like WG PS more because it's just less finicky with it's performance (and I think it looks sleeker, smoother). Pics below, with CSC on the mid-left and PS on the mid-right:
Reference:
Attachment 69651
5/21 prior to Reset wash (moderate pollen on horizontal surfaces):
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Attachment 69654
5/21 after Reset wash:
Attachment 69655
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Attachment 69658
Roof -
PBL Synergy, Dodo Nano and AW Ti-22 are dead.
CanCoat remains a beast and I would say it's still at 85% of original strength. But on the horizontal surface the beads want to sit rather than sheet at standstill. Sheeting happens easily once the car is in motion.
PA Viking Spritz is doing fairly well at 60-70%, slower sheeting but probably has the tallest standing beads.
WG CSC maybe 50%
PBL Surface Coating is hanging on, maybe 40%.
Reference:
Attachment 69650
5/21 after Reset wash:
Attachment 69647
Attachment 69648
Attachment 69649
I'll let the remaining LSPs stay for now. I'm getting itchy to try out some of my other items and might do so where the failed LSPs were. As of now I intend to wash the roof and hood 3-4 times per week still to get this test over with.
Makes me almost think it’s best to put a new coat of WG DGPS on my M4 except that it is in the garage and only goes to work 1x and a nice cruise 1x a week due to COVID, so think I will just leave it for now as it still beads nicely after 6 months (very little driving in Winter months as I use the F150 instead). Thanks for the update,great test
Seem like CanCoat is still a benchmark for lite coatings. Thanks for all this work.
It’s the most durable and longest lasting (I’ll get experience with Moonlight in the next year to compare). Not the easiest application but still easy. Not the glassiest look but still good. Beads and sheeting can’t be beat by non-true-coatings. Better than PNS by quite a bit.
Final Update 6/4/20:
Hood: Both WG SiO2 products are still present. More or less equal to each other except I still like the sealant’s beads slightly more.
YouTube
Roof: Cancoat still in great shape. WG CSC still present. PBL Surface Coating still present. PA Viking still present but hard to see from this angle, sorry.
YouTube
Last night I clayed with Feynlab Pure Rinseless as the lubricant. I’ll be correcting this weekend and laying down a summer coat of somethin-somethin.
I’ll try to gather my overall thoughts about the test and products in the near future when my brain hurts less.