Another brand of ceramic or LPS again?

[rrmccabe]

I have always been happy with Adams products until my recent experience with ceramic coating on my truck which did not seem to hold up very well (5 weeks).

 

Adams customer service told me "This not covered under our warranty for this kit" and denied my request to send me replacement product to strip and reapply despite the fact they sent my CC kit with incorrect instructions. So in my case, the 110% satisfaction stuff they talk about is total BS.

 

This is a daily driver that is going to sit outside through Iowa winters. I like LPS but in my experience its not going to get me through the winter without reapplying. Wondering if applying Boost or possibly ceramic wax on top of the the LPS will give me enough longevity to get me through winter? 

 

To be honest I am leaning towards another brand.  I have been trying to get a hold of Dan for almost two weeks but he has not responded to my messages (email or PM). My initial thought was the customer service rep doesn't know what he is doing but since I can't even get a response from Dan I am not sure why I would want to continue to through money at Adams.

 

I know you cant chime in on other brands of coatings on this forum but would like to here from people in the snow belt that have had good success with LPS and boost or ceramic wax on top.

Edited August 14, 2018 by rrmccabe

[Ls1transam]

I’ve never had good luck with Adam’s Sealant. New or old formula. You’ll be hard pressed to find any sealant that will last through the winter. I’ve used a few coatings with great results and are proven to last. I’ve never used Adam’s coatings. But I would think they should do pretty good.

[Hamilton Detail]

It's basically forbidden to speak of other brands, but I'll shoot you a DM.  

[falcaineer]

If it were me, I'd try calling back one more time to speak to another rep. Not sure where Dan is...vacation, maybe?...but if you do call back, ask for Emery. He's head of customer service and will take good care of of you. 

[nasastang]

Out of curiosity what was wrong with the directions?  

 

I would imagine Adams LPS, topped with Ceramic paste wax and maintained with boost should get you through winter (similar to another popular sealant/wax combo out there).

[rrmccabe]

The instructions said to buff down the coating as soon as it starts to rainbow.  With the new coating you are supposed to wait 2-3 minutes after it rainbows before removing it. So I basically removed it after 30-45 seconds per the instructions. 

 

I talked to Dan about it as soon as I found out there was a discrepancy and he said “The new coating does wipe off very easily now, much easier than the 7H version. I do like to let it haze up for 2-3 minutes with the new version before wiping it off, so I'm going to get them to update the included instructions in the kit.”

 

All I know is I stripped, clay barred and did paint correction as needed. Applied CC per directions and after cleaning the hood with APC about 5 weeks later I had this.

Adams tells me APC wont remove ceramic coating so we have a problem.

 

 

 

 

[Ls1transam]

Sounds like it was removed before it was cured properly as you have stated. They should at least send you a replacement bottle of coating.

[nasastang]

Yea an APC should not have any negative impact on the coating. Sounds like it may have not had enough time to set up on the paint, I guess they sent out the old directions for the 7H. Did you do a wipe down with coating prep or a similar product prior to applying the coating?  I would agree they should send out a replacement.

 

Is the whole truck having the coating failure? If you have some coating left hit the hood with a quick polish/coating prep and reapply with the correct cure time and see how that goes.

[rrmccabe]

Just now, Ls1transam said:

Sounds like it was removed before it was cured properly as you have stated. They should at least send you a replacement bottle of coating.

 

Will take more than coating. Coating prep, towels, applicators, etc. Personally, if it needs stripped and clay again they should send that.

 

Its bad enough I have to go to all the work again for what appears to be 100% their issue.

If I have done something wrong, I will take my lumps.

 

1 minute ago, nasastang said:

Did you do a wipe down with coating prep or a similar product prior to applying the coating?  I would agree they should send out a replacement.

 

Is the whole truck having the coating failure? If you have some coating left hit the hood with a quick polish/coating prep and reapply with the correct cure time and see how that goes.

 

I wiped down the truck with IPA/water mix and then coating prep.  For the most part the entire truck acts the same way after hitting it with APC.

Right now the truck just has boost on it as I give it an APC bath and boost.

[nasastang]

I feel you, a lot of prep work goes into a coating, having to redo it so soon would be frustrating (specially a big truck). Does not appear you did anything wrong on your part. Should not have to work to hard to strip the coating does not look like much if any is present. Hopefully they can make it right.

 

Any particular reason you give it an APC bath, so frequent? APC will strip or weaken most last step products (boost, wax/LSP etc.) and if (when) you recoat, it should not need a APC type bath but maybe once or twice a year to kind of  "refresh" the coated surface.

[rrmccabe]

11 minutes ago, nasastang said:

I feel you, a lot of prep work goes into a coating, having to redo it so soon would be frustrating (specially a big truck). Does not appear you did anything wrong on your part. Should not have to work to hard to strip the coating does not look like much if any is present. Hopefully they can make it right.

 

Any particular reason you give it an APC bath, so frequent? APC will strip or weaken most last step products (boost, wax/LSP etc.) and if (when) you recoat, it should not need a APC type bath but maybe once or twice a year to kind of  "refresh" the coated surface.

 

I do not do APC baths on a regular basis. I just have not been happy with the CC performance and its lack of slickness.  I wanted to make sure it was clean and free of tree sap, etc. and then give it a coat of boost to start over.  You can imagine my surprise when I rinsed it.

 

So this might be the reason I have not been happy with the coating.

[LSX Maestro]

SO many factors play into this.  Environmental, humidity, temperature, cure time, products left over in towels, and much more that I'm not thinking of.  It might not be the most agreeable to you but if it were me, I'd Wash, Clay, and lightly polish the paint.  Wipe it down with CP Eraser or Coating Prep, IPA is not good at lifting, it tends to push so flip the towel frequently.  Then reapply the coating via their directions and let it bake for 48 hours or more preferably.  
 

There are many brands under the sun if you want to change. 

[rrmccabe]

1 minute ago, LSX Maestro said:

SO many factors play into this.  Environmental, humidity, temperature, cure time, products left over in towels, and much more that I'm not thinking of.  It might not be the most agreeable to you but if it were me, I'd Wash, Clay, and lightly polish the paint.  Wipe it down with CP Eraser or Coating Prep, IPA is not good at lifting, it tends to push so flip the towel frequently.  Then reapply the coating via their directions and let it bake for 48 hours or more preferably.  

 

 

I think I am going to strip and clay and avoid the polishing this time around.

 

In answer to your questions it was applied in a clean dry garage. It was HOT in the 90s and humidity was pretty high. It never left the garage for 24 hours and the towels were the new ones that Adams sent with the kit. I used them and threw them away.

 

I did wipe it down with IPA and then used a heavy coat of Adams coating prep (twice) knowing I was not going to get two vehicles out of the kit.

 

It would be hard for me to let the vehicle set again for 48 hours but I wont short change the 24 at all. Maybe do it on a weekend where I can squeak 36 hours out if it. I plan to do it with less humidity this time because sweating sucks

 

I just got off the phone with Emery and they are going to send me another kit.  For anyone interested the kits are currently not shipping with Boost 2.0.  He said he would send me a bottle of that. I see no reason to start with the older version of boost. 

 

One thing that I know from speaking from Emery is wiping off the ceramic will give you a good workout and be somewhat sticky when you do. In my case when I wiped it off per the instructions it basically wiped off like water. This was right after the rainbow look.

 

[falcaineer]

Since your original issue was Adam's not honoring the 110% guarantee and you're considering other brands, in which case you'll need to start all over anyway, I'll go back to my recommendation above...call them back and ask for Emery/ @Emery@Adams.Tell him about your situation, and I'll go ahead and say he will take care of you. Just give it a try.

[falcaineer]

1 minute ago, rrmccabe said:

 

I think I am going to strip and clay and avoid the polishing this time around.

 

In answer to your questions it was applied in a clean dry garage. It was HOT in the 90s and humidity was pretty high. It never left the garage for 24 hours and the towels were the new ones that Adams sent with the kit. I used them and threw them away.

 

I did wipe it down with IPA and then used a heavy coat of Adams coating prep (twice) knowing I was not going to get two vehicles out of the kit.

 

It would be hard for me to let the vehicle set again for 48 hours but I wont short change the 24 at all. Maybe do it on a weekend where I can squeak 36 hours out if it. I plan to do it with less humidity this time because sweating sucks

 

I just got off the phone with Emery and they are going to send me another kit.  For anyone interested the kits are currently not shipping with Boost 2.0.  He said he would send me a bottle of that. I see no reason to start with the older version of boost. 

 

One thing that I know from speaking from Emery is wiping off the ceramic will give you a good workout and be somewhat sticky when you do. In my case when I wiped it off per the instructions it basically wiped off like water. This was right after the rainbow look.

 

 

1 minute ago, falcaineer said:

Since your original issue was Adam's not honoring the 110% guarantee and you're considering other brands, in which case you'll need to start all over anyway, I'll go back to my recommendation above...call them back and ask for Emery/ @Emery@Adams.Tell him about your situation, and I'll go ahead and say he will take care of you. Just give it a try.

 

As if on queue! I'm happy to see they took care of you.

Edited August 14, 2018 by falcaineer

[rrmccabe]

Yea everything is good.

Not looking forward  to doing it again, but it is what is is.

 

 

[Black Bowtie]

Good luck Rich, report back on how this kit worked for you. At least next week the temps look like they will be in the 70's. ??

[rrmccabe]

7 minutes ago, Black Bowtie said:

Good luck Rich, report back on how this kit worked for you. At least next week the temps look like they will be in the 70's. ??

 

Thanks Rich. Not sure when I am going to do it. We are still recovering from the historic rain storm at the end of June so plenty busy doing other things!

 

[Black Bowtie]

8 hours ago, rrmccabe said:

 

Thanks Rich. Not sure when I am going to do it. We are still recovering from the historic rain storm at the end of June so plenty busy doing other things!

 

 

Wow, we were lucky and didn't have any damage. Was caught in it driving home from Ankeny and was doing deep water forging on the way home through Johnston with no luck. Working on finishing the basement and had just finished the sheetrock, so it was a nervous ride home hoping for no water.

[rrmccabe]

We were not in pooling water but we had so much water coming down the back hill that it broke our egress window and flooded the basement. 8 1/2'  (yes feet).  So basement mechanical's all trashed and all personal belongings.  Fortunately our basement is not finished except for stairs, landing and small hallway.

 

Glad you escaped damage !

 

Funny you would mention sheetrock.  That is my current task. Have it taped and first coat on.

[falcaineer]

2 hours ago, rrmccabe said:

We were not in pooling water but we had so much water coming down the back hill that it broke our egress window and flooded the basement. 8 1/2'  (yes feet).  So basement mechanical's all trashed and all personal belongings.  Fortunately our basement is not finished except for stairs, landing and small hallway.

 

Glad you escaped damage !

 

Funny you would mention sheetrock.  That is my current task. Have it taped and first coat on.

 

Maybe not in pooling water, but sounds like a pool, no less. Wow! Wish you well in getting it fixed. That's a lot of water.

[rrmccabe]

3 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

 

Maybe not in pooling water, but sounds like a pool, no less. Wow! Wish you well in getting it fixed. That's a lot of water.

 

Picking away at it.  Unfortunately insurance wont cover issues like this. So replacing an 8 year old Geo Thermal system is frustrating.

[Black Bowtie]

That sucks Rich! 1" of rain in less then 10 minutes did a lot of damage to homes and vehicles. I had never seen anything like that around here, let alone being caught In it trying to get home. I feel for you brother.

[rrmccabe]

Thanks man !

 

We got over 10 inches of rain here and most of it came in about 4 hours.  More rain than I have seen in my lifetime and hoping the last time I see it.

 

Anyway, will get ceramic on the truck again as soon as I catch up !

[nasastang]

Glad they took care of you! Share some pics when its redone!

[rrmccabe]

Got my replacement ceramic coating today. For those interested the instructions are still wrong.

 

Adams has confirmed that my 45 seconds of dwell time was probably not long enough and the new formula should the initial time to rainbow plus 2-3 minutes.  I cant believe they have not added an addendum sticker or something to manual.  Doing a coating job is no small task and its nuts to continue to lead people down the wrong path.