Most non stick protection product?

[rrmccabe]

My daily driver sits outside and during the summer months it seems go get covered with stains from what I can only assume is stuff from tree's and bug "spots".

 

I have used LPS, H20 G&G, Patriot and Adams original ceramic. None of them have held up very well and the ceramic was the worst and most disappointing of the bunch.

 

To get the truck clean I pretty much have to use APC and scrub like crazy. Shampoo really wont touch it.  A couple weeks ago I used APC and Claybar and coated it with another brand of ceramic spray "hybrid" wax. The stuff is only $15 per bottle and seems to work as well as any of the Adams products I have tried and have been using it for the last year. 

 

That said,  it still has the same issue as the Adams products when it comes to cleaning the brown coffee looking stains off my white vehicle. So wondering what Adams has that will help repel stains.  At this point I am more interested in something non stick than I am longevity.

 

Thoughts?

 

Rich

[RayS]

Hi Rich,

My Red truck has gone through three different toppers, starting with the Paint Sealant/Americana, then the Original Ceramic Paste Wax and for the last 11 months, Ceramic Spray Coating.  All of them did pretty good, but nothing compared with the CSC that is currently on it, which one short exception - pollen season.   When the pollen is heavy, nothing has ever worked very good and that is with 20+ years of history in the south and detailing.   Surprisingly the best product during pollen season has been Buttery Wax with a topper of Brilliant Glaze one a week.

 

With CSC, I ended with what almost looked like water spots, except the rings were obviously pollen.  It make my truck look like it had yellow/green measles and would last between 30 and 60 days according to how long the heavy pollen lasted.   With the exception of pollen season, I have not had anything that compared to CSC and regular maintenance washes of Wash & Coat once a month, Ceramic boost every 6 weeks and swapping every other almost weekly wash with either Ceramic Waterless or CS3 as a drying agent.   I only use the Ceramic Waterless because I have a gallon, otherwise it just be CS3.

 

I am surrounded by Pines, Maple, Dogwood, Crape Myrtle, Cedar, Holly, Magnolia,  Red Tips, and about 100 Azalea bushes.  

[falcaineer]

Your best bet now would be the new Graphene Ceramic Coating, either version. With any coating, prep is everything. Strip wash, decon (clay, iron remover), paint correction, surface prep,, and finally the coating. I'd be interested to hear your process used to apply and maintain the coating as it should've been the best of the bunch.

 

Also note if you used APC on your car, you stripped any protection on it, save for the coating but abrasion would degrade that if you really want at it.

[rrmccabe]

Yea I am aware I am stripping all protection when I use APC. So each time I do that it gets protection (other brand) again. Actually I was doing the same when I was using G&G.  

 

As far the my ceramic application, I strip washed the vehicle, claybarred and did complete paint correction even though it really did not need it.  Wiped down with panel wipe to get the truck clean and then followed Adams instruction on applying which included the cleaner that comes with the kit and of course the ceramic.

 

In the early days Adams changed the product slightly so the dwell time changed. Originally, you put the product on and when you started seeing the rainbow you immediately buffed it back off. That was about 1 minute in my case. Not long after introducing that product they changed it and it needed to be on the vehicle for 3 or 4 minutes if I remember correctly. The problem was after they made this switch they continued to ship old instructions that basically said to buff it off right away just like all the videos I watched.

 

So the only thing anyone could come up with was I did not leave the ceramic on long enough (following the instructions).  After 3 weeks it would not even bead water.  I took videos while running a hose over it.  Customer service was super crappy about it even though they admitted the directions were wrong.  They would not even send me a complete kit to replace it until I got Dan involved. 

 

At that point I was "ticked off"  and just gave the replacement ceramic kit away.  Went back to G&G until some friends told me about this blue bottle other brand stuff that was cheap and honestly has held up better than all my Adams product. 

 

As you are aware its a lot of work prepping a vehicle for ceramic so the thought of doing it twice really did not thrill me and customer services response was the last straw.

 

I have stuck with Adams products despite of that encounter with the exception of the "blue stuff" and I did use Gtechniq on my rims.

 

Just trying to find something that stains do not stick to.

 

And Ray, thanks for the info.  Sounds like you can relate. I am not really parked under any trees but I have one locust that is not far away.  I have 3 or 4 bottles of buttery but have never used. I avoided it on a daily driver because of longevity. I am not ambitious enough to use brilliant glaze on a full size quad cab truck weekly

 

 

@RayS

Edited August 7, 2020 by rrmccabe

[falcaineer]

Fair enough, Rich, sorry if I opened a wound. 😬👊🏼

 

The trick with ceramic isn't time or look, it's feel. When you can very lightly drag a towel and it slides easily, it's too soon. Once the surface starts to become tacky and the towel catches, it's then time to remove. And in the same order you applied it. 

 

Your best bet against stains is the Graphene Ceramic Coating. And for now, maintain with any of the silica-infused products. Joe shows the process in his video, and while he does mention the look as an indicator, he also goes over feel of the coating.

[rrmccabe]

No worries. The wound is healed

 

Just was disappointed in Adams telling me "that is not covered under our warranty". But as I said Dan came to the rescue.

 

Graphene is brand new and doesn't seem like we have much real world experience with users yet? Feels like a lot of Deja vu  with my ceramic experience so I am reluctant in going down that path again with them.

 

I guess I don't know Joe. Is that the black SUV video(s) I watched?  If so, I don't think he mentioned any maintenance products for it.

 

Thanks for response Chris.

 

Rich

[rrmccabe]

Will give them another shot with ceramic.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by rrmccabe

[rrmccabe]

@falcaineer  I did not want to mess up that other thread so back here

 

I just went out and washed the front of the truck. Hood, bumper, fenders and grill.  The iron remover is not really showing signs of purple but after washing those panels I can say without a doubt it strips the brown stuff off including that stain you saw with little effort. Way better than APC.

Course it stripped the protectant right off the hood and fenders but certainly easier than APC so will use that when I strip wash it before graphene.

 

[Dan@Adams]

Once you have the graphene coating installed, another option for maintenance would be the new Slick & Slide. It leaves the surface feeling more slippery than just about anything I've tested, which may help with the stains sticking to your vehicle. As @falcaineer mentioned, with Ceramic Coatings (and the new Graphene Ceramic Coating), time frame of how long you let it sit on the surface is going to be very subjective, dependent on temperature and humidity. So the 15-30 second quote in the original instructions is not necessarily wrong in all cases - but was written that way with the original 7H Paint Coating, so as to have less frustration with application for people new to ceramic coatings, because it could be very difficult to remove and leave high spots if it sat too long...ceramic technology was new to us, and we were learning back then too  

Advancements in the formula and coating technology have allowed for longer flash times, i.e. 2-3 minutes typically for our coatings. With the graphene coating, if you apply it thick, you will actually see that it may not rainbow, and instead it will begin to have tiny 'sweat' beads on the surface. I've found that if it does 'sweat' like this, you can sometimes leave it on the surface up to 10 minutes and it will still wipe away fairly easy, but humidity plays a big factor in this too. In my very humid Pittsburgh area this time of year, 3-5 minutes is the sweet spot for flash time when the towel begins to have some drag when wiping the residue off of the surface. If you apply the graphene coating thin, it will rainbow quickly and will not 'sweat.' In this instance, I would wipe it off a little more quickly, 2-3 minutes. If there is difficulty in removing the residue, you can apply a few more drops to the applicator, go back over the area, and then wipe it right back off. Alternatively, the Graphene Ceramic Spray Coating can also be used as a removal aid of the full Graphene Ceramic Coating.

If you're working on a darker colored vehicle, I would also strongly suggest to move it out into both sunlight and a cloudy sky after doing a test area if you can, just to make sure that you aren't seeing any streaking or high spots. Graphene tends to show streaks a little more on darker colors on a cloudy day if you do not fully remove the residue - it will look incredible in the sunlight though!

[rrmccabe]

Thanks for all the good info Dan.

 

As far as my first coating attempt. With all due respect the instructions were either wrong or incomplete. I followed Adams video to a Tee.  The instructions at the time backed this up. All I know is within a month the truck would not bead water at all and I was told the formula had changed slightly and the instructions were incorrect and I probably did not leave it on long enough. (per Emery).  I was also told this "Was not covered under your normal warranty"  What??

 

Regardless, its water under the bridge to me. I have continued to buy Adams products with the exception of wax.

 

At this time I am just not comfortable with buying ceramic products including Graphene from Adams. That may change in the future and really hope it does.

 

Right now I just dont feel like dropping another $100 on a coating kit when the first one I bought never worked.

 

As always appreciate your knowledge and support.

 

Rich

 

 

[Dan@Adams]

53 minutes ago, rrmccabe said:

Thanks for all the good info Dan.

 

As far as my first coating attempt. With all due respect the instructions were either wrong or incomplete. I followed Adams video to a Tee.  The instructions at the time backed this up. All I know is within a month the truck would not bead water at all and I was told the formula had changed slightly and the instructions were incorrect and I probably did not leave it on long enough. (per Emery).  I was also told this "Was not covered under your normal warranty"  What??

 

Regardless, its water under the bridge to me. I have continued to buy Adams products with the exception of wax.

 

At this time I am just not comfortable with buying ceramic products including Graphene from Adams. That may change in the future and really hope it does.

 

Right now I just dont feel like dropping another $100 on a coating kit when the first one I bought never worked.

 

As always appreciate your knowledge and support.

 

Rich

 

 

Totally understand. There are no warranties on the coatings, but that issue should have been covered under the satisfaction guarantee, especially if it had only been a month, so I'm glad we were able to eventually resolve that. As an fyi, Emery is no longer with the company.

I would say to give the Slick & Slide a shot. It's the same price as Detail Spray at $12.99 a bottle, and I do feel it leaves a more slick surface than any of our waxes, just at the sacrifice of longevity. If you aren't happy with it, let me know and I'll send you a gift card for the trouble

[rrmccabe]

I will definitely try the slick and slide.  I mean it is Hawaiian Punch scented. I dont see how a guy could go wrong

 

Honestly, I was almost ready to try coating again until I saw the thread about new truck and the grey trim.  Figured I better let you guys workout the bugs!

 

 

 

[PacificNWBuckeye]

I have not done a ceramic coating yet to compare, but Slick and Slide is the best of the non-stick products I've tried from Adam's. Both my cars are coated with it, dropped 2 towels before I realized how slick it was. I can barely get foam to sit on them from the normal foam gun (still need to try the cannon since coating).