Review: HD Express - Gloss Booster (Holiday giveaway)

[skibik]

I have received this product free on the terms that I do an unbiased review so here it goes.

First I have to say thank you very much to 3D products for sending me the free HD Express Wax. Along with this item I was also sent a small spray sample of HD Touch.

I washed my car after work yesterday and of course with the drive home it still wasn't exactly clean. So today I had to give it a QD.

I will first state this is a black car and my winter LSP was put on 4 months ago and even though it still seems to shed water at the car wash I don't suspect that I have much time left on the protection.

Since I live in the northern wintery wonderland the first step is to fire up the propane heater. I picked today because it is a nice balmy 36F, for us Minnesotans this time of the year after having sub-zero days this is short sleeve and shorts weather. But is still is not warm enough to break out the buckets and the hose hence the touchless car wash yesterday.

Next is to get the film of road grime off that the car wash doesn't. So I mixed up some DP Rinseless wash to the QD specs on the bottle(don't care for it as a rinseless and don't mind using is as a QD) and do a QD/cleaning of the car.

HD Touch quick review. Now that the car is clean I decided to grab the little bottle of HD Touch and give it a try. It has a pleasant smell, can't really describe it. After the DP QD clean the paint is on the tacky/grabby side. I just did a small test patch on the roof. I spritzed it on and wipe it off but seemed to take a little buffing to get all the little bead trails that the towels leave removed(I have tried different towels to no avail and have this problem with most QD sprays I have tried). Might have to do with the garage at this point was only about 55F to 60F and doesn't want to evaporate. Once I buffed with another dry towel there was definitely a noticeable difference in the slickness of the paint. Looked like it left a nice shine.

Now for the HD Express.

Product Description

• Liquid Gloss Booster
• Surface Protection Extender
• Spray Protectant
Gloss enhancing polymer spray designed to maintain, renew and amp up the gloss of your vehicle. Special Montan Wax formulation works great with existing HD surface protectants as well as bare finishes. HD Express can be used as a stand-alone protectant, in between sealing or after each wash regiment to greatly extend the longevity of your shine. Easily adds a super slick and glossy appearance that will make your car look like you spent hours waxing it.
HD Express can hide light surface marring and also be used to remove minor surface contaminants such as dust, bugs and smears. Extremely durable when used in conjunction with other HD Car Care exterior products. HD Express will not discolor trim and is safe on all exterior surfaces including glass. Great at car shows where squeezing that last bit of extra gloss is essential for an award winning shine. The more you treat your car to this coating, the greater the barrier you will have against environmental contaminants such as hard water spots, pollutants, acid rain, tree sap and bird droppings.

The bottle: I really don't care for the bottle and sprayer. It isn't all that ergonomical to use. I would guess to keep production costs down the same bottle appears to be used for all products. The directions say use 2 small sprays per panel but the liquid is somewhat thick so the sprayer would squirt. spray then squirt with each pump and I could not get the sprayer adjusted properly.

The smell of the product has kind of a carnuba smell to it with a slight hint of a petroleum smell. It is a pleasant smelling product and I didn't mind using it. For application it says to spray then buff to a shine. It also says you can use one of their applicators so I opted to go that route and sprayed on and wiped in with an applicator. I may have went to far as I did the roof and the trunk lid in one application and may have put it on a little heavy and it seemed to be drying on me. Didn't think it would dry that fast since garage is now at about 65F. When wiping off and buffing to a shine it seemed to leave a haze or a film. I was going to stop but decided to forge ahead anyway. On other panels I tried wiping off right away but that seem to take more time to buff off. Although it seems to go on fast it does take a little more work to come off. I did finish the car and even though it seemed to leave a grey hue or a film it left a decent shine and the paint felt a slick when finished.

My opinion is this product seems more like a QD on steroids. Would I recommend this product to another person? Not if you have a black car since it seems to leave a film or haze on the dark color. But, I would suggest you give it a try if you had a light colored car. Although HD already has a QD with the HD Touch if this products viscosity was thinner I think it would make a great detailer. I will have my friend try it since he was the one I actually got it for. He didn't think he could get it done in the 30 day time frame but will let him try it and see what he thinks. If he doesn't like it maybe I will have to try diluting it slightly with distilled water and try it as a QD.

Pros:
Left paint slicker
Goes on fast and easy even with applicator

Cons:
Bottle and sprayer not user friendly
Seemed to have left a haze or film on my black paint(not sure if it had a reaction to the FK1000p that I use for my winter LSP, maybe would have performed better if used over another 3D product)
Seems to take a little work to buff off to a shine

For my last note I will say that I am still an amateur detailer. The time I spent on here I believe this is my first review of a product. I hope this was informative and you didn't fall asleep reading it. And last but not least this is JMO.

Thanks again 3D for the free products and thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[Swanicyouth]

Nice review.

This is the product I picked as well. I have yet to use it, as I haven't washed a car in over a month because the weather here is crap. From your review, the product seems a bit lack luster. A good spray wax should work well on any color car. If it only works on "light colors", that means the streaks are there - you just can't see them. Hopefully, I'll get to try mine soon.

I'll be testing it on black as well.

 

[skibik]

I hope you have a better outcome. Bad thing is I had to start with a cold car and a cold garage to warm up so maybe that had some factor in the not so good performance of the product. I had similar results with rinseless washes winter before last. Black is definitely a color I now dread purchasing and the winter months make it even harder to clean and keep clean.

 

[The Guz]

Thanks for the review. I was sent a small sample of this with the main product I reviewed. I will use when I get a chance and compare it to Meguiar's D156 which is what I use all the time.

 

[Dellinger]

Thanks for your review!

HD Express, in my opinion, departs a little bit from typical spray waxes/ sealants in : viscosity application. It is thick and I find it is best applied via foam applicator. Smells like HD Poxy.

Durability is outstanding for a spray wax... I have noted 6+ weeks. Looks are nice as well, very similar to Poxy. Fills very well if you are looking for/ need it.

There is a slight learning curve with the product. I too had some difficulties removing Express during my initial application. Next time I wiped on then wiped off immediately. Work in half panels.... wipe on fast, no need to work it in. Best analogy I can give is- apply like Meg's ULW.

I found I was using too much product and leaving on too long... thus struggling with haze, as you experienced.

Very little product is needed. 2 squirts to prime applicator, and maybe 1 spray every two panels. I think I got away with 7- 8 trigger pulls total when adding Express to a F150, 4 door.

The bottle sprayer is a problem though.

 

[skibik]

Thanks for your review!

HD Express, in my opinion, departs a little bit from typical spray waxes/ sealants in : viscosity application. It is thick and I find it is best applied via foam applicator. Smells like HD Poxy.

Durability is outstanding for a spray wax... I have noted 6+ weeks. Looks are nice as well, very similar to Poxy. Fills very well if you are looking for/ need it.

There is a slight learning curve with the product. I too had some difficulties removing Express during my initial application. Next time I wiped on then wiped off immediately. Work in half panels.... wipe on fast, no need to work it in. Best analogy I can give is- apply like Meg's ULW.

I found I was using too much product and leaving on too long... thus struggling with haze, as you experienced.

Very little product is needed. 2 squirts to prime applicator, and maybe 1 spray every two panels. I think I got away with 7- 8 trigger pulls total when adding Express to a F150, 4 door.

The bottle sprayer is a problem though.

By the time I finished the car I had kind of figured out that I was applying it too heavy and just used what was in the applicator for one fender and the front bumper when I finished. That side of the car was away from the window the sun was shining in so I couldn't tell if it all wiped off clean. Applying too much product seems to be the problem I have with everything I use on the car.

 

[Meticulous]

I had some of the same issues with Express. Like previously posted is must be used thin and wipe on and wipe off. I prefer the ease of use of D156 for a quick wax, looks are about the same, but Express will last a longer.

 

[David Fermani]

Great review! Like others mentioned, applying too much product can create removal issues. (typical of most products actually). I prefer to apply Express by the 2 towel method. Spray onto a folded MF towel, wipe over the surface and wipe with 2nd towel. As you keep applying it, you end up getting a build up of product on the towel. Once this happens start spraying less product to avoid over application. It makes a huge difference.

On a side note, try testing Express's filling abilities. You'll be surprised with how well it can mask light oxidation and swirls.

 

[skibik]

After viewing Troy's video on Express on how little he used I know I was using at least twice as much as needed. I am going to give the bottle to my friend so he can give it a try. It might be a month or two yet before he will use it but will try to remember to post his thoughts. I originally signed up for this for him but he was unable to make the 30 day deadline. Maybe once it warms up here in a few months I might even try it again.

Thank you again David for sending out the product for testing, I greatly appreciated it.