BudgetPlan1
Active member
Finished up using the Nanolex Si3D coating yesterday, kinda an interesting application. All in all, it’s nice although visually nothing noteworthy that would make it stand out from many others. It did darken the paint a bit, not so much that it’s terribly noticeable; darkened a bit more overnight as it cured. The gloss is a notch or two below the Feynlab Ceramic + TopCoat which was one of the most ‘brilliant’ that I’ve used and it’s the type of gloss that lacks the depth of some others (Kamikaze ISM) and is a bit less visually fluid than 22ple HPC ‘molten glass’ type of gloss. Slicker surface than something like Cquartz and less than the recent Gyeon Skin release. I’d say the overall look is very similar to Gtechniq CSL with respect to gloss, depth, color darkening and surface feel.
I think I mainly went after this product because it was unavailable in the U.S. and perhaps I found that a bit intriguing. Nanolex SiShield is available which, I believe, is a slightly less potent version of Si3D. Coulda added Nanolex Si3D BC as a flexible basecoat but since that would have added another $109 to the tab (bringing the total to around $250 for 50ml setup), it seemed a bit excessive for something I’d likely never order again unless it was truly exceptional. We’ll have to see how it holds up going forward. Anyway, had the Si3D 50ml kit sent over from the UK and picked up the SiFinish from a regional vendor for Nanolex. I guess when ya take the overseas shipping outta the mix, $70 for 50ml is right in the lower-to-mid range of coating prices. The chemical smell of this product is quite strong, many who walked into the warehouse while I was doing it likened it to paint thinner. It`s quite possible it made me dizzy after extended periods but it`s hard to distinguish from my normal state of mind so who`s to say? The smell was strong enough that I finally wore some gloves when applying, although I`m not quite sure of the correlation between the smell and the need for gloves.
The application was quite interesting, I’m not sure if it’s more or less efficient but by the time I was running down the 2nd side of the 2014 Ford E250 (Race Red) was getting into a groove that allowed for quicker movement. As noted in the application instructions below, it’s not a “wipe on, wait to flash, buff off” but rather a “wipe on, work into paint until little to no residue remains, immediately buff off” deal, and if a 2nd coat is desired, apply to same are within 15 minutes. In addition to buffing off when little to no residue remains, the primary clue as to when to stop working the coating and begin buffing it off is when the applicator changes form slickly gliding across surface to being slightly grabby; once I got moving that became the key indicator as opposed to visual clues as it was a better barometer of when to stop applying and start removing. Letting things go a bit too long did lead to some stickier removal in sections but nothing terribly unwieldy. Proceeding in this manner meant I was really swapping out the applicator cloths much more frequently than normal; Nanolex includes 10 in the kit and I went thru all 10 easily, even flipping sides on each cloth to get a little more distance outta it. Used a short nap towel (Gyeon PolishWipe) for initial removal followed by RC Wizard for final buff. Temperature inside warehouse was around 62-65 degrees F.
It became a matter of finding ways to break the surface up into sections that I could complete the application/removal on in about 10 minutes, returning to the start of that section and then doing the 2nd coat. Areas like under door handles, pillars and such were slight impediments to the flow of this method due to the need to pay more attention/time to get those done with 2 coats in and of themselves. If there was a word that best described the application, maybe ‘briskly’ would suit it. Many of the instructions I read from various sources used the word ‘quickly’ quite often and that’s pretty much in comparison to other coatings more methodical approach. The applicator cloths were somewhat hardened the next day, for whatever that’s worth. Also, despite the instructions, I did not wash the applicator cloths prior to use because, well, I really couldn’t see washing (10) 4”x4” cloths without some kinda ‘incident’ in the washing machine.
Application video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sTPs-0lr4I
The SiFinish application was quite nice, no streaking or smudging. Very nice atomizing sprayer on bottle although I applied by spraying into Gyeon PolishWipe towel and giving it a final wipe with a RC Wizard towel. Added some gloss and definitely some slickness to the finish.
Kinda forgot that this particular vehicle was the one 1 had applied 2 coats of Gyeon One to about 3 weeks ago…oh well, have another vehicle done totally in Gyeon One so I can just watch that one to see how it goes. Van was/is a 2012 Ford E250 in Race Red, 105K hard miles, relatively good shape. Did the usual decon/clay and used Scholls S20 Black on blue Scholl spider pad on drivers side (Flex 3401), GG Correcting Cream w/ orange BOSS pad on passenger side (Rupes 15 Mk 2), a few spots with Megs D300/microfiber cutting disc and then went over hood with Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Gel Polish on yellow pad just because I wanted to use a yellow pad, Kami plate and Rupes 15 for a bit as it’s just so nice to use; personal entertainment and all. Paint was in OK shape and I wasn’t going for perfection (left the deep stuff alone) as, well, sometimes ya just gotta draw a line in the sand with regard to practicality. Probably made it to about 75-80% and it looked very glossy and nice after polishing…i.e. ‘good enough’.
Although Nanolex included Nanolex EX panel wipe in the kit (probably the reason I went with the kit) I completely forgot about it and did prep wipedown with Gtechniq Panel Wipe, which I’m beginning to like more and more. Oh well, can never have too much panel wipe, no matter the brand.
Product Description:
Application:
Obligatory pics of red Ford van that was the subject of this particular adventure:
I think I mainly went after this product because it was unavailable in the U.S. and perhaps I found that a bit intriguing. Nanolex SiShield is available which, I believe, is a slightly less potent version of Si3D. Coulda added Nanolex Si3D BC as a flexible basecoat but since that would have added another $109 to the tab (bringing the total to around $250 for 50ml setup), it seemed a bit excessive for something I’d likely never order again unless it was truly exceptional. We’ll have to see how it holds up going forward. Anyway, had the Si3D 50ml kit sent over from the UK and picked up the SiFinish from a regional vendor for Nanolex. I guess when ya take the overseas shipping outta the mix, $70 for 50ml is right in the lower-to-mid range of coating prices. The chemical smell of this product is quite strong, many who walked into the warehouse while I was doing it likened it to paint thinner. It`s quite possible it made me dizzy after extended periods but it`s hard to distinguish from my normal state of mind so who`s to say? The smell was strong enough that I finally wore some gloves when applying, although I`m not quite sure of the correlation between the smell and the need for gloves.
The application was quite interesting, I’m not sure if it’s more or less efficient but by the time I was running down the 2nd side of the 2014 Ford E250 (Race Red) was getting into a groove that allowed for quicker movement. As noted in the application instructions below, it’s not a “wipe on, wait to flash, buff off” but rather a “wipe on, work into paint until little to no residue remains, immediately buff off” deal, and if a 2nd coat is desired, apply to same are within 15 minutes. In addition to buffing off when little to no residue remains, the primary clue as to when to stop working the coating and begin buffing it off is when the applicator changes form slickly gliding across surface to being slightly grabby; once I got moving that became the key indicator as opposed to visual clues as it was a better barometer of when to stop applying and start removing. Letting things go a bit too long did lead to some stickier removal in sections but nothing terribly unwieldy. Proceeding in this manner meant I was really swapping out the applicator cloths much more frequently than normal; Nanolex includes 10 in the kit and I went thru all 10 easily, even flipping sides on each cloth to get a little more distance outta it. Used a short nap towel (Gyeon PolishWipe) for initial removal followed by RC Wizard for final buff. Temperature inside warehouse was around 62-65 degrees F.
It became a matter of finding ways to break the surface up into sections that I could complete the application/removal on in about 10 minutes, returning to the start of that section and then doing the 2nd coat. Areas like under door handles, pillars and such were slight impediments to the flow of this method due to the need to pay more attention/time to get those done with 2 coats in and of themselves. If there was a word that best described the application, maybe ‘briskly’ would suit it. Many of the instructions I read from various sources used the word ‘quickly’ quite often and that’s pretty much in comparison to other coatings more methodical approach. The applicator cloths were somewhat hardened the next day, for whatever that’s worth. Also, despite the instructions, I did not wash the applicator cloths prior to use because, well, I really couldn’t see washing (10) 4”x4” cloths without some kinda ‘incident’ in the washing machine.
Application video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sTPs-0lr4I
The SiFinish application was quite nice, no streaking or smudging. Very nice atomizing sprayer on bottle although I applied by spraying into Gyeon PolishWipe towel and giving it a final wipe with a RC Wizard towel. Added some gloss and definitely some slickness to the finish.
Kinda forgot that this particular vehicle was the one 1 had applied 2 coats of Gyeon One to about 3 weeks ago…oh well, have another vehicle done totally in Gyeon One so I can just watch that one to see how it goes. Van was/is a 2012 Ford E250 in Race Red, 105K hard miles, relatively good shape. Did the usual decon/clay and used Scholls S20 Black on blue Scholl spider pad on drivers side (Flex 3401), GG Correcting Cream w/ orange BOSS pad on passenger side (Rupes 15 Mk 2), a few spots with Megs D300/microfiber cutting disc and then went over hood with Rupes Keramik Gloss Fine Gel Polish on yellow pad just because I wanted to use a yellow pad, Kami plate and Rupes 15 for a bit as it’s just so nice to use; personal entertainment and all. Paint was in OK shape and I wasn’t going for perfection (left the deep stuff alone) as, well, sometimes ya just gotta draw a line in the sand with regard to practicality. Probably made it to about 75-80% and it looked very glossy and nice after polishing…i.e. ‘good enough’.
Although Nanolex included Nanolex EX panel wipe in the kit (probably the reason I went with the kit) I completely forgot about it and did prep wipedown with Gtechniq Panel Wipe, which I’m beginning to like more and more. Oh well, can never have too much panel wipe, no matter the brand.
Product Description:
Application:
Obligatory pics of red Ford van that was the subject of this particular adventure:
