2019 Beginner`s List of SiO2 Spray Products

[SWETM]

I can attest that PA Presto lasts months in good weather. However, I had no idea it had sio2.

I agree that ECH20 shouldn’t make the list, but just by a hair. It’s one of those “if it’s 60 degrees and not raining you’ll get a few weeks” type sprays.

According to the SDS PA Presto is 25% SiO2 and 30% TiO2 in it. Rapidwaxx is 30/30. Sprayduster which is theirs QD is 12/12. Presto was made for Master Sealant as a topper with their 5% carnuaba processed. Claims 4-6 months longevity but that is not something you often gets if you not apply it on bare paint maybe and then goes the whole topper for Master Sealant out of the door LOL

I have so far only done 2 tests with PA High Gloss. And to get a great comparison I had it against BSD. The first test got comprimised since Adam`s Waterless Wash claimed at least here in Sweden that it was nothing in it. But must have a good amount of glossenhancers as both did not so good on that test. And since I`m more familier with BSD I knowned something was of. Next test with Reset car soap as the car soap and prewash foam with a TFR. I got the expected from BSD at almost 3 months longevity and High Gloss close behind. This on a car that sits outside 24/7 but not driven. What I noticed with HG was that even if the water behavior dropped it was still that slightly darkening effect left and it was gone with the BSD the looks from it. And I think that HG is to be seen as a glossenhancer and depends on the protection that it`s applyied before. As a stand alone LSP it seems to be not so great longevity from. But the looks on a dark blue metallic VW Passat paint was very good as it makes the metallic flakes pops amazingly. Will be interesting to see how it will do when it`s time for topping the Master Sealant on my silver metallic Kia cee`d SW. Bright and a lot of metallic flakes in it can be an interesting look from PA High Gloss.

 

[Inverted]

I am curious why CanCoat is under coating light but DPC Armor is under maintenance toppers because both claim to have 10% Sio2. Where are we drawing the destination between these two products and similar?

 

[The Guz]

I am curious why CanCoat is under coating light but DPC Armor is under maintenance toppers because both claim to have 10% Sio2. Where are we drawing the destination between these two products and similar?

Gyeon`s site states >10% and it was verified by another forum member that a Gyeon rep mentioned it was closer to 20% SiO2 within it. Also CanCoat does harden where it looks like DPC does not.

 

[SWETM]

I am curious why CanCoat is under coating light but DPC Armor is under maintenance toppers because both claim to have 10% Sio2. Where are we drawing the destination between these two products and similar?

Have you heard of the longevity from DPC Armor? Not claimed but from those who have used it. CanCoat is knowned for it`s longevity from many who have used it. Then it`s hard with just takeing the amount of SiO2 and put in the longevity range because of that. Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz that has a high concentration of 35% SiO2 I think not has as long longevity as CanCoat. There are different way to mix chemicals that gets to be SiO2 on the paint. And also other chemicals mixed in to be the hydrophobic layer and the slickness. For what I saw on DPC Armor was it also has silicone in it too. That`s an easy way to get a slickness feel to the touch. Some uses TiO2 as Mothers CMX does and SiO2. Also PA uses TiO2 much in their products as it`s very reflective and also durable. But need something else in it to get the hydrophobics and protection as a LSP. TiO2 for an example is one thing in white pigment in paints. SiO2 is even used in some food products mostly in powder mixes to not get it to lumps together. In EU it has it`s own E-number where all different chemical and chemical mixes addetives is sorted out mostly for the food industrie. So different chemicals gets SiO2 to behave differently and also different chemicals can get to be SiO2 in the end. And most coatings has not pure SiO2 in them. And the atom build up in silicone is very a like SiO2 as the main chemical chain is Si-O-Si-O-Si and other atoms attached to this string. While SiO2 is O-Si-O and get attached to other atoms and strings in that form. And this is just the basics so SiO2 technology is very much a complicated chemistry and can come in many different ways to ceramic coatings than just the use of pure SiO2.

 

[acuRAS82]

Yes, echoing SWETM in a much less intelligent sounding way, SiO2 percentages don’t seem to directly correlate with average mild weather longevity that the list is based on.

 

[Loach]

List looks good! I ran the 6 week rinse test yesterday for Adam`s Spray Coating, IGL Premier, Meg`s HCW, and Mother`s CMX. HCW is still easily outperforming CMX which isn`t what I was expecting. Adam`s is holding up much better on the side panel here compared to my original test on the hood. Premier looked great until I did the dry wipe after drying the paint with a fresh microfiber and re-rinsed, it was greatly affected by this wipedown but still performing well. At the end of this rinse, Adam`s was the most hydrophobic of the four, followed by Premier and HCW closely behind, then CMX.

I`ve got Can Coat still running on the hood, it`s such a fantastic base for different toppers. It just seems so much more substantial compared to Adam`s once you get passed a few weeks. I`ve removed the Adam`s side and replaced with DPC Armor to run a durability test yesterday after closing out my testing against Super Clean aerosol, I`ll let the Adam`s section on the side run its course probably up to 3 months and then I`ll think about removing to test Polish Angel High Gloss and Cosmic Spritz.

 

[acuRAS82]

List looks good! I ran the 6 week rinse test yesterday for Adam`s Spray Coating, IGL Premier, Meg`s HCW, and Mother`s CMX. HCW is still easily outperforming CMX which isn`t what I was expecting. Adam`s is holding up much better on the side panel here compared to my original test on the hood. Premier looked great until I did the dry wipe after drying the paint with a fresh microfiber and re-rinsed, it was greatly affected by this wipedown but still performing well. At the end of this rinse, Adam`s was the most hydrophobic of the four, followed by Premier and HCW closely behind, then CMX.

I`ve got Can Coat still running on the hood, it`s such a fantastic base for different toppers. It just seems so much more substantial compared to Adam`s once you get passed a few weeks. I`ve removed the Adam`s side and replaced with DPC Armor to run a durability test yesterday after closing out my testing against Super Clean aerosol, I`ll let the Adam`s section on the side run its course probably up to 3 months and then I`ll think about removing to test Polish Angel High Gloss and Cosmic Spritz.

Great info, thanks Loach! So you really like CanCoat as a base prior to the toppers? In a few weeks I plan on doing an Essence base and then riding it out with different SiO2 topper combos. Depending how long that lasts, maybe in the future I would do Essence then CanCoat if I’m looking for more like 6-9 month durability (still not ready for real coating durability).

 

[rlmccarty2000]

Yes, echoing SWETM in a much less intelligent sounding way, SiO2 percentages don’t seem to directly correlate with average mild weather longevity that the list is based on.

From what I have read and half understand there are different types/grades of SiO2 so while the percentage of SiO2 is important also the quality of the SiO2 is equally important. If I got this wrong feel free to correct me. I’m still trying to dig up articles on coating development, but they are not readily available. Everyone is guarding their “secret sauce”.

 

[Loach]

Great info, thanks Loach! So you really like CanCoat as a base prior to the toppers? In a few weeks I plan on doing an Essence base and then riding it out with different SiO2 topper combos. Depending how long that lasts, maybe in the future I would do Essence then CanCoat if I’m looking for more like 6-9 month durability (still not ready for real coating durability).

Definitely, all of the sio2 coatings I`ve worked with have been great at accepting various types of spray toppers over the months. Tio2 CQuartz, CQUK 3.0, Can Coat, Gyeon One, Prime, McKee`s 37 V2. Where Can Coat looked like it was also impacted in the short term test against Adam`s, it really bounced back after being topped as a contrast to Adam`s that could not bounce back to its short term performance on the hood after applying the same toppers. I haven`t tried testing Essence as a base protectant yet, while we`re on the subject of sio2 content it would be interesting to see what exactly is in Essence and can we effectively gauge its protective performance without it having a hydrophobic marker.

 

[acuRAS82]

I haven`t tried testing Essence as a base protectant yet, while we`re on the subject of sio2 content it would be interesting to see what exactly is in Essence and can we effectively gauge its protective performance without it having a hydrophobic marker.

Ive never heard someone ONLY test Essence durability, but obviously people test it with only using toppers and get varying results, I’ve read a few couple-month-fails, but for the most part I think people get 4, 5, 6 months or even more (probably depends on toppers).

 

[SWETM]

Definitely, all of the sio2 coatings I`ve worked with have been great at accepting various types of spray toppers over the months. Tio2 CQuartz, CQUK 3.0, Can Coat, Gyeon One, Prime, McKee`s 37 V2. Where Can Coat looked like it was also impacted in the short term test against Adam`s, it really bounced back after being topped as a contrast to Adam`s that could not bounce back to its short term performance on the hood after applying the same toppers. I haven`t tried testing Essence as a base protectant yet, while we`re on the subject of sio2 content it would be interesting to see what exactly is in Essence and can we effectively gauge its protective performance without it having a hydrophobic marker.

According to the SDS it`s based trisiloxane (3555-47-3) and it also has an unknown amount of TiO2 and also an amount of glycerol. Which I think is the catalyst for the trisiloxane. Then it`s aluminum oxide abrasives and the carriers of hydrogen treated naptha and white mineral oils. In Carpro Essence this is. And then it can be those hard resins and some glossenhancer that is not hazardious.

Have anyonetested the hydrophobics of Essence on it`s own. Essence Plus is almost the same with trisiloxane as base and the carriers of naptha and white mineral oils. Also with Essence Plus it can be a non hazardious chemicals in it too.

If testing Essence it would be on a black non metallic paint maybe and go after when the darkening effect is worn away. Maybe even if it`s not a great hydrophobic surface from it. You could maybe see a difference to the bare paint as a control section.

Would also been interesting to see if Gyeon Primer Polish has a hydrophobic surface after applyied. These primer polish and even something like the Angelwax Enigma AIO. Could extend your longevity a good of a couple of months extra. Gyeon Primer topped with Gyeon CanCoat The Guz has haved an awesome results from. Think Brian from Apex Detailing Chanel has Angelwax Enigma AIO and Gyeon CanCoat on some of his own cars.
I think that with a primer polish and these spray on wipe off coating products you can get great protection and looks from them. And not invest in the time a full blown coating has to maintain and if something happens so you can re-doing a spot or also just decon wash and reapply what ever you want from thesecoating lite and maintance products.

 

[TheMeanGreen]

According to the SDS it`s based trisiloxane (3555-47-3) and it also has an unknown amount of TiO2 and also an amount of glycerol. Which I think is the catalyst for the trisiloxane. Then it`s aluminum oxide abrasives and the carriers of hydrogen treated naptha and white mineral oils. In Carpro Essence this is. And then it can be those hard resins and some glossenhancer that is not hazardious.

Have anyonetested the hydrophobics of Essence on it`s own. Essence Plus is almost the same with trisiloxane as base and the carriers of naptha and white mineral oils. Also with Essence Plus it can be a non hazardious chemicals in it too.

If testing Essence it would be on a black non metallic paint maybe and go after when the darkening effect is worn away. Maybe even if it`s not a great hydrophobic surface from it. You could maybe see a difference to the bare paint as a control section.

Would also been interesting to see if Gyeon Primer Polish has a hydrophobic surface after applyied. These primer polish and even something like the Angelwax Enigma AIO. Could extend your longevity a good of a couple of months extra. Gyeon Primer topped with Gyeon CanCoat The Guz has haved an awesome results from. Think Brian from Apex Detailing Chanel has Angelwax Enigma AIO and Gyeon CanCoat on some of his own cars.
I think that with a primer polish and these spray on wipe off coating products you can get great protection and looks from them. And not invest in the time a full blown coating has to maintain and if something happens so you can re-doing a spot or also just decon wash and reapply what ever you want from thesecoating lite and maintance products.

I have had Essence by itself on my car, Midnight Pine Pearl (DRK GREEN w/ Pearl) which is medium to soft in hardness, I had tested Essence out with a MF Polishing pad to see finishing abilities, after about 7 months haze from the MF pad showed its face, I also regularly maintenance wash with a non ph-neutral soap. Essence by itself is not overly hydrophobic and hydrophilic, if I remember correctly its water behavior is closest to Gyeon Cure (IF I am remembering correctly) and didn`t last me more than a few months, I then topped with Cure and WetCoat. Essence+ is much much more hydrophobic and hydrophilic, I`d put it somewhere near DPC ARMOR in water behavior. I am actually testing Essence+ (very expired) topped with DPC ARMOR on my hood at the moment, I will also be picking up a bottle of Fast Finish to see how it holds up on top of Essence and Essence+. I just need the time to polish the car because I have been testing out drying towels without having much protection on the car, there are towel marks that need to be polished off.

My main goal is to have a system of protection, like you stated, without having to invest in a full blown coating and getting a substantial amount of protection from the elements. FK1000P has been my benchmark, with non ph-neutral soaps, I do not get the six months out of FK1000P, but I do get the resistance to water spotting and bird bombs. Things that Reload, Cure, WetCoat, HydroBlue, and 476S all fail to do. I want longer protection without a coating but protection from the elements that matches FK1000P. My car also has 168K on the clock and whilst I do not own a paint gauge, I can only polish the car so many times. I want to eliminate polishing and start doing things that are additive, like Essence and Essence+ and one day OPT CCR, I just need to find a topper for the Essence twins that can match the protection from bird bombs and water spots.

 

[Lonnie]

...My main goal is to have a system of protection, like you stated, without having to invest in a full blown coating and getting a substantial amount of protection from the elements. FK1000P has been my benchmark, with non ph-neutral soaps, I do not get the six months out of FK1000P, but I do get the resistance to water spotting and bird bombs. Things that Reload, Cure, WetCoat, HydroBlue, and 476S all fail to do. I want longer protection without a coating but protection from the elements that matches FK1000P. ......

After see this, WHY would you spend bazillions of dollars on these maintenance sprays, when for $20 I can have a products that looks great and protects? (Accumulator made me say this..) Looks like it is time for me to get on the FK1000P train, or at least try it...


Gotta say though, this thread discussion and the extensive list of products and where to put them, are subjective (IE, subject to the opinion of the observer from their experience versus subjective which has quantifiable data and repeatable testing methodologies to prove the data, meaning "Your Mileage May Vary" (YMMV)), to say the least. Another factor to consider is value: performance versus cost and compatibility: what particular brand/type of spray may look good on or provide expected protection/water-beading time-wise on one coating may not do so on another. I assume that for most of you detailers, that you would stick to one product manufacturer for both the coating and the maintenance spray to avoid any possible incompatibility problems or compromise of the coating performance/durability. That is assuming that a car-care product manufacturer has tested their ALL their sprays with ALL their coatings to verify this.
Not trying to "douse the flames of discussion" or "add more fuel to the fire"; just "food for thought". If you`ve spent the time, effort, and expense of using a coating on your vehicle, wouldn`t you want the right maintenance product for it and not one that might compromise it???

 

[TheMeanGreen]

After see this, WHY would you spend bazillions of dollars on these maintenance sprays, when for $20 I can have a products that looks great and protects? (Accumulator made me say this..) Looks like it is time for me to get on the FK1000P train, or at least try it...

Some of these maintanence sprays are a little bit more durable in terms of overall longevity with respect to non ph-neutral washes, something I do at least once a month. Applying one of these products is easier to at least my paint system, I don’t have the buff off of FK1000P residue. Both of those reasons result in me touching the paint less in the long term, something very important for me.

 

[acuRAS82]

After see this, WHY would you spend bazillions of dollars on these maintenance sprays, when for $20 I can have a products that looks great and protects? (Accumulator made me say this..) Looks like it is time for me to get on the FK1000P train, or at least try it...


Gotta say though, this thread discussion and the extensive list of products and where to put them, are subjective (IE, subject to the opinion of the observer from their experience versus subjective which has quantifiable data and repeatable testing methodologies to prove the data, meaning "Your Mileage May Vary" (YMMV)), to say the least. Another factor to consider is value: performance versus cost and compatibility: what particular brand/type of spray may look good on or provide expected protection/water-beading time-wise on one coating may not do so on another. I assume that for most of you detailers, that you would stick to one product manufacturer for both the coating and the maintenance spray to avoid any possible incompatibility problems or compromise of the coating performance/durability. That is assuming that a car-care product manufacturer has tested their ALL their sprays with ALL their coatings to verify this.
Not trying to "douse the flames of discussion" or "add more fuel to the fire"; just "food for thought". If you`ve spent the time, effort, and expense of using a coating on your vehicle, wouldn`t you want the right maintenance product for it and not one that might compromise it???

Lonnie, the price points, in theory provide different levels of looks/gloss, beading/self-cleaning and slickness. Those are very subjective things that each user may seek out for their own likes. The goal of using only some idea of avg. durability in mild weather is for the user to get a reasonable idea how long of a haul they can expect from using a given one. If all SiO2/coating sprays were similar in durability, this wouldn’t be a thread... but they’ve proven to be all over the place, which is why this list came to be.

In other words, this list doesn`t claim to help determine value beyond what part *durability* may play in a person’s idea of value. I love PA High Gloss for the looks, and that’s why I fork over the money, but the only benefit I gain from this list is it will tell me that I shouldn’t expect major longevity from HG, so I should stock up and re-apply as needed (before 2-3 months).

 

[Lonnie]

acuRAS82:
Thanks for putting this list together. For some, the "money is no object" and end result is the ultimate goal to detailing and getting their or someone else`s vehicle to have that head-snapping, car show winning look is what it is all about.
I cannot afford that and for me there is this economic law of "diminishing returns" or what do I get for what I`ve spent, some would call value or "return on investment" , at least the more pragmatic or practical detailer/vehicle owner would adhere to how they spend their discretionary income.
I do think though, that those who invest in coatings and subsequent maintenance sprays and like products want to know what works with what coatings and their price points. That said, I go back to the original statement above about the end goal of detailing a vehicle.

 

[wannafbody]

I kinda look at coatings as a long term deal but the manufacturers want an income stream so they entice people to buy a maintenance spray of some type. If people really feel that there is a need for a maintenance spray on a coating, then maybe the coatings aren`t living up to the hype.

 

[BudgetPlan1]

All theoretical cuz I ain`t no chemist but perhaps:

1. The elements that provide the durability and chemical/environmental protection of a base coating do not provide/are not compatible with the more entertaining aspects folks associate with a `good` LSP.

Things like slickness, exciting water behavior, beading, added gloss. In other words, the base coating provides the functional aspects, the booster the aesthetic aspects. Gyeon Mohs, Gtechniq CSL for example are some pretty tough customers but the visible water behavior is visually not that entertaining, hence the Skin topcoat in the Mohs-based Syncro kit and the `preferred` CSL +EXOV4 application combo.

On their own, Mohs and CSL are more hydrophillic as opposed to hydrophobic and that`s just not as visually entertaining as when topped with a more hydrophobic top layer. While Skin and EXO are `kinda coatings` like CarPro Gliss, Feynlab Topcoat and TAC Topcoat, the concept of topping a coating via dedicated `topcoat` or booster is, to me, kinda the same. The base coating, for whatever reason, can`t encompass all characteristics people recognize as `quality` behavior of an LSP.

2. Sacrificial layer or protecting the protection. Better to contaminate a top layer than the more expensive base coating.

3. Revenue generation. More products needed to maintain the base coating benefits, real or perceived. "You spent all this money on getting it coated, what`s a little bit more?" Kinda akin to changing oil every 3500 miles instead of following mfg recommendations of up to 10k intervals. Better safe than sorry?

4. Just following directions. Most mfgs reccomend some kinda maintenance topper, necessity of it being irrelevant. Again, better safe than sorry?

There`s plenty of well-respected coating afficianados who coat and let it ride...with excellent results so topping is definately not necessary in all cases. May as well throw `personal preference` on the list as well.

I recently read that Glassparency, the latest trend in glass coatings, if I`m not mistaken (and I certainly could be) they require maintenance/refresh every 3 months to stay viable. That seems like kinda `planned topping` to insure it continues working.

I remember the first time I tried Cquartz TiO2. When done it was so `un-slick` to the touch the next day that I immediately applied Gyeon Cure on top of it. Not so much because I thought it would help so much as because as it sat it wasn`t all *I* wanted it to be. An extreme example perhaps but similar to topping coatings that I know perform pretty darn good on their own, just to a lesser degree.

Even if I like something as it sits, always want to `like it more` so I look to throw another ingredient into the recipe. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn`t (sorry C2V3 and yes, Moonlight as well)...oops.

I dunno, really...interesting topic but at the end of the day, gotta do what works best *for you*. If that involves toppers/boosters then so be it. If not, no harm, no foul. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[acuRAS82]

Awesome post as only you could say it, Budget.

Especially for people like us Autopians, it might be hard to NOT touch a car for 1 year+ beyond simple washing. Toppers are great for the hobbyist who wants that refreshed look (as well as the water behavior and slickness that Budget mentioned).

I see it similar as one of us having Collinite 476S applied, but adding a top carnauba spray topper (Souveran Spray or Fuzion Spray, for instance) every month or two for an updated “just waxed” look, even though you know the 476 is protecting just fine.

 

[SWETM]

Isn`t so that all hype products has their weakness against other products. And that the expectations is to much to ask for. Then comes the copies of them into play and some brands that see easy money to make. And hype the product even more and promise about their ability from them that is just not possible to get. Know you have feed the critics and ney sayers and get the products that do work and is great products to be what they have not claimed. And of course this is about coatings and also many other products in detailing.

What I think is strange is that it`s not so much buzz of the ones who have had correctly applyied pro ceramic coatings. Many should have reach the 3-5 years know I think. And not much of these cars is talked from other detailers that they have had these cars in for a re-application from unsatisfied customers. Cause this is also something thing that you hear more of the bad and not so much of the good. Would have been fun to see an inspection done on a coating that has been on 3-5 years. That has been maintained by an average Joe.

I also think that for us autogeeks that like to maintain the vehicals and care of them regualary. The coatings base purpose is maybe not a thing that is best suited for some. And also suited for those that want the long longevity from it and keep it up on it`s best. It`s just another evolvement in car care to what has already been here. When sealants came to play with wax I bet it was in the same situation that ceramic coatings is now. And what waterless wash and rinseless wash also was to the standard bucket wash. There is good and bad products of those too. As it`s with coatings also that it`s good and bad of them. And now in this thread we see what the maintance products or coating like products is as what longevity you get from them. Also this is also something that are not written in stone as we do live in very different environments and we use our cars different and store them different and also take care of them differently. Many different there LOL. We also have different opinions on what looks great and not so great. If value the most bang for the buck from products. Or if we get that little extra pricey products that gives you that little extra satisfaction you experience. The little extra time some has and some that want to cut the time down of takeing care of their vehicals.

To sum it up it`s impossible to get everyones need and opinion in 1 thread. This is just a small part of something that most people would not use. But some it`s a great thing to get a little sorted out with what product or products to get. I have shown some people coming by when I wash with prewash foam and 3 buckets and told them why I do it. And when I have shown those that basicly know that a waxing a car is good but don`t have the time to do on regualar basis. When I spray on Gyeon Wet Coat on a flat water panel and take the PW and they see how it beading and sheeting very fast. The next question is how long it will do that. And they be told 2-3 months they get exited and that is so fast to vs waxing their cars. We just thinking 2-3 months that`s not so long is there anything that last longer and is as easy to apply LOL