Silica spray showdown: McKee`s v. Gyeon v. CarPro

[kevincwelch]

I hope you get more than 4-6 weeks out of them. I`ve gotten up to 12 weeks with Hydro2. My Hydro2 was not beading like new but you could see it was still protecting the paint.

I guess that`s the challenge in trying to tell when a product has failed. I`m going to call a product a failure when the clear coat looks similar to or the same as it did before the application of the product. There`s probably a long taper of protection as the product fades, albeit less robust.

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[TheMeanGreen]

Too often we judge a products durability and sheeting capabilities based on the horizontal panels. The real test is on the vertical panels. This is where all the real abuse takes place. Abuse from salt, brake dust and other corrosive contaminants that breaks down an LSP. And while yes, we all like to see how shiny the hood looks or how slick the trunk feels is a factor, let`s also remember paint that is properly prepped will look shiny with any LSP. Just my .02

Abuse besides UV exposure, that test comes into play on DD`s that sit outside 24/7. My LSP ALWAYS wears out on the horizontal a couple of weeks before the vertical panels.

 

[KBsToy]

Again thanks for the updates and your time, really getting curious now that you throwing poop into the game

 

[atgonzales]

Kevin

An outstanding review that combines, thought, persistence of testing for you and us who read it and coupled with a scientific touch of a blind test of products that confirms your commitment of true tester and review of a non-biased report to us, thank you for the effort and your hard work.

 

[sjb89]

Thanks for the awesome detailed review. Great pictures also. a lot of great info here.

 

[kevincwelch]

Thanks for the awesome detailed review. Great pictures also. a lot of great info here.

Thank you. Stay tuned for updates in another 2 weeks.

Kevin

An outstanding review that combines, thought, persistence of testing for you and us who read it and coupled with a scientific touch of a blind test of products that confirms your commitment of true tester and review of a non-biased report to us, thank you for the effort and your hard work.

Thank you, sir! Part of this test is done for selfish reasons. I really like these types of sprays, but I have no need for three varieties of them. Even if they do last for 4 weeks apiece, I want to know where to invest my money.

Again thanks for the updates and your time, really getting curious now that you throwing poop into the game

LOL

Just hoping to get some "real world" testing of these products on a DD.

 

[kevincwelch]

On the off chance that there was something negative about using N914 with the waterless dilution, I cleaned the hood with it in the rinseless dilution.

About the same results. Maybe a tad better. (Left over product?)

Panel A

Panel B

Panel C

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[kevincwelch]

It rained heavily yesterday. My wife made two trips out.

Here is a picture of the hood after the trip. She doesn`t​ have time for my silly little close-ups, so it`s had to tell.

Then she made a second trip when it wasn`t raining. This is what is left after the trip. A single droplet...

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[RaysWay]

Thanks for the updates so far following along

 

[kevincwelch]

Rained today.

Panel A

Panel B

Panel C

Beading is decent.

Beading from my car today (PA High Gloss on top of Mohs). Much tighter.

Was informed that droplets appeared to roll off the hood of the test panels toward the windshield on all sides when my wife was driving today.

All sides holding up equally at this point. Whereas Panels A and C looked the best immediately after the applications, all three look the same now.


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[kevincwelch]

Ok.

So we are now at 1 month s/p application of the three silica sprays to the hood of my wife`s Highlander.

Over the past week, we had a couple days of hard rain and the usual driving on the interstate into Chicago for kid transportation and car pooling. In other words, regular life.

I took the car to the coin op today and sprayed everything BUT the hood with their cleaner, and I rinsed the entire car with their spot free rinse.

There was absolutely minimal sheeting of the water off the hood. I mean MINIMAL. Looked like it did before application.

On the other hand, it wasn`t really clean.

Here are the pictures of the beading.

Panel A/Product A

Panel B/Product B

Panel C/Product C

None of those beads flew off the hood when driving home (35mph). The beads were flat with obtuse angles.

I took the car home and cleaned it with McKees N914. Here is the beading on a clean hood.



A

B

C

So, maybe there is some protection left. Still beads, albeit not great.

Water sheeting test is below. Water still rolls off the hood in all three panels and leaves the hood fairly dry. Not as speedy as it was immediately after. But, it`s decent.

They all look about the same. Maybe B is ahead. Hard to say.

This whole experiment has forced me to think about the question: "what is protection?" How do we really measure the level of protection? Does something that protects our clearcoat have to have perfect beads? Are disorganized beads a sign of protection? How fast does water sheeting have to be?

I would say that if a last step product exhibits any of these characteristics, it is protecting the paint. A perfectly rounded bead may be attractive to us, but that does not mean that an irregular water bead isn`t a sign of protection.




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[JBM]

I too wonder what these products actually are protecting. With coatings it is a little more substantial for sure.

But if we didnt apply anything to one side and something on the right, with regular washings, how would either side be different?

 

[TheMeanGreen]

It rained heavily yesterday. My wife made two trips out.

Here is a picture of the hood after the trip. She doesn`t​ have time for my silly little close-ups, so it`s had to tell.


(Sent via my mobile device...)

:blink: Let me get this straight, your wife actually participated in this experiment by taking/sending you photo`s of water droplets on her hood? *Let that sink in guys*

I may only be 23 but I will say this: 1. I have added this trait to what I deem as qualities to look for in a wife and 2. Where did you find yours, I want one like yours? Is she one of the magical unicorn`s? If so, we need to study her traits and figure out how to reproduce them, in all respectful context`s of course.

 

[kevincwelch]

:blink: Let me get this straight, your wife actually participated in this experiment by taking/sending you photo`s of water droplets on her hood? *Let that sink in guys*

Not only did she participate, but she was fundamental to the experiment! She randomized the bottle samples for me and sends me text pictures of the beads when she sees them.

(She knows she gets a shiny car just about weekly now.)

 

[kevincwelch]

So, over at AG, Eldorado2k thought I should do a baggie test on the car. I did, and while it was a little rough, it wasn`t as bad as the rest of the car, which hasn`t been clayed in about 18 months. But, technically, it did "fail" the baggie test. Part of the reason why I haven`t clayed the car at this point was that I was afraid it might degrade the silica coatings. I certainly didn`t want to spray it with Iron X!

Another reason why I didn`t want to was that I couldn`t fathom that the hood would be significantly contaminated so early.

But, Eldorado2k piqued my interested.


So, I divided the hood into a top section (near the windshield) and a bottom section (near the grill). The bottom section was decontaminated with N914 using their clay lube dilution (1:128 - same as the waterless dilution) and a Griot`s clay. After everything was cleaned, the baggie test was performed again, and the hood was a smooth as a baby`s behind.


Here are the pictures of the beading on the cleaned and clayed surface.


Panel A/Product A

Panel B/Product B

Panel C/Product C

Perhaps slightly better, but at this point, it`s hard to judge whether they are in fact better. So subjective. What I can say is that the beads are not super tight and round like they were on Day 1. But, I still see protection.


Here is the video of the water sheeting test. Judge for yourselves, but I`m not seeing a whole lot of differences in the beading and the sheeting, but I would also ask anyone else to weigh in at this point. There are some small beads left behind after the sheeting, so I`m not certain what that is at this point...

 

[kevincwelch]

Going through Week #5 now.


Update: the car traveled to Little Rock over the past week. Highway driving. Rain. Bugs. Outdoors 24/7 while in St. Louis and Little Rock. I removed the bugs and grime from the front with Gyeon Bug & Grime Remover. See my review here. I washed the rest of the vehicle with Rupes m101 and refreshed the REST of the vehicle with HydrO2.


Here are photos of the hood today.


Panel A/Product A





Panel B/Product B





Panel C/Product C









Frankly, I`m disappointed with the beads. The aren`t tight. They`re flat. They`re irregularly dispersed. But, they are present, and this suggests some level of protection. To be practical, if my hood looked like this, I`d be reapplying a product at this point.




Here`s the video of the bulk water sheeting. I`d take the time to make sure it is full screen and in 1080p.

To be honest, I`m really disappointed with the performance of all three products. The beading is subpar and the sheeting is simply horrible at this stage. Products A and C appear to be doing somewhat better than Product B in the sheeting department, but frankly all three are unimpressive at this stage.

 

[MattPersman]

Thanks for the update! These really don`t last long do they. Very good maint items. Literally like if you washed your car once a week or two.

They are neat and easy to apply but just don`t seem to last.

I`m sure someone will come in here and say they get 4 months lol


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[KBsToy]

Thanks for the update! These really don`t last long do they. Very good maint items. Literally like if you washed your car once a week or two.

They are neat and easy to apply but just don`t seem to last.

I`m sure someone will come in here and say they get 4 months lol


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Like you said maybe a good maintenance product after you give a good polishing. I spray once a month and every other wash I use gyeons Bath+. This is an easy way for a senior autopian to keep their vehicles looking good.

 

[kevincwelch]

Here is a link to Survey Monkey if any of you care to fill out a poll. It`s anonymous.


https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/58W7Y78

 

[rlmccarty2000]

Looks like there is some protection left, but I`m with you about applying something new at this point. I have to say I am surprised at the weak results from all three. This would be another product category where it would be best to buy the cheapest per ounce. Again, thank you for doing this test!