Steve's EX and more

tom p.

tom p.

Active member
I picked up a bunch of new products recently and decided to take them for a spin on Saturday.



The patient, an '00 Jetta, silver arrow paint, excellent condition:



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I started with a HOT wash utilizing ZEP citrus degreaser and sprayed on with my garden sprayer. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and then rinsed. I hand-washed the car with DuraGloss car wash afterwards. The ZEP certainly took some of the wax off but I did have minor beading that remained.

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I went over the entire car with Poorboy's PwC using the Makita 9227 (my first use of this hi speed polisher) and then a coat of EX applied with the Porter Cable. The results were excellent and the silver paint had a new clarity I have not seen before with any other product. This car spends most of its time in the garage and I have stuck to Pinnacle's Paste Glaz and the P21S Carnauba Look. They all looked very good but not great, it's silver paint, remember?





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I could have easily quit following the application of the EX but I still had one more new product to be demo-ed... the NATTY WAX! :D Nice stuff, ez on, ez off...just like the other hi quality carnauba waxes we like so much. It did offer a little more wetness to the finished product.



I take a butter knife and schmear some of the Natty wax on a grey finishing pad and then attack the car. Wow, these machines are our friends. There simply is no better way to achieve a thin and perfectly uniform layer of carnauba ready to be polished. NICE!!

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The EX appears to have taken the shine to a new level. It looks great. The finished prouct:



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I luv these LCM pads for the Makita with the recessed slot:



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Steve includes a couple of these very dense and unusual pads with his shipment:



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I've never seen a material quite like this. It's super dense, soft and holds its shape when pressing down which makes it an excellent tool for cutting in around trim that you don't want to get wax on.



I think Steve's really on to something with the EX. I don't have any sense of how long it will last and the Jetta is not a good car to evaluate since it is never in bad weather. I was so pleased with the overall results and had time to spare
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, I did Poorboy's PwC and EX on the hood and deck lid of my daily driver so I can get an honest representation of durability.

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This is my rolling test bed and it is never garaged. Let's see how the EX does over the next few months.



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:xyxthumbs :up Good stuff!
 
~One man’s opinion~



Nice job. Silver paintwork is always a…………….challenge



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect
 
Nice review and detail Tom. I really enjoy using Poorboy products. I just tried SSR1 & SSR2 this weekend and I really liked them.
 
Thanks, guys. yeah, I have a hard time getting excited about working on the Jetta. You can work and work and work and the result is always "nice" but not great. The EX seems to have provided a look I have not found with anything else tried. That makes me happy! ..very happy !! :D
 
Just used ex for the first time too. First coat on saturday, 2nd coat today. It comes off so easily and smells so good too. Love how easy it is to use. Comes off even easier than ps100 to me. I used my pc for the first layer of ex on saturday. I started out using the pvc pad today but for some reason it wasnt laying it down smooth. It would kind of stick and leave a bunch of ex then skip leaving an unwaxed part. It was just taking so long. I switched to a regular yellow applicator and was done in a snap. Maybe I didnt use the pvc right, I'll give it another try later. Anyways, the ex is great. Easy to use and amazing shine.
 
hehateme said:
Just used ex for the first time too. First coat on saturday, 2nd coat today. It comes off so easily and smells so good too. Love how easy it is to use. Comes off even easier than ps100 to me. I used my pc for the first layer of ex on saturday. I started out using the pvc pad today but for some reason it wasnt laying it down smooth. It would kind of stick and leave a bunch of ex then skip leaving an unwaxed part. It was just taking so long. I switched to a regular yellow applicator and was done in a snap. Maybe I didnt use the pvc right, I'll give it another try later. Anyways, the ex is great. Easy to use and amazing shine.
Click to expand...



I agree, EX is a good product. As far as the PVC, make sure that the applicator remains damp. Don't let it dry out after you have washed. Simply place it damp in a baggie until the next time.
 
andriver said:
As far as the PVC, make sure that the applicator remains damp. Don't let it dry out after you have washed. Simply place it damp in a baggie until the next time.
Click to expand...





andriver, I am afraid to ask but what is the PVC you are referring to ?



thx.
 
Hey Tom, the PVC i am talking about is the synthetic applicator that Steve sends you with EX. It is hard to describe other than it is a block of rubber. Hope this helps...Andrew
 
Oh, that's what I was wondering....he calls it PVA, doesn't he??



So you can't let the stuff dry out?? thanks for mentioning it. I had not seen any comments on it and am really intrigued by it.



thx.
 
Actually, I think it's PVA (polyvinyl alcohol). PVC is a hard plastic that you frequently see plumbing piping made from, if I'm not mistaken . . .



Tort
 
I've just started using Poorboys within the past month and I've been very pleased so far. I did the PwC, EX and Natty Wax on my own car to guage the durability. So far, it's been about 3 weeks and two runs through the touchless car wash at the Chevron station (hey, I detail all day long and it's dark when I get done...give me a break) and its still beading like mad and feels slick.



I think Vanilla Moose and Carnauba Moose has a slight edge in depth and wetness, but if the durability of Poorboy's ends up being similar to other sealants I have used, I now have a sealant option for my customers that does not sacrifice some depth and wetness for added durability.
 
Anyone ever use the Poorboy's Claybar? I was thinking about ordering some of his QW and QD and realized I needed a clay bar so was going to add to the order.
 
I asked the Man what should be done with the PVAs and here's what he said:



the PVA's should be washed and then put in a plastic bag, but they are very resiliant...if it dries up and gets as hard as a rock, all you have to do is soak it in warm water and it comes right back..the only way to destroy it is to tear and rip it, but it can be cut in half if there was a specific use someone had in mind.



Thanks again



Steve
Click to expand...



:up :up
 
Quik update: It's more signficant, IMO, how all these great products hold up in the weeks and months following application. So far, I must say I am very impressed. The silver Jetta has not been washed yet but the surface is so slick/smooth that when I go to close a door, the door slips right out of my hand. I have yet to try another try product on this car that has yielded such a glossy surface.



On the daily driver, where I applied EX to the trunk and hood, the car is filthy (hope to get it washed today) yet the water still beads with tight little beads. This car gets real dirty every week and sits outside 24/7 making it an excellent test surface for various products. I have tried all the products that traditionally last a "long time" (Collinite 476s, Collinite IW, Klasse twins, Medallion re-formulated, etc. ) and found most start to fade after about 4 weeks. Steve's EX may be the exception. The surface looks great after a wash and I cannot get over how tight the water droplets still are. I'm happy!
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Thanks for the update Tom. I agree with you about EX. I like this product although lately, I have been experimenting with 1Z.
 
Tom,

I'd say the rotary helped alot with the shine too. They work a product onto the paint better or at least with more effort than the PC. This could also explain the better outcome of your detail.:)
 
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