X-Kote Job 2003 Jetta

Hello Flygti32:



What is the trick to getting the "new clearcoat"/x-cote to go on so evenly? Is it the product or the application? Or both?



I like the pictures so far, thanks. Would you mind posting more in other lighting conditions? Thanks
 
Yes I will get some better pics up on the next few cars I do. I am changing my light tubes to cool white 5100K's this week to it will be much brighter in the shop. Also I have a halogen light stand I will crank on as well.



The trick to getting X-Kote to lay flat is really in the product itself. It has a self leveling agent built into the product. When I 1st apply it you see tonnes of streak lines from the applicator.This is ok, you have to make sure you have even coverage on the panel and then the product just begins to spread out and flatten over about 20 -30 minutes.
 
mcnab said:
I like how you refer to it several times as "our" product. Seems like a very biased review to me.
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Hmm 9 posts, the word "our " mentioned once :rolleyes: if is was putting this product up for review I would have put it in a different forum.
 
I don't think a product like this would benefit my business. Most of my business is looking after my customers cars, doing a light polish a couple of times per year. Some I see only once per year so depending on how they've looked after thier paint I have to compound and polish. So if the clear coats on my customers cars are not thin to begin with and knowing that I can maintain these cars for many years with the odd compounding and polishing, why would I want to use a product like this? It's still going to swirl so I'll have to do the same process as above, so what am I gaining? I think this might be an option for someone who's paint is trashed and too thin to compound and is too cheap to repaint it. This is not a product for me or my business.
 
DSVWGLI said:
I don't think a product like this would benefit my business. Most of my business is looking after my customers cars, doing a light polish a couple of times per year. Some I see only once per year so depending on how they've looked after thier paint I have to compound and polish. So if the clear coats on my customers cars are not thin to begin with and knowing that I can maintain these cars for many years with the odd compounding and polishing, why would I want to use a product like this? It's still going to swirl so I'll have to do the same process as above, so what am I gaining? I think this might be an option for someone who's paint is trashed and too thin to compound and is too cheap to repaint it. This is not a product for me or my business.
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The only reason I mention to you about checking out the product is for you to have some of your questions answered by a demo, so you can see what is being discussed here for your own eyes. If you don't like it fine but if you want to see what it does up close I would say go check it out. You have a luxury some people don't on here and that's a dealer near you.
 
So...let me see here. I have a question or two here. I think i maybe interested in this. Has anyone topped this with sealants and carnaubas? For example, a SG then a topper? Or would this product only work well with one or the other? How about this product on Single Stage paintjob? What do the pros think?



:confused:
 
redwhisky said:
So...let me see here. I have a question or two here. I think i maybe interested in this. Has anyone topped this with sealants and carnaubas? For example, a SG then a topper? Or would this product only work well with one or the other? How about this product on Single Stage paintjob? What do the pros think?



:confused:
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Yes you can top X-Kote with sealants or waxes usually after about 2 hours of drying time. I use Klasse SG over top of some cars, others I just use a quick wax spray. Putting product over single stage is not a problem either.
 
Flygti32:



Thanks for all the answers. The info and pics are welcome. Just as Redwhisky pointed out, it may not be the solution to many of our customers' needs, but it could be a good choice for those who want to sell their (thrashed)cars. We'll see, please keep the pics coming.



Different customers will have different needs and expectations. I am not against learning about any other alternatives to use in detailing.
 
VdubN8 said:
Flygti32:



Thanks for all the answers. The info and pics are welcome. Just as Redwhisky pointed out, it may not be the solution to many of our customers' needs, but it could be a good choice for those who want to sell their (thrashed)cars. We'll see, please keep the pics coming.



Different customers will have different needs and expectations. I am not against learning about any other alternatives to use in detailing.
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Absolutely. Would I X-Kote my new 2005 Jetta ??? probably not, I can polish my new car and maintain it properly for quite a few years before I would consider this. Maybe in about 3-4 years from now I would do it. It really does depend on what the customer needs. If you had a car say 5-10 years old come in and it had no real up keep done on it. The time and effort you would have to put into bringing it back would be very intense. This is where X-Kote has benifit. You get fabulous results with far less labor and effort.
 
x-kote should be a God sent for used car lots, and paint in poor condition. I would think that a compond buff would be a good thing before puting a coat of x-kote on , to bring out the true color and clean all the dirt out of the paint.
 
Compounding isn't a bad idea but not really nessessary every time. I only compound if claying has not resulted in a totally smooth surface. Cleaning the dirt and contaminents off can usually be achieved by a degreaser or something a little more powerful.



X-Kote does bring out the metallics and deep vibrant color of the car on it's own.
 
Flygti32 said:
Everything I have said is true. There are a couple guys on here Invigor and Salty that have seen this product work up close and personal. Hopefully they will add there 2 cents on what they witnessed. Here are a couple more pics of a truck we did about 2 weeks ago. The deepness and gloss this product brings out in dark finishes is like nothing I have seen before in my life.
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heh, I forgot you were on here Jeremiah! I saw an x-kote thread and went "jeez, this guy's everywhere!!" haha



X-kote is definitely a love or hate product...there are people that are super skeptical and people who love it....I'm in between, I think it does have it's place, but not on my car..(yet)



People think polishing is always the answer, however, to achieve similar results, say on a black car, you'd probably have to wetsand the whole car with 1500grit, and spend all day polishing it back to a shine...sure, fine. That's bad news for 3 reasons: 1, it takes forever to do, 2, it takes someone with experience to pull off properly, and 3, it leaves you with much less clearcoat...and maybe even no clearcoat at all.



With x-kote, it's backwards, you put the product on TOP of the clearcoatThis means down the road, if you want to polish it, you have more to play with with less chance cutting down into the paint.



There are -zero- swirls after this stuff dries...good luck with getting that after an hour of polishing.



To me, it's kinda like giving your paint job a "second wind" before you have to repaint it, and it's wayyyyyy cheaper than a new paint job and yeilds pretty damn good results. If I were have to rate it, I'd give it a 9/10...why it loses a point, I dunno...It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close. For the time it takes to apply/prep for it, is pretty cool stuff. I don't think it's fair to judge this before actually seeing it before, during and after.



It's definitely a controversial product, because it's going against the norm of how to achieve a great looking car. Go ahead and give it a chance, THEN judge it...you'll find yourself oddly surprised.
 
I don't think the post is really biased. It is a new product that very few know about. I put it up to show it's potential and to answer peoples questions about it, I'm sure there are still tonnes of unanswered questions.



I'll keep putting up more pics as time goes on and hopefully a small vid in the future. Keep the questions coming.
 
My take on the product is about what Invigor states.



I will still reach for polish on most jobs. If the paint needs a multiple step compound-polish, and there are always some deeper scratches that are too deep, then i might reach for X-Kote.



This is the demo PT cruiser. It was abused with an automatic brush car wash, as all the fibres in the seams, showed. The only polishing prep was Hi-Temp EC + cut pad + PC, less than an hour.



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1















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After:



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One more out in the sun.



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This is a quick PC polish, X-Kote with a Z2pro topper, about 4.5 hours including wash.



BTW the vehicle was not totally done, tires and interior had to be finished later.
 
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