X-Kote on a 64 Impala

VaSuperShine said:
No offense here but if it was such a great product why in the world would they not make it available to pro detailers? How many dealers do you hear of that put out good work?



The product is still very new, it only went public into the US last Nov. In Canada maybe 1 1/2 years. The US market is so vast only about 1% maybe 2% has been tapped into so far. X-Kote still has allot of growth to do.
 
Flygti32 said:
The pics you see on the X-Kote site were taken with the same camera about 2 days apart. The after photos I have posted are ones I took myself 4 days later with a different camera and different lighting.



The same guy and the stuff in the background are exactly the same though.
 
Flygti32 said:
The product is still very new, it only went public into the US last Nov. In Canada maybe 1 1/2 years. The US market is so vast only about 1% maybe 2% has been tapped into so far. X-Kote still has allot of growth to do.



I understand new products needing time to reach the right hands it just seems like they screwed the pooch on their initial beta testers. I guess it's the marketing agent they use to get the word out, although anyone in the detailing industry would tell you to stear completely clear of a dealership. my head hurts....
 
Yeah, I'm skeptical to say the least. If this stuff was available to the general public I would love to try it out on a beater to test it's ability to hide defects, durability, etc. etc.
 
once again no offense, but I have seen paint that looked worse than that in before pics and turned out very similar to the way that did. It's called oxidized paint, nothing puts out a better before and after pic than oxidized red.
 
Here's some more pics for you guys of some recent work we have done.



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This is the back corner of a 99 Glastron

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unedited after shot

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editied after shot

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Nice work Jeramiah.



To answer some of the questions on why it is not available to the public or Pro detailers, it is, but you must buy into the system. Which should include some products and training and support. There is a learning curve to it, the more you do the better you get and can work through some problems that might arise.



It is another tool to use. I personally like to use it on faded boats.



I used it as a demo on a red '06 HHR which had rear wheel fenders that were so beaten with gravel that they were grey. There was no way to polish them as the paint was almost gone. A little prep and X-Kote and they were 90%. I took no pics, should have.



One little test you can do, to see what X-Kote will look like and cover up, is take a solvent like Mineral Spirits and wipe the area, this will give you an idea of what to expect.
 
salty said:
There is a learning curve to it, the more you do the better you get and can work through some problems that might arise.





In the promotional video usdm posted it says "It is as easy as wiping it on and walking away". I've never heard of this stuff before.
 
NickelPlated.45 said:
In the promotional video usdm posted it says "It is as easy as wiping it on and walking away". I've never heard of this stuff before.



Seems like a more potent vrsion of Opti-seal or Clear-seal.........wipe on and walk away



HHHHmmmmmm....... the plot thickens
 
NickelPlated.45 said:
In the promotional video usdm posted it says "It is as easy as wiping it on and walking away". I've never heard of this stuff before.



After the prep is done, prep is everything. They also say it takes 45min. to do a car. With all the prep and no problems it is more like 4 hours, give or take.
 
usdm said:
Seems like a more potent vrsion of Opti-seal or Clear-seal.........wipe on and walk away



HHHHmmmmmm....... the plot thickens





It is meant to be permanent. Just like starting over with new clear. It can be waxed and polished as paint.



Should really slow or retart boat gel-coat fade.
 
usdm said:
Seems like a more potent vrsion of Opti-seal or Clear-seal.........wipe on and walk away



HHHHmmmmmm....... the plot thickens





Like Salty stated it is meant to be permanent. You guys can ignore the idea that this is a sealant, wax or anything else you have tried in your life, it is a totally new concept. X-Kote is a small thin layer of WIPE on clearcoat, that does not come off. It will scratch over time like the old clear coat and can be polished and waxed just like the old surface.



Here is a small video I shot to show you guys the application process.



Video of X-Kote jetta door - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
 
wow that looks pretty darn interesting.



how does the stuff bond to the old CC without ever bubbling or peeling >?



And how would it improve on bad OP?



Also , could it be put right over wetsanding?
 
JBM said:
wow that looks pretty darn interesting.



how does the stuff bond to the old CC without ever bubbling or peeling >?



And how would it improve on bad OP?



Also , could it be put right over wetsanding?



It bonds chemically. Traditional paint/process is mechanical adhesion. ie: scuff the metal for primer to stick then scuff the primer for paint to stick then shoot the clear. With that process there is always a weak point and in some cases as we have seen in history a major flaw in the prep process and cars loose almost all of their paint, like the 90's neons and minivans. The way X-Kote works is this. It opens the clear coat on a molecular level and attaches itself to it, once attached it flatens and hardens back together creating a 100% bond. So in the case of a scratch it will attach itself in the valley filling it in (to an extent) remember this is a thin coating so it will not fix deep clear scratches without some finessing first.



As for applying right over wetsanding, I have not had good results doing that. The surface needs to be smooth and shiny. Now you do not have to completely blend the westsand mark back into the panel but at least get some gloss back in that area.



Improving bad OP. Well if the clear is gone from the car or the paint is missing X-Kote will not do much for you, but cars like this impala I posted are just an old faded rust free surface that need to be brought back to life. Yes you could probably polish this car back to the same result but in how much time? at least 14-16 hours probably more. This impala was done start to finish in under 10 hours! That's less than 1 full work day!
 
one question I have is, you say the surface needs to be already shiny , and be clearcoated.. But you show us an old orange single stage Chevy, that is brought back to such an incredible state, that not only does it look totally rejuvinated, but it almost looks like a clear coat has been added. .IF this stuff molecularly bonds to the existing clear, then how can it possibly work over that weather beaten old orange single stage finish?
 
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