The ilogikal1 test thread

[ilogikal1]

1 hour ago, Stutopia said:

Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but it smells amazing.

 

I really should pay more attention, y'know.

 

1 hour ago, Stutopia said:

Defo have. Used hydropel on the door, boot and frunk shuts and the rims today. Nice an easy to work with, there’s enough of it to last a lifetime.

 

Here's hoping that the durability is at least adequate - it's not a faff to apply by any means, but I'm still hoping durability can be measured in months rather than days!

 

1 hour ago, Stutopia said:

Without wanting to highjack. Have you tried any of the Soft 99 waxes? Tried Water Block today after some recommendations. Looks amazing but a PITA to remove, super grabby, not sure if I left it on too long or too short. Was working two panels at a time.

 

I'm alright with hijacking. In the right context, that is...

 

Anyway.

 

Short version to address your query:

I've not used Water Block.

But to address your issue; try a different applicator if you were using the supplied one and focus on spreading it as thinly as is humanly possible as that's what made the biggest difference with Fusso. Fusso (and possibly KoG actually, I don't remember) did spread a lot further than even I expected it to, so prime suspect for me would be too much product, followed by leaving it a touch too long.

 

Longer version, which eventually explains the above in a verbose manner:

I have used Fusso a few times and found it fussy to use - easy to over apply and and **** to remove where it had been. If you can get it thin enough, it was was fine (except when used in direct sunlight but not allowed to bake on, then it became a **** again). QD helped, but applying more wax helped more - I found it was best to apply to two panels then return to the first, apply again and buff straight away before repeating on the second panel was the best way.

Then I discovered that the applicator that comes with it is s**t.

Switching to a better quality applicator - I'm told a finer pores are the key here, but [shrug] - made it easier to spread more thinly, and thus it was easier to remove (although still not the easiest wax to work with).

Fusso looks and acts just like FK1000P, marginally less durable though not by much - never lived up to the 12 month promises! More fussy to use. Twice the cost for half as much wax, too. But the bigget difference was the lack of shark on the tin. Deal breaker. I'm sticking with the shark.

 

I've also used King of Gloss, but only once. Wasn't blown away by it - it wasn't any better than FK pink wax, for example - and no idea on actual durability. It was okay to use (with a good applicator). Dusty at times though.

 

All in all, I would use either again but I would buy neither. I'm in no rush to try any of the rest of the range.

[Stutopia]

Cheers mate. I disregarded the supplied sponge, it just felt too harsh. Used a Megs microfibre applicator instead, as it is so soft, but it does take a lot of product, I'll try a small cell soft foam one next time. I might even do one panel and leave it ages (like 15 mins), just to see what difference that makes.

 

I never normally use wax these days, too much effort compared to a spritz with an Si LSP to top up the protection, but I must admit that carnumba leaves a gloss like no other product. The beads in this morning's dew were at least half decent #nofakebeads

 

 

P.S. I knew you'd say over application, I never fully get to grips with less is more, I'll try and be more disciplined. Nice tip on re-applying before buffing, thank you.

[ilogikal1]

I threatened pictures if it rained.

 

It rained.

 

Here be pictures.

 

 

 

 

There's currently not much between Hydropel and Lockdown - still marginally more sheeting from Hydropel, but that's about it.

 

When (not if) it rains again I might get some better pictures.

 

I might not.

 

You'll have to make do with what you get.

 

If anything.

[ilogikal1]

Following a 4 month interlude culminating in a 400+ mile round trip over Christmas, I decided it was about time to treat the Z to another wash today. Largely because I was struggling to see out of the windows... anyway, I have things to report.

 

First and foremost, I previously said this;

On 03/09/2021 at 15:17, ilogikal1 said:

note to self, one's foam lance is in dre need of a tear down and thorough clean before the next use!

Which I didn't do, and therefore is still true today. Nethertheless, my approach for today was:

1. The wheels were all thoroughly sprayed with Dirt Magic, left to dwell for ~6 minutes then rinsed thoroughly with the pressure washer.
2. Conducted the test you're about to read below. Or not read. Either way, I conducted a test, it's going to be written up below. The reading of said write up is optional and incidenctal to these facts.
3. De-tarred and de-fallouted the car
4. Snow foamed the entire car using VP Snow Foam and an underperforming lance, whilst thinking to myself that the lance needs a clean and declogging.
5. Rinsed using the pressure washer.
6. Took some pictures for the subsequent sealant update.
7. Washed the car top to bottom with Car Chem Ceramic Suds (partially due to a lack of alternative shampoos to hand - this may or may not be relevant later on).
8. Rinsed using the pressure washer.
9. Hid from the rain that definitely wasn't going to arrive before 2 hours later at the absolute very earliest.

Now, I mention point 9 specifically because, a) Apple's weather forecasting is less forecasting and more retrospectively responding to what happened 10 minutes ago. Whch is about as useful as ECP's customer service department. I'm totally over that. Also, b) because of this:

 

I have previously used, and reported on, Ceramic Suds. Including the issues I've had with it - namely the streaking. All of which I had completely forgotten abount (the issues, not the previous uses, I remember using it before... largely because the bottle isn't full!). Of Ceramic Suds, I previously wrote (amongst other things)

On 28/08/2021 at 22:21, ilogikal1 said:

I might do a proper durability test for it one day, but I'm not convinced it's going to hold its own against Bathe+.

[/snip]

So my primary theory is too much product. I'll try less next time and forget to report back.

 

As I mentioned, I forgot about the streaking issue, as such I used considerably more than 50ml per 10l of water. I still didn't remember my previous woes when I noticed the streaking on the bonnet as it started to dry on panel. I seem to have approached the solution in the same way though - namely regular rinsing of washed panels to prevent product drying on the panel.

 

Now, in a very non-linear method, this may be good news (may be, because it rained so I've no idea whether the streaks remain below the wet surface) as, during my Christmas tour of the east of England I picked up my previous mystery box of Car Chem goodies... which includes 1l of QD that I've not touched. This is relevant, if not particularly clear, because, related to the streaks (and probably waterspots) which I attempted to resolve with Neutral Enhance Waterless Wash last time;

On 29/08/2021 at 12:25, ilogikal1 said:

All in all, I think I'd have been no worse (or better) off with a quick detailer.

 

For those still following my ramblings, this means I may be able to test this theory from August. Unless I managed to avoid streaking with sufficient rinsing including persistent rain at the wrong time of day.

 

For anyone who didn't follow that (including me, I think), don't worry about it - you're really not missing out!

 

The more observant of you may have noticed that my approach for today ended after the final rinse, meaning that I added no additional LSP other than Cermic Suds. I have to admit I was aiming to add a layer of Lockdown and/or HydroCoat Hybrid. However, it rained before it was supposed to, so I didn't. I am relying on Cermic Suds to offer enough protection until I get round to doing that1.

 

Amongst the things that I totally didn't forget that I'd done before was this entire post which addressed the streaking issue (mostly) but also addressed the (lack of) durability of Ceramic Suds.

 

1Since the Z was last washed a number of things have changed. One of those things being that I have moved. My new place doesn't have sufficient means to wash the car, which means I need to drive somewhere to wash it - that place being a 1.5 mile drive away. My allocated parking space at home is under cover though I may consider the use of a QD in place of a proper wash in order to lay down a layer of sealant. Or I may not and it may just wait until I wash the car again. At Easter. Maybe even this year.

 

There will now be a brief interlude whilst I arrange pictures and fetch more beer. Stay tuned for pictures. I'm not sharing my beer, get your own!

[ilogikal1]

As mentioned above, I used Ceramic Suds for the wash, so the following pictures and update comes courtesy of a mere snow foam and rinse.

 

As a reminder

On 31/08/2021 at 00:21, ilogikal1 said:

Firstly, I simply must provide a caveat, because that's the world we live in these days. Also, it's kinda what I do in these posts now...

 

As I may have mentioned, the paint isn't especially clean right now, which is likely to affect durability and potentially beading as well. However, I have plenty of both left to do a proper durability (and beading) test following a full detail.

 

For reference, two thirds of the bootlid is currently wearing Hydropel over Neutral Enhance, one third has Lockdown over Neutral Enhance.

The bonnet is a similar mix and match; one third (passenger side) is wearing straight Hydropel, one third (middle section) is wearing Hydropel over Lockdown and the final third (driver side) is wearing straight Lokdown.

The rest of the car is wearing lockdown.

 

As a further reminder, I wasn't overly struck by Hydropel and whilst I would happily use it again I wasn't expecting a great deal from it (although I'm not now sure why that was in all honesty). I was quite looking forward to using Lockdown and was expecting big things from it.

Hydropel's (well, SPP's) website claims it

Quote

repels water instantly, seals and protects from road salts for up to 6 months.

 

Lockdown's (well, CC's) website claims it

Quote

will protect paintwork for up to 12 months

 

Considering the caveat from August, that the paint wasn't primed for either sealant, combined with the fact that the car hasn't received anything more involved than a single snow foam and thorough rinse in 4 months, I will leave these pictures here for you all to make your own conclusion(s).

 

 

From driver's side to passenger's side:

 

 

 

And at the front of the bonnet:

 

 

 

Once again, one third (passenger side) is wearing straight Hydropel, one third (middle section) is wearing Hydropel over Lockdown and the final third (driver side) is wearing straight Lockdown.

One third is definitely more compromised than the other two. Actually the other to are standing up pretty well considering the circumstances - it's clearly not fresh, but it's still both sheeting and beading reasonably well for a sealant that is two thirds of the way through it's claimed lifespan despite the suboptimal prep.

 

Compared to the bootlid:

 

 

 

Once again, two thirds of the bootlid is currently wearing Hydropel over Neutral Enhance, one third has Lockdown over Neutral Enhance.

Neither has stood up particularly well, with both suffering major failures on significant patches.

 

 

Once again, the rest of the car is wearing Lockdown. I didn't take photos of the sid panels, but they were all reacting as you would expect (i.e. lower panels are signficantly compromised - and still dirty at this point - but the upper panels are fairing reasonably well). This with the exception of the roof.

 

Now, I don't recall what happened on the roof - if I did anything different, or potentially if I missed a section entirely! - however it's been evident for some time that something's gone wrong there. Whether it be frost, rain or mist, one half of the roof has always behaved differently to the other. Hence, this was not a surprise to me.

 

 

So... er... yeah. I'm almost certain I may have missed a section there, just because it's so uniform across the one side that would coincide with the reach from the passenger side.

 

Now, unfortunately I'm not able to check whether one sealant is more prone to clogging than the other as I don't have a straight shampoo with me here, just Ceramic Suds which adds it's own protection (albeit with questionable durability, but with that comes questionable cleaning ability too). There is potential that Lockdown may have been revived somewhat by a proper wash (rather than just a pre-wash), but this may have to be investigated further at a later date. In the meantime I may have to reconsider Hydropel as preferred LSP.

At least until my car isn't filled with Christmas next time I return from the North and I can bring more detailing stuff back instead.

 

On the bright side, I did have enough space for certain, specific products this time. So that aforementioned test will be written up and posted soon1.

 

1Soon is a relative term - it'll probably be tomorrow. Or something. I can't promise it'll be worth it, but I can promise it will follow a fimiliar and popular format and involves a product that I haven't used before.

Internet points to anyone who figures out what that product is before I post it.

[Stutopia]

Not directly related to the above, but as someone who is obviously rather keen on detailing (and therefore likely to be at least moderate spectrum OCD) how the hell do you cope with having multiple products and non-uniform water behaviour across multiple panels?

 

It makes me anxious and I’m not anywhere near it!

[ilogikal1]

38 minutes ago, Stutopia said:

Not directly related to the above, but as someone who is obviously rather keen on detailing (and therefore likely to be at least moderate spectrum OCD) how the hell do you cope with having multiple products and non-uniform water behaviour across multiple panels?

 

It makes me anxious and I’m not anywhere near it!

 

In short; denial.

 

In long: It actually doesn't bother me in the immediate term when it's intentional because ultimately that's the point. The car is then usually starting to get dirty again within hours which affects the water behaviour across panels anyway (more so when it's more likely to get wet) which usually bothers me whether it's intentional or not (hence early on very few of these tests resulted in any sort of conclusion on durability!).

These days I simply don't have the means to clean the car as thoroughly or as often as I'd like. I've found not being able to clean it to my desired standards makes me much more anxious than having a dirty car does - either way, non-uniform water behviour is the least of my worries with the car these days, sadly.

 

Take this time, for example; usually I'd never walk away having not applied at least one LSP (even in the rain), however because I haven't been able to wash the car properly (let alone detail it) I essentially just gave up with it really.

 

 

 

Also there's so many different colours and shades on a Z (between the lights, wheels, badges, plates and the different panel materials) anyway it seems more fitting that water behaves differently across each shade of blue.

[ilogikal1]

Seeing as no one has cracked the enigma of what's next - obviously due to my supreme intelligence making it too difficult rather than a complete lack of interest in even trying... obviously - so to put you all out of my misery or whatever, here is that there reveal is here.

 

As promised, that there test follows a familiar format and sees an old favourite defend it's crown. I started with a half-arsed "prep" for the test - specifically I sprayed the surface with VP's "bike cleaner" (otherwise known as Dirt Magic), left to dwell long enough to consider agitating it and set up the pressure washer, half-arsed the agitation and called it names as I thoroughly rinsed with the pressure washer, then let the surface dry a little for about 10 minutes.

I decided to go with a touchless prep to thoroughly test the products abilities. Abe because I didn't have my Wheel Woolies. Or enough arsed to do a proper job.

 

In a very particular order, I'll start with the second wheel. Purely for entertainment value so all rules are subject to change at my whim - unrelated side note, this post is inspired by the existence of Michael Masi1. Our control product, for this test, is of course:

 

1Michael Masi had no involvement, implied or actual, in the formation of this post. Or consistent application of rules in 2021.

Old skool Car Chem Revolt, the winner of my own, scientifically flawed, mega-test which was subsequently taken off the market. Revolt, not my scientfically flawed mega-test. My Scientifically flawed mega-test is still available. Even on the manufacturer's website who don't make Revolt anymore. They do make Iron Detox though - I don't know if this is simply a rebrand of the same product or an altered product however. So I'm using Revolt. Because I can. And I want to.

Anywho, this particular brand of product that you can't get anymore was sprayed onto to a wet wheel - Frankie, for those who remember page 27. For those who don't, that'll be the front right. Because the correct order of washing for today was Ryan, Rita, Floyd, Frankie. Or left rear, right rear, left front, right front. Because water runs down hill and I parked nose up, at an angle Not because I'm weird. Although I am weird, but we really don't have time to get into that right now... ahem, moving on. Frankie started off looking like this:

 

 

Believe it or not, that's cleaner than it was pre-Dirt Magic!

As Revolt does, it immediately did... not a lot actually. Which looked like this (there's a reason behind this picture, I promise):

 

As my limited experience with this product tells me that this is usual, Revolt doesn't tend to react immediately but rather takes a couple of minutes.

 

Meanwhile, over on Floyd, which started off looking like this:

 

 

 

This had already happened almost as soon as Floyd's product had hit it (this would be the reason for Frankie's picture, by the way):

 

 

And mere seconds later, this (as usual, look beyond the giant puddle of purple dripping off the brake disc):

 

 

Within the thirty seconds, mystery product B was picking up both smaller particals around the hub and barrel. Oh, by the way, mystery product B was in fact this:

 

 

According to the bottle, it's VP Devils Blood. According to the website, it's ValetingProducts (or sometimes Valeting Products, or VP) "Devils Blood Car Paint, Glass And Wheel Cleaner Iron Fallout Remover".

Quote

The new and incredible Devils Blood that you must try at least once!

Check.

Quote

Devils Blood is a highly effective, acid-free and pH balanced car paint, wheel and glass cleaner (safe for all wheels including aluminium and alloys). This formulation is also effective and safe for use on all car surfaces and will not deteriorate clear coats.

 

The website goes on to explain that it's specifically a fallout remover and why that's good. Also:

Quote

Many experts agree that Devils Blood is more effective than Clay Bars and cutting agents and requires very little effort.

 

As is seemingly quite a popular trend these days, these claims are provided without any context and remain unsubstatiated. But it makes a lovely statement to support the cause, so it's fine to just chuck in there. I'm not sure who these experts are, how many constitutes "Many", what Devils Blood is more effective at, how that was scientifically tested (because Bilt Hamber will need the scientic study to accept it - I'm totally over that, by the way. Thanks for asking) or what specifically requires very little effort - to use? To store? To manufacture? To look at?

Anyway, the website also provides the following:

Quote

Directions for use:
1. Wash vehicle as normal to remove surface dirt.
2. Spray Panel/Wheel generously with product to ensure an even coverage.
3. Allow product to dwell for approx 5 minutes, you will notice the paintwork starts to run purple/red. This is the iron/fallout dissolving leaving your paintwork contaminant free.
4. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.

 

I don't know if the bottle does or not because I don't have the bottle within reach at this moment in time and, quite frankly, I'm too lazy to fetch it and find out. You can probably guess that I didn't look to follow the instructions, however:

1. Check... ish. I "washed" Floyd first if that counts. And by "washed" I very much mean pre-washed.
2. Check... ish. I didn't ensure even coverage. I just ensured coverage.
3. Check. I also did notice. And I have photographic evidence of my noticing. Which is why you're here. So I should just get on with it. Right?!?
4. Check... ish. Depending on your definition of "clean". My definition of "clean" in this context is hard tap water (A.K.A. liquid chalk), fresh from several miles of pipe, a tap, a garden hose, a pressure washer, another hose, a washer gun complete with nozzle and about 5 feet of Essex air. For context or whatever.

 

Whilst Devils Blood was reacting virtually instantly - and I'm comfortable it's actually reacting rather than simply just turning purple because it's picking up specific spots and simply looking like a bloodbath - Revolt took a minute or two to do this:

 

 

 

 

You all know Revolt already - if you don't, there's about 20 pages on it in this thread! - so I'll not go over old ground here, however I will compare Devils Blood to Revolt.

Devils Blood (which suggests VP bled more than one devil... which is foretelling) has the typical scent of Eau de Psycho KillerTM. It's a translucent pink liquid that's noticeably less viscous than Revolt, as a result (of the viscosity, not the colour) it runs off a bit quicker, as was evident with the puddle under the brake disc within seconds of application. That said, Devils Blood does still hang around long enough to work thoroughly and there was no sign of it drying out any sooner than Revolt. In my test, the first applicaton was left to dwell for 10 minutes, by which time only the overspray from both products was starting to dry out on that particular day (conditions were mild - ~14 degrees - and overcast, so no direct sunlight or risk of baking on).

 

Between 6-8 minutes (so 7 minutes) after application, Floyd/Devils Blood looked like this:

 

Meanwhile Frankie & Revolt looked like this:

 

 

Apparently I didn't get (or perhapsn didn't not delete...) the picture of the barrel with Revolt on. Suffice it to say it wasn't pretty. Unless you like purple, then it was pretty. It was not too dissimilar to Devil's Blood picture if I'm not mistaken, but you don't have to take my word for it, you can test it for yourself. If you have a stockpile of Revolt (just me?). And Frankie (just me!). In that exact state (not even me). So you do have to take my word for it actually.

 

Both wheels were then thoroughly rinsed with the aforemention "clean" liguid chalk. Then, as I tend to do, I swapped fall out removers to the opposite wheel. Almost immediately, Frankie and Devils Blood looked like this:

 

 

 

That's not selective photography, that's literally every reaction.

Meanwhile, Floyd and Revolt just look like Floyd when wet. After a minute or so though, Floyd and Revolt looked like this:

 

That is selective.

After another 5 minutes, Frankie and Devils Blood looked like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile Floyd and Revolt was looking like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I don't make fall out removers, nor do I make Revolt (although no one does now so who knows where that leaves us) and I don't chemiclly dissolve iron particales whilst turning purple either, so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have an opinion on any of this... but in the spirit of Michael Masi, **** the rules, I'm going to do what I want. I reserve my right to backtrack as soon as someone questions my decision and/or re-interpret rules as it suits me at the time in an effort to excuse any perceived **** up.

With that caveat (because what is a post from me without a caveat?), I'm giving the clear win to Revolt. Naturally, I then preceeded to use Devils Blood on the rest of the car. I can confirm it works on paintwork as well as on... painted wheels... erm... yeah.

 

All in all, Devils Blood is okay - it clearly works to remove a degree of fallout contaminants - but doesn't, in my view, perform as well we Revolt does.

Devils Blood is £4.99 for 500ml, although adding another 500ml to that first one will cost you an additional £5, 5 litres will add another £23 and 25 litres will add £70 to that price. For those struggling, that's cheaper to buy 2x500ml (and save yourself a penny) at £9.98, £27.99 for 5 litres or £74.99 for 25litres. It also has the advantage of still being available for purchase.

 

Revolt, however, will set you back... er... nothing, because you can't buy it anymore. Or if you can, it's old stock and/or watered down eBay crap. The former is fine as, aside from potentially eating and/or clogging spray head components, it has a long shelf life so provided it's been correctly stored it should be fine. For the sake of reference, Car Chem's current offering, Iron Detox, costs £9.99 for 500ml, £14.50 for 1 litre, £32.99 for 5 litres or £115 for 25 litres - please note that I am not implying or stating that Iron Detox is interchangeable with Revolt.

 

Both Devils Blood and Revolt have the same horrendous scent which is always unpleasant - especially spraying up wind! In terms of usage for my test, they were comparable, so value for money is... completely irrelevant as you still can't get Revolt anymore. I do have enough Devils Blood to test against Iron Detox though. I do also have 1.5 litres of Revolt left over as well, so... actually I'm just bragging, because you can't buy Revolt anymore. Which is the most disappointing development since Jeffs Werkstatt disappeared from existance.

 

Anyway, that's this year's wash done already. I'll see you all in 2023. Ish.

[Stutopia]

I love it when "science" confirms my prejudices against products with names and packaging designed to appeal to toddlers.

 

Also, now you've confirmed Iron DeTox is definitely the exact same as Revolt, I start buying that, after my new thing runs out...

 

 

 

 

[ilogikal1]

Oh now you've done it...

[ilogikal1]

In what is becoming an all too familiar situation, a mere 5 months on from the last write up comes the car's platinum jubilee wash. This wash has nothing to do with the queen, it's just been 70 years since I last washed the car... roughly.

 

That's roughly 70 years, not roughly washed the car, by the way.

 

Also, that may or may not be a slight exaggeration.

 

Still, not the most ridiculous claim by me, nor on this thread, nor on this forum and we all know it's okay to be ridiculous so long as you're not the most ridiculous person around.

 

Anywaaaaaaaaaay...

 

Today's post comes with limited photos because my photographer for today half-arsed it, quite frankly. Ergo, today's post will contin many, many words... for a change. Some things to know before we start:

I'm pretty sure the car hasn't seen so much as a raindrop, nor more than 20-odd miles, in the 6 months since it's last wash, so we started today with a fairly thick layer of dust covering every inch of the car barring the area of the windscreen that the wipers reach. Also, today's lazy and/or incompetent photographer was me.

 

Whilst I do have before photos, they don't really show the blanket of dust all that well, but gives you a fair idea of what we're dealing with.

 

 

 

 

There was also limited traffic film, particuarly on the lower panels and around the wheel arches, but given the limited mileage it really wasn't that much at all.

I did a few things today. First thing I did today was test out the pre-wash cleaning ability of an APC compared to a snow foam compared to just a rinse.

 

The APC was Dirt Magic. This was sprayed onto a panel (front wing, for reference), left to dwell for a couple of minutes and rinsed throughly. The front half of the adjascent door was rinsed equally as thoroughly but not treated to a prewash.

The rest of the door was snow foamed. Now, I finally remembered that my lance needed attention, so I serviced it (f'nar) this morning before I left the house... well, actually, I replaced the gause with a clean one, but that's the important bit really.

 

Today I decided to use Car Chem Ultra Snow Foam, which is a much thicker liquid than the usual CC Snow Foam or the VP Snow Foam I've been using more recently, it's more of shampoo type consistency. This was from my Car Chem Mystery Box 2019 (I've used it before here). In a similar method to before, I chucked some in the foam bottle until I got bored, then topped up with a little bit of water - roughly 2:1. That's 2 parts Ultra to 1 part water. Then threw that mixture at the car at roughly 8% PIR. Which is maths I can't be bothered to do on a sunny bank holiday.

 

I don't have any pictures of this particular test because, as I said earlier, my photographer today was s**t. Instead, you can have words. Lots and lots of words. The short version is; just rinsing removed very little, Dirt Magic removed a bit more but by some considerable distance Ultra Snow Foam removed the most. It wasn't quite enough for a touchless wash (but probably would have been if not for th traffic film under the layer of dust). As I say, s**t photographer, so you'll just have to take my word for it....

 

I then snow foamed the rest of the car, which demonstrated something I've been saying for years; foam a dry car. Pre-rinsing panels encourages quicker run off meaning the foam doesn't get as much time to work on the panel. This was evident on the panels that had seen Dirt Magic, Snow Foam and just water first, subsequently the Dirt Magic & rinsed sections were still noticably dirtier than the sections that had been foamed dry, after being foamed and rinsed. Again, no photos of this so either trust me on it or try it for yourselves. Or both.

 

Having replaced the gauze in the foam lance, Ultra Snow Foam gave a good thick layer of foam which clung well for a ~4-5 minutes before rinsing off well. I decided then to do a back to back comparison with VP Snow Foam with a fresh gauze, so the car got foamed again (having used it before, here). VP Snow Foam is a much thinner, more watery liquid in concentrate form. I used VP SNow Foam neat due to this, so the maths is a lot easier; it was applied at ~8% PIR (give or take any water pressure variances during use).

Having foamed and rinsed the entire car with Ultra, I can't say which, if either, is the better cleaner. Yet. I do have enough of both left over to potentially test this. If I; a) remember, 2) can be arsed, and iii) ever get round to it.

 

Some observations:

Ultra Snow Foam from 2019 Mystery Box has a citrus scent to it which I very much noticed when using it today. Ultra takes an age to pour due to the consistency. Even pre-diluted in the bottle and being applied at less that ~8% PIR, it cleans really well for a pre-wash. It's a thicker snow foam (not shaving foam thick - thick enough to cling for a while without being a **** to rinse) which should appease some people who like thicker foams.

VP Snow Foam looks like the old CC Snow Foam, it smells like the old CC Snow Foam and it applies a thinner foam, just like the old CC Snow Foam. Now I'm not saying it's the old CC Snow Foam, but it's the exact same stuff, without a doubt, 100% matter of fact. Okay, it might not be, but I still think it's pretty darn similar.

I'd quite happily use and recommend either product for pre-wash.

Also, and perhaps this could have been mentioned earlier, but you can't actually buy either of these products anymore.

 

Following on from double foaming the entire and throwing some Dirt Magic at some of it, I noticed something. Again. Actually two things. Both of which I've noticed before. You're all following this, right?

Back in August 2021, I threw some Hydropel and some Lockdown at the car in various ways. Since then, I've cleaned the car once - in January - when I also threw some fallout remover, glue & tar remover, snow foam and washed using Ceramic Suds (streaks and all). Pre-streaking the car, I specifically avoided making any observations about the durability of the aforementioned LSP's but provided pictures to allow you to make your own judgements. Aside from Ceramic Suds, no (other?) LSP was used either at the time or since.

I do have photos of this observation, so here they are:

 

 

 

 

 

For those who didn't click the link(s) above, as you look at it the left hand side of the bonnet had Lockdown applied 9 months ago.  The middle had Hydropel over Lockdown applied 9 months ago. The right side had straight Hydropel.

These were taken after rinsing the second snow foam application (i.e. touchless wash). Also as a quick reminder, Lockdown is designed to last "up to 12 months", Hydropel is designed to last "up to 6 months". Both were applied to paint that had NOT been fully or thoroughly prepared, but had been washed prior to application. I'm pretty sure neither had been applied in the prescribed way either. That said, one is clearly struggling whilst the other is still showing good signs of continuing on.

 

In January, I also noted wierdness on the roof... and by wierdness I'm 100% sure I messed up when applying. I'm fairly certain the roof was wearing Lockdown... at least half of it was, the other half may have been overlooked. Either that, or I split the roof (which is unlikley) and I forgot to mention it in the write up (which is more likely whether ti happened or not). Either way, something was showing signs of protecting half of the roof. Today, the roof looked like this:

 

 

 

After 9 months, whatever is on the passenger side is struggling more but still there. Whatever was (or wasn't) on the driver side is completely gone.

 

After pictures were taken, I decdied to have another go with Ceramic Suds. This time taking heed of my previous struggles, I ignored the instructions again. The instructions say to use 50ml of product in 10 litres of water, so I used ~30ml. In 12 litres of water. I also remembered that I found Ceramic Suds not to feel particularly lubricated, so I threw in ~30ml of Ultra Snow Foam as well, because nothing says "good product" more than feeling it necessary to add another product to it to do the thing it is designed for.... Yeah, I'm not a fan of Ceramic Suds (sorry Car Chem), but I'm perservering because I have a litre to get through, so I'm determined to see if I can get it to work for me at all. Today, I was working on the streaking issue more than anything. Also Ultra Snow Foam says ont he bottle it can be used a shampoo at 200:1 dilution; so one bird, two stones and all that.

Using a clean microfibre wash pad I started on the roof.

Which is also where I stopped. Streaking occured, ruling out overapplication of product. Also, I wasn't happy with how rough the paintwork felt, despite adding in some Ultra. As such, I resorted to chucking in ~150ml of Ceramic Suds in with ~150ml ofVP Snow Foam into the foam lance and foaming the remaining panels before the contact wash, one by one, followed by rinsing each panel after the contact wash, one by one. If I was polishing, I wouldn't be as bothered by the streaking, but then if I was polishing it would defeat the purpose of using a shampoo that adds some protection! This foam, wash, rinse, panel-by-panel was the only way I could limit (not eliminate) the streaking. I'm probably not giving up with Ceramic Suds, partially because I so much left, partially becasue I've still not got another option to hand right now, but I am certain that Ceramic Suds and I will never be freinds.

 

Now, I'm pretty sure I've not polished the car since 2018. Possibly December(ish) 2018, possibly May (ish) 2018. Either way, the paintwork is dull and lacks any depth to it. Unfortunately with no time, space, continuum, tools, products or arsed to do it today, I went straight from Cermic Suds to Hydropel. Following the instructions to the letter, as I am inclined to do... ahem. I sprayed some Hydropel on the panel, wiped in with 500gsm cloth in no particular pattern until it was thoroughly spread and then walked away.

 

VPP's instructions are this:

Quote

 

Directions for use:

1. Make sure the surface of the vehicle is cool to the touch before applying. 

2. Spray Hydropel directly to any surface then use a clean Microfibre cloth to gently wipe the area clean. 

3. Use a 2nd microfibre cloth to lightly buff any residue. 

4. For better results apply Hydropel after every wash to ensure a perfect finish with long-lasting protection.  

 

 

1. The surface of the vehicle was not cool. It was in direct sunlight in 22 degree ambient temperature. The panels were hot to the touch before, during and after applying.

2. I did that.

3. I did not do that, but in my defence I did 2 until there was no residue.

4. I have done this for one out of the last one washes. Check.

Also, the bottle suggests that step 3 is to allow to haze and then buff with a clean cloth. I did not do this either as no hazing occured. In fact, no matter what I do or how I apply it, I have never been able to get Hydropel to haze. It's as simple to apply as; spray, wipe, wipe some more, keep wiping it's still going, get bored of wiping, walk away.

 

Anyway, finished product in need of a polish (did I mention that yet?):

 

 

 

I may or may not wash it again this year. Stay tuned!

[HEADPHONES]

The sky reflectio s look so magical in your Azure bonnet . 

 

Now minus the coating of dust and grime you must have got that new car feeling  again.

Hopefully the weather  holds out and you can enjoy  a good blast around  without instantly having muck thrown up the sides of the car.

I often mystify neighbours  by rinsing  the car down just a day after washing  if the roads were wet after a drive

(Filtered rinse BTW to prevent spotting)

[Stutopia]

Sack the photographer and have you refurbished those wheels yet?

 

I’ve been curious about the Hydropel, good to see used as god intended. I’d forgotten what it was for and been happily using it to wipe down door jambs after a wash. Seems to do that just fine.