[Video] Water Behaviour on Different States of Paintwork

This video shows different patterns of water repellency on three states of paintwork:

1st state: Levelled paintwork with wax. This panel has least exposure to environmental attacks such as UV rays and acid rain. The paint has been fully compounded and polished and protected with Duragloss sealants and spray wax.

2nd state: Waxed paintwork with contaminants, ingrained dirt and heavy waterspot etching. This panel has also been fully compounded and polished, but is exposed to the environment most of the time. The paint is constantly bombarded with hot sun and heavy rain. This accelerates the waterspot etching process. As a result, this panel is heavily water spotted, has ingrained dirt and is contaminated as it feels gritty. Although the sealant/wax on the surface is still repelling water, it doesn't sheet off water cleanly, leaving drops of water behind. This is because the waterspots in the paint 'grabs' the water as it is being sheeted off.

3rd state: Levelled paintwork with no wax and no polishing oils. This is the same panel as the second state, but after polishing with Meguiar's SwirlX to remove waterspot etchings and any ingrained dirt. It is then washed with a basic car shampoo to remove polishing oils. This state shows that levelled paintwork in itself will sheet off water very cleanly.

The ideal state would be the 1st state.

So the next time you wash your car, try to notice how your paint repels water, if it repels water like the 1st state, then protection is good. If it repels like the second state, it is probably a good time for a polish and wax session.

Of course, these are only my observations and could very well be wrong. Please correct me and feel free to point out to any mistakes or ambiguity.

Thanks for looking!

p.s A hint to what's coming next. A test between wash sponges and China vs Japan. Read more!

Initial Impressions: Rainaway

With an abundant variety of detailing products on the market, many companies try to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Rainaway is one of them, they offer products that are supposed to outperform and outlast Over-The-Counter(OTC) products.

They offer four different services, which are:

Nano Glass Coating
Nano Paint Coating - Premium
Nano Paint Coating - Diamond
Nano Titanium (Coats a surface to become anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and mold free. Used on interior surfaces)

These services are not available directly to the end user and can only be applied by detailing centres that offer Rainaway services.

This post will show how these products are applied as well as a small glimpse of whether they are worth it.



Read about my initial impressions after the jump!



Products that will be tested is the Nano Glass Coating and Nano Paint Coating(Premium series).

When you opt for the glass coating, the detailing centre will first clean the windscreen with an abrasive powder to remove any oil, grease, etched in waterspots as well as any previously applied products on the windscreen.



I applied the powder with a 4" Lake Country CCS pad by hand.





As you can see below, the pattern show lines of waterspot etchings on the glass.



I then worked the product in until it does not show any lines or hydrophobic properties.





After rinsing and washing the powder off,



Crystal clear glass with no waterspots,



For the test, the entire front windscreen will be coated with Rainaway's Nano Glass Coating. The rear windscreen will be split into half, with one half coated with Rainaway and the other with a very popular glass water repellant, Rain-X.



The Nano Glass Coating consists of two chemicals, F1 and F2, which have to be mixed together prior to application. I'm assuming that one if it is the hardener/catalyst.







The mixed solution is then applied with a cotton pad.



The removal process was vastly different between Rain-X and Rainaway Nano Glass Coating.

Rain-X is very much oilier and washing it off with soap and water is the best and cleanest option for removal, I tried that method with the side coated with Rainaway Nano Glass, it was hardly removed.

It had to be dry buffed and any remaining streaks cleaned off with a glass cleaner. Buffing it off was difficult indeed, it was dry and grabby.

Rainaway is also supposed to protect the glass from watermark etching. From my previous experience with Rain-X, it doesn't do much for protecting in the long term, but it's water repellency is pretty durable.

That's all for now for the Nano Glass Coating.

Next product to be tested is Rainaway's Nano Paint Coating - Premium series. The higher end version is the Diamond Series.



I prepped the paint with some Meguiar's SwirlX on the Random Orbital Buffer. This was more than enough since it had a paint makeover a few weeks ago.




Worked in,






Buffed off,



Reflection,



Dirt and contaminants removed from the paint,



The Bosch ROB may be an infant in the world of polishing machines, that doesn't mean it's unable to kick some butt on its own!

The Honda that had the full monty HERE, had suffered from severe watermark etchings.

However, frequent washing prevented the watermarks from being etched in too deep and was possible to be removed with only the Bosch ROB.

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


I also received instructions to remove any polishing oils on the surface prior to the application of Rainaway Nano Paint Coating.

So I washed the boot and bonnet with Osren Nano Wash, a basic shampoo without any wax or gloss enhancers. The roof wasn't washed just to see if the oils would affect the durability of the coating.





All horizontal surfaces were then taped into half.

Products and process is as follow.

Driver's side:
- Apply Duragloss #601 Polish Bonding Agent
- Apply 1st coat of Duragloss #105 Total Performance Polish
- Wait half an hour and buff off
- Apply 2nd coat of Duragloss #105 Total Performance Polish

Passenger's side:
- Apply 1st coat of Rainaway Nano Paint Coating(Premium)
- Wait half an hour and buff off
- Apply 2nd coat of Rainaway Nano Paint Coating(Premium)





Then during the buffing process, experienced the same thing as the glass coating. VERY difficult to buff off.

On the Duragloss(DG) side, as expected, it came off with ease and leaving a smooth, deep and even finish. On the Rainaway side, it's like I had to buff through several layers of dried product.

Sorry for the poor picture below, but you can see on the right side(Rainaway) of the picture, the light reflection is not sharp.



The left side(Duragloss) just had light smearing that was removed with a fresh microfibre(MF) cloth.

This could be one of the reasons why it is not available for end users and have to be professionally applied.

In addition to the buffing process, the looks was also different. Now I belong to the camp of 'looks is in the prep work', whatever wax or sealant I put on afterwards is merely for protection.

On the DG side, it looked dark and wet. On the Rainaway side, it didn't look as dark, this could also be due to the coating that I used, which was meant for metallic paint. Rainaway has another type meant for dark coloured vehicles.


Fast forward 2 days with an afternoon of heavy rain.

The bonnet is washed with shampoo, dried and the Rainaway side is buffed off again with a dry MF cloth. Even shampoo solution wouldn't wash the excess product away!
After much difficulty, the finish was quite even and on par with the DG side.










The pictures are just to show their water beading characteristics, not a comparison as DG #105 isn't a very strong beader in itself.

However, the Rainaway side repelled water VERY nicely whereas the DG side was a little bit slower. Even so, I do not blame it as that is how it is supposed to be.

Speaking about water beading, I'm one who believes that water beading is not the absolute indicator of protection as a cheap RM19 bottle of Soft99 Fusso Coat can repel water very well, but lacks in protection.

This is where Rainaway is supposed to differ, it's meant to repel water greatly and at the same time provide great protection.

Although it is too early to tell, there were slight differences between the two halves. The DG side had very tiny waterspots whereas the Rainaway side was as clean as freshly polished paint.

In conclusion, my initial impressions of Rainaway is good, only if you do not have to apply it yourself. It is too early to evaluate it's performance, therefore, do stay tuned and check back in 1-2 months time for the full product review of Rainaway with videos.

You can subscribe via e-mail HERE to receive notification of new posts. Don't worry, your e-mail will remain anonymous to everyone including myself.

Thanks for looking!

Many thanks to Darren from Autowaxshop in Kuching, Sarawak for the Rainaway samples!

Feel free to post your comments, or maybe a prediction of the outcome below.

Experiences of current Rainaway users are highly appreciated!

^^V

p.s. Just in case anyone might get the wrong signal, there is NO intention to defame any product, person or company.
Read more!

Practicing Moderation In Auto Detailing

As with all things in life, moderation is important. One should not be at the extreme end of a scale.

An example is that our cars need engine oil, not using enough engine oil will result in lack of lubrication and increases wear. Filling up engine oil over the maximum limit will cause the engine to be sluggish.

A second example is in giving praises and compliments. If you praise one person too much, that person might become egoistical, if you don't give that person any praises at all, he/she will be unmotivated and lacking of self-confidence.

Then come auto detailing. Gone are the days where washing and waxing is all that is done to make a vehicle shine. These days, you have polishes, glazes, pre-wax cleaners, clays, quick detailers, waxes and sealants. All these contribute to making a paint finish look its best.

If a person only wash and wax the paint, it might not be enough as the surface might still feel rough and swirls and scratches are still on the paint. Therefore, more steps are needed, such as claying and polishing with an abrasive polish to remove swirls and scratches.

However, some people get too deep into the details until they forget the basic purpose of detailing the paint.

Many types of paint protectants have emerged in the market. You have your basic carnauba wax, then comes your synthetic sealants, then your spray on waxes/sealants and your wipe-on-walk-away sealants. Not to mention that there are different brands or manufacturers in a product category.

Now let's remind ourselves of the basic function of a paint protectant, i.e. car wax.

A car wax acts as a sacrificial barrier to protect the paint from harmful contaminants such as acid rain, bird droppings, industrial fallout and traffic pollution. Of course, waxes also add to the look by filling some scratches, and oils add that wet look to the paint, giving it a glossy shine.

These are the basic functions. Now, those who go into detail will often compare waxes and sealants of different brands, most of the time, trying to hunt for the best. Let's focus on carnauba/synthetic paste waxes. Firstly, you have your famous brand, Megu**r's, on the other end of the scale, you have your boutique brand, Zym*l. Megu**r's have their own paste waxes.

Zym*l has many more different varieties to choose from, since that is what their main product offering consists of. For Zym*l waxes, the higher the percentage of carnauba is in the wax, the more expensive it gets. The benefits of a higher percentage of carnauba is? More protection? Better looks?

I do not know, as I'm not a chemist or a professional detailer. But if I were to apply an RM500 Zym*l wax beside an RM70 Megu**r's wax on a well prepped surface, would one be able to see any discernible difference? I highly doubt so. If I happen to know that the volume of carnauba in the RM70 Megu**r's wax is ten times lower than in the RM500 Zym*l wax, does this mean that the RM70 Megu**r's will perform ten times lousier?

Speaking of which product is better, on internet forums, I've observed that many people like to compare which wax is better, myself included. Is Finish Kare 1000P better than Collinite 476s? Which one shines better? Which is more durable?

I am guilty to be in the same camp but I try to tell myself not to care about too much of the details. Most of the time, I fail, as I tend to analyze and criticize different products of the same category.

This is bad as it will result in overspending in products. Just because people on the internet say that Collinite 476s is better than Meguiar's #16, do I have to go buy it? No I shouldn't, but I did, and only to find out that there is not much of a difference!

The bottom line is, a wax is a wax, a sealant is a sealant, a paint coating is a paint coating. What we should focus on instead is the process in getting the paint detailed and the proper techniques involved. Not because I used this so and so wax, it will shine better.
What is the point in using costly products if the main problem is user error? It's like giving a high-end computer to a computer-illiterate person.

So I would like to remind all fellow detailers out there that we should always keep it simple.

Enjoy the process of detailing and not delve too deep into details.

These are solely my opinion and anyone can freely disagree with me. There is no intention to defame anyone or any company.

What are your thoughts?


Read more!