# LSP / Topper comparison



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Hi folks,

Many of you will know I've been on a quest to find the holy grail of LSPs, one that does everything exceptionally well. In reality such a product is not likely to exist. There is normally a trade off between ease of application and durability, of protection and slickness, clarity vs. filling and darkening ability. This quest is really just my excuse to buy and try new products...

I recently got hold of a neglected test bonnet and as a first test I decided to run a side by side shootout of some of my favourite LSPs - doing so on my own cars which each have at least one base coating of varying types and ages applied to them was not practical or a fair test.

Panel was prepped using Koch Chemie H9 and refined with Scholl S20 Black before being panel wiped.

*Products (listed right to left);*


Merlin Mix - TAC System Shinee Wax 40% / Sonax BSD 40% / Turtle Wax Hydrophobic Sealant Wax 20%
TAC Systems Shinee Wax
Polish Angel Carnuaba Arts Blue Xilion (Colour Charged Spray Wax)
Polish Angel Primer Spritz / x2 layers of Cosmic Spritz (These combine to form PA's New-Gen 12-14 month coating)
Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
Titan Ultra
No topper (Standalone Cancoat/Moonlight and Control)

For selfish reasons I am also testing how effective each product is as a topper for Gyeon Cancoat and TAC Systems Moonlight, two light ceramic coatings I am very fond of and each containing between 20 and 25% SiO2 compared to the 70%+ found in the fully fledged long life coatings. To do this I have run separate strips of Cancoat and Moonlight along the top of each section so that I can see if there was any discernable difference in topping them from the start.

The plan is to expose these to the elements for as long as they'll last - washing weekly with either TAC Systems Mystic Bubble or Gyeon Bathe Essence (both pure shampoos that rinse free). To accelerate the process I may later use Auto Foam to monitor how quickly they are degraded.

*Ranking categories;*


A) Ease of application
B) Visual improvement
C) Initial slickness
D) Hydrophobic behaviour
E) Normal Durability
F) Chemical Resistance (may need to top up products before doing this)

I'll try to photograph and/or video the results and share in this thread for those interested!

Initial bonnet photo https://photos.app.goo.gl/3VDZXmRqheDrQp9V8


----------



## Muska (Jan 23, 2007)

Thanks for doing this, I look forward to reading your findings.


----------



## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

Fantastic  look forward to updates 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

*Category A - Application*

Appreciate this is the most subjective part of the test. All products were easy to apply. Cancoat and Moonlight while easy to apply do require extra care - while they're as easy to remove as some of the other products, ensuring a streak free finish is more crucial and I naturally spent longer applying (to ensure an even film was formed) and removing (to ensure no high spots) both.


Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz - Clear first.. could be applied by a 5 year old child. Melts into the paint, little/no residue to remove with second MF.
Titan Ultra - Needed the second MF but the finish is immediately slick.
Polish Angel Blue Xilion - Easy to apply, the blue colouring makes it very easy to spot on silver paint but cloths needed an APC clean to remove. 
Polish Angel Primer Spritz / Cosmic Spritz combo - Primer Spritz and Cosmic Spritz are as easy as each other to apply. Primer flashes very quickly. Marked down because three separate layers were required.
TAC Shinee Wax - Even slight over application (guilty when applying to this small section) will lead to streaks. 
Gyeon Cancoat - Careful buffing is required to remove residue - flashes quickly but you can tell where you've been due to grabbiness.
TAC Systems Moonlight - Careful application is required to avoid streaks - transfer solution very noticeable, easily buffed off but requires care to avoid high-spots. 
Merlin Mix - The trade-off to having the chemical resistant Turtle Wax and the crazily Hydrophobic BSD is the streaky application.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

*Category B - Visual Improvement*

For fairness I am ranking these by the extent of the difference they made to the paint. Everyone has their own preferences of what they want products to do and results can vary by paint colour and type.

I was surprised at the extent of the difference the top two made...

1. Gyeon Cancoat - noticeable darkening of the surface without any loss of clarity.
2. TAC Systems Moonlight - a step behind Cancoat but very impressive darkening effect without any loss of clarity.
=3. Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic combo - took 18 photos none able to capture the pure reflectivity of the section this was applied to.
=3. Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz - as above, identical results.
=5. TAC Systems Shinee Wax - slight increase in clarity
=5. Titan Ultra - noticeable under intense light only.
=5. Polish Angel Blue Xilion - noticeable under intense light only.
8. Merlin Mix - no discernable difference vs. bare paint.

Videos
Indoor: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zU8B2UFzN4Qs7dsg9
Outdoor: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AjGXhm2uoBJCq79M9

Photo
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HbBXYSLJ9dwnZRmH7


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

*Category C - Initial Slickness*

Two felt noticeably slicker to the touch - Titan Ultra and TAC Systems Shinee Wax. All others felt much slicker than the control but couldn't pick between them.

I also did coating bottle tests with near identical ranking order to the applicator drop test. I also swapped applicator pads (all were fresh out of the packet) but did not see any variation.

Ranking (as a topper to Cancoat)


Titan Ultra
TAC Systems Shinee Wax
Merlin Mix
Polish Angel Blue Xilion
Gyeon Cancoat (standalone)
Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic Combo

Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/onpx71yG8jq3D1cUA

Ranking (as a topper to TAC Systems Moonlight):


Titan Ultra
TAC Systems Shinee Wax
Merlin Mix
TAC Systems Moonlight (standalone)
Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
Polish Angel Blue Xilion
Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic Combo

Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/G8WpYh1bjHLULSZo6

Ranking (standalone):


Titan Ultra
TAC Systems Shinee Wax
Merlin Mix
Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic Combo
Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
Polish Angel Blue Xilion
Control (bare paint)


Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fygGreLnqZWf8yZA8


----------



## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Great comparison test Adam and thanks for posting. :thumb:

However, I can’t believe you’ve not included budgetplan1’s favourite topper KK Overcoat! :doublesho

Alan W


----------



## Lexus-is250 (Feb 4, 2017)

Great work atbalfour! 

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk


----------



## pt1 (Feb 8, 2014)

Nice work  shinee wax is a nice product, definitely got to be careful not to over apply as you said, a second buff takes off any streaking though

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

Good task and thanks for sharing. 
This shows exactly why I will not waste time on photos or videos, it is so difficult to convey what you are seeing and what you are trying to show. 
The Cancoat was very clear though and personally liked the darkening which was so noticeable. All others I was unable to discern enough difference.
It would also be difficult to use anything but a true flat panel for slickness side by side, the usual curvature toward L&R sides gives those an advantage.

Seem's to me the Cancoat survived OK and TU given you a tug???
It has me.

Good work, Kudos:thumb:


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Alan W said:


> Great comparison test Adam and thanks for posting. :thumb:
> 
> However, I can't believe you've not included budgetplan1's favourite topper KK Overcoat! :doublesho
> 
> Alan W


Gutted as I'd just run out of PA High Gloss and KK Overcoat 

I'm holding high hopes that Titan Ultra can replace Overcoat as my winter topper - still pricey but considerably less. Titan talk a big game about what it can do 

I didn't see any noticeable visual benefit to High Gloss over Spritz so I'm planning to stick with the more durable of the two until I find something better / cheaper but as good... suspect that'll take a while 

Spending money to save money..


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

*Category D - Hydrophobic behaviour*

Very fine margins here as I don't do non-hydrophobic LSPs  TAC Shinee Wax is the only one you would deem good but not great in this category. As expected with the added BSD mixed in it becomes more hydrophobic closer to the level of the others.

1. Polish Angel Blue Xilion
=2. Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
=2. Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic Spritz combo 
4. Titan Ultra
5. Gyeon Cancoat (standalone)
6. TAC Systems Moonlight (standalone)
7. Merlin Mix
8. TAC Systems Shinee Wax

To be totally honest you'd be impressed by any of the top 7 and need to pay close attention and attempt different flow patterns to spot any difference between them. You may arrive at different conclusions to me, having soaked my feet for a good 35 minutes I hope I'm not too far away... 

Mist setting: A) Flat Panel 



 B) Upright Panel 



Flood setting: 



Cancoat vs Moonlight: 




Perhaps prematurely I ran a hydrophobicity test yesterday immediately after applying Ultra (all other products had cured for 5 days, Ultra only arrived yesterday AM). You'll see that immediately after application it was slightly slower relative to the above video taken today.






Hopefully clear to see in the video the hydrophobicity of each topper improved when applied on top of Cancoat, there was a slight improvement when applied on top of Moonlight but the overall hydrophobic performance was lower in comparison to Cancoat. Interestingly the most hydrophobic section on the entire panel was the Cancoat / Ultra combination. Water sheeted off quicker than any other section and the beads were as pronounced as I have ever seen.


----------



## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

Excellently presented test, very good and can't wait to see how this plays out. I'm not surprised, but it is striking to see how much darkening effect that Cancoat has. The traditional rule of sealants for light cars is out of the window, as is the sealants don't look good rule. 

On most white cars, silver cars, and very dark cars with a fleck that comes out in the sun I really like optically clear products that don't darken, or if they do, it only lasts for a wash. Cancoat wouldn't work for that type of look, but would work excellently on flat black or dark grey.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Water behaviour videos now added!


----------



## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

You have better eyesight than I Adam.:doublesho


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Itstony said:


> You have better eyesight than I Adam.:doublesho


Such fine margins... you'd be happy with any of these products initial performance. It was very difficult to differentiate and even more to illustrate while videoing with my phone in the other hand! I've watched a good few of Sandro's (Car Craft) videos and I see a lot of sense in his methodology for differentiating between excellent hydrophobic behaviour.

Really the differences are most noticeable when using a jet or shower setting as opposed to mist to see how much these settings can temporarily flood the section. It was not possible to even temporarily flood certain sections with the jet or shower setting due to how hydrophobic the products on them were. I also used an open hose to simulate true sheeting, in general the ranking of products based on their sheeting rate tended to mirror the ranking for the previous test.

I've tried to avoid using the term 'beading' as this is just one form of hydrophobic behaviour. It's due to rain on Friday so I'll post photos of the beading at that stage in case that offers further insight.


----------



## budgetplan1 (Aug 10, 2016)

Alan W said:


> Great comparison test Adam and thanks for posting. :thumb:
> 
> However, I can't believe you've not included budgetplan1's favourite topper KK Overcoat! :doublesho
> 
> Alan W


Alas, I've kinda been in a Polish Angel phase recently. Still use Overcoat on my daily driver since coating in ISM 2.0 last month but our other 3 cars have been getting drowned in PA High Gloss this season.

Forgoing Overcoat for PA kinda makes me feel like I'm cheating on my spouse...when the guilt starts keeping me up at night I'll either have to fess up or go back to OC and act like nothing has happened.


----------



## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

budgetplan1 said:


> Alas, I've kinda been in a Polish Angel phase recently. Still use Overcoat on my daily driver since coating in ISM 2.0 last month but our other 3 cars have been getting drowned in PA High Gloss this season.
> 
> Forgoing Overcoat for PA kinda makes me feel like I'm cheating on my spouse...when the guilt starts keeping me up at night I'll either have to fess up or go back to OC and act like nothing has happened.


Wife takes delivery of a new black Audi at end of the month hopefully, I'm currently torn between PA Centurion & Black Wulfinite or Kamikaze infinity wax and Overcoat 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## budgetplan1 (Aug 10, 2016)

sharrkey said:


> Wife takes delivery of a new black Audi at end of the month hopefully, I'm currently torn between PA Centurion & Black Wulfinite or Kamikaze infinity wax and Overcoat
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Longevity, durability and hydrophobics will be better w the Kami stuff, definately a solid, great looking combo.

If looks are primary concern (and while not the toughest, still respectable) it is hard to beat Polish Angel in that department.


----------



## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

budgetplan1 said:


> Longevity, durability and hydrophobics will be better w the Kami stuff, definately a solid, great looking combo.
> 
> If looks are primary concern (and while not the toughest, still respectable) it is hard to beat Polish Angel in that department.


Kamikaze infinity wax appeals to me as I can use either overcoat, cosmic spritz or even high gloss, protection from the ceramic wax and all the bling from lsp to make the metallic black pop plus I can utilise all the existing Pa and kamikaze products I currently have so only outlay will be infinity.

But the Centurion & wulf interests me also, ahh decisions decisions but infinity is calling lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

After very heavy rain this morning. Panel covered in an extra thick layer of dust (building work going on next door).

Note due to the angle of the panel the water will naturally struggle to bead as well as normal on the top section (I want to avoid water run off to make it a fairer test where possible).


----------



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Great test!

I applied Shinee Wax over a coat of Contact 121. Holy moly, slickness and beading overload.


----------



## budgetplan1 (Aug 10, 2016)

sharrkey said:


> Kamikaze infinity wax appeals to me as I can use either overcoat, cosmic spritz or even high gloss, protection from the ceramic wax and all the bling from lsp to make the metallic black pop plus I can utilise all the existing Pa and kamikaze products I currently have so only outlay will be infinity.
> 
> But the Centurion & wulf interests me also, ahh decisions decisions but infinity is calling lol
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Are you by chance in the U.S.? If so I have about 1/3 bottle of Black Wulfenite I could send ya to try. I used it for a few weeks on our PPF'd car.


----------



## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

budgetplan1 said:


> Are you by chance in the U.S.? If so I have about 1/3 bottle of Black Wulfenite I could send ya to try. I used it for a few weeks on our PPF'd car.


Unfortunately no I live in Scotland but really appreciate the kind offer, with the Scottish weather and coming upto autumn/ winter I know myself the infinity wax & overcoat will be the most suitable & durable but I just love PA products also.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Ads_ClioV6 (Apr 27, 2014)

Not on your list.But currently using Polish Angel rapidwaxx.This will be my new go to topper,the slickness,depth of shine is superb.Never thought a bottle of green snot would look so good.


----------



## pt1 (Feb 8, 2014)

Ads_ClioV6 said:


> Not on your list.But currently using Polish Angel rapidwaxx.This will be my new go to topper,the slickness,depth of shine is superb.Never thought a bottle of green snot would look so good.


Agreed 

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## budgetplan1 (Aug 10, 2016)

sharrkey said:


> Unfortunately no I live in Scotland but really appreciate the kind offer, with the Scottish weather and coming upto autumn/ winter I know myself the infinity wax & overcoat will be the most suitable & durable but I just love PA products also.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Gotcha. I'll usually drop a coat or 2 of Infinity Wax on our daily drivers right before Winter, let the elements eat away at that instead of underlying coating (in my mind anyway)

I wish I could think of something cool to do with the empty Infinity jars, seems a shame to throw them away...kinda neat looking


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Bit of an update: 

I had probably tried to monitor too much on one bonnet... as such the sections I had marked out were very small and difficult to compare with too many tape lines interfering (I may have also got another product I wanted to try)....

So, in advance of the long term durability test I decided to first do a chemical resistance test - 

Unsurprisingly all products made it past the 10 wash test with Bathe Essence.

To step it up I then introduced TAC Ultra Foam, a pH neutral snow foam before each of the next 10 washes and it had no impact (perfect as this is what I bought the product for).

My feet were freezing at this point so I went to a concentration of 4% PIR of BH Auto Foam and the toppers failed in the order below;

7. BSD/Shinee Wax/TW - 1 hit
7. TAC Shinee Wax - 1 hit
6. Titan Ultra - 3 hits
4. Cosmic Spritz - 5 hits
4. Primer Spritz Cosmic Spritz - 5 hits
3. Blue Xilion - 6 hits

Blue Xilion lasting as long was a surprise to me... it is the product with the second shortest advertised durability however whatever the wax component is, it is not as affected by the surfactants of Auto Foam as the other SiO2 products.

At this stage it was clear that Gyeon Cancoat and Moonlight as the base coatings were the runaway winners. They were operating well above 90% of their original performance. I tried to remove them with multiple hits of Panel Wipe, Surfex and Tar and Glue remover and they were still present though knocked back significantly. I'm calling it even.

The next test is real world - I have done this one a little differently, bigger sections and I have swapped out the two least durable products for Polish Angel Master Sealant.


----------



## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

Got high hopes for Master Sealant 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Hi folks - bit of an update on the testing. As I had mentioned in my last post, after the chemical resistance test I had polished and re-masked off larger areas on the bonnet (as water beading was tricky to monitor with all the tape lines and small sections - maybe bit off more than I could chew the last time.

Products on the panel L to R:

TAC Systems Moonlight
*Polish Angel Master Sealant (2 coats as recommended)*
Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
Polish Angel Primer / Cosmic Spritz combo
Titan Ultra
Gyeon Cancoat
**SiRamik SC Mist (added at a later date 12/10/20)*

I re-ran all of the other categories to see how the newly introduced products (in bold) faired and the updated rankings are as follows;

*Category A - Application*

1) Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz 
2) Polish Angel Blue Xilion 
3) Titan Ultra 
4) Polish Angel Primer Spritz / Cosmic Spritz combo
5) TAC Shinee Wax
6) *Polish Angel Master Sealant - the actual application process is easy, but there are different timings to adhere to before removing the residue and to cure between layers. Each of the layers was easy to apply and there was an amazingly nice wipe off but it lost points (as did the Primer Cosmic combo) for the extra steps. *
7) *SiRamik SC Mist - as easy to apply as Titan Ultra however I did leave one high spot on my own car and it required an abrasive to remove, no more difficult to apply but it's potent stuff and not to be flung on like those above.* 
8) Gyeon Cancoat 
9) TAC Systems Moonlight 
10) Merlin Mix

*Category B - Visual Improvement*

1) Gyeon Cancoat 
2) TAC Systems Moonlight 
=3) Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic combo 
=3) Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz 
=5) TAC Systems Shinee Wax 
=5) Titan Ultra 
=5) Polish Angel Blue Xilion 
=5) *SiRamik SC Mist - amplified gloss vs. bare paint but nothing particularly eye catching *
=5) *Polish Angel Master Sealant - as above*
10) Merlin Mix

*Category C - Initial Slickness*

1) Titan Ultra
2) TAC Systems Shinee Wax
3) *Polish Angel Master Sealant - very slick*
4) *SiRamik SC Mist - so very close to MS above, feels slick*
5) Merlin Mix
=6) Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic Combo
=6) Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
8) Polish Angel Blue Xilion
9) TAC Systems Moonlight
10) Gyeon Cancoat

*Category D - Hydrophobic behaviour*

Reshuffled this based on larger sections on 2nd test.

1) Polish Angel Blue Xilion
=2) Polish Angel Cosmic Spritz
=2) Polish Angel Primer/Cosmic Spritz combo
=2) Gyeon Cancoat 
=5) TAC Systems Moonlight 
=5) *SiRamik SC Mist*
7) *Polish Angel Master Sealant*
8) Merlin Mix
9) Titan Ultra
10) TAC Systems Shinee Wax

Link to video: 




*Category E - Chemical resistance vs Alkaline snow foams*

=1) Gyeon Cancoat
=1) TAC Systems Moonlight
3) *SiRamik SC Mist - on it's 11th round of snow foam / reset wash the middle section lost it's tight beading.. took 17 hits to get the middle section to sheet. *
4) Blue Xilion
=5) Primer Spritz / Cosmic Spritz
=5) Cosmic Spritz
=5) *Polish Angel Master Sealant - slightly disappointing, degraded at same pace as the other PA products*
=8) Titan Ultra
=8) Merlin Mix 
=8) TAC Shinee Wax

SiRamik SC Mist initial: https://photos.app.goo.gl/T7iSWMco6GwPBFxd6
SiRamik SC Mist at hit #11 (slowing down): https://photos.app.goo.gl/H8JR2tH5TfTS27Lu8 
SiRamik SC Mist at hit #17 (sheeting in centre) : https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Be8j2U7QeqfkMna6

Regular durability testing is underway - products were applied to the panel on 01 October (except SC Mist which arrived later). The panel has been washed 4 times since with no snow foams, only CarPro Reset.

After I finished my final round of chemical resistance tests for SC Mist (in a separate masked off section to the left of Moonlight so not to impact the ongoing testing) I washed the remaining sections with CarPro Reset and below was the result - going as good as new:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xDz5JpjC1UN1PcNd8

*
Conclusions to date*

My biggest finding out of this side by side testing is that no one product excels in every category. As I mentioned in my initial post I suspected and it has been confirmed that there are pros and cons to each. For example I have found trade offs between ease of application and durability, the most hydrophobic products aren't as slick (not suggesting these are mutually exclusive, just an observation based on these products), the products that have significant jetting effect don't look as reflective and the flake pop is somewhat muted.

But with this in mind, choosing one LSP isn't necessarily required - I am growing to like the idea of the following;

A) a durable, long lasting base layer than I can apply once a year (Cancoat or Moonlight fit the bill)
B) a seasonal choice of topper to suit conditions;

E.g. in the summer one that is just fun to use, doesn't need to be as durable as the car's generally dusty rather than dirty and as such I'm not having to using harsh cleaners. Crucially though during the summer months when the sun is out I want the product that makes my metallic paint sparkle and having used it religiously on my Sepang Blue Audi, nothing that I've tried does that quite like Cosmic Spritz. The application of a boutique, expensive wax has evolved and it's an SiO2 spray hand-made in Germany.

In the winter, my own preference as someone who hates the concept of drying aids, is a topper that will protect the underlying base layer with good chemical resistance and added slickness with no obvious drop off in self-cleaning. Based on my testing so far, and provided it continues to last in the real world durability testing, SC Mist will be my go-to this winter. With the exception of the base layers themselves, SC Mist is the most chemical resistant SiO2 topper I have used.

Of course there are hundreds of other topper type products out there that have outstanding characteristics. If I was constrained by a budget, something like P&S Beadmaker offers good value for pure gloss and slickness. For winter, something like Turtle Wax Hydrophobic Sealant Wax has repeatedly been proven as extremely chemical resistant and will last for months not weeks. To be absolutely clear though, these products are not in this test as they cannot compete on all round performance. The products included in this test are all ones I can and do recommend for various reasons and do not have any obvious flaws such as Beadmaker and Hydrophobic Sealant Wax. I can't afford to test hundreds of LSPs but through research and some incredibly knowledgeable people across detailing circles (and on here) I do believe some of those included in the test are among the best available of their type. Always on the lookout for the next best thing and perhaps the proclaimed slickness, durability and self cleaning of graphene toppers will be just that.

Hope this information is somewhat helpful and I'll continue to update on the remaining tests, but if this selection of products are as good as I think they are, that'll be in a while.


----------



## Lexus-is250 (Feb 4, 2017)

Some serious work put onto this atbalfour!

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk


----------



## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

Thanks Adam for the update  great information and looks like I might have to add Sc Mist to my arsenal 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Thanks for an excellent update and your detailed findings Adam. :thumb:

What you choose to use is down to your priorities for an LSP and there really is no best at everything or holy grail. However, that doesn’t stop us buying product in the hope that we find it! :lol:

Alan W


----------



## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

@abalfour Made for great reading Adam & glad the SC Mist has impressed you 

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Brian1612 said:


> @abalfour Made for great reading Adam & glad the SC Mist has impressed you
> 
> Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk


A great recommendation Brian thanks! Glad I was able to get hold of it after Jon's brilliant review had it sold out everywhere for months.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Just FYI on recommendation from a pro detailer who also uses Cosmic Spritz on his own cars I've began to dilute it 1:1 on a dry car - even used it last weekend on a wet car (further diluting it) and it tops up gloss equally well with no less crazy beading.

Makes an exceptional product much better value. If you're nearing the end of a bottle it's worth trying.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Beading update on the panel... Titan Ultra and Master Sealant have been knocked back significantly over the course of 2 months. Based on my findings I could not recommend either as a standalone product.. neither are bad products btw... Master Sealant appears to rely on periodic RapidWaxx topping to maintain any sort of hydrophobics, meanwhile Titan Ultra has many characteristics I like and performs much much better as a topper than it does standalone.

All other products are doing pretty well - Cosmic, Primer/Cosmic and SC Mist sections starting to slow ever so slightly and the beading is slightly less pronounced.

Cancoat is performing the best - still at c.90/95% of it's original performance which is great.

Nearly all products have lost much of their slickness, this may be revived by an FSe wipedown but reluctant to interfere with the test I will hold off on that.


----------



## noorth (Jul 10, 2019)

atbalfour said:


> Beading update on the panel... Titan Ultra and Master Sealant have been knocked back significantly over the course of 2 months. Based on my findings I could not recommend either as a standalone product.. neither are bad products btw... Master Sealant appears to rely on periodic RapidWaxx topping to maintain any sort of hydrophobics, meanwhile Titan Ultra has many characteristics I like and performs much much better as a topper than it does standalone.
> 
> All other products are doing pretty well - Cosmic, Primer/Cosmic and SC Mist sections starting to slow ever so slightly and the beading is slightly less pronounced.
> 
> ...


Thats a bummer i hoped master sealant would be more robust. Another great showing for cancoat! Going ceramic for sure next year. I have very poor weather most of the year - it gets bothersome using a topper every month but i do try.. We get a lot of rain and wind and usually short winters here.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Hi folks, little bit of an update on the test panel...

As you will see that since my last update and between months 2 and 3 the performance of the non-coating products has fallen off a cliff - despite the ludicrous manufacturer claims 2-3 months is IME the most you'll get from these, which given their ease of use is probably OK!

As to be expected, the two lite-coatings have established a clear lead in terms of durability - Cancoat and Moonlight with Cancoat in particular showing very little deterioration. This is despite the panel deliberately being placed in an area of greater environmental contamination and being twice weekly washed since the start of October (though hasn't been washed for 3 weeks in Jan due to weather).

Spray: https://photos.app.goo.gl/y1tMFSESifdp1RXQ6
Mist: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vzpDWSh3mZQixMBW6
























I am most likely going to retire this test in a few weeks to pursue much more geeky LSP testing but I think broadly it has served it's purpose. Below is a final summary of each:

- Gyeon Cancoat: Probably the best all-round DIY lite-coating available.. has no obvious weakness.
- TAC Moonlight: Advertised as having longer durability than Cancoat but based on what I've found here and seen on personal vehicles that is not the case. Very good product, just not as good as Cancoat. Also an epic trim dressing with a crazy darkening effect.
- SC Mist: probably the best all-rounder of the rest despite it (surprisingly) fading after 3 months.. was hoping for it to have lasted a little longer given it's decent chemical resistance in separate testing... 
- Cosmic Spritz: just great to use, amazing initial beading and look. Has very little durability though, especially againsty chemicals. (the Primer Spritz is quite simply sh*te and I would warn anyone against buying it).
- Master Sealant: Really disappointing tbh - after the fuss of applying it (apply, wait, remove, wait, reapply, wait, remove) has not in my experience equated to any better performance or durability vs. say Cosmic Spritz or RapidWaxx. Would need topped very regularly to reach anywhere near the claimed 6 months. Old tech which has rightly been replaced.
- Titan Ultra: nice topper, crazy slickness, lovely gloss but doesn't have the standalone water behaviour or durability for my own preferences.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Final update (as I have another test on the horizon)...

Cancoat is a beast of a product, this is one layer and has been subject to a weekly wash (skipped a couple) for the last 5 months. Still performing incredibly well.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/y53neT8f8ZtZLET29

Moonlight is very much still there, it's just lost those pronounced beads.
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipN_SjYAjKUY3OS2kwtWz_zlfriCzxs4257AKhcj

Water behaviour video:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bgGpvyJ2YvBJsCFi7


----------



## galamaa (Aug 3, 2014)

I hope that gyeon q2 wax is half as good like cancoat. Must be good match to cancoat. I hope that wax have better shine than cancoat. I’ll waiting it pretty long time aleeady.... looks like fluorine base products work well in this detailingworld...


----------

