# Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour 1 year* review



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Greetings!

Last spring I applied Gtechniq C5 wheel armour to both my sets of summer wheels. They were washed using various cleaners over the months, usually using some form of body shampoo (both wax free and not). At one point the faces of the wheels were topped up with optimum opti-seal, so for this review we'll be judging the performance using the barrels. While we're going over the results, I'm going to highlight how coatings sometimes need more aggressive cleaning to show their true colours.

Up first is the before photos, the rims were not cleaned before being stored so what you see is what's left from the last cleaning. Also worth noting, these rims have a hub cap that covers the face (Prius rims) despite being an aluminum rim, so cleaning and caring for them is extra tedious.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

It's not the best looking rim, but overall it's not that bad. Here is the water behaviour on the rim before any cleaning. The inner hub portion is showing beading as it isn't nearly as contaminated as the barrel.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Below is the rim after being cleaned with mild body shampoo and a detail factory brush.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Still showing quite a bit of dirt. Let's step things up and throw on APC and re-scrub with the detail factory brush.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

After rinsing, we're left with this.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

As you can see, there is still some contamination left, dip is true 2 hits of apc with the detail factory brush. We need to step things up on the abrasion front if we're going to shift this stuff. I grabbed an old cotton applicator pad and started going over the rim again.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

After that, we're left with this.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Below is the water behaviour after 3 separate hits of apc, using progressively more aggressive method of scrubbing. As you can see the coating is still very much doing its job, it just needed a little bit of help getting that extra layer of crud off before it could shine. I plan on topping these up tomorrow before installing them, curious to see how they'll fair on year 2

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

For reference, here is the face of the wheel after being topped up with opti-seal a few months before removal. It is worth nothing that this portion of the rim isn't exposed to the outside (under a hub cap), but it still held up well and the paint still feels very slick. This is a great product for ease of use and extremely handy for this application.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

And a video to show just how much more rapid the water behaviour is.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

*one year refers to one season (spring to fall), so not technically 12 months on actual use (I switch to winter rims and tires in October usually).

Thanks for reading, more updates on other threads coming in the next few days!


----------



## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

Nice Review SheepC5 wheel armour is very durable my wheels are still beading and easy to clean,and i applied it to my wheels in June 2019:thumb:.SJ.


----------



## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

It's ok and I think you could even afford to hit it with a fallout remover before topping up.

I was quite a big fan until I saw what KKD R-Evolve offers, it's just better at everything I'd even hazard a guess that it is at least twice as durable.


----------



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

roscopervis said:


> It's ok and I think you could even afford to hit it with a fallout remover before topping up.
> 
> I was quite a big fan until I saw what KKD R-Evolve offers, it's just better at everything I'd even hazard a guess that it is at least twice as durable.


C5 never really had "amazing" water behavior, definitely not like some of the other ceramic/SiO2 products on the market. These wheels have been cleaned with rather harsh cleaners on occasion as I didn't have a brush that could clear the brakes and scrub through to the back (15 inch rim, very minimal clearance). Given that, and the lack of regular care I'm more than pleased with the results, especially given the fairly simple application process as far as Coatings go.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

roscopervis said:


> It's ok and I think you could even afford to hit it with a fallout remover before topping up.
> 
> I was quite a big fan until I saw what KKD R-Evolve offers, it's just better at everything I'd even hazard a guess that it is at least twice as durable.


C5 is a great product but a few local to and much more knowledgeable than me use nothing but the R-evolve X.

I have started topping C5 with PTFE Supersport Wheel Wax from Polish Angel and the water behaviour and gloss has lifted massively. Might be a while 'til I get around to trying the Re-evolve.


----------



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

atbalfour said:


> C5 is a great product but a few local to and much more knowledgeable than me use nothing but the R-evolve X.
> 
> I have started topping C5 with PTFE Supersport Wheel Wax from Polish Angel and the water behaviour and gloss has lifted massively. Might be a while 'til I get around to trying the Re-evolve.


From what I can see, that product isn't available to me. Curious to see how it does though.


----------



## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Sheep said:


> From what I can see, that product isn't available to me. Curious to see how it does though.


I love C5 but it's known for its durability and chemical resistance rather than candy gloss and hydrophobics. The SuperSport has added a whole other dimension - like adding a blingy topper to a base coating on your paint - early days, it's only on a couple of weeks but it's dangerously addictive.

Do Polish Angel USA not service your area? Your wallet is hoping not


----------



## RickRst (May 17, 2006)

Seems like a waste of money to be honest.

Today I cleaned my barrels after over a year of all season use and many track days. Sprayed with G!01 and pressure washed off, then used a shampoo and washmit and thwy are at least as clean as these wheels and have not been coated with anything.

Rick


----------



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

RickRst said:


> Seems like a waste of money to be honest.
> 
> Today I cleaned my barrels after over a year of all season use and many track days. Sprayed with G!01 and pressure washed off, then used a shampoo and washmit and thwy are at least as clean as these wheels and have not been coated with anything.
> 
> Rick


The paint on the rear barrels of this car is just a base coat, there is no clear coat or any smoothness to the finish like car paint or the paint on the face of the rim. Also, I did not clean these with any regularity or delicateness to help keep them easy to clean. Also, this car commutes 6 days a week year round, averaging 24-28,000kms a year. It's not crazy by any means, but it handily out lasted any previous sealant I've used before.


----------



## RickRst (May 17, 2006)

The issue is it hasn't really stopped you from having to do a lot of scrubbing. It's a Prius so won't have been driven very hard, so no red hot brake dust or melted rubber being thrown up either.

I'm just failing to see the advantage given the significant effort required to coat in the first place.

Rick


----------



## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

C5 is still going strong on my White 3sdms 2 years later


----------



## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

roscopervis said:


> It's ok and I think you could even afford to hit it with a fallout remover before topping up.
> 
> I was quite a big fan until I saw what KKD R-Evolve offers, it's just better at everything I'd even hazard a guess that it is at least twice as durable.


Would not mind testing this one out,sounds good.SJ.


----------



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

RickRst said:


> The issue is it hasn't really stopped you from having to do a lot of scrubbing. It's a Prius so won't have been driven very hard, so no red hot brake dust or melted rubber being thrown up either.
> 
> I'm just failing to see the advantage given the significant effort required to coat in the first place.
> 
> Rick


Again, that has more to do with the rim itself. It has a very rough finish which means the dirt takes extra scrubbing of get out. They were also not topped up at all in the year the were on. My other rims which have a better finish on the window were much easier to clean up.


----------

