# Topaz - initial thoughts



## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

Well my first Autosmart product arrived, a gallon of the much heralded Topaz.

First job was to decant some into a smaller bottle, and its fair to say you get a full gallon of product with AS the can was filled to the brim!

My first try was on my daughters 18 year old dark metallic blue VW polo. I have been slowly going round this car as weather permits so the front end had already been attacked with my favourite #80 speedglaze, so the paint was in good order. For comparison I treated half the bonnet and a wing with Topaz, the other side using collinite 915.

Topaz was so much easier to use and getting on the black windscreen washer jet was not of course a problem. In contrast the colly in the cold weather took a fair amount of effort both to put on and take off. Given the paint had been freshly polished I was pleasantly surprised to see that the shine on the Topaz side was noticeably better! Weather forecast for tomorrow is "light beading" so I will try and get some pictures.

I then tried a bit more on the boot of my C class which is light metallic blue. There are a couple of etched areas from bird lime (before I owned the car I should add!) and topaz not only brought the surface to again a noticeable better shine but seems to hide the etched areas better than the wax I have used previously.

My initial reaction is favourable, and as long as it lasts for a couple of weeks I wont be too worried as it is so easy to use. Of course expectations are that it should last rather longer than that, we shall see! 

If the weather is favourable tomorrow, I am going to give our black 207 estate the treatment..........more to follow.


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## greymda (Feb 16, 2014)

pics or didn't happen


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

TBH not much to see, whilst I can see the better shine I doubt the camera would. If it rains tomorrow I'll post some beading pics and will update as we go so I can get an idea of durability.


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

OK Pictures asked for !!!!

This is our family workhorse referred to as 'kin Mary (look at the number plate!) It serves to take rubbish to the tip, gets parked in Tescos so people can bang their doors on it, collects Hay for the horses and all those other jobs I wont let my Merc or MX5 near. I cant pretend its looked after well, so in many ways it's an ideal test bed for AS new Topaz polish.

Before shot:









and another:








The paint is in fair condition but there is no protection on it at all, it really needs a clay and machine polish, but this was all about a quick improvement using Topaz.

Enough pictures have been published about the wash process, but suffice to say I used Bilberry/VP Citrus wash and VP poseidon to remove the dirt.

When I say there is no protection I think I can back this up with this bonnet picture after rinsing - for some reason I decided to put some wax on the grill below the bonnet, must have been bored!









I applied Topaz with a sponge applicator, then buffed off to leave a smeer free finish with enhanced shine. Here is kin Mary against the wifes 207CC which gets far more attention, I think this displays to some extent the improvement in gloss:








And a traditional roof reflection shot, the roof was very dull before Topaz was applied:









I spent a fairly relaxed morning doing this and from start to finish took about 90 minutes - I can quite see that this is a great product for professionals due to its speed and the ability to simply wipe over trim and not leave white marks.

Some thoughts
- Easy on and off, does need a bit of a rub sometimes to avoid smeers but still very quick to use
- There is worthwhile gloss improvement but it's not a miracle product and the better the prep the better the final shine - the bottoms of the door really do need some speedglaze

We are promised some rain soon so I will get some beading shots, after which I'll continue with a weekly wash and report on durability.

Oh Goody the wife is back from the yard, here is my next job!


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

Well the rain arrived on cue:


















And on the nearside (right of photo) we have 915, Topaz on the offside - cant see any difference TBH, so I think I can say beading is similar to 915 Collinite.









Now to see how long it lasts!


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

OK so one month on, the car has not been washed other than a quick hose and QD on the bonnet so I could see how Topaz is faring........its not beading beneath the bonnet as I didnt clean that bit, you can clearly see where I stopped with the QD!

So far so good, given how easy it is to use even on month durability is good, but it looks like is going to last a fair bit longer.








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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Topaz is a cracking product :thumb:


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

> Topaz is a cracking product


Agree, I try not to get excited about this weeks miracle product but I am planning on using Topaz as my main LSP based on experience so far............


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## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

just got myself some and am looking for the gap in the weather to get out there and give it a go( hopefully tomorrow). Didnt really think it was a product aimed at me, but if it shines, puts a bit of protection on and doesnt give any fuss with application and removal then...........perhaps its perfect for me:thumb:


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

Quick update, 7 weeks after Topaz applied to unprepped paint


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## damon86 (Feb 10, 2015)

I am not too sure about Topaz. My autosmart van came on wednesday and i thought i would experiment. I have been a veery keen user of Mirror image for many years and proud of the results. This topaz i have only used once or twice this week, and it seems ok. Yes there is no dusting what so ever, but i would advise to use mirror image first and then wipe with topaz for a better quality "glossy" finish. Topaz is just a polish with no "cut" in it, so quite often leaves a layer of muck grained into the paint. If you remove that with a good helping of m.i then there would be no need for machine polishing, thus saving you time and a lot off effort cleaning up afterwards, also leaving a brighter colour. If its protection you're after then i would reccomend autosmart WAX.


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## realist (May 11, 2011)

Damon 86, this is exactly what I do, I use MI almost as a paint cleanser, topaz then Wax, wax detail spray or tango as a drying aid, lasts for ages:thumb:


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## e60530i (Apr 18, 2013)

I've got a sample bottle of this, is it to be left to haze before removal or straight on and off?


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## Juke_Fan (Jul 12, 2014)

Leave it to haze a bit - I tend to apply to 1/2 or the whole car and then buff off.


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## warwick (May 17, 2015)

Tried this product - easy to work with but I didn't find it at all out of the ordinary in any other respect. Just my opinion.


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## gatman (Jun 13, 2012)

I've got a litre of this coming after hearing good things, wanted a glaze to enhance the gloss then a wax on top
Il,be applying via DA with a black Hex pad


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## e60530i (Apr 18, 2013)

How does this work in the direct sun?


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

I've had no problems with it in direct sun.


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