Golf vs. Chemical Guys’ top coats

[Starvekos]

The marring on my car, from weekly maintenance, was now at a state where machine polishing was required. Furthermore, I have done about 1,900 kilometres over the last two weeks without giving the car a wash, so there were a few bugs on the car and a fair amount of dust from taking gravel passes in the Midlands Meander. Clean up process:

Wheels
Wheels and wheel wells were soaked with all purpose cleaner and agitated with a couple of brushes and a synthetic wash mitt. After rinsing and drying, wheel wells were dressed with Adams undercarriage spray. Mags were cleaned and protected with Werkstat Prime Strong. Tyres were dressed with M40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner

Washing and paint cleaning
Bugs were pre-treated with Sonax Insect Remover. The rest of the car was washed with M62 Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner. After washing, I clayed the car with Meguiars Mild blue clay using Last Touch as a lubricant.

Clay bar after claying the entire car


Paint correction was performed with a Makita BO6040 dual action polisher + Menzerna Super Intensive Polish on a Sonax orange polishing pad. This was followed by Werkstat Prime (Carnauba) on a W9006 finishing pad. After paint cleaning, I applied Chemical Guys EZ Crème Glaze using a yellow foam applicator pad. I believe the second version doesn’t have cleaners, so I was hoping that it wouldn’t remove the Werkstat Prime.

Couple of pictures after correction with Menzerna SIP








Dressing
Vinyl and trim was dressed with SmartWax’s SmartDressing, a sample I received from Mobile-Image (thanks Carn). Glass was cleaned with Werkstat Prime Strong. Honeycomb grill was dressed with Meguiars Accent Dressing. Tailpipes cleaned with NXT Metal Polysh.

Protection
The plan was to protect with JetSeal109, I hadn’t used the sealant before and I was looking forward to cracking on with JS109 after having read all the glowing reviews on detailing forums and CG’s own website. However, I was not blessed with the same results as previous users.

So I decided to top JS109 with a carnauba wax. After 30 minutes, I put on a coat of Chemical Guys 5050 Limited Series Concours Paste Wax (version 1). After removing the CG 5050 wax, the finish looked a bit darker and wet.

A few pics after CG 5050 in the garage






Final pics




















Thanks for viewing

[calypso]

Looks great. Nice to see that your starting to use your new stuff.

[Carn]

Terrific work Siya, the red is looking really good with the JS and 50/50 combo

What made you say you weren't 'blessed with the same results' with regards to the JS ?

[Starvekos]

Thanks for the comments

(04-01-2009 01:21 PM)Carn Wrote:  What made you say you weren't 'blessed with the same results' with regards to the JS ?

When I pulled the car out the garage after buffing off the JS109 residue, I did not get the same shimmering look I've found with other LSPs namely, Werkstat Carnauba Trigger, Sonax Xtreme Paste Wax, M26 Hi Tech Yellow wax, Autoglym High Definition paste wax and Caramba paste wax. Even sealants like M21 Synthetic Sealant, NXT Tech Wax and Chemical Guys Extreme Top Coat (on my wife's car) did appear to add something extra to the finish.

I must admit that I only applied one coat of JS109 while the manufacturer recommends 2. However, the 5050 paste wax did add to the already glossy finish, maybe it was the JS109 + 5050 combination . It was not a major difference especially on paint prepared with a glossy polish (Menzerna SIP) and topped with glossy paint prep products (Werkstat Prime and CG Creme Glaze).

I'll also add that JS109 has been talked up quite a bit, so maybe my eyes were expecting something more dramatic which is an unfair expectation for a last step product.

I think you should get yourself a 100ml bottle and try it out for yourself, I know I will be giving it another go. I can see another test coming up, need to place an order for more 3M blue painter's tape.

[freerider]

I'm surprised that you didnt find the results very satisfying Siya I was literally blown away by the results on my car, and I also only applied 1 coat, but then I also topped it with a nuba. I followed JL's advice about topping the JS109 with a nuba and have been very pleased

[Starvekos]

(04-01-2009 07:46 PM)freerider Wrote:  I followed JL's advice about topping the JS109 with a nuba and have been very pleased

Don, I think that's the operative statement. As a stand alone LSP, JS109 didn't appear to be adding to the paint finish (ignoring the key factor of any LSP i.e. protection). However, after applying 5050 there was a noticable improvement on depth and shine. One can argue that it was the 5050 paste wax or it could be the combination of JS109 with a decent carnauba wax (Pete's 53 in your case and 5050 concours in my case).

As a matter of interest, did you compare the finish from a JS109 + Pete's 53 to just Pete's 53 on your car?

[Carn]

Could be the 2nd coat of JS that 'may' add a little to the finish or it could be all down to the nuba

In any event even if the JS is adding nothing but protection I would still be inclined to do a 2 step (JS x 2 coats topped with a nuba) purely for the longevity and protection (all assuming of course the JS does indeed last as long as is widely claimed) all IMHO of course

[freerider]

(04-01-2009 09:03 PM)Starvekos Wrote:  

(04-01-2009 07:46 PM)freerider Wrote:  I followed JL's advice about topping the JS109 with a nuba and have been very pleased

Don, I think that's the operative statement. As a stand alone LSP, JS109 didn't appear to be adding to the paint finish (ignoring the key factor of any LSP i.e. protection). However, after applying 5050 there was a noticable improvement on depth and shine. One can argue that it was the 5050 paste wax or it could be the combination of JS109 with a decent carnauba wax (Pete's 53 in your case and 5050 concours in my case).

As a matter of interest, did you compare the finish from a JS109 + Pete's 53 to just Pete's 53 on your car?

Unfortunately I didnt. bit late now

[Graham Savage]

That just looks the tits dude!!!

[megesh]

did the GF's getz with one coat JetSeal, came out awesome!