Anyone used the glass coating VX3

I used it and like it. It is on the lower end of the price range but is doing a great job. I used 22ple on all my cars best investment and shine after paint correction.

 

Very interesting product. How long have you had it applied? What is your sense of its long-term durability?

 

For the glass I have had it on 3 months I expect 6-12 months probably 12 months as I usually garage the car. 22ple is a game changing product. I like the time span on the 22ple for paint they say 12-24 months the products that last longer cannot be easily removed and I do not think that is good. I have had it on my F car for 6 months and it is still perfect.

 

I've used it too. It really made the car glisten. It last for quite some time. Mine stayed on over a year. Just make sure when wiping it off, you get it all. Otherwise you end up with streaks in that spot you missed... Which you have to polish out the panel again to get it off. A little goes a long way.

 

I have had the 22ple on my wifes car since may of this year. it looks great, was easy to apply and beads like mad.

The key with any coating it you need to correct and decontaminate the paint properly first.

Here is a link to my preview of the product as well as my process, application and pictures of the results.

Hope it helps.

22PLE Detail and Review

 

Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences! This sounds like a great product for my purposes. As Jsf721 said in his excellent Autopia review, I love having a clean/shiny car but there's just not enough time to keep them all looking good, especially in an abusive climate.

I'm thinking to work one panel at a time on my 348, polishing with Menzerna FG400, 2500, and then 4500. After getting the paint on that one panel just where it needs to be, then coat with the 22PLE. Do that a few times and the whole car will be completed without undue fatigue or having to commit an entire weekend to the project.

Jsf721, I'm also interested in the Geyon Trim you referenced. The cabin air intake grill is on the front trunk lid on the 348, surrounded by painted surfaces. My car is in great shape overall but it has really suffered from some hack "detailers" prior to my acquiring it, so there's all manner of dried polishes and LSPs evident on that prominent piece.

Normally, I'd remove it and clean it off the car but I'm not sure that's possible without risking damage to that $$ part. Do you have any suggestions for cleaning and "re-blacking" that piece on the car with the surrounding paint taped off?

Thanks again for all the great feedback on 22PLE!

 

I would be happy to share what I know and what I have learned. What Machine do you own? Have you corrected paint before?

The FG 400 is a lot of Cut. I think if I were you I would start with the 4500 and see if you get what you want for results. In all honesty, I have not polished a lot of Ferrari's. I did help a friend out with a but of marring on a red 360. Paint was easily corrected with a Detailers Domain Uber polishing pad and some Poorboys pro polish. It corrected easily and perfectly. I followed up with a white pad and some HD polish and it was perfected 100% even under a rupes light.

I am betting that you wont need FG400 (its designed to cut out defects in badly hammered paint) at all and only 2500 in certain places. If you post up some sun shots of your car I would know better. You always want to try the least aggressive polish and work backward so your not taking more clear off than necessary.

For the trim I suggest the following, get the car out of the sun for all paint correction and coating applications trim or paint work.

Get some boars hair brushes. I have used the Swiss wax and race glaze and auto finesse. I don't like any of these as well as the Uber boars hair brush. Its less $, and last longer because of how the hairs are set. There is also no metal or plastic ring holding the hairs in place like the others. I have a few. Some for wheels, some for paint and some for interior. I color code with electrical tape. So wash the car, while its wet, apply some paint safe APC to the areas where the hack detailers deposited wax or polish residue. Use the boars hair brush to gently brush the cleaning into the white residue. let it sit and work and then brush again. Do not let APC dry on paint and make sure its a paint safe APC like P21S Total Auto Wash. You can use this straight or diluted depending on the job at hand.

You can also stab at the residue to get the chemical into the residue to break it up. If this does not work you can take a q tip and try to get it off. Rinse well and wash the car. If its been there a while several sessions of the above may be required. Once you get all the while residue off wash all the trim with APC, this gets all the old trim dressing and road grime off the car. Dry it and wipe the trim with 15% Isopropyl Alcohol and the rest distilled water. This is enough to make sure that the trim coating has a good bond.

Regarding the Gyeon Trim product. I tried this on my Jeep. It is less expensive than the Gtechnig coating I was uning previously. I am not sure how long it lasts but I can tell you the GTECH C4 lasts 18-24 months on my cowl and trim. The Gyeon is going fine but its only been 2 Months so it should be fine. If your getting 22ple already, you can most likely get the GTECH C4 from the same place and save on shipping. Look for a coupon code and I will see if I have one, I get them all the time form detailing sites once you make a purchase.

No matter which you decide to get they apply equally easily. I used a Make up pad applicator. I found it easier than the suede. If the trip is not smooth, use the suede as the makeup pad can leave "lint" if its got rough spots. Wet the pad with the trim coating and work into the surface. I usually take a 5" x 5" Section and ply north to south, then east to west and move on to the next section. until the whole piece of trim is coated. I then let it sit for 2-4 minutes. Just less than 5 or it can set up. Work in small sections if you have a lot,. Use an All purpose MF towels to wipe off the excess that has not penetrated the surface. You should have an nice even surface finish. Move to the next section and repeat. Once you done I usually do a 2nd coat. It takes way less material the 2nd time and you might not see a difference but it ensures complete coverage and the longest protection the product can offer IMHO. If you get either on paintwork or glass clean off immediately with a MF towel to prevent having to polish it off once it sets up.

To apply close to paintwork use blue painters tape. Don't put tape on a hot car or the glue can transfer. I usually run the tape over my cotton shirt to get some cotton on the tape to make removal easier. Tape the paint and get as close to the trim as possible covering all the exposed paint.

Good Luck and post up some pictures of the before and after shots.

Don't coat an panel you not happy with the correction on because once coated its sealed in and only polishing off the coating and the marring will make it look better.

 

Jsf721, thanks *very* much for the tips on the trim coating. Using a makeup applicator is a great idea! I'll have to file that one away.

I seriously doubt any APC is going to have much effect on this. I've run across the same problem on other cars and nothing I've tried has touched it. Tried Griot's dried wax remover to no avail (not on this piece, but I've been detailing long enough to predict the outcome). I kinda doubt anything is going to make much impact, but I'll give it a shot in hopes of proving myself wrong.

In the past I've had the best luck using Griot's trim black (not finding the specific product on their site right now but it's a liquid dye) and then going back over it later with a sealant. The side molding on my ///M3 has held up well once I started using Zaino's Clear Seal on top of the Griot's stuff. Any guesses as to whether that would also work with the Geyon Trim coating?

As to paint correction, I use a Griot's polisher in combination with 5.5" Uber pads and backing plate, although I do have a 3" backing plate for smaller areas (sure wish Uber made 3" pads because Lake Country pads pale in comparison).

The 348 paint is single stage Glasurit, so you wind up with some black paint on the cloth even if you're hand working it. So, like you, I figured FG400 would be too aggressive. After trying various milder polishes, and then the 2500, I finally went to the 400 as a means of correcting RIDs and the marks left by some hack apparently polishing the car with an old school cotton bonnet with an exposed steel arbor (seriously-- it took me a while to figure out what happened, but that's my best guess). Anyway, the FG400 didn't take off nearly as much paint as I feared, and did its usual awesome job of correction while still leaving a high gloss finish in its wake. I have not tried all that many polishes because I got lucky and found FG400 early on, but as a neighbor of mine likes to say, that stuff has got to be made of unicorn tears.

The other night I did the right door (minus the side strakes, which take up a great deal of the surface area but can't be polished with that machine) using a 3" pad and FG400. Although the pad itself was not super aggressive, the fact that it was only 3" means there was plenty of force at work on the paint. Now, I do use very low speed settings on that car, but in the end there seemed to be very little paint removed for the amount of correction achieved. It was late, so I skipped the 2500 and went right to the 4500 on a much less aggressive pad. That's actually my SOP on hard clear coats and it seemed to work fine here as well, although I'd definitely do the 2500 step before using a semi-permanent sealant like the 22PLE. Haven't had the car outside yet, but under the fluorescent lamps in the garage it looks great. No doubt a pro could bring out more depth and clarity, but I'm very happy with the degree of correction vs. the amount of paint removed.

I swear, I'm paranoid every time I reach for that bottle of FG400, but it never ceases to amaze me. Do you have an alternative that you like better?

Again, thanks for your comments on the 22PLE, and also for your advice on restoring the plastic trim. I'll sure give it a shot!

 

The trim coating. Either one is heads and tails better than the Zano clear seal. I've used it and it simply a sealant. Not trim specific. You will be amazed. The Gyeon was purchased by me to try and I cannot speak for durability. The gtech c4 is amazing looking and lasts 18-24 months.

Try my regimen on the trim. You will be pleasantly surprised.

As for correction, if you have. Black car or very dark, the correction is more challenging. I love menzerna products. The correction they provide is amazing. I just find it a ton of work to remove the polish oils. A wash may be in order after final polishing. I avoid this by using less oily polishes but you need to remember all paint is different and my cars are white, sliver and gray. So it a try a few and see what works best situation. There is no one Perscription for paint correction. I've seen many people use different products and get great results.

Go slow and take your time. That's is how I started polishing in 2008. It took me a week of nights to complete a 2 step on my car. In my head I called it making perfect panels. You learn a lot working slowly and trying different things.

Post pictures if you get a chance.

 

Oh, I have no doubt that the trim coatings you're recommending are much better than what I used. My cocktail was a solution born of desperation. Couldn't find anything that would remove the dried wax from the ///M3 moldings (which were off the car at the time) so I gave up and dyed them with the Griot's stuff. Only that didn't hold up to the wear tests I performed before reinstalling the pieces. Had some of the Zaino paint sealant around, so I gave that a shot and it's worked surprisingly well. It's probably lasted over 2 years, but then again the car is garaged except for the few weekends a year that it goes to the track. I'm sure products intended for trim will work much better-- I'm just wondering if they'd work over the Griot's dye.

I'm like you when it comes to polishing panels. Took me until just a few years ago to be willing to try it again, after burning the paint on the edges of one of my cars decades ago, before the advent of foam pads. Polishes are far better than they were back then, but IMO foam pads are the big game changer. Even so, I'm willing to take my time to get the best result for the least paint removal, because after that the finish is well maintained, so the investment in time is worth it. That's why the 22PLE is of such interest-- after that much effort expended on achieving an awesome finish it only makes sense to give it good protection.

Again, many thanks for your input. Great to see some posts from DIY detailers here.

 

When you polish tape should be applied to sharp edges and edges of panels to avoid burning or striking through the paint. A paint depth gauge is a good investment. I don't have one yet but I should.

22ple is easy to apply and sets up slower than other coatings. You have plenty of time to spread, let it flash and remove high spots. Once the coating is opened you should use it up within the day.

 

wash whole
clay whole car
tape off all trim
compound the whole car
medium polish the whole car
final polish the whole car
clean the whole car
coat the whole car

The products will vary to achieve the desired results, but you need to work in whole stages, not all three steps on one panel, then move to the next. Otherwise, the polishing dust from the compounding the door will get all over the rest of the car and you will have to re-wipe the car, potentially causing micro scratches on final polished paint, leading to re-polishing the whole car again!

An APC wash will remove the polishing oils on the car., but typically you rewash the car in order to get all the polishing dust off the car, not for polish oil removal. Carp Pro eraser, or gyeon prep does a fantastic job of removing polishing oils from paint/glass, and is safer than a wash IMO (no water sitting on the hood while washing the trunk, etc.)

Here is a link to an article on detailed image I did to help explain some of the correction steps and figuring out what to use.
Test Panel: Obtaining the Best Results | Ask a Pro Blog

 

When using any 22PLE coating (not just VX3), and if you found yourself missing out buffing off certain spots, don't panic...just apply another thin coat over that particular area, wait for another 3~4 minutes then you can easily buff them off the residue. This can be done within the initial 1~2 hours at most before the glass coat are cured to the paint surface. This is a feature that's only built into every 22PLE Glass Coat to avoid having to machine polished off and is to make sure that application errors are minimised.

22PLE Glass Coats are designed to be extremely user-friendly. Just make sure that you have properly polished the paint surface, have an alcohol wipe down, making sure that the surface are totally dry and cool, then you're good to go. The application should be trouble free if the instructions are followed.

Hoped this is helpful...new V10 PRO coating (to be launched in Oct '05) will make application even simpler