There is a lot of spraywax and detailspray use going on in garages, washareas and detailshops.
More often with prefix or suffix such as ceramic, silica, SiO2 and so on – generally referred to as silicon dioxide. The number of such sprays on store shelves and in webshops is large and increasing. Is it all same same? Or big differences? We must have a look at it!
Gloss Garage has tested six different ”spray and wipe” silica sealants and now it is time to summarize the impressions from the test we conducted.
But what is it really, how is it used, and why? Perhaps it’s just as good to get started and try to get some understanding of these products in general.
In my eyes, a bit simplified, it is about a boosted up spraywax , where the properties are slightly enhanced in terms of shine, water run-off or lifespan. Do you like glass-like shine, a nice warm carnauba gloss or something neutral in between? Do you like the water beads to dance like crazy fairies on the paintwork, or would you like the water to sheet off and leave a dry surface ? Are you on the market for something that will last for a few months, between a couple of washings, or work well as a drying aid? All variants are on display. And they are included in the test. Gloss Garage guides you along the long row of products to let you find your favorites!
The range of uses for these products are wider than Kim Kardashian’s behind:
As a top coat for a ceramic coating – some (but far from all) with boring, slightly bristly / lifeless / non-hydrophobic surface. Wuppdiwupp, a round of silica spray and you have the protection you’ve always dreamed of. You have a ceramic coating you want to maintain, and extend life span of? No problems – Silica spray! Also, it works equally well to maintain / gloss boost / increase hydrophobicity of a synthetic sealant or wax. Not to mention completely unprotected lacquer (awful thought, right?) where you quickly and easily can to add something to it. They usually work pretty good as a drying aid – and you build or maintain a surface of protection every time you wash and dry the car. Maybe even wash it with a silica shampoo like tershine Purify Sio2 or Tac System Mystic Water Repellent to take a couple of examples. Most silica sprays work on paint, plastic and glass. Spray and wipe. On wet or dry car.
When a selection for the test was to be done, simply picking out some of the market’s most interesting products, with both similarities, differences and other things to compare.
The products we tested are:
Tac System Quartz Max
Gyeon Cure
tershine refract
Nanolex SiFinish
Adam’s Ceramic Boost
Labocosmetica #Cupido (and #Perfecta)
What are we looking for? User-friendliness is number one – a product that is good in every way except just the operation tends to stand as dust collector on a shelf and is quite useless, shine is a major and of course one important factor for all detaling lovers. What can it bring?
Something we were focusing on is hydrofobicity and surface it leaves behind.
Longevity? No big emphasis on this, since the thouhgt is to quick and easy apply after each wash if desired.
Add also differences in the environment, the basis condition of the paintwork and so on, so you can get quite a wide spread … The tested sprays are promised to last anywhere from a few weeks to many months. Our tests clearly shows that a few weeks are no problems at all for anyone of them. One of the products we will return to in a single test in the future as it promises significantly more! Price of course, maybe not extremely crucial, but a big price difference between two equivalent products is not something to be ignored, especially if they are used for more or less every wash.
So, briefly, the wishes are:
Lifespan that lasts ”between washings”
Nice smooth to the touch surface.
Hydrophobicity, preferably sheeting to near dry.
Easy to use.
Reasonable price.
Nice shine.
Piece of cake! Finding a favorite here can not be that difficult, can it?. That was we thought at first. But the more we began to twist, turn, compare and discuss … Yes, easier said than done is a good expression. Now, after eight treated cars – with washing and second treatment after a couple of weeks of driving, a number of test panels, many garage hours and harsh discussions later , it is time to put everything on display and possibly some products on the podium.
We have treated test panels to compare side by side, regarding shine, application and huydrophobicity. These have been prepared with Meguiars M100 and M205 as well as IPA before application to get equivalent conditions.
The cars used are 1-3 years old and in varying, but ok condition, variations from near-freshly treated to 1-2 year old paint protection, which has given a good spread to get a broad idea of how these products work .
Before the first application, the cars have been washed and decontaminated with cold degreaser, alkaline degreaser and fallout remover. The cars have been treated both complete with one and the same product, and different panels different products. All cars have been treated twice, both wet and dry.
To give a little perspective on the difficulties, we can play a game. Many of us have been well in the workplace, with friends or in the facebook group given, received and wrestled with fictional questions that could sound something like: A pile of money. Three cars. What will be your garage? The sum, number of cars and requirements vary. The dilemma is the same. Hmmm I’m going for a Ferrari F430, a BMW 645 cabrio and a Jaguar S-type will be a good daily driver. No, I think, it must probably be an E-Class All Terrain, an E93 m3 and one … Ah, I’ll start all over agian. Tesla? Aston Martin DB9 volante! All nice cars. Heaven or hell depends on what you are looking for, what qualities are worth concidering or have you perhaps been stuck to a brand?
We will continue with other cars and other “dilemma”. Have you read all this way, interested in a spray for your car, you’re probably like me, a real car lover. Many are the car enthusiasts who frequently visits the car manufacturers’ configurators in general and perhaps Porsche’s in particular. Possibly in the chase of the perfect 911. And of course, it’s a Carrera base model, in white, manual and with only a few options. A 911 in its most puristic state. But already the next day, there is something completely different. The perfect 911 is a Carrera S Cabrio with PDK, rear axle steering, PDCC and all boxes on the options list ticked . Next day a racing yellow GT3 ….. All great 911s with the same amount of acquisitiveness but with different characteristics. What do I really want?
Are you following along?
The common denominator leaves all the silica sprays in the test are the fact that they ale are silica sprays and that they are all roughly good, with very small degrees in contrast to what you can expect, on the other hand, they have different characteristics as if they are desirable or not up to person, occasion and desire. Larger differences than you can imagine! Everyone has unique, good qualities with few drawbacks. At one, we actually found no cons at all!
In the glimpse of fantasy car collections and Porsches, you might have already figured out and understood that the perfect silica spray is as hard to call as the perfect 911, this test has no winner – or just winners! On the other hand, some favorites, one of which is a TESTFAVORITE. With the help of each product’s individual assessment, you can find YOUR favorite.
Here we go: (All prices from Swedish market in SEK)
Tac System Quarts Max – Test Favorite
2015 debuted the updated Quartz Max from Tac System, and the one who has not lived under a rock since then can not have missed the talk on various discussion boards. Therefore, both curiosity and expectations were high when we pulled the trigger. What do we think, then? Test favorite you already read in the title and that´s is exactly what Quatz Max is. Very easy to handle and apply on dry car and the most easy to use as a drying aid on wet car. The hydrophobic properties are very good, the water lsheets off and leaves the paintwork almost dry. Quartz Max can be used on basically all car exterior surfaces such as paint, glass, plastic and rubber and behind the test´s slickest surface. The gloss increases visibly and is neutral somewhere between the typical silica glass and warm carnauba. The durability is sufficient between washings. No weaknesses at all actually. In addition, at a sensible price.
Price: 279: – / 500ml
Comparative Price / Liter: 558: –
Buy at streetpower-rekond.se:
http://www.streetpower-rekond.se/tac-system-sverige/1487-quartzmax-500ml.html?search_query=quartz+max&results=59
Gyeon Q2M Cure
Even in this case, the expectations and curiosity were high, Gyeon Cure are usually held high by the keyboard-warrior detailers all over the world. And they are not wrong! Cure leaves a nice slick surface with good shine. Not only the milk-look is shared with Quartzmax but also the amount of silica, 5%, and its Korean origin. The hydrophilic properties end up in the middle of this gang and it is not in any way bad, the level is high here. Easy-to-use on dry car, a bit less on the wet. Works on all surfaces. Fine shine. Expected life of up to 8 weeks according to the bottle, it is enough by far wash between washes. In summary, the rating is good, simple, good at most, does not stand out in any way. Somewhat expensive though.
Price: 239: – / 250ml
Comparative Price / Liter: 956: –
Buy at rekondkompaniet.se:
GYEON Q²M Cure
tershine -Refract
After applying tershine Refract, it’s like switching to HD channel or put on your new glasses, something happens. The gloss increases and everything feels even more crisp and sharper. The character is unmistakable to the clear, shiny glass-like way. Easy to handle. The price is reasonable. Got a thing beading? Then Refract is for you! I Just a weakness if you are looking for sheeting. Gloss Favorite!
Price: 298: – / 500ml all 198: – / 250ml
Comparative Price / Liter: 596: – (500ml)
Buy at tershine:
Refract – Ceramic Quick Coat
Nanolex SiFinish
The king of sheeting, the water goes off and leaves large parts of the car almost dry. Drying with free flowing water is the thing here. The test’s most easy to handle when used as a drying aidt on wet car. Gives a nice shine towards the crispy way. Buy 750 ml bottle – big price difference per liter. Only for painted surfaces means Nanolex, however, it has been successfully used on glass and plastic during the tests. The recommendations not to use on plastic indicating a slightly higher silica content, so positive or negative, you decide!
Price: 149: – / 200ml all. 429: – / 750ml
Comparative Price / Liter: 572: – (750ml)
Buy at rekondkompaniet.se:
Nanolex SiFinish
Adam’s Ceramic Boost
Ceramic Boost is looking for your attention with its cool color and when you get close contact, you can sense the pleasant scent and find out that this is a real crowdpleaser. User-friendly to the maximum, the test’s most easy-to-handle on dry car, a little worse on wet. Good hydrophobicity, shine on the warmer side and leaves a very smooth surface. And it can be used in direct sunshine – if you work fast. Again, we may have reason to suspect a slightly higher silica content, as Adam’s advises against use on glass. However, tested without problems. Good or bad, you decide. A bit pricey but not at all dissuasive.
Price: 369: – / 473ml
Comparative price / liter: 780: –
Buy at premiumcarcare.se:
https://premiumcarcare.se/shop/product/ceramic-boost?tm=webshop&sm=exterior/skydda
Labocosmetoca #Cupido and #Perfecta
#Cupido leaves a lovely carnauba gloss and warm shine. The surface sheets of water but may feel slightly gruff. Easy to use on dry car but slightly worse on wet. The expected life span are much longer than the rest of this gang, up to four months. Labocosmetica believes that #Cupido
can be used alone but that it works even better in pairs with #Perfecta. And we agree! The surface becomes slicker and much nicer – however, the hydrophobic properties change more to beading. With #Perfecta on the side, spray #Cupido on the car and #Perfecta in the microfiber cloth. The application is easier also on wet car in this case. Our recommendation is to apply #Cupido (using #Perfecta) on a regular basis, using only #Perfecta for maintenance and drying support during the normal weekly wash. A little different approach but a bit variety is satisfying and the result is clearly on top. reasonably priced, even though it requires two products, the initial cost is not discouraging and you get double the amount of product!
Price: #Cupido: 199: – / 500ml
Comparative price / liter: 398: –
Price: #Perfecta 189: – / 500ml
Comparative price / liter: 378: –
Buy at cdbilvårdsprodukter.se
https://cdbilvardsprodukter.se/sv/labocosmetica/labocosmetica-cupido-500ml.html
https://cdbilvardsprodukter.se/sv/labocosmetica/labocosmetica-perfecta-500ml.html
As previously said, which one you choose is a matter of taste. RegardingTac System we found nothing to whine at all, so it became the test’s favorite. Do we want the extra punch glosswise – and we often want to – use tershine as your weapon of choice. Extreme hydrophobicity fixes is Nanolex´s top game. Adam’s is obviously easy to fall for, like the more prolonged Labocosmetica’s carnaubamixed #cupido, especially in combination #perfecta as a maintenance product. #Cupido and #Perfecta, we will take a deeper look in to together with another Labocosmetic product later on, #Venere. These three together form what is called Magic3. Gyeon has few drawbacks and should be appreciated by most.
In practice, the differences in user-friendliness are quite small and after a while’s use, the little tricks for each are found quite quickly. The choice of microfiber cloth affects user-friendliness regarding application to a greater extent than which of the spray you prefer!
We like Adam’s single soft towel and tershine Microfiber cloth.
Purchase at Premium Car Care: https://premiumcarcare.se/shop/product/single-soft-microfiber-towel?tm=webshop&sm=tillbehor/microfiber and tershine:
Microfiber cloth
It can also be added that some of these products look more beautiful on some colors, visually, in the personal perceptions, and nothing that may be more important here and now. This allows you to experiment yourself on the basis of taste your car´s color.
Do you feel like you do not know what you’re looking for and thoseint the thest is not for you? There are three more to throw into the fire. Yes, of course, even more, but these three have been used inside Gloss Garage’s walls, and although they are not included in the test or in some way considered here, they may still be worth mentioning, considering, or testing. For example, Gtechniq C2v3 ”Crystal Laquer Light”, Polishangel Rapidwaxx, Amazing SiO2 / TiO2 / Carnauba Combo and Orchard Autocare Speed Seal. Well, Speed Seal is actually a silica product, and preferrably used as a combination with Speed Wax and Perfection, called Holy Trinity.
Purchase at Rekondkompaniet: https://www.rekondkompaniet.se/products/c2-liquid-crystal?variant=39333964300 and Streetpower-Rekond: http://www.streetpower-rekond.se/spray-vax/401-polishangel- priest-detail-spray.html and http://www.orchard-autocare.se/produkt/speed-seal/
Product of our dreams? Tershine shine enhancement combined with sheeing surface from Nanolex SiFinish or Tac System Quartz Max. Scent like something from Adam´s maybe. Anyone?
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth mentioning agin, Mike Phillip’s words, ”Find something you like and use it often” will not be worn out and there you have your winner, the one you like and use often. Good luck and remember #glossisgood 🙂
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