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Old 05-03-2021, 04:31 PM   #51
Biggins
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I got a chemical guys foam cannon and it's pretty fun to use! It seems to cut more time from washing the car than how i had always done it. It works better than expected with only my garden hose.
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Old 05-03-2021, 04:53 PM   #52
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Also had to read "PNS performance" a few times more before i stopped laughing
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Old 05-03-2021, 05:05 PM   #53
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Originally Posted by Biggins View Post
Also had to read "PNS performance" a few times more before i stopped laughing
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Old 05-03-2021, 07:39 PM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggins View Post
I got a chemical guys foam cannon and it's pretty fun to use! It seems to cut more time from washing the car than how i had always done it. It works better than expected with only my garden hose.
i haven't used a foam cannon yet. All the different foam soaps (or using what you might normally use in a more concentrated format)...too much choice at once.

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Originally Posted by Biggins View Post
Also had to read "PNS performance" a few times more before i stopped laughing
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Old 05-11-2021, 05:03 PM   #55
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This is after a 300 mile drive. The car was washed before the drive after being parked outside for a couple weeks as well as the road trip to PittRace and back.

A pretty strong PNS performance.
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Old 05-18-2021, 08:16 AM   #56
Josh (PA)
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This is something i just found, that seems to work well at eliminating water spots at the last rinse:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm not sure how many washes I'll get out of it, but I put it between the hose and nozzle for my final rinse and did not that water spotting was significantly down.
As a few of you noted, this DOES NOT soften the water. I decided to test it yesterday by using it to rinse the wagon after I washed it and put it away wet in the garage. This is wha I woke up to this morning, needless to say I'm pissed at myself and bummed about the product not doing what I thought it did.

On the bright side, you can see how nicely the Zaino is still beading after 1500 miles, 2 trips to the lake, 1 to Canton, NY and 2 wks sitting outside in the pollen. Look at all those tiny perfectly shaped water spots..
After looking at the pic, the paint isn't scratched. That is quick detail residue left over after I tried that as a quick attempt to remove the spots.
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Old 05-19-2021, 08:25 PM   #57
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Originally Posted by Josh (PA) View Post
As a few of you noted, this DOES NOT soften the water. I decided to test it yesterday by using it to rinse the wagon after I washed it and put it away wet in the garage. This is wha I woke up to this morning, needless to say I'm pissed at myself and bummed about the product not doing what I thought it did.

On the bright side, you can see how nicely the Zaino is still beading after 1500 miles, 2 trips to the lake, 1 to Canton, NY and 2 wks sitting outside in the pollen. Look at all those tiny perfectly shaped water spots..
After looking at the pic, the paint isn't scratched. That is quick detail residue left over after I tried that as a quick attempt to remove the spots.
Just FYI, a mix of white wine vinegar and water does wonders on water spots. I assume I'll need to reapply my polymer coatings, but at least the paint is unblemished. It looked like shit an hour ago. It wasn't too much effort either.
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Old 05-19-2021, 08:53 PM   #58
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Originally Posted by Josh (PA) View Post
Just FYI, a mix of white wine vinegar and water does wonders on water spots. I assume I'll need to reapply my polymer coatings, but at least the paint is unblemished. It looked like shit an hour ago. It wasn't too much effort either.
Good to know that was easy to remedy
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Old 06-06-2021, 08:53 AM   #59
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Latest update:

Yesterday was wash number four since I applied PNS almost two months and 700 miles ago. It's been a bit more than a month and 300 miles since the third wash which included a rather buggy 140+ mile round trip to Summit Point. I did not get a chance to wash the car before leaving for Lincoln, so those bugs sat on the car for about two weeks in a hot garage (although out of sunlight). I was looking forward to seeing how easy they were to clean off.

Answer? Pretty easy. More bug guts remained following the pre-wash rinse than last time

Water still beads and sheets off pretty nicely, but…using the leaf blower post wash left a lot more water than after the first three washes. I'd say it's more comparable to a fresh application of Megs Fast Finish, which is fine, but not as good as fresh PNS. The difference is enough to make me think about another PNS application.
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Old 08-01-2021, 01:13 PM   #60
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Originally Posted by clyde View Post
Latest update:

Yesterday was wash number four since I applied PNS almost two months and 700 miles ago. It's been a bit more than a month and 300 miles since the third wash which included a rather buggy 140+ mile round trip to Summit Point. I did not get a chance to wash the car before leaving for Lincoln, so those bugs sat on the car for about two weeks in a hot garage (although out of sunlight). I was looking forward to seeing how easy they were to clean off.

Answer? Pretty easy. More bug guts remained following the pre-wash rinse than last time

Water still beads and sheets off pretty nicely, but…using the leaf blower post wash left a lot more water than after the first three washes. I'd say it's more comparable to a fresh application of Megs Fast Finish, which is fine, but not as good as fresh PNS. The difference is enough to make me think about another PNS application.
Now up to six total washes and 3,300 total miles since applying Sonax PNS four months ago (minus 10 days). In the eight weeks since the last update, it's had two washes and been on two road trips (DC to/from Bristol, TN and Toledo, OH) accounting for about 1,700 highway miles.

Water still beads and sheets off as well as the last update. Cleaning up bugs is like nothing. Leaf blower effectiveness is further degraded than the last update and I'm having thoughts about reapplication to bring it back. After the last few washes, I've reapplied in a few small areas after using Mothers R3 Rubber Remover to remove some cone juice and some Citrol APC to clean up some unknown substances that found their way onto the car.

OTHER STUFF

I still need to correct the paint. It's annoying me more and more. Also starting to pick up some chips. Oh well.

Gtechniq G1 Glass Coating
In late June, just before heading for Bristol, I applied a Gtechniq coating to the exterior glass. I'd applied Rain-X a little while back, but was quickly frustrated with the smearing that happened with wipers soon after. Gtechniq has two glass coatings, G1 and G5. G5 is more hydrophobic and they say that water starts rollign away at lower speeds than G1, but G5 only lasts about four months and G5 is supposed to be good for about two years/20k miles.

Before applying it, you need to really clean your glass, which means, clean, polish with a glass polish (I used Gtechniq's G6 glass polish), clean again, and then (on the windshield) apply layer one, wait, buff off, apply layer two, wait, buff off, apply layer three, wait, buff off, and then remove residue with the stuff they include in the kit or your own IPA solution. Side and rear windows only need one layer. They also recommend applying a small amount to the wiper blades (with no buff or removal). It's kind of laborious, but hard to say how much. It was hot that day and I spent a good amount of time cleaning the interior glass as well…which is one of the most difficult things to attempt in the Camaro. After application, the car should be kept out of the elements for at least three hours.

So, was it worth it?

Its water shedding performance while driving is maybe 90% as good as a solid fresh application of Rain-X. OTOH, it has a lot of things going for it that Rain-X doesn't. With Rain-X, when a bug splatters itself on your windshield, it often means you need to put more Rain-X on. With the Gtechniq coating, as soon as you wipe the bug guts away, it's like it never happened. And the bug guts wipe away super quick and easy. It only takes the quickest, lightest spray of some Invisible glass and a quick, light and easy wipe with a waffle weave towel and it's all like brand new again with no streaking.

An added bonus…stickers come right off. At some of our autocross events they use cheap adhesive labels in a corner of the windshield for practice runs, grid spot numbers, passing inspection, etc. They often take some fingernail picking and, sometimes, a razorblade. With the coating…not at all. They come off super quick and easy.

Also, I don't expect it, but am hopeful that the coating will provide some protection against micro pits and chipping. After two years and 40k miles, the windshield in the turbo was surprisingly beat up. In most circumstances, it wasn't that noticeable, but any time driving into the sun, it was annoying and distracting. They weren't the kinds of chips that become cracks or need attention on their own, but when there are thousands of them…sigh. So, remains to be seen.

Generally, if it lasts half as long as it's supposed to, and the bug performance stays close to what it is now, I'll happily buy some another $15 G1 kit (includes a small vial of G1, a similarly sized vial of G2, which is their IPA residue removed fluid, and a few small lint free cotton applicator pads) for another application. Their G6 glass polish was another $17, but there's probably two more car's worth applications left. If it doesn't last long enough timewise, I'll buy more.

Interior Cleaning Stuff
The car came back from Bristol and Toledo with a decent amount of sunscreen on leather, and different plastic pieces throughout the interior. Whatever the surface, the first step is a damp microfiber, which is surprisingly effective and often removes all or nearly all of it (if I get to it within a week or so). When it's left on longer or is more stubborn, the next step is a leather cleaner/conditioner, even on plastics. I've been using Einszett Leather Care (Lederpfledge) and haven't had to use anything more aggressive yet.

To do the rest of the plastics, I've been using Einszett Cockpit Premium and am pretty happy with how the results look. No gloss, no oil, nothing you can feel on your fingers afterwards. Not sure if it's helpful, hurtful, or neutral long term.

If you look on the internet for suggestions about cleaning Alcantara, you'll find recommendations for Sonax Alcanta Cleaner and…nothing else. So, that's what I use on the steering wheel, shifter, and not-stock knee pads and passenger facing dash piece. It works really, really well, but takes a while to fully dry and the smell is quite strong (not necessarily bad, but a lot more than you'd like). Ideally, you'll want to give it 24 hours from cleaning to driving, but it can take a week or more before the smell isn't the first thing you notice when you get in the car.
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