First time using Clear Kote: Results
- Thread starter jpk
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OK, here are my impressions of Clear Kote. I'm not an expert detailer and I just want good looking paint.
I washed the car with Meguiar's Gold Class wash (two bucket method). I used Spree's method of hosing down with no nozzle to sheet the water off and then I just clay bar'ed the hood with the Mother's Clay Bar. Then I put on the Clear Kote Vanilla Moose Wax Hand Glaze and then the Clear Kote Carnuba Max as the topper on the hood. I did everything by hand, no buffer.
I previously used the Clear Kote Moose Wax (not the Carnuba Wax) on my wife's Exlporer Sport Trac. I found that stuff was very easy to apply and remove and didn't leave any white residue. But it left an oily feel to the paint and honestly didn't shine as much as regular old Mother's Carnuba Cleaner Wax.
This time on my Cobra I found the Vanilla Moose and the Carnuba Wax both apply incredibly easily and leave a very slick, not oily, result. The paint feels great. The products combine to hide very minor swirls, but don't expect to polish out anything more than the faintest spiderwebs. I espeically like how easily the products come off and don't leave any white residue. I have previously used Meguiar's Gold Class and there is no comparison. the Clear Kote feels much slicker and comes off cleaner. But does it shine better?
OK, but here's the rub. In the pictures above, I only used the Clear Kote system on half of my hood! The other half was only washed and clayed! I will leave it to you to figure which half was glazed and waxed and which has absolutely no product on it at all.
Final result: The Clear Kote VM+CW combo is super easy for even a novice like me with no fancy tools. It is very fast and the result is a super slick paint surface that feels just like you used a laborious carnuba paste wax. But I think that unless I had black paint, I probably couldn't tell much difference. The Mystichrome, and probably most other metallics and ligher colors, just don't seem show off much difference between wax products like black does. I did notice that the unwaxed side started attracting dust and pollen fallout really quickly, showed a few more spiderwebs, and looked a tiny hair duller. I imagine it will probably look dirty quicker than the waxed side. I'm very happy with the products and will continue to use them. I'll probably do without the regular old Moose Wax I used on the Sport Trac, but the VM+CW combo does leave a great slick result.
Just don't expect Mystic paint to go popping out any different than it has before with other waxes. As you can see in the pictures the paint shines no matter what as long as it is well cared for. If I had black paint, I can imagine that the Clear Kote products would really make it shine better. (Thank goodness that I don't have black paint that is so hard to keep looking great!)
I washed the car with Meguiar's Gold Class wash (two bucket method). I used Spree's method of hosing down with no nozzle to sheet the water off and then I just clay bar'ed the hood with the Mother's Clay Bar. Then I put on the Clear Kote Vanilla Moose Wax Hand Glaze and then the Clear Kote Carnuba Max as the topper on the hood. I did everything by hand, no buffer.
I previously used the Clear Kote Moose Wax (not the Carnuba Wax) on my wife's Exlporer Sport Trac. I found that stuff was very easy to apply and remove and didn't leave any white residue. But it left an oily feel to the paint and honestly didn't shine as much as regular old Mother's Carnuba Cleaner Wax.
This time on my Cobra I found the Vanilla Moose and the Carnuba Wax both apply incredibly easily and leave a very slick, not oily, result. The paint feels great. The products combine to hide very minor swirls, but don't expect to polish out anything more than the faintest spiderwebs. I espeically like how easily the products come off and don't leave any white residue. I have previously used Meguiar's Gold Class and there is no comparison. the Clear Kote feels much slicker and comes off cleaner. But does it shine better?
OK, but here's the rub. In the pictures above, I only used the Clear Kote system on half of my hood! The other half was only washed and clayed! I will leave it to you to figure which half was glazed and waxed and which has absolutely no product on it at all.
Final result: The Clear Kote VM+CW combo is super easy for even a novice like me with no fancy tools. It is very fast and the result is a super slick paint surface that feels just like you used a laborious carnuba paste wax. But I think that unless I had black paint, I probably couldn't tell much difference. The Mystichrome, and probably most other metallics and ligher colors, just don't seem show off much difference between wax products like black does. I did notice that the unwaxed side started attracting dust and pollen fallout really quickly, showed a few more spiderwebs, and looked a tiny hair duller. I imagine it will probably look dirty quicker than the waxed side. I'm very happy with the products and will continue to use them. I'll probably do without the regular old Moose Wax I used on the Sport Trac, but the VM+CW combo does leave a great slick result.
Just don't expect Mystic paint to go popping out any different than it has before with other waxes. As you can see in the pictures the paint shines no matter what as long as it is well cared for. If I had black paint, I can imagine that the Clear Kote products would really make it shine better. (Thank goodness that I don't have black paint that is so hard to keep looking great!)
Yeah, unless you start using your car as a Wet Bannana slip'n slide toy for your kids, the slickness of the paint is just a novelty for your personal amusement. I do like it, though. The only comparison I have is to the time I used Boyd's UltraViolet Carnuba Paste Wax. I don't even think that company exists anymore and I have no idea if that stuff was highly regarded or not. The result was very similar in terms of glassy slickness, but the shine seems pretty much the same with any Carnuba unless maybe the car is black or red.
My guss is that the passenger side is the waxecd side. Tell me if im wrong.
looks like the passenger side to me too.
I also think that the passenger side of your COBRA's hood has the wax on it. Tell us soon so we know if we are right or wrong!
Yep, is the passenger side. I guess I made it kinda obvious by taking all my shots from that side of the car. :rollseyes
I can tell the difference if I get right up next to the paint and look for fine spiderwebs. They will be less visible on the side that has the Clear Kote, but just barely. Other than that, touch is really the only way I can tell where I have waxed.
Anywhoo, I'm convinced that Clear Kote is some of the easiest stuff to use and won't be getting any more products from the local auto store ever again.
I can tell the difference if I get right up next to the paint and look for fine spiderwebs. They will be less visible on the side that has the Clear Kote, but just barely. Other than that, touch is really the only way I can tell where I have waxed.
Anywhoo, I'm convinced that Clear Kote is some of the easiest stuff to use and won't be getting any more products from the local auto store ever again.
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jpk said:
nah, you can tell by the depth and the slickness.
spree said:
Man, you've got eagle eyes or something, because at that time I honsetly could barely tell the difference in real life and certainly can't in the photo!
However, I drove around a bit today and I really noticed all the reflections popping up on my hood. No spiderwebs caught my eye, just smooth paint. (Though when I stopped, I could see some faint webs if I stood over the hood at just one particular angle. They are not visible at any other angle for some reason.)
The mystic color shifts also seemed much stronger, though that could be just because I was driving directly into the sunset. There is definitely a "sheen" where the VM+CW has been applied.
I'm a believer! Glad I tried it out.
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