My Epic Detailing Weekend ! Post Has been Updated

[Tony Prodigy]

***My apologies for the original upload as the pictures didn't display the way I liked, so I've gone back in and redone the whole post. This should be much better guys.

Howdy Gents.

I had an appalling realization that I had not washed or cleaned the Aurion for like 6 months or so as my wife so kindly informed me. Wow ! Where does the time go ??

Admittedly, the car did look sad, even though it is mechanically sound, I had to make things right and make it happy again. So the plan was to spend the whole weekend and carry out the mother of all detailing. Mind you, this was only to bring it back to a level I’d be satisfied with even if it didn’t include a full paint correction and ceramic coating that I have been planning for some time.

It was heavily contaminated. So wifey had the use of my Colorado while I set about, unfettered, to pursue my OCD level of perfection.

This was the plan.

1.       INTERIOR:

Empty the cabin of all items. Booster seat permanently removed. Mats removed and washed separately. Vacuum interior. Wipe down all surfaces with interior cleaner. Wipe and clean interior sides of glass.

 

2.       EXTERIOR:

Decontaminate paint, glass and trim, including wheels/tyres. Clean engine bay, clean wheel wells. Polish Headlights and B-Pillar Plastics.

Apply a durable sealant to paint, trim, glass and hard plastics.

 

A quick walk around the car revealed the task ahead. It was going to be quite a work out, so I got cracking. Set up my pressure washer and lined up all the key products to be used and got to work.

 

I decided to do the interior first, so I removed all the mats and pressure washed each mat and set aside to dry. Then came the vacuum, dug in deep and got the carpet sorted. Wiped over the dash and other hard surfaces with my Meguiars interior cleaner and microfibre cloth. It also leaves a nice fresh fragrance too. Once I was satisfied with the interior done, I moved to the next stage.

 

Jacked up the front, placed axle stands underneath, removed front wheels and assessed the carnage inside the wheel wells. It was bad. There was mud, dirt, grime and oil spatter. Initially I suspected something was leaking from the engine, but after inspecting, found nothing. Wifey must’ve driven over something and it just happened to be of an oil consistency.

 

 

I then, pre-soaked the engine bay and wheel wells/suspension parts in All Purpose Cleaner and let it dwell for a few minutes. Then after some agitation with my various brushes, pressure washed these areas and then proceed to give the whole car a rinse.

 

 

It was covered in bird poo spots, fallout and other heavily ingrained grime. It was terrible. After a thorough rinse, I foam cannoned the whole car inside, out and underneath and let the soapy emulsion do its thing. My boy happened to see me with the foam cannon shooting the soap and thought he’d have a go too. It looks like fun to them. How can I resist ?.

 

 

Then came the final rinse before the next stage of decontamination could begin. The paint had a rough feeling from all the embedded crud, so I then hit it with a spritz of Gyeon Iron to remove all the iron fallout and other contaminants.

This is a colour indicating product, so as soon as it’s applied, it will change colour to purple indicating the presence of iron among other things. It’s a very satisfying thing to see. You don’t realise how dirty the paint is until you use iron remover from the paint. If you wish to apply paint sealant or polish, this is a very important step if you want your product to adhere and last.

After Iron remover had time to percolate, it was time to rinse off.

 

 

 

Then came time for the hand wash with two bucket process utilizing my microfibre wash mitt.

Engine bay, under the wheel wells and suspension got another deep clean to ensure maximum cleanliness. I’m fussy if you recall, haha..

 

The headlights and B-Pillars needed attention too as the ravages of the weather had also taken its toll here too. Got my trusty little 3” polisher out and set to work correcting the sun beaten plastic covers on the B pillars and then onto the headlights. They both came up quite good. Also did a pass over the sun visors on the tops of the doors to clean up any spotting.

Sponge Buff Pads are Lake Country where the microfibre cutting pad is Meguiars.

 

High Quality Rag Company Edgeless Microfiber Cloths for the Application of the Sealant 

This is the B pillar before Polishing

This is after

 

Now for the Headlights. Driver's Side Before Shot

Driver's Side After shot

Passenger Side Headlight Before

After Shot

Next, It was time to do the Clay. Using my clay mitt and some ONR rinseless wash in a spray bottle for lubricant, I set about claying the entire car including the glass. You can feel the roughness of the surface as you move around and then the smoothness after several passes. This was the final step in the decontamination process. A final rinse was then done.

The paint and glass now looked extremely clean and contamination free.

 

Now it's time to apply the sealant.

A quick wipe over with panel wipe will ensure a clean oil and residue free surface.

Having recently purchased several items from the Hybrid range of Turtle Wax products, not the Flex wax, but a combination of “Ice” Seal and Shine, Ceramic Spray Coating Wax, and a bottle of Ceramic Wet Wax.

The Wet Wax can be used as a Topper Coat for the Ceramic Spray Wax or any other Ceramic Coatings. Using It During the Drying Stage also acts as Drying Aid Adding Extra Slickness at the Same Time Maintaining the Foundation Layer.

This Version of Ice is the Updated Formula and Can Be Used Over Any Of The Above Products.

 

 

I only planned to use the Ceramic Spray Coating, put down a foundation coating and then on every subsequent maintenance wash, use the wet wax as the topper. You apply the latter product when the car is wet and you simply rinse off. Nice and easy but effective. This combination should keep it protected until the time comes for the fully fledged Ceramic Coating by Avalon King.

 Menzerna Top Inspection Panel Wipe.

 

After I had dried the car, I gave the car a final wipe over with some surface prep spray and then I applied a couple of spritzes of Ceramic Spray Coating to each panel and worked it in with my Edgeless Eagle Microfibre cloth then buffed to perfection with a second cloth.

I am stunned how good Turtle Wax products have become. The car looked amazing with just one simple coating.

Then it was time to move to the glass. I had also planned to do a ceramic coating here too but the lack of shelter prevents me from doing it at this point. Ceramic coatings require a curing time and you don't want any contamination during this so it had me stick with the traditional Rain-X rain repellent glass sealant. Despite all this, the Rain-X product is extremely good for what it is and performs amazingly well in rain situations. I never have to use my wipers during the rain whilst driving.

It is so hydrophobic the water beads just drift off the glass.

I gave the windscreen a machine polish with my Flex and a microfibre cutting pad and some Menzerna FG400 heavy cut compound to full ensure cleanliness. The cleaner the surface, the better the product will work.

After compounding, came a wipe down, then another pass with IPA to remove any polishing residues and oils. When it was literally squeaky clean, it was time to the application.

Spray onto an applicator is the best way to apply it as opposed to spraying the product directly to avoid over spray where it isn’t wanted. After it flashes off, I like to spritz lightly with water and wipe off with a glass microfibre cloth. I use the Rag Company’s Black Diamond cloth as it doesn’t leave any lint. The moisture helps with the wipe off and you can buff it to a perfect shine. Did the rear windscreen and all door glass too.

 

After this came the application of Cera Trim to the hard plastics such as inner fender liners and any other plastic items in the wheel wells. Also did the black plastic areas on the door mirrors as these are notorious on the 50 series for fading. Also did the lower plastic grille section in the bumper bar. I was also hoping to do the wiper scuttle cowl too, but this would’ve taken a lot of time with disassembly/reassembly and I didn’t really have that luxury all things considered.  I will have to do this another time.

 

Faded Mirror Bases

A quick dab to see how it looks.

 

Treated Mirror

 

After I was satisfied with the inner wheel wells, I coated the inner barrels of the wheels with some left over “Ice” seal’n’shine from an outgoing bottle and then dressed the tyres inside and out. Fitted the front wheels and torqued nut to 78 ft/lbs.

 

Gave the engine bay a wipe over, checked fluids and she was done.

This took me all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday.

So here she is in all it's Glory. The 50 series have such an elegant style to it. I never get bored of it.

 

Thanks for reading.

Edited July 1, 2021 by Tony Prodigy

[Twixter]

So do you want to do mine next? lol

Looks great though! Love how thorough you were with the clean!

Edited May 4, 2021 by Twixter

[Tony Prodigy]

1 hour ago, Twixter said:

So do you want to do mine next? lol

Looks great though! Love how thorough you were with the clean!

Line 'em up lol..

I have since updated the post as the original post didn't work so well with the picture links.

Sorry for any difficulties. It's all sorted now.

Prep is 90% of the job really. You really need it to be squeaky clean before applying any sealants. This way the product will work better and last longer.

Thanks for your post.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by Tony Prodigy

[KAA]

Tony as always your the Jedi Master of Detail, thanks heaps for all the detailed pictures, she looks stunning and dare I say better than the day she rolled of our production lines. You deserve a huge round of applause for your love of these beautiful cars and if we could give out awards on here you get the GOLD mate

Thanks a lot as always it is appreciated

KAA

[Tony Prodigy]

4 hours ago, KAA said:

Tony as always your the Jedi Master of Detail, thanks heaps for all the detailed pictures, she looks stunning and dare I say better than the day she rolled of our production lines. You deserve a huge round of applause for your love of these beautiful cars and if we could give out awards on here you get the GOLD mate

Thanks a lot as always it is appreciated

KAA

Ahh, you're too kind Robert. Thanks for your kind words too. I felt really bad letting it get to that stage and so it was necessary to spend the time to bring it back to a certain level. I can rest a bit easy now 😉

It's far from perfect but it's as good as it gets despite no paint correction as such. The next major detail will involve a 3 stage polish and a dedicated ceramic coating. There's really no point to apply a ceramic coating on paint that hasn't been polished to perfection. This will further enhance gloss levels.

The main objective here was to remove all the stuck on contamination, give it a thorough clean and apply the sealant for protection. The Turtle Wax Ceramic wax is an awesome product and it feels really slick. Just this morning as I was leaving for work, I had a quick look around it as it has been raining here, and it's beading like crazy ! I had a grin on my face actually. Very satisfying stuff.

Cheers mate 

[Tony Prodigy]

Quick update Ladies and Gents. 

Following my epic weekend detail, I thought I'd post up some shots of the beading on the paint courtesy of Turtle Wax Ceramic Spray Sealant. For the price point and ease of use, I am thoroughly impressed with the new Turtle Wax hybrid range. It's been almost 2 months since application and it still looks as strong as it did the day I applied it.

Beads of Glory !

 

[KAA]

Wow yes still beads like crazy Tony, looks like it will be the go too product for ease of application lasting grip and results it offers.

Thanks for the Photo's mate makes it so clear how it just allows those beads to roll off.

KAA

[Tony Prodigy]

9 hours ago, KAA said:

Wow yes still beads like crazy Tony, looks like it will be the go too product for ease of application lasting grip and results it offers.

Thanks for the Photo's mate makes it so clear how it just allows those beads to roll off.

KAA

Yes Sir, sure looks satisfying. Even the Rain-X I applied to glass is still looking strong. A good indicator is the windscreen. There is no dulling around where the wipers track. The whole screen is still beading evenly. I initially began treating the windscreen with the Rain-X 2 in 1 cleaner/sealer and it was holding up really well considering it's not a ceramic glass coating. It would start to wear off where the wipers wipe after around 6 months, evidenced by the track marks, but funnily enough still able to bead water off. This led me to re-think my whole strategy. I had purchased but forgot I had, the Rain-X "Glass Water Repellent" which is strictly a sealant and not a cleaner/sealant. I figured during my epic weekend detail, the glass would also undergo a deep clean and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to lay down a proper coating. So after a chemical and mechanical decontamination, I applied two coats of the "Water Repellent" and then I can use the 2 in 1 Cleaner/Sealant as the cleaner - Topper coat. This has proved to be very effective and I am very happy with the Rain-X product. It is very underrated, believe me.

A word of caution when applying the "Water Repellent" is that you should apply it when the glass is cool, so not in direct sunlight and the glass must be squeaky clean. You should apply it evenly, preferably in a cross hatched pattern to get even coverage. You can apply it with a normal microfiber cloth or an applicator pad/block. I have those small rectangular microfiber ones. Spray onto the applicator/cloth and cross hatch.
Allow to haze, then wipe off with a slightly moist glass microfiber cloth. Repeat process for 2nd application.
My cloth of choice is The Rag Company's Black Diamond cloth. These are high quality that don't lint if used correctly. The secret is that you must mist them with water first. Don't try to use them dry as they will feel tacky to the surface and you will see traces of lint. There is no such thing as a lint free cloth even though they market it as such.  It will require some "lubrication" so to speak.  I would mist the working side with water before attempting to wipe off as the "Water Repellent" has a tendency to streak. If you do this, then you will have perfect, streak free, clear glass. I have tried every which way and this is the best method.

Side Note: You should wash all your brand new microfiber cloths before first use to remove any residual dye. Wash them in batches according to colour so you don't cross contaminate the colours. If you throw a black cloth in with yellow, then your yellows will look "dirty". 

 

[KAA]

Excellent Tony great products and advise, My next clean spoil the beauty day I will give the windscreen a good going over. Wanted to do the car last 2 days but has been belting down rain so they were stay inside warm and cosy days. Hopefully by the end of the week I can spoil the girl. I have looked at both products when drooling in Supercheap but now you have proven their worth they are now on my must buy list. I also have a few of those blocks as I bought them when doing the headlights (but ended up using the buffer to save energy and time and it brought both lights up like new) so at least have those to give the windscreen a good seal. If there is one thing that is annoying is having those damn streak mark when driving on a rainy day.

Keep Well Mate and again Thanks for the detailed post

KAA

[Tony Prodigy]

8 hours ago, KAA said:

Excellent Tony great products and advise, My next clean spoil the beauty day I will give the windscreen a good going over. Wanted to do the car last 2 days but has been belting down rain so they were stay inside warm and cosy days. Hopefully by the end of the week I can spoil the girl. I have looked at both products when drooling in Supercheap but now you have proven their worth they are now on my must buy list. I also have a few of those blocks as I bought them when doing the headlights (but ended up using the buffer to save energy and time and it brought both lights up like new) so at least have those to give the windscreen a good seal. If there is one thing that is annoying is having those damn streak mark when driving on a rainy day.

Keep Well Mate and again Thanks for the detailed post

KAA

Thanks mate. The bottle will go a looooong way too. Don't just stop at the windscreen, do the entire thing. Side glass and rear windscreen too.

If the glass has been properly coated then you'll have no need for the wipers lol. I kid you not, as you start reaching 60 km/h and over, the water just beads away and the process of all the beads going in one direction actually "wipes" the glass clear, especially on a freeway. It is mesmerising as it is satisfying to see.

I don't know why more people don't treat their glass more often. You can tell those who don't have the wiper blade marred glass. This is a pretty much permanent damage because it's like rubbing 2000 grit sandpaper when wiping a dirty, dry glass with rubber wipers. Over time it develops that "just sanded" sheen in the wiper tracks. To avoid this, you really need to put a coating over the glass to create a barrier between it and the rubber blades.

I rarely have to use my wipers to be honest. Let the forces of nature do their work.

[ZZT86]

Dude, how did you even allow the car to get so dirty ? And you're so thorough that you wore off your nitrile 🤣 Supa result, it's so clean I wouldn't want to use it afterwards & does she even appreciate all the effort ? Great idea using a foam stick to ceramic coat the hard to get to plastic grille.

[Tony Prodigy]

6 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

Dude, how did you even allow the car to get so dirty ?

Haha, I know. It was a combination of things. Busy work schedule, after hours commitments, some weekend work, bad weather, tiredness and a dash of laziness . As dirty as it did get, I was confident that it was still all there under all that muck. Just had to dedicate some time. It doesn't bother me really. Cleaning and detailing cars is like therapy for me. Gives me great satisfaction.

Wifey appreciates it. She knows how I am with my OCD level of doing things and I never get any stick when I purchase all the goodies to be able to such high level work. 

6 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

Great idea using a foam stick to ceramic coat the hard to get to plastic grille.

I came up with this idea because that particular product has a gel like consistency and it reminded me of the Meguiars tyre gel I used to use with a foam applicator. It was necessary because it allows you to spread it evenly and without getting the product on your hand. Allow it to soak it for 20 minutes then buff off with a general purpose micro fiber cloth. The cheapest you can find will do just find. I keep a packet of el cheapo microfiber cloths the ones Bunnings has at the checkout. They are a great go to cloth for those dirty jobs and for mopping up the Cera Trim Gel. I try and keep my expensive cloths primarily for paint correction. 

[Squalled]

Don't know how I missed this but what an awesome post! Thanks for sharing Tony.

Gave me a heap of ideas for new products to try when I need to stock up. I think clean and beading glass is totally underrated. I used the RainX cleaner and water repellent a very long time ago I can definitely say driving in wet conditions is awesome, I hardly ever needed to use my wipers on highways and motorways.

[ZZT86]

@Squalled  How long does the RainX last?

I recently cleaned my windscreen with CarPro Ceriglass which I must say is amazing, never realised how dirty & "unclear" my glass really was, then applied 3 coats of CQuartz & I gotta say I'm kinda not impressed. Reckon I need to swap out those wiper blades for new ones but the glass isn't as slick as I was expecting.

[campbeam]

1 hour ago, ZZT86 said:

@Squalled  How long does the RainX last?

I recently cleaned my windscreen with CarPro Ceriglass which I must say is amazing, never realised how dirty & "unclear" my glass really was, then applied 3 coats of CQuartz & I gotta say I'm kinda not impressed. Reckon I need to swap out those wiper blades for new ones but the glass isn't as slick as I was expecting.

I know what you mean about the glass not being as slick as expected after ceramic coating the windscreen. I ended up using P&S Beadmaker as a top up coating which needs to be re-applied every few months. Currently, the water starts beads off the windscreen at 60 kph rather than at lower speeds so it is on the To Do list.

[Tony Prodigy]

8 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

@Squalled  How long does the RainX last?

I recently cleaned my windscreen with CarPro Ceriglass which I must say is amazing, never realised how dirty & "unclear" my glass really was, then applied 3 coats of CQuartz & I gotta say I'm kinda not impressed. Reckon I need to swap out those wiper blades for new ones but the glass isn't as slick as I was expecting.

I'm kinda not surprised about the CQuartz not meeting your expectation. It does a decent job but it has been reported by some youtubers  as not being as slick as some of the other big brand offerings. Can I ask if what you actually used was a dedicated Glass coating or the regular ceramic coating by Carpro ? I have read that some ceramic coatings for paint don't play well on glass. CQuartz have released the 3.0 edition and I believe this to be a much better formulation than the previous releases. It is also advisable to replace worn wiper blades, clean and coat them with the residual product left on the applicator.

As for Rain X. I have nothing but praise for this product. I am thoroughly impressed by its performance and what fascinates me is that it's not so much the slickness that comes into play but rather its formulation. It resists precipitation just as good as rain. I very rarely have to use the wipers because as soon as you get to 60, it all just drifts up to the roof and the screen remains clear with the odd miniscule beads drifting off.

If applied the way I described above in my post, It will continue to work for 12 months easy. But for me, having laid the foundation coating, I periodically go over it with the cleaner/protector when I'm trying to rid the screen of those dots of sparrow poo which annoy me. I don't like using the washer/wipers as this causes scouring of the glass over time, so I prefer to hit it with cleaner and a microfiber cloth. The initial clean up I'll use a normal cloth to remove the crud and dirt and then follow it up with another spritz of Rain X cleaner and mop up with the Black Diamond cloth for a streak free finish. This method not only preserves the glass and wiper blades, but enables you to keep the coating topped up and working to it maximum capability. 

There are various products you can use on glass. Beadmaker is another excellent choice as it is extremely slick but needs regular top ups to keep it strong. Practically most paint sealants you get today are quite versatile and can used on everything including the glass. So it's up to the individual what they prefer or feel comfortable using.

I haven't felt the compulsion to use a dedicated glass ceramic coating as the Rain X treatment seems to be doing an excellent job so far. 

[Tony Prodigy]

15 hours ago, Squalled said:

Don't know how I missed this but what an awesome post! Thanks for sharing Tony.

Gave me a heap of ideas for new products to try when I need to stock up. I think clean and beading glass is totally underrated. I used the RainX cleaner and water repellent a very long time ago I can definitely say driving in wet conditions is awesome, I hardly ever needed to use my wipers on highways and motorways.

Glass is probably the most neglected area on a vehicle. Most will just wash the car and at best clean it with some crappy ammonia based chemical. Not good.

Having the water beading off the glass is both very satisfying visually but can also be a safety net if your wipers should suddenly stop or even worse, are so worn they smear the glass. Thankfully those bad old days are gone thanks to the ingenuity of these companies providing us with excellent products to help enhance our vehicles.
I cannot imagine why anyone would not put any type of coating on their glass. If you go to the trouble of making the paint look nice, then I think the glass should fit in there too.

[ZZT86]

Don't get me wrong, the CQuartz is awesome on paint & it even brings plastic back to as new condition. 1.5 years in & the coating on the paint is as I applied it, excellent performance so far. Just was expecting more from the glass, the droplets of rain seem to stick to it at speed until they get bigger & then start to move. By that time I'm struggling to see through the windscreen.

I did also apply reload on-top which I think didn't help. I'll see how it goes, will try the RainX next. 👍

[Squalled]

18 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

@Squalled  How long does the RainX last?

I recently cleaned my windscreen with CarPro Ceriglass which I must say is amazing, never realised how dirty & "unclear" my glass really was, then applied 3 coats of CQuartz & I gotta say I'm kinda not impressed. Reckon I need to swap out those wiper blades for new ones but the glass isn't as slick as I was expecting.

When I applied following a video I found after I cleaned the windscreen (apply 1 coat, wipe off with separate towel, apply a 2nd coat after 30 minutes, wipe off with a separate towel again) I found that it honestly lasted me almost a year in all honesty. My car is parked outside all the time but this was when I was parking in a covered car park while I worked so I think it helped especially in the hotter months. I'm due to do it again but I have a heap of nasty water marks on the windows I need to remove first.

[Tony Prodigy]

20 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

the droplets of rain seem to stick to it at speed until they get bigger & then start to move. By that time I'm struggling to see through the windscreen.

I know that some ceramic coatings don't play nice on glass and to be honest I am starting to think that it is a waste of time. I'd really only use it on the paint and plastics and just do the glass with Rain-X or your favourite spray sealant. 

You mentioned that the small bead stick and move until they get bigger clearly demonstrates the lack of slickness. The Rain -X will bead even the tiniest bead. It will surprise you how slick it is. You'll have to machine polish the glass again to remove the ceramic coating and then give it a good wipe with isopropyl alcohol before application. I lay down two foundation layers of Rain-X "Water Repellent" followed by one or two coats of the "2 in 1 Glass Cleaner + Repellent". 
The best glass coating I reckon and you don't have to buy those fancy ceramic products.

 

[Tony Prodigy]

15 hours ago, Squalled said:

When I applied following a video I found after I cleaned the windscreen (apply 1 coat, wipe off with separate towel, apply a 2nd coat after 30 minutes, wipe off with a separate towel again) I found that it honestly lasted me almost a year in all honesty. My car is parked outside all the time but this was when I was parking in a covered car park while I worked so I think it helped especially in the hotter months. I'm due to do it again but I have a heap of nasty water marks on the windows I need to remove first.

I am confident that the Rain-X can last up to 12 months on its own, but as you are doing your maintenance washing and occasional glass wiping, you'll be using the 2 in 1 product as you clean and you'll be topping up the coating anyway, so it's always win win.

What happens for me is that because my cars are outside constantly, I don't feel the need to wash them regularly sometimes due to my busy life, but I hate having the glass dirty so I will break out the 2 in 1 and a few cloths and just go to work on the glass. It only takes around ten minutes. The cars are coated so they don't look that dirty compared to those that aren't, so by just doing the glass it gives the overall impression the car is still reasonably clean.

 

[ZZT86]

6 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

just do the glass with Rain-X or your favourite spray sealant.

Prior to ceramic on the glass I used to use the Mothers California Gold Instant Detailer which in itself is an excellent product & works beaut on the glass, only downside is it don't last very long. Will get the RainX next time it's on special. Thanks guys.

[Tony Prodigy]

11 minutes ago, ZZT86 said:

Will get the RainX next time it's on special. Thanks guys.

No problem. You won't regret it.

[Squalled]

1 hour ago, ZZT86 said:

Prior to ceramic on the glass I used to use the Mothers California Gold Instant Detailer which in itself is an excellent product & works beaut on the glass, only downside is it don't last very long. Will get the RainX next time it's on special. Thanks guys.

I'm with Tony on this one, definitely a worth while purchase. In all honesty when it rains, it pays off big time. I do need to re-do my windows when I have the time since when I first applied it, I did all my windows and it made rain driving awesome. I hardly ever used my wipers since the water would just bead off the windscreen. It's one of those little things I once looked over that make a nice change to the driving experience. On a side note, it does also make the glass a lot easier to clean too.

[campbeam]

58 minutes ago, Squalled said:

In all honesty when it rains, it pays off big time. I do need to re-do my windows when I have the time since when I first applied it, I did all my windows and it made rain driving awesome. I hardly ever used my wipers since the water would just bead off the windscreen. It's one of those little things I once looked over that make a nice change to the driving experience. On a side note, it does also make the glass a lot easier to clean too.

My ah ah moment was when doing an interstate trip and going through heavy afternoon rain. I had to slow down to 90 kph because the wipers were not clearing the windscreen fast enough. Safe decision for me but frustrating for the local vehicle behind me. Change of wiper blades mostly resolved that issue for the return trip home.

Big pay off is when the glass is clean and you apply a product like Rain X to help the water bead off the windscreen so you are not so reliant upon using the wipers. 

After seeing Tony's posts and viewing various YouTube videos for the P&S Beadmaker product, this is the product I started using on the front and rear windscreens then progressed to the windows then the body panels especially the front bonnet, roof and boot. Also after making the effort to thoroughly clean the glass and the body panels, I make sure that I do a top up application rather than start all over again.

Quick wipedown of a few minutes with a microfibre cloth easily removes the morning dew so you have better visibility.