Right, just so that I am sure I understand it, the process is the usual with the correction (I usually wash then use a clay cloth) then the hard work is usually polishing (which is more needed on dark cars than light. But then do you wax before you put the sonex on or after, or not at all? From the first post it looked as though there is no waxing involved.

Just when this thread came up I was thinking of doing my cars with Pomponazzi which got a good review on our car advice Pomponazzi Crystal Coating review because I really prefer the deepness of the cornubia wax gloss, but it is too hot over summer to do it.

But it is about $2K per vehicle including the wheels, so this sonex looks pretty interesting.

 

Wax either before or after ceramic coating is strictly prohibited.
There are alternatives to wax. But you must do it every 4 months or so.

This is an excellent alternative to ceramic and carnauba wax.
SONAX Polymer Net Shield
I believe in other parts of the world its called something else. You can find more at Sonax global website.

In UK its called this
SONAX Xtreme Protect & Shine Hybrid NPT - Clean Your Car

Basically its wipe on wipe off, no residue on trim of cracks. It repels dust. Carnauba attracts it!


ONE CAUTION: this may help you select which way you want to go.
Ceramic coating must only be applied by those who have access to strong lights that can be projected on the car from various angles.

 

Cheers, I think I'll have a crack at the ceramic but I'll start on my daughter's MiTo. It is out in the weather.

 

Bruce in Qld a Company called Always Dry have a ceramic coating that is applied following paint correction. I used them and I'm very happy with the result. A spray on detailer with a wax is a good top up following washing. You won't need the Clay Cloth or,waxing (although it doesn't hurt I still do mine)
Cheers

 

Sweet, I'll look into that. I dont think I can get the sonax ceramic over here. Always Dry is based in Burleigh, which is about 10 minutes away.

 

Decided buy some of this and tried it today on dust that was only from a couple of miles of driving. Not sure what is wrong with it but I sprayed my high gloss powder coated wheels and waited for it to turn magenta and then rinsed them with a power washer and the brake dust did not come off. Used dish soap and it came right off.

How does it work for you?

 

same here. I switched to Armorall Quicksilver and it worked much better than the Sonax. Cost less too.

 

You must have different brake pads+ rotors?- i.e. low dusting

Sonax brake cleaner is an iron dissolver.
If you saw it changing color it was attacking the iron, but there was another material there. Also agitation with a brush is advised.

 

Wow, maybe it is a bad bottle. I spray it on all 4 (dry) wheels wait at least 5 mins and the magenta is running. I just use a hose to rinse and wait for them completely dry. There is sometimes a little dust left so I use a Swiffer I stole from my wife and wipe that clean. Only talking about a slight amount of dust left from what was very dirty wheels.

 

AP racing discs and Pagid RS29 pads. Everything turned dark magenta on dry wheels. I used a pressure washer to rinse. After they dried the barrels were still covered in brown pad dust as well as the face of the spokes and I wash them about every 10 miles of driving.

Don't get me wrong, it did remove a little brake dust but left a lot behind.

I normally use dish soap and a microfiber which gets them sparkling clean.

Was hoping for the cost that Sonax would be an effortless cinch.

 

This is what my car has too.

I believe it's also a glass coating and it's EXTREMELY smooth.

 

Just realized there are 2 versions of the wheel cleaner, FWIW I used the original Full Effect and not the new formulation Plus. When I have a moment, I am going to try it on one of my other cars to see what happens.

 

Just a follow up question...

I got some CQuartz UK and used it on my daughter's MiTo which has a paint job so thin you'd think that the painter was paying for his own supplies. It was a hell of a job to do the paint correction in particular but it has come up quite nicely, with a definite appearance that the paint is fuller than it was before.

You use a product called Carpro Reload on it which is a spray on silicone based sealant https://www.carpro-us.com/protection...-reload-100ml/. Supposedly this provides the sacrificial layer and lasts up to 6 months.

Having looked at all of the caveats to the ceramic coatings I have been put off getting my cars professionally done. I was almost across the line with Pomponazzi (and considered Always Dry) but really at $2K a pop I'd want to be able to hit my car with a hammer, not baby it and use special lotions and potions to maintain it as is apparent from the care instructions. But I like the idea of using Reload to extend the life of the wax so that I dont have to wax the car during our hottest months, from November to March.

Sooooo, my questions are :
(a) has anyone experience with reload?; and
(b) do you know whether it can be applied over wax?

 

Avoid at all costs. Not worth the downsides. Hardly any upsides.
The sacrificial layer stuff is sheer nonsense. Intended to play on car owner's fears.

Basically it can leave a lot of streaks. I have quite a bit of it that I have basically discarded.

If you want a good alternative. Use this.
https://www.sonax.com.au/Products/Xt...ine-Hybrid-NPT
Thats the Australian version.
Here is a video of the same thing, here its called NET SHIELD but its the same product

 

Here is the installation video

 

Thanks, I'll see whether I can get some of that. So it can go over wax?

 

yes. but better to simply take wax off by using stronger soap during wash.
very easy to take wax off.

think of it this way, if something is easy to take off, anything you put over it will also become easily removed

 

Here is a top-tip to make life easier.

apply this hydrophobic spray on all the crevices of the car, such as door jambs, those hoodvents front bumper. it makes drying a breeze because water wont pool there. you can dry the car with a blower

 

The way I do it is spray each wheel and caliper. I then fill my water bucket with soap and water and scrub the inside of the wheel lip with "wooly brush" with very little soap. I then work the caliper and center or rotor with another brush, followed by an old "yellow & green" sponge to do the back side of wheel spokes. I then use the car wash mitt with a lot of soapy water to clean the whole wheel. Once that part is done, I have a scrub brush for the tire and then wash the whole wheel again... I make sure all water coming off the wheel is running clear.

Currently, I am using the regular Sonax, but I am only last spray bottle refill of it. I bought 5L full effect Sonax which I will go to next. If the wheel is already looking pretty clean (I wash the cars once a week) I may omit the wheel cleaner and just use the car wash soap in the same steps mentioned earlier. I don't want any dust deposits getting on the calipers, especially on cars where the caliper is not painted.

 

Use a strong mixture of dish washing soap like Joy or Dawn to wash your car before detailing. The suds and cleaning power of these soaps are a hoot to use! It'll strip the wax right off. If I have the time, I'll use a CarPro IronX as the next step. You'll be amazed how much iron dust is embedded into the paint! Makes the clay bar or "mitt" even easier to do...