Gyeon Prime experience

[GaVeN]

1st off, Lawrence, I should have listened But, if you don't try, you'll never succeed/know

So, I've been doing some research on quartz, ceramics, nanotechnology tec. and everything looked so damn easy and amazing

The idea was to do it on my car, test it, check longevity etc. before using it on a client's car... so here goes

Popped into Crazy detailer, had a chat, got some advice and off I went.
Did some more research on trial & error on application & things to look out for. Watched a million youtube videos and read articles where they did a follow-up after a couples of months and washes on the durability.

So, I started off with the regular routine.
- HP rinsed the car
- Foamed with Gyeon Foam
- HP rinsed again
- Given a wash with Gyeon bathe with the 2 bucket method
- HP rinsed again
- Dried, clayed with Shield fine clay & quick detailer
- HP rinsed again & dried off

Some pictures of the bare paint. Some light swirling & surface scratches visible under the LED light








Went at it with Megs compound and an orange pad with the DA. One pass was sufficient throughout most of the car.
The roof required a few extra passes on the same combo.
This was finished off with a finishing polish and black finishing pad. a pic or two for visuals...







Entire car was then sprayed with Gyeon prep and wiped off with clean MF towels one panel at a time

Started applying on bootlid as a test panel. Spread on, left to sit for 5 minutes & wiped off. 5 minutes proved to be the most effective before the coating cures too much and gets sticky.
It did leave a bit of "trailing" that looks fatty, but this is what it is supposed to do from reading up. Did the rest of the car one panel at a time, at 5 minute curing times and wiping off. "Fatty" look went away after about an hour or so.
Left to cure overnight. Parked it in the sun the following morning to let nature's oven do the curing.
Roughly 24 hours later, I rinsed the car off and wiped the car down with Gyeon cure and clean MF towels to remove any left over residue.

It has now been about 3 weeks since the application. Car has been washed twice with the regular washing method, one rain storm and below, my verdict.

- Will I recommend it to someone? Nope, not for the money you pay
- Application is extremely tricky and you almost feel unsure if you are doing it correctly. Instructions are vague at best, for instance "Let cure for 10sec-20 minutes depending on Country you live in and climate"
- It does repel water, but I won't say it is a lot more effective than a quality sealant & wax combo.
- I have decided to put a wax coating on the car to give that depth & luster to the paint again, as the colour seems a bit "flat"(I know it's not an exact science of wording, but that's the best way to describe it)
- If I need to put wax on anyways for depth, I might as well have skipped the coating part. Maybe during the summer season it will come in handy to repel water between washes.
- It has left some residue on one section of the roof(Only visible when looking at a certain angle at sunset), that the Gyeon cure can't really remove, which will probably have to be polished out, meaning that part will no longer be coated...Yeah
- If a client asks for it, I will give my honest opinion and let them make the decision, but I will not recommend it right now. I think a proper sealant & wax, with regular applications of wax & using the correct washing soaps & technique will yield great results, if not similar.
- As far as wheels go, this product will work fantastic, as it will repel brake dust and make cleaning much easier.
- In hard to clean areas such a honeycomb grills on some newer cars I will recommend it, as it saves you the effort of washing & drying each and every little honeycomb hole.

Overall, not really impressed.

[Lambchop]

Popcorn time.....

[MaX]

Awesome review, saved me lots of time and money.

[Life160]

Interesting thread...
I've been considering Prime for a while now.

[Solo786]

Interesting review
Can't imagine it's the same product that won silver on detailing world. They probably on pot.

[mikhail117]

Interesting review. I haven't used Prime so I can't comment.

I noticed a few issues in your review though that I'd like to point out.


Here's a piece of their instructions that I'll be referring to:

Started applying on bootlid as a test panel. Spread on, left to sit for 5 minutes & wiped off. 5 minutes proved to be the most effective before the coating cures too much and gets sticky.
It did leave a bit of "trailing" that looks fatty, but this is what it is supposed to do from reading up. Did the rest of the car one panel at a time, at 5 minute curing times and wiping off. "Fatty" look went away after about an hour or so.

- Application is extremely tricky and you almost feel unsure if you are doing it correctly. Instructions are vague at best, for instance "Let cure for 10sec-20 minutes depending on Country you live in and climate"

- It has left some residue on one section of the roof(Only visible when looking at a certain angle at sunset), that the Gyeon cure can't really remove, which will probably have to be polished out, meaning that part will no longer be coated...Yeah

The time you left the coating sit for is 5 minutes but ,maximum time recommended by Gyeon is 2 minutes. The according to Gyeon, the excess rubbing alone while removing the product, if let sit for 250% of the maximum prescribed time could compromise the integrity of the coating.

Left to cure overnight. Parked it in the sun the following morning to let nature's oven do the curing.
Roughly 24 hours later, I rinsed the car off and wiped the car down with Gyeon cure and clean MF towels to remove any left over residue.

Next up, with Prime, Gyeon mandates that you wipe off the coating after 3 hours and before the coating is fully dry, so before 24 hours. The Gyeon Cure also acts as a sacrificial layer while the coating hardens over the next two weeks. So rinsing the vehicle down 24 hours later then applying Cure, presumably after drying, would defeat the purpose of using Cure at all and also, as above, could compromise the coating.

So without advocating for coatings/Prime at all, I'm sure the application instructions (for anything) are there for a reason and by not following them you could run into issues.

Further than that, as I said earlier, I haven't used Prime so I can't offer my opinion on the matter.


Thanks for the review though, wish more people would do this so I could save some money!

Kind regards

[Life160]

Mikhail - wow - that does put a few things in context.
Anyone follow the instructions exactly as required by Gyeon with different results?

Edit:

I came across this pretty cool video outlining the steps to apply Gyeon MOHS. Seems similar to the steps outlined above.
https://youtu.be/EMwCojTefd4

[GaVeN]

@Mikhail, note that the Prime & MOHS have 2 different application instructions.
The only reason for rinsing the car was to get dust & debris off. I did this with running water over the car in the curtain method. And then just dried with a MF towel. No use in wiping Cure on a dirty panel.

I left it for 5 minutes, as I tried for 2 minutes, which pretty much removed the entire coating applied (My opinion, no science behind it). When I applied, I tried various times, from 10 sec - 10 min on a 30x30cm block.
5 minutes gave a smoother feel when left to cure.

I may have compromised the coating in some of my steps, but I did not just follow the instructions. Like I said, I read a few application posts & videos and followed more of a "real world" approach.

To add, I also asked around on various places (Including this forum from the guys in the know) and I was in favour of using it, despite being persuaded to use traditional methods. I was almost rooting for it. Don't think I am knocking the product, it's just not something I would necessarily use or recommend.

Thanks for the feedback, always good to get feedback that challenges me.

[GaVeN]

Just as a follow-up, I gave the car a wash over the weekend.

HP rinse, foamed, HP rinsed, washed & rinsed by curtain method, and the coating does its work for sure. Water runs off and doesn't adhere.
Wiped down with MF towel & Cure.

Saturday night we had some light drizzle and water does bead & run off. I just feel a good quality wax and maintenance regimen will yield similar results when comparing costs & benefits.

[mikhail117]

Hi Gaven

I know that Mohs and Prime have their differences in application but the instructions I quoted from are from the Prime instructions brochure. For Mohs, for example, the drying time is between 30 seconds and five minutes and you can't only apply one layer... cure is also now between 12-24 hours instead of 3. The differences in their applications are quite vast and I would be remiss quoting from the Mohs instructions wrt Prime application.


Also, coating's USP over waxes and sealants is firstly that they're supposed to last longer than traditional sealants and waxes and secondly that they add hardness to your paint and as such are supposed to make them less* susceptible to marring and scratching. In other ways they could very well simply be like an expensive wax or sealant. But it's fair to say that if you're recommending a product on its strengths and weaknesses that you wait to asses what their supposed strengths are(longevity and added protection) before you make your recommendation.


I'm all for the debate on products, I see it on international forums and this is how manufacturers get their feedback and in turn improve the products.