Does anyone have experience with The Top Coat F11 products? They advertise their product a being good for car finish (Never wash your car again) as well as plastic and rubber. also under the bonnet to keep that area shined as well. If there are any pro detailers out there, what product do you recommend for a show room finish on my 10yr old baby??

 

I bought some but since we are still in the grasp of winter here in Minnesota haven't had a chance to use it as the kitty is still in storage. One of my friends knows a detailer that swears by it.

 

ive used it. have at home. I find it can be smudgy. if done section by section without letting dry to long before buffing, then shines up well. but after drving for a few days or rain, you cant just spray a detail spray and wipe off. you'll need to generously apply more F11 to shine car again.
I find the Alien waterless is easier to apply and shines more, but same thing after rain. all kinda of smudges a bit and seems to attracts dust.
Its great for cars that spend time in garage as you can apply multiple coats with ease between driving, but once out, eh...
I prefer my tired and true Liquid Glass, but very hard to find anymore.

 

I never did buy F 11 Top Coat.
The product I have had great success with, on my black car, is Lucas Slick Mist Speed Wax.

 

Well, if they claim you never have to wash your car again I don't think I want it. There are a lot of very good products on the market right now and I believe they are extremely subjective to the person using them (what's the best pizza). When I started waxing cars back in the early seventies you basically had a can of Simonize or Turtle wax. Things have surely changed and now you can pretty much dial in whatever results you want based on your expectations and how much time and effort you want to put in to it.

I am not a professional detailer but, I am a pretty decent at keeping my vehicles like new. Can't say I have tried all products out there but, I have tried many over the years and have my favorites. Again, it depends what the car used for and how much time you're willing to commit to keeping it in the condition you want.

For the sake of this forum I'll stick to my Jag XK8. Like many here, mine is a good weather driver that is garaged most of the time. This is what I do:

Wash about once a month or so with a foam gun (Harbor Freight $12) bucket ,hand mitt and Meguiars, Deep Crystal Car Wash. Give it a quick wash then use a leaf blower to dry the entire vehicle.

About three times a year I use a Porter cable DA polisher (blue pad) and apply a thin coat of Meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax. My opinion, It does a superb job and it's priced fairly ($24 a can) for the results it produces.

After my washes when I am not doing a machine wax I use Meguiars, Caranuba Spray Wax. It goes on and comes off like pretty much any detailer you have used in the past. What I like about this stuff is you are building on the wax you already have rather than just enhancing it with detailer. The paint is smooth as silk and the shine is better than most showroom finishes.

That's pretty much what I do regularly.

As needed:
I use the Porter Cable DA (orange pad) with Wolfgangs, Swirl Remover to correct touch up areas and/or light scratches.
Clay bar entire car when the finish feels like it needs it.

All I can say is if you keep up with a regular routine you can cut your time down from an all day project to a couple of hours at best.

Good luck and just find what works best for you.

 

like said earlier, I always trusted the original formula Liquid Glass. As Shoreguy stated, polishes are a lot more diverse nowadays. we have spray wax, coatings, ceramic, etc. depends on how much work you want to put in and how fanatical one is. I'm picky, love a clean car.
My Jag basically comes out of garage to show or whatever. ive had it almost 2 months, been out just once.
the pic above is after 2 coats of LG. unfortunately you cant get it anymore. I have 1 can left. the prior owner did partner and make another rproduct similar called Finish First. seems similar in scent, consistency, and shine, as well as finish.
I did try The Last Coat (TLC). gotta say...it is pretty good. on easy, off easy. slick, and shines very well.

 

Hey Bigbully

Lookin sweet! I two was a Liquid Glass guy for some years awhile back ago. Believe or not I still have a half a can in my garage right now. I bought it about 8 years ago when I first got my Black Mustang Saleen and it was hard to find back then. As I remember, I had to order it from a local auto parts store in NJ. You don't have to sell me on it, it's good **** for sure. Very easy on and off and an awesome feel and shine and that was in the days when I hand waxed. It wasn't cheap either (like $25).

The fact that it's not available anymore kinda blows but, once you start trying different things you'll find something you like for sure that's just as easy. The two I would suggest trying (as mentioned above) is the Meguiars Ultimate paste wax (amazon has it for $18) and the Carnauba spray wax. ($8). The paste wax is very easy to apply and you just want a light coating of it. Drying time might depend if your doing it by hand or using a DA.Can't imagine you needing to use it more than twice a year at best considering how much you use your car. The spray wax use after a quick car wash. As easy to use as detailer but, you will see it's much better than what your used to with other detailers.

I have tried expensive stuff paying well over $75 a can on more than a few occasions. I just couldn't justify the price based on the results I got. Were they good, yeah but, not magic in a can either. If you like Liquid Glass, like I did, I think you'll be happy trying these out.

Good luck...

 

Shoreguy, yup me too. have about 3/4+ can of the LG left. just opened my last can when I got the Jag short time ago. too bad they went out of biz. Of the 2 owners, one of them hooked up and started new business with another partner. they made FINISH FIRST. can find on Ebay and Amazon. about same price $26. same packaging in metal can, same everything except they have updated corvette on can instead of the red 65 they had on the original. polish is about same in can. product bluish, liquid, maybe a tad bit thinner than original, but same scent. I used it on small area of one of my other cars and seemed to produce same shine, removed oxidation same as original did and left a smooth glass like finish to the touch.
my other cars that sit out side and drive through winter etc...still beading water and shining smooth.
I just purchased The Last Coat "TLC". got sucked into the video and claims etc. im not disappointed. claims to be a spray ceramic type coating. but with less cure time. its very easy to apply and buff, and it does leave a very smooth, slick surface. Granted im not saying its a ceramic hard coat per say but it's their claim. (I appled TLC to a 3rd of my wifes hood, with 1/3 of F11, and a 3rd of Alien, the TLC shined most and was smoothest to the touch).
I also applied the Mr. Fix 9H ceramic coat. it's a DIY product that if you have the time and want to do the work is easy to apply so long as you take the time to do it right.. I liked how it came out. it's very cost effective and so long as you take car of your vehicle, it's lasts.
I did to my A7 little over 1 year ago and it's still holding up well.

 

So I guess the Finish First will be your go to from now on? Didn't realize you tried so many different products already. Sounds like you found a few you like or at least a few contenders like TLC and Fix9H ceramic coat. Like I said there's a lot of really good product on the market right now but, finding the ones that you like for whatever reasons takes some experimenting.

For whatever reason I'm staying away from ceramic and similar coatings for right now till they have been around awhile longer. I guess I don't want to buy into the hype right away. My feeling has always been if everyone's talking about or doing it, It can't be good LOL. Think back to: flipping houses, Dot Com boom, Bitcoin, etc... Kinda kidding but, not really. I may revisit this again after the smoke clears a bit.

As an aside do you or have you tried 303 Aerospace Protectant? I've been using it for years on tires and interior parts and the stuff still amazes me. Makes everything looks new without being greasy or cheap looking.




Anyway, good luck and thanks for the info.

 

I will chime in here. Sorry this will sound like a paid add, however I have no affiliation I purchased some in the fall and used it on my VDP.
I was very happy with the results. Beads water well and the dirt cleans off it reasonably easily. After cleaning the dirt off, with just water, I wipe it down and it is back to repelling water well again. I do not know how long that will last.The previous owner parked the car, at condos on the beach in Florida, where wind caused the windscreen and paint to get pitted. Both had improved after the first application and keep getting better as additional coats are wiped on. The pits in the windshield are almost non-existent now.
It cleans all of the glass to sparkling clean without smears or prior cleaning, Not to mention restoring plastic that has faded and aluminum in the engine bay.
I needed to do a quick window clean, on the inside and outside house windows, and added about 10 squirts to a gallon or so of water - no other cleaners. It usually takes about an hour and a half to do those but with the long handled car brush and squeegee was able to complete the job in about 20 minutes. I still had some of the mix left in my bucket, and rather than throw it out, I decided to wash my very dirty van with it. It is a 1996 with well over 700,000 Km on it so was not too worried. Rinsed it down with the mix and wiped it down - The results were amazing particularly the faded plastic trims! Do all my mirrors, glass tables, counter tops and windows, inside the house now. It is the first thing I have found that is a no hassle cleaner/polish.
Even if I find it does not last months between applications I am hooked on it.